Organic Conference Sessions & Speakers

Thursday, January 11, 2024

8:00 AM  Registration & continental breakfast

• Sponsored by Germains Seed Technology

9:00 AM  Breakout sessions

• New & Emerging Winter Annual Grains & Oilseeds – Matt Leavitt & Anne Schwagerl
• Going Solar on Your Farm – Bobby King & Joan Olson
  • Sponsored by Solar Farm LLC
• Holistic Approaches to Weed Management for Vegetables – Marissa Schuh
  • Sponsored by Marbleseed
• Virtual Fencing for Your Farm – Scott Haase & Doug Voss
• Upping Your Documentation Game – Kenn Jenkins & Pete Kapustka
• Marketing & Social Media with Minnesota Grown – Rachel Wandrei

10:00 AM  Trade show & break

• Sponsored by Germains Seed Technology

10:45 AM  General session

• Conference welcome: MDA Commissioner Thom Petersen
• Keynote address: Daphne Miller, MD
  • Sponsored by Compeer Financial

11:45 AM  Lunch & trade show

• Sponsored by Garratt Industries Ltd.

1:15 PM  Breakout sessions

• Building Local Foods Capacity through On-Farm Community Events – Matt Barthelemy, Jan Joannides, & Kelley Rajala
• Preparing for Disease: Basic Principles – Joe Armstrong, DVM
• Adding Value, Not Risk, with Farm-Grown Products – Rachel Armstrong
• USDA Organic Market Update – Heath Dewey
• Navigating Turbulent Organic Grain Markets – Carmen Fernholz, Mike Schulist, & Tom Wanquist
• Soil: Get the Basics Right – Gary Zimmer
  • Sponsored by Grain Place Foods Inc.

2:15 PM  Trade show & break

3:00 PM  Breakout sessions

• Grain Marketing Issues & Solutions – Rachel Armstrong & Harriet Behar
• Ask a Vet: Designing Health Protocols – Joe Armstrong, DVM
• Seeds of Success: First-Generation Farming for Value-Added Scaling – Naima Dhore
  • Sponsored by Lakewinds Food Co-op
• Resources for Value-Added Ag Producers – Michael Sparby
• Confused about Hemp? – Charles Levine, Katy Mutschler, & Jeremy Saueressig
• Maximizing the Benefits of Soil Health Practices – Tom Cotter
  • Sponsored by Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program

4:00 PM  Trade show & break

4:15 PM  Legislative listening session

• Commissioner Thom Petersen, Sen. Aric Putnam, Rep. Samantha Vang, & YOU

5:00 PM  Reception & evening social

• Sponsored by Albert Lea Seed House & Minnesota Farmers Union

Friday, January 12, 2024

7:30 AM  Registration and continental breakfast

• Sponsored by Crop Fertility Services

8:00 AM  Breakout sessions

• What Needs to Be Regenerated? – Sandy Syburg & Gary Zimmer
  • Sponsored by BioFlora
• Grazing for Soil Health – Kelly Anderson & Doug Voss
• Progress in the Commercial Production of American Elderberries – Christopher J. Patton
• Demystifying Organic Certification – Harriet Behar
• Living Trellis for Climbing Beans – Ken Kmiecik
• Crop Insurance for Organic Operations – Kelsey Willardson
  • Sponsored by F.W. Cobs Company

9:00 AM  Trade show & break

• Sponsored by Crop Fertility Services

9:45 AM  Breakout sessions

• What’s New in Specialty Soybeans? – Shane Frederick
  • Sponsored by Minnesota Soybean
• Improving the Health of Organic Dairy Cows & Heifers – Brad Heins
  • Sponsored by Organic Valley – CROPP Cooperative
• Hybrid Hazelnuts Bred for Minnesota – Lois Braun & Mike Lilja
• Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) – Allison Walent
• Leveraging Technology to Support Resilient Local Food Systems – Stefanie Jaeger & Anna Richardson
• Adding Covers to Your Soil Health Toolbox – Tom Cotter
  • Sponsored by Field Theory

10:45 AM  Trade show & break

• Sponsored by Crop Fertility Services

11:30 AM  General session

• Keynote address: Carolyn Olson
  • Sponsored by Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI)

12:30 PM  Lunch & trade show

• Sponsored by MOSA Certified Organic

2:00 PM  Breakout sessions

• Organic Grain Rotation Workshop – Nic Podoll
  • Sponsored by Mountain High Organics Inc.
• Growing Hybrid Rye for Organic Pork Success – Megan Kavanagh, Gabriella Lima, & Melissa Wilson
• The Samba Wasp: New Biological Control for Berry Crops – Jay DeLacy & Mary Rogers
• Organic Market Outlook: Market Risks and Opportunities – Alexander Schultz
  • Sponsored by Cashton Farm Supply – CFS Specialties
• Organic Debates: Is Hydro Organic? – Jenny Heck, Andy Petran, & Jim Riddle

3:00 PM  Conference ends

Thursday, January 5, 2023

8:00 AM Registration and continental breakfast

Sponsored by OCIA MN #1

9:00 AM Breakout sessions

• Ecosystem Services: Credit Where Due – Matthew Fitzgerald & Wendy Johnson (sponsored by Grain Place Foods, Inc.)
• Interpreting the Origin of Livestock Rule – Mary Capehart
• Strawberry Fields Forever: Growing Organically in Minnesota – Mary Rogers & Gigi DiGiacomo
• Farm Marketing 101 – Sarah Carroll & Sarah Wescott
• A Better You for A Better Farm – Emily Krekelberg
• A Pair with Potential: Hybrid Rye + Swine – Carmen Fernholz, Yuzhi Li, & Andrew VanDerPol

10:00 AM Trade show and break

Sponsored by OCIA MN #1

10:45 AM General session

• Conference welcome – MDA Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey
• Keynote “Strength from the Soil: How Organic Farmers and Sound Public Policy Can Straighten the Whiffletree of U.S. Agriculture” – Sarah Vogel (sponsored by North Star Hemp DBA Carpe Diem CBD)

11:45 AM Lunch and trade show

Sponsored by Garratt Industries Ltd.

1:15 PM Breakout sessions

• Putting Organic Dairy Research to Work – Brad Heins & Sabrina Portner (sponsored by Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota)
• Worms, Germs, and Nasty Things – Jeff Bender & Colin Yoder
• Improving High Tunnel Soils with Cover Crops – Julie Grossman & Hannah Walsh
• Unleash Biology! The Benefits of Soil Microbes – Adria Fernandez & Marie Schaedel (sponsored by Solar Farm, LLC)
• Keeping Organic Soybean Fields Clean – Jonathan Olson (sponsored by Minnesota Crop Improvement Association)
• Crop Insurance for the Conservation-Minded – Kate Hansen & Megan Vaith

2:15 PM Trade show and break

3:00 PM Breakout sessions

• Grazing for Grassland: Conservation Grazing into the Future – Stephen Thomforde (sponsored by Compeer Financial)
• The Nuts and Bolts of Productive Family Farm Meetings – Alma Jorgensen
• Farm Scale Deep Winter Greenhouses for Market Growers – Claire Cambray, Dan Handeen, & Crispin Phillips
• Small But Profitable: Organic Farm Financial Performance in the Upper Midwest – Gigi DiGiacomo, Erik Heimark, Kevin Knoblach, & Angela & Nate Walter (sponsored by Mountain High Organics)
• Covers That Pay: Kernza®, Camelina, and Other New For-Profit Cover Crops – Carmen Fernholz, Mitch Hunter, & Anne Schwagerl (sponsored by MISA & MN SARE)
• Gaining Market Power and Competitive Advantage through Cooperatives – Kevin Edberg & Mike Schulist (sponsored by Organic Farmers Agency for Relationship Marketing)

4:30 PM Reception and evening social

Sponsored by Minnesota Farmers Union

Friday, December 6, 2023

7:30 AM Registration and continental breakfast

Sponsored by F.W. Cobs Company

8:00 AM Breakout sessions

• Building Organic Grain Markets – Mark Schoenfeld (sponsored by Cargill, Inc.)
• Transitioning to Organic – Nic Podoll (sponsored by Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program)
• Weed Management for Organic Fruits & Vegetables – Erik Heimark
• Organic Dairy Can Store Carbon: Strategies for the Future – Rebecca Larson (sponsored by Cashton Farm Supply – CFS Specialties)
• Organic Hemp and CBD Production: Healthy Business and Healthy Self – Brock Friesen, Neil Hultgren, & Ben Lipkin
• Building a Sustainable Direct-to-Market Farm Business – James Maiocco, & Valerie & Jared Luhman

9:00 AM Trade show and break

Sponsored by F.W. Cobs Company

9:45 AM Breakout sessions

• Nutrient Management Basics for Organic Farms – Glen Borgerding (sponsored by Marbleseed)
• Organic Isn’t Organic if You Can’t Document It – Kenn Jenkins & Pete Kapustka
• Ask a Vet: Grazing Season Health Issues – Greg Brickner (sponsored by Organic Valley – CROPP Cooperative)
• Planning for Change: Are Organic Soybeans and Corn Right for You? – Shane Frederick
• Farming and Food Systems in Uncertain Times: A Conversation – Kathy Draeger
• From Basement to Business: Scaling Our Mushroom Company – Nick Robinson

10:45 AM Trade show and break

11:30 AM Keynote address

• Keynote “Everyone has a Role” – Carmen Fernholz

12:30 PM Lunch and trade show

Sponsored by MOSA Certified Organic

2:00 PM Breakout sessions

• Facing the Future: Marketing Organic Agricultural Products – Discussion group
• Organic or Regenerative or Sustainable: What's in a Name? – Discussion group
• ANOTHER Disease or Pest? Where do we go from here? – Discussion group
• What's New at the U? How can we make research “sexy”? – Discussion group
• Agriculture in a Changing Climate: What's Next? – Discussion group