Join us in St. Cloud for two incredible days of learning, networking, and visiting exhibitors in our sold-out trade show. We hope to see you there!
Register by December 26, 2025, to save your place at this year's conference. Prices go up on December 27.
Thursday, January 8, 2026
8:00 AM Registration & continental breakfast
- Sponsored by Garratt Industries
9:00 AM Breakout sessions
- Crop Insurance 101: Risk Management in a Changing Climate – Megan Vaith
- Flip the Script: Market the Why Behind the What – Todd Kuckkahn
- Managing New High Tunnel Crop Diseases – Michelle Grabowski
- Organic Pig Production & Profitability – Yuzhi Li
- Minnesota’s New Employment Laws – Susanne Hinrichs, Rob Holcomb
- Ag Weather Stations for Accurate & Local Info – Stefan Bischof
10:00 AM Trade show & break
- Sponsored by Garratt Industries
10:45 AM General session
- Conference welcome – Commissioner Thom Petersen
- Keynote address: Finding the Next Level for Your Organic Farm – Joel Gruver
- Sponsored by Compeer Financial
11:45 AM Lunch & trade show
- Sponsored by MOSA
1:15 PM Breakout sessions
- Adopting Cover Crops Into Your Grain Rotation – Matt Leavitt, Jon Jovaag
- Exploring Organic Certification – Caroline Hegstrom
- Soil Health in High Tunnels – Natalie Hoidal
- Dairy Farm Profitability: Small Things Make a Difference – Joe Klein
- Preserving Farmland: Strategies that Work – Jan Joannides, Andrea Eger, Mike Zastoupil, Ariel Kagan
- Trade Turmoil: Risks & Opportunities for Organic Exports – Alexander Schultz
2:15 PM Trade show & break
3:00 PM Breakout sessions
- Harnessing the Power of Pulses in Your Organic Rotation – Brent Reck
- Farmer Experiences with MDA Funding – Cassie Dahl, Ben Penner, Courtney VanderMey
- The Strategic Booth: Standing Out at Farmers Markets – Kelly McManus
- Controlling Parasites & Flies on Organic Dairies – Bradley Heins, Samantha Fredin
- Selling Processed Produce to Food Hubs & Institutions: The Rules & Regs – Jane Jewett, Amy Johnston, Autumn Stoll
- Reducing Nitrous Oxide Emissions through Organic Farming – Al Rabine, Ethan Bahe
4:00 PM Trade show & break
4:15 PM Legislative forum
- Commissioner Thom Petersen, elected officials and staff, & YOU
5:00 PM Reception & evening social
- Music – Mary DuShane and Nick Jordan
- Sponsored by Minnesota Farmers Union
Friday, January 9, 2026
7:30 AM Registration & continental breakfast
- Sponsored by Forever Green, University of Minnesota
8:00 AM Breakout sessions
- Improve Your Organic Grain Marketing Skills – Carmen Fernholz, Leon Atwell
- Passing the Torch: Successful Mentorship in Organic Farming – Jenna Pollard, Sarah Mayer, Jane Windsperger
- Farm Business Management for Specialty Crop & Non-Traditional Farmers – Laura Cullip, Erik Heimark, Nura Ahmed
- Health Management in Organic Poultry – Timothy Broderick
- Farm Law 101 – Stephen Carpenter
- Soil Organic Matter: Forms & Functions – Joel Gruver
9:00 AM Trade show & break
- Sponsored by Forever Green, University of Minnesota
9:45 AM Breakout sessions
- Science or Snake Oil? Nitrogen-Fixing Biologicals & Biostimulants – Carl Rosen
- Organic Certification & Record Keeping Basics – Sarah Lindblom, Margaret Weigelt
- Adding Livestock to Your Fruit & Vegetable Operation – Sabrina Florentino, Annalisa Hultberg
- Solar Grazing: Using Livestock to Manage Vegetation – Jodee Nohner, Arlo Hark
- From Retail to Wholesale – Mackenzie Burke, Nick Robinson, Joleen Baker
- Soil Health Toolbox for Organic Farms – Bailey Tangen, Zachary Paige
10:45 AM Trade show & break
- Sponsored by Forever Green, University of Minnesota
11:30 AM General session
- Keynote panel: The Real World: Tales from the Field – Ruth Buck, Caroline Hegstrom, Ben Penner, Meg Moynihan
- Sponsored by University of Minnesota Extension
12:30 PM Lunch & trade show
- Sponsored by Lakewinds Natural Foods
2:00 PM Breakout sessions
- Best Practices for Organic Soybean Production – Anthony Hanson
- All for One & One for All: How & Why Farmer Co-ops Work – Eric Sannerud
- Success with Solar: Growing Vegetables – Adam Cullip, Laura Cullip
- The Grazier’s Path to Profit: Soil, Stock, & Startup – Jonathan Kilpatrick
- I Need a Farm Succession or Transfer Plan...Help! – Jim Ostlie, Jim Molenaar
3:00 PM Conference ends
Note: This schedule is subject to change.
Previous Schedules
Thursday, January 9, 2025
8:00 AM Registration & continental breakfast
- Sponsored by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
9:00 AM Breakout sessions
- Success with Soybeans – Matthew Fitzgerald & Eric Yu
- Sponsored by Minnesota Crop Improvement Association (MCIA)
- Reducing Methane Emissions for Organic Dairy Farms – Bradley Heins
- Sponsored by University of Minnesota Extension
- Selling Wholesale: Food Safety & Best Practices – Annalisa Hultberg & Ariel Pressman
- Sponsored by Field Theory
- Soil Health within Organic Systems – Russell Kleinschmidt & Stephanie McLain
- Sponsored by Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program
- Organic Certification: Tips & Tools – Angela Walter & Sam Caldwell
- Sponsored by Mountain High Organics Inc.
- Planning Your Agritourism Business – Ryan Pesch
10:00 AM Trade show & break
- Sponsored by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
10:45 AM General session
- Conference welcome: Mr. Patrice Bailey
- Keynote address: Mark Schiller & Simeon Rossi
- Sponsored by BioFlora
11:45 AM Lunch & trade show
- Sponsored by Garratt Industries Ltd.
1:15 PM Breakout sessions
- Yellow Field Peas – Brent Reck & Christopher Werth
- Identifying Common Livestock Parasites – Kari Ripley-Boysen & Lindsey Zemanek
- Diversifying Production Systems with Cut Flowers – Mary Rogers & Elyssa Eull
- Your Soil Health Toolbox – Tom Cotter
- Mentorship & Technical Assistance from TOPP – Matt Leavitt, Zachary Paige, Carmen Fernholz, & Leroy Petersen
- Beneficial Birds for Pest Control – Courtney Tchida, Nic Nelson, Alayna Merchlewitz
2:15 PM Trade show & break
3:00 PM Breakout sessions
- Inter-Seeding Soybeans with Cover Crops – Rye Carlson
- Sponsored by Cashton Farm Supply Ltd.
- Agrivoltaics: Grazing Cattle & Growing Forages – Sabrina Florentino & Bradley Heins
- Sponsored by Solar Farm LLC
- Minnesota Table Grapes – Erin Treiber
- Funding for Climate-Smart Agriculture – Anne Schwagerl & Jada Csikos-Monroe
- Expanding Access with Online SNAP – Stefanie Jaeger
- Digital Marketing Best Practices – Sarah Carroll & Michelle Sharp
4:00 PM Trade show & break
4:15 PM Legislative listening session
- Commissioner Thom Petersen, elected officials and staff, & YOU
5:00 PM Reception & evening social
- Music by Light of the Moon
- Sponsored by Minnesota Farmers Union
Friday, January 10, 2025
7:30 AM Registration and continental breakfast
- Sponsored by Crop Fertility Services
8:00 AM Breakout sessions
- Are Drones in Your Future? – Devin Nohl
- Grazing for Soil Health – Kent Solberg
- Sponsored by Grain Place Foods Inc.
- Biosecurity on Organic Farms – David Weinand
- Garlic: A Look Back at the 2024 Season – Jerry Ford, Chris Kudrna, & Carl Rosen
- Government Programs for Organic Growers – Erik Heimark
- Decision-Making with “My Market Profit” – Mariah Beverly & Curtis Mahnken
9:00 AM Trade show & break
- Sponsored by Crop Fertility Services
9:45 AM Breakout sessions
- Organic Market Outlook: Risks & Opportunities – Alexander Schultz
- Sponsored by F.W. Cobs
- Direct Marketing Meat – Lindsey Loken
- Organic Weed Management for Perennial Fruits – Madeline Wimmer
- Organic Nutrient Management for Healthy Soil – Carl Rosen
- Building Relationships with Local Farmers – Simeon Rossi & Mark Schiller
- Lessons Learned from a Young Farmer – Sal Daggett
10:45 AM Trade show & break
- Sponsored by Crop Fertility Services
11:30 AM General session
- Keynote address: Tom Cotter
- Sponsored by Compeer Financial
12:30 PM Lunch & trade show
- Sponsored by MOSA Certified Organic
2:00 PM Breakout sessions
- Breeding Soybeans for Organic Systems – Aaron Lorenz
- Sponsored by Albert Lea Seed House
- Prevention & Treatment of Common Livestock Parasites – Kari Ripley-Boysen & Lindsey Zemanek
- Organic Management of Insect Pests in Brassicas – Christina Perez & Marissa Schuh
- AURI: Bringing Ideas to Reality – Clay Newton & Jason Robinson
- Food as Medicine – Jenny Breen & Terese Hill
3:00 PM Conference ends
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
