Mark your calendar for our next conference on January 9-10, 2025.
The Minnesota Organic Conference features over 35 educational sessions and an 80-booth trade show, plus lots of time for networking. This schedule is subject to change.
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