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

Back to top

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

Back to top