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
