Search

Multiflora rose is a noxious weed of many states because of it's invasive tendencies. It has been found in Minnesota and is listed as Restricted on the Minnesota Noxious Weed List. It can be spread in:

• Holiday wreaths
• Holiday décor

Multiflora Rose Distribution

Multiflora Rose Biology

Japanese maple scale has a large host range of mostly trees and shrubs. It has not been found in Minnesota. It can be found hitchhiking on:

• Holiday twigs and sprays of shrubs like dogwood and willow
• Nursery stock

Japanese maple scale is widely distributed throughout the eastern United States.

Japanese Maple Scale Biology

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