Roundtable Discussions

FRIDAY ROUNDTABLES

Sit in on a 45-minute discussion about a farming topic dear to you. These take place throughout the day, giving you the chance to ask questions and share your insights. Want to gather farmers for a conversation? Sign up outside the Yellow Room and post your meeting on the conference app.

9:00 - 9:45 a.m. BROCCOLI VARIETIES AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Natalie Hoidal, UMN Extension Learn about our 2021 broccoli trials conducted at the Southern Research and Outreach Center in Waseca MN, and at 86 partner farms and gardens. We screened 18 early and 18 late varieties for tolerance to Black Rot and Alternaria, heat stress, and other factors. Growers can share their favorite varieties and learn from one another about broccoli management.

10:00 - 10:45 a.m. RYE: THE GRAIN THAT WILL SAVE OUR FARMS

Gary Zimmer, Rye Revival It’s the cold-hardiest grain, has a prolific root system, naturally fights weeds, and is an excellent green manure. It also requires significantly fewer inputs than other winter crops, so why aren’t we growing more of it? Discuss hurdles and market opportunities for producing this delicious, nutritious grain on your own farms.

11:00 - 11:45 a.m. WI FARM EXPERIMENTATION RESOURCE NETWORK

Anne Pfeiffer, UW-Madison Have you ever wanted better information about how a new practice might work on your farm? Join us for an informal discussion about the new WI Farm Experimentation Resource Network (FERN) program to learn how you can take your process from trial-and-error to on-farm research to inform your own decision making and create information to benefit others.

12:00 - 12:45 p.m. WHAT IS REGENERATIVE ORGANIC CERTIFIED?

Angela Jackson, Regenerative Organic Alliance How is Regenerative Organic Certified™ (ROC™) different from other organic certifications and claims? Join the Regenerative Organic Alliance staff for a Q&A and open discussion about the ROC™ standards for soil health and land management, animal welfare, and farm worker fairness.

12:45 - 1:30 p.m. CHOOSING THE BEST PEAR VARIETIES FOR THE UPPER MIDWEST

David Sliwa, Plum Ridge Farm This roundtable will be an opportunity to look at which pear varieties are currently being grown in the Upper Midwest and to evaluate their performance. We will also explore fire blight resistant varieties released by USDA and Canadian breeding programs. Our goal will be to identify which pear varieties/ rootstock combinations constantly produce high quality fruit, are disease resistant and are healthy under a wide range of weather and site conditions. Whether you’re growing pears or considering doing so, this roundtable is a chance to share information and to ask questions.

3:45 - 4:15 p.m. JUST TRANSITION THROUGH AGROECOLOGY & FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

John Peck, Family Farm Defenders and Representatives from Mississippi Association of Cooperatives Just Transition is a useful framework for social change that many grassroots movements are now adopting. We will explore how agroecological practices and food sovereignty principles can help bring about a just transition in agriculture. In particular, we will talk about how this approach can address climate chaos, land/water/seed grabbing, settler colonialism, and other forms of systemic injustice and capitalist exploitation that pervade our food/farm system.

4:30 - 5:15 p.m. VETERANS IN AGRICULTURE

Joe Koch, Farmer Veteran Coalition Join folks from Farmer Veteran Coalition to connect with other farmer Veterans. Learn about opportunities for Veterans and transitioning military members who have an interest in farming as a profession, access resources for farmer Veterans, and hear what other Veterans went through to become the farmers/ ranchers that they are today.

7:45 - 8:30 a.m. REGENERATIVE FARMING SUPPORTING LOCAL FIBER PRODUCTION

Tracey Schwalbe, Springstead Farm/Heartland Threads Fibershed LindaDee Derrickson, Bluffwood Landing/Heartland Threads Fibershed Heartland Threads is a nonprofit fibershed organization in Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois that is developing a network of individuals involved in sustainable and regenerative farming practices in local fiber production. This roundtable is a chance to network with others to discuss the humane treatment of fiber animals while building soils and supporting local textile creation.

8:45 - 9:30 a.m. A DISCUSSION AND UPDATE ON KERNZA

Carmen Fernholz, MOSES Organic Specialist and A-Frame Farm This roundtable discussion will center around the current development and status of Kernza as a viable rotation crop. The session will also include information about the Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative that is up and running as well as market reports and growing and harvesting information about this grain.

9:45 - 10:30 a.m. Q&A: CROP INSURANCE FOR ORGANIC PRODUCERS

Kate Hansen, Center for Rural Affair Megan Vaith, Northbourne Organic Crop Insurance LLC Crop Insurance is a risk management strategy used by operations across the country, but organic producers have a unique set of considerations and options available to them. Join crop insurance agent Megan Vaith and policy specialist Kate Hansen for a discussion and Q&A on crop insurance specifically for organic operations.

12:30 - 1:15 p.m. RAISING CAPITAL FOR YOUR FARM

Andy Ambriole and Raya Carr, Iroquois Valley Money is always complicated, and one of the hardest things farmers face is raising the equity they need to get started and purchase land. This roundtable will talk through a wide range of sources of equity and equity-like capital that work for farms.

1:30 - 2:15 p.m. BIPOC FARMERS LISTENING SESSION

Tiffany LaShae, Farmer/Activist and KaZoua Berry, Big River Farms BIPOC Farmers - come share the experiences and challenges you’ve faced with accessing farmer support services. Farmer Support Organizations - come share programs and initiatives intended to decrease barriers for BIPOC farmers. Your input will help guide a resource designed to increase awareness, accessibility and equity in the utilization of farmers support resources.

SATURDAY ROUNDTABLES

2:30 - 3:15 p.m. REAL ORGANIC PROJECT

Ariel Pressman and Abby Lundrigan, Real Organic Project Stop by for a great opportunity to meet with Real Organic Project staff about their farmer led and free add-on certification for farmers that grow crops in healthy living soil and raise animals on real pasture. Real Organic Project is a farmer led movement, 850 farms strong, to bring integrity to the certified organic farm and food community.

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