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Thursday, January 23
 

9:00am CST

Registration Opens
Thursday January 23, 2020 9:00am - Saturday January 25, 2020 8:00pm CST

10:00am CST

Cultivating Your Legally Resilient Farm
Forming a business the right way, practicing food safety measures, negotiating sales contracts, hiring workers, filing taxes . . . the legal issues involved in farming sometimes feel overwhelming. 
But there's good news: Developing a strong, legally resilient farm business is easier than you think. Farm Commons’ collaborative, easily accessible approach to learning farm law is perfect for innovative direct-to-consumer and sustainable farmers.

Our “Cultivating Your Legally Resilient Farm” Workshop isn't a set of boring lectures filled with legal lingo. This workshop is led by a legal professional familiar with farming and one or two farmer co-facilitators, guaranteeing a combination of on-the-ground experience, user-friendly legal education, and lots of input from participants. This is an engaging, energetic, useful workshop that will inspire participants to take concrete action to build stronger, more resilient farms!

What do farmers say about Sustainable Farm Law 101 workshops?
“Plain-spoken, good real world examples. Very comprehensive.” 
“Way more approachable than expected! I feel like I can actually do this stuff the right way!” 
“It was such an incredible gift to get so much valuable information even though I've only just begun learning about farming.”
Speakers
RA

Sponsors and Exhibitors
avatar for Farm Commons 

Thursday January 23, 2020 10:00am - 5:00pm CST
Prairie Room
  Pre-conference Workshop

11:00am CST

A Healthy Soil Sponge: Essential for All Life on Land
Healthy topsoil forms a living “soil sponge” that can soak up, hold, and filter rainwater, and maintain its structural integrity during water and wind events. This natural infrastructure makes life on land possible. By regenerating it, can address many of our major challenges: 
· improve the health of crops, animals, and people 
· provide resilience to flooding, drought, heatwaves, and wildfires 
· recharge water tables 
· clean up lakes and rivers 
· improve air quality 
· reduce conflicts over land and water 
· create landscapes with food and water for all 
· create habitat for diverse species 
Didi Pershouse will engage participants in deep discussions about the soil sponge's central role in the soil-plant-animal-atmosphere continuum; how all life on land participates in the creation of the soil sponge; and how we can help create the conditions for it to naturally regenerate.
Speakers
avatar for Didi Pershouse

Didi Pershouse

Author, teacher, Soil Carbon Coalition
Didi Pershouse is the author of The Ecology of Care: Medicine, Agriculture, Money, and the Quiet Power of Human and Microbial Communities as well as Understanding Soil Health and Watershed Function: A Teacher's Manual. As the founder of the Center for Sustainable Medicine, she developed a practice and theoretical framework for systems-based ecological medicine—restoring health to people as well as the environmental and social systems around them. After 22 years of clinical work with patients, Pershouse now travels widely: writing, teaching, and... Read More →

Thursday January 23, 2020 11:00am - 4:00pm CST
Frontier Room
  Pre-conference Workshop

12:00pm CST

Lunch for Pre-Conference Attendees
Thursday January 23, 2020 12:00pm - 1:00pm CST
Embassy A
  Meal

12:00pm CST

Exhibitor Check-in Opens
Thursday January 23, 2020 12:00pm - 8:00pm CST

5:00pm CST

Pool Party
Meet at the Holiday Inn Pool for a pool party! Children under age 9 must be accompanied by a parent or older sibling. Lifeguard on duty.
Thursday January 23, 2020 5:00pm - 7:00pm CST
Holiday Inn Fargo
  Kid's Program

5:00pm CST

Taste of Ag- Cocktails and Appetizers
Eat and drink with event sponsors, farmers, cooks and the community! Enjoy wine, cider, beer, gelato and bread (what more could you ask for?) from the region and start networking with new and old friends. 
Thursday January 23, 2020 5:00pm - 7:00pm CST
Great Hall
  Party!
 
Friday, January 24
 

7:00am CST

Breakfast, Registration Opens
Friday January 24, 2020 7:00am - 8:00am CST
Royale Room
  Meal

8:00am CST

Welcome and Awards Ceremony
Friday January 24, 2020 8:00am - 8:30am CST
Great Hall

8:30am CST

Keynote: Hold Hope Close, But Know it is Not a Strategy
Speakers
avatar for Gary Matteson

Gary Matteson

Farm Credit Council

Friday January 24, 2020 8:30am - 10:00am CST
Great Hall
  Keynote

10:00am CST

Exhibitor Hall
Friday January 24, 2020 10:00am - 10:30am CST
Harvest Hall
  Break

10:30am CST

Kid's Program: 4H Corn Babies and Cookie Soil Cups
Join Clay County 4H leaders to learn about soil science and seed germination! Kids will complete two activities, making "Cookie Soil Cups" and "Corn Babies", to learn all about these topics. Ages 4 and up.
Friday January 24, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Mezzanine 1
  Kid's Program

10:30am CST

Dicamba Conversation: Exploring What's Needed to Support Organic Farmers
Join the Pesticide Action Network, John Fagan, expert on relationships between agricultural practices and the levels of nutrients and agrotoxins in crop, and Ryan Schmid of Blue Dasher Farm to discuss the emerging issues with Dicamba. Share what you've witnessed in your local area or how it's impacted your operation. 
Moderators
WC

Willa Childress

Pesticide Action Network

Speakers
avatar for John Fagan

John Fagan

Dr. John Fagan was an early voice in the scientific debate on GMOs and during the last 25 years he has championed food safety and nutrition around the world. Today, he is Chief Scientist at Health Research Institute, a non-profit research and education institution applying cutting... Read More →
avatar for Ryan Schmid

Ryan Schmid

Blue Dasher Farm
Ryan Schmid is an agroecologist working at Ecdysis Foundation (Blue Dasher Farm’s non-profit research institute). He received a PhD in Entomology from Kansas State University in 2018. Ryan credits his upbringing on a small farm in northwest Iowa for generating a passion to work... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Frontier Room
  Workshop, General

10:30am CST

Farming Practices to Support Pollinators and Beneficial Insects
Beneficial insects provide crucial pollination and pest control services in farming systems. This session will explore the use of conservation practices that attract and sustain beneficials, such as insectary strips, cover crops, beetle banks, wildflower meadows, and hedgerows, among others. We will provide an overview of design and installation considerations - including site preparation and pesticide drift protection, as well as insight on how to access USDA financial and technical assistance to achieve your conservation goals.
Speakers
KJ

Karin Jokela

Karin is a pollinator conservation planner based in southeast Minnesota. She partners with NRCS staff in Minnesota and Wisconsin to provide individual consulting to farmers on habitat restoration and pollinator-friendly farm management practices, and serves as an adviser to staff... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Royale Room
  Workshop, General

10:30am CST

Oats Variety Trial and Stress Management
Trying Times:Tools to Understand and Alleviate Farm Stress
Stress factors are on the rise for farmers – all kinds of farmers – who face financial instability, price and marketing uncertainties, farm transfer issues, production challenges, and more. You, or people you care about, might be struggling with stress, anxiety, fear, depression, burnout, feelings of indecision, or suicidal thoughts. In this session, we’ll acknowledge the facets and manifestations of farm stress and explore an NCR SARE-funded project MDA is leading that focuses on navigating conflict and difficult situations, supporting farm youth in stress, and preventing suicide. I'll also talk about a radio and podcast project called "TransFARMation" that we co-created with the Red River Farm Network.

Oat variety trial: increasing profitability for organic producers in the North Central Region
Choosing the right oat variety can have a major impact on revenue per acre as it will affect the both the productivity and marketability of the grain produced. Because chemicals are not used to control weed and pests in organic farming, the choice of variety constitutes an even more important farm management decision than for conventional farming systems. Although oat variety recommendations are available for conventional management system from several public variety testing programs, very limited information on variety performance under organic production system is available. As part of a SARE Partnership grant project, oat variety trials were performed at organic farms located in three states within the North Central Region during two growing seasons. The results will be presented.
Speakers
MC

Melanie Caffe-Treml

Dr. Melanie Caffe-Treml leads the oat breeding program at South Dakota State University. The objective of the oat breeding program is to increase the profitability of farmers in South Dakota and surrounding states by rapidly developing and releasing new oat cultivars with improved... Read More →
MM

Meg Moynihan

Meg Moynihan  oversees the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s efforts to support farmers and others in agriculture who are experiencing financial, emotional, and mental stress in their lives and communities.  Meg also owns/operates a diversified 70-cow organic dairy farm in... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Embassy A
  Workshop, SARE Farmer's Forum

10:30am CST

Regional Climate Considerations for Seed Production
Shifting climatic patterns will continue to have profound effects on our communities and agricultural production, including seed production. This workshop takes a summary look at climate trends and projections, and their effects on pollination and seed set of various vegetable crops in the upper midwest. How can we respond, as researchers, breeders and farmers, in a way that effectively mitigates climate extremes while reducing emissions? We will briefly review thematic recommendations on which we can all move forward together and jump into a Q&A period.
Speakers
avatar for Koby Hagen

Koby Hagen

Founder, Seed Sages
Koby is one seed saver along a long line of great teachers and breeders before her. While Seed Sages is not her daytime job, seed stewardship and biodiversity conservation is a driving force behind her work. Starting out as an intern at a small, family-owned CSA in Colorado, she has... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Embassy B
  Workshop, General

10:30am CST

Stress: How to Know If It Is Affecting Me and Easy Techniques to Deal With It
Stress we all know we have it. But what is it really doing to your body. Do you know the signs? Do you know what can be done about it? In this session you will learn practical easy ways of affecting your body's ability to manage stress.
Speakers
avatar for Maggie Peterson

Maggie Peterson

A native to North Dakota, Dr. Maggie currently practices in her hometown of Enderlin. Family Chiropractic & Massage is a practice that care for the whole family and the whole spectrum of health. She is certified in Wellness, has her fellowship in Pediatrics/Obstetrics, and Transcranial... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Prairie Room
  Workshop, General

11:30am CST

Lunch Buffet
Friday January 24, 2020 11:30am - 1:30pm CST
Great Hall
  Meal

1:30pm CST

Exhibitor Hall
Friday January 24, 2020 1:30pm - 2:00pm CST
Harvest Hall
  Break

2:00pm CST

Kid's Program: River Keepers Crime Lab
Join River Keepers to become a detective and solve the crime of trash in the Red River! Ages 7 and up.
Friday January 24, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Mezzanine 2
  Kid's Program

2:00pm CST

Cover Crops in Established Vegetables and Across the Northern Plains
Growing a long-season crop like peppers in a short, Upper Midwest growing season means that often harvest isn't over by the time we would normally seed a cover crop. We will discuss our 2019 field trial using interseeded cover crops in a bell pepper production system. We will cover the practices used to establish and maintain the cover crops; effects of the timing of cover crop establishment on pepper yield,  soil temperature and moisture, cover crop biomass, and soil health; and practical take-homes from the crop management perspective.

Working alongside farmers in soil health, Dr. Abbey Wick, Assistant Professor, Extension Soil Health Specialist, will share her research on adaptation of cover crops to build soil health in the northern plains. 
Speakers
DJ

Dana Jokela

Dana co-owns and operates Sogn Valley Farm, a 20-acre certified organic vegetable farm and native plant nursery located in Cannon Falls. The farm's produce is sold at the St. Paul Farmers' Market and wholesale to co-ops, school districts, artisan food processors, and a distributor... Read More →
AW

Abbey Wick

Abbey Wick is the Soil Health Extension Specialist at NDSU. She works with farmers on incorporating cover crops and reducing tillage and also develops state-wide training programs for county agents. When it comes to using cover crops, her philosophy is to keep it simple.

Friday January 24, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Embassy A
  Workshop, SARE Farmer's Forum

2:00pm CST

Dig into Data: Who Is on Your Side of the Desk
Did you know there’s a great deal of hidden data to be found in your financial statements that can help your farm run more successfully?  Production agriculture is a demanding responsibility, from a producers perspective as well as all of the business partners that you are engaged with to provide food for our country.  As you continue to dig your fields each year, start digging into your data. Learn how the power of knowledge from a Complete Financial Analysis can help the bottom line of your operation and not just empower, but inspire you to make better decisions for the growth and success of your farm operation moving forward.  
Speakers
CL

Cheryl Landsem

Eide Bailly Agribusiness Consultant
Cheryl has a bachelors degree in Accounting and in Business Management and over 20 years of experience in agricultural accounting and finance. She was raised on a small grains/cow calf farm in northern Minnesota. She did accounting for 70+ farming operations from 2007 to 2017. She... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Royale Room
  Workshop, General

2:00pm CST

Growing Food & Environmental Health: Current Projects at Blue Dasher Farm
At Blue Dasher Farm, we believe we can grow food to meet our population demands, while also conserving biodiversity and environmental health. Our mission is to provide research that can make innovative practices scalable and transferable to as many farmers as possible. Leading to the redesign of agroecosystems to be more resilient and produce healthier food. Our scientific expertise has expanded substantially in recent years, leading to a better understanding on a variety of topics centered on improving regenerative farming. Recent research themes conducted at Blue Dasher include how cattle grazing management affects dung beetles and cattle pests, the benefits of farming regeneratively for conserving natural resources and turning a profit, and studying the effects of ag products, e.g., neonicotinoids, glyphosate, and dicamba, on beneficial insects. By themselves, these topics are important to the success of sustainable farming, but the real power comes from our understanding of how they interact to produce a cascade of benefits within farming systems. It has been an exciting time at Blue Dasher Farm, training the next generation of students and scientists to work with farmers, ranchers, and beekeepers to continue to develop meaningful research, and put it into practice at Blue Dasher Farm.
Speakers
avatar for Ryan Schmid

Ryan Schmid

Blue Dasher Farm
Ryan Schmid is an agroecologist working at Ecdysis Foundation (Blue Dasher Farm’s non-profit research institute). He received a PhD in Entomology from Kansas State University in 2018. Ryan credits his upbringing on a small farm in northwest Iowa for generating a passion to work... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Prairie Room
  Workshop, General

2:00pm CST

Organic Agriculture Research at NDSU
Dr. Greta Gramig (weed scientist, North Dakota State University) will present results from organic agriculture research conducted by NDSU scientists. Topics include biodegradable mulches for organic vegetable production and cropping sequences for creeping perennial weed suppression. Group discussion will focus on potential topics and collaboration ideas for future research projects. Farmer input is highly encouraged!

Dr. Greta Gramig and her graduate student (Jesse Puka-Beals) will discuss the findings of a 2 year research project that examined weed management tactics in organic vegetable production. The project was conducted at NDSU's Fargo campus and in Absaraka ND on certified organic land. The objectives of the study were to observe the crop and weed response to an integrated weed management plan that may be useful for small-scale vegetable growers in the Red River valley. Discussion topics will include cover crops and hydromulching.
Speakers
avatar for Jesse Puka-Beals

Jesse Puka-Beals

Jesse Puka-Beals is a graduate student in the Plant Sciences department at North Dakota State University. He grew up adjacent to a diversified vegetable farm and developed a passion for knowledge intensive and ecologically based management strategies in agricultural production. Currently... Read More →
avatar for Greta Gramig

Greta Gramig

Dr. Greta Gramig is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at North Dakota State University. She teaches courses about weed identification and weed biology and ecology. Dr. Gramig’s current research interests include nonchemical weed management, integrated weed... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Frontier Room
  Workshop, General

2:00pm CST

Should Farmers be Paid as Contractors for Regrowing Healthy Topsoil?
Healthy soil provides many other benefits other than growing crops—clean water, public health, flood and drought protection, and more. A farmer who knows how to collaborate with other species to grow healthy soil is rebuilding essential infrastructure (the soil sponge) and providing services for the watershed and community around them. Can farmers be paid for that work? (Just as the highway department is paid for building and maintaining roads and bridges?)
There is a movement afoot to pay farmers for ecosystem services. Didi Pershouse—who is working with farmers and regional, national, and international policy leaders to write legislation on this—will lead the group through an exploration of the concepts of biological work, biological capital, ecosystem services, payment for those services, and various ways we might hire farmers to grow the biological capital and essential infrastructure that underlies all successful economies.
Speakers
avatar for Didi Pershouse

Didi Pershouse

Author, teacher, Soil Carbon Coalition
Didi Pershouse is the author of The Ecology of Care: Medicine, Agriculture, Money, and the Quiet Power of Human and Microbial Communities as well as Understanding Soil Health and Watershed Function: A Teacher's Manual. As the founder of the Center for Sustainable Medicine, she developed a practice and theoretical framework for systems-based ecological medicine—restoring health to people as well as the environmental and social systems around them. After 22 years of clinical work with patients, Pershouse now travels widely: writing, teaching, and... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Embassy B
  Workshop, General

3:00pm CST

Exhibitor Hall
Friday January 24, 2020 3:00pm - 4:00pm CST
Harvest Hall
  Break

4:00pm CST

Glyphosate Update: Science, Legal Developments and Market Impacts
The glyphosate story is moving fast. It’s now implicated in cancer, liver disease and birth defects and Monsanto’s suppression of the evidence has been exposed. 13,000+ lawsuits claim Roundup harm and the first 4 plaintiffs have been awarded $2.5 billion+. This story is adding huge momentum to the revolution for transparency, authenticity and safety for our food, which translates into expanded demand for Organic! We’ll also report on our research on glyphosate levels in food, water and people, and our discovery of a fast, safe way to clear toxic glyphosate from your body—just eat Organic!
Speakers
avatar for John Fagan

John Fagan

Dr. John Fagan was an early voice in the scientific debate on GMOs and during the last 25 years he has championed food safety and nutrition around the world. Today, he is Chief Scientist at Health Research Institute, a non-profit research and education institution applying cutting... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm CST
Royale Room
  Workshop, General

4:00pm CST

Growing Cash Flow
Are you frustrated by a low checkbook balance after all the work of growing and selling your crops? Or maybe not have enough money on hand to cover critical expenses throughout the growing season? Growing Cash Flow provides a straightforward tool for managing cash—and budgeting for the future—that you can use in your farm business. This session simplifies the concept of Cash Flow Analysis so that you can “use the parts you’re comfortable with.” The idea is to grow your financial skill set at a pace that makes sense for you, to provide a pathway to improve your abilities rather than terrorize you with details, ratios, and secret formulas intelligible only to accountants.
Speakers
avatar for Gary Matteson

Gary Matteson

Farm Credit Council

Friday January 24, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm CST
Frontier Room
  Workshop, General

4:00pm CST

Livestock as a Soil Health Partner
SARE Farmer's Forum: Three Projects

Bale Grazing to build Soil Health- Erin and Drew Gaugler
This project was designed to address the resource concerns of land that had been historically farmed with no inputs and depleted to a point of no longer being productive. To rejuvenate the land and demonstrate how sustainable agriculture can be adapted to fit each operation, project coordinators used bale grazing. This management strategy allowed us to demonstrate a practice that was ecologically sound, profitable and socially responsible.

Mike Ostlie
The focus of the presentation is how the CREC is working to incorporate cover crops into cropping systems through the use of grazing. The work is being supported through NCR-SARE, and involves holistic management of the integrated crop and livestock system.

Douglas Landblom
Beef cattle and cropping systems research at the Dickinson Research Extension Center has been funded by two NCR-SARE Research and Education grants. As a long-term integrated systems project, traditional feedlot finishing has been compared to extended grazing of perennial native range combined with annual forage grazing within a multi-crop rotation. Coupling forage crops and grazing within the diverse cropping system has improved nutrient cycling and soil health, reduced crop input, increase beef cattle net return, sequestered carbon through reduced greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 and N2O), and improved system economics. A brief summary of results will be presented during the session.



Speakers
ED

Erin & Drew Gaugler

Drew and I grew up in southwest North Dakota on a farm and ranch. Over time, we both realized that we wanted to be actively involved with production agriculture. For over ten years, Drew worked in the oil industry. While working, he found and created opportunities to become involved... Read More →
DL

Douglas Landblom

Douglas Landblom, Beef Cattle and Integrated Systems Specialist - NDSU - Dickinson Research Extension Center, Dickinson, ND - Animal Science (MS ‘72), Montana State University  - Career emphasis - Beef cattle: Focus has been on nutrition, reproduction management, and integrated... Read More →
MO

Friday January 24, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm CST
Embassy A
  Workshop, SARE Farmer's Forum

4:00pm CST

Solar Energy on the Farm
Learn how solar works on the northern plains and the true cost of installation and maintenance. Dakota Solar Energy CEO Charlie Ricketts will present alongside a farmer with installed solar. 
Speakers
CR

Charlie Ricketts

Dakota Solar Energy

Friday January 24, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm CST
Embassy B
  Workshop, General

4:00pm CST

Weed Control in Organic Systems
Crop rotations, delayed planting, clean seed and good timing; putting weeds in their place can take a lot of management. Learn from the pros. 
Speakers
avatar for Charlie Johnson

Charlie Johnson

Charlie Johnson, 2013 MOSES Organic Farmer of the Year. Johnson Farms has 2,800 owned and rented acres that Charlie manages with his brother, Allan, and cousin, Aaron. The Johnsons’ younger brother, Kevin, also helps on the farm, along with Charlie’s children, and the brothers... Read More →
avatar for Mark Askegaard

Mark Askegaard

A fifth generation farmer and graduate of North Dakota State University, Mark Askegaard has a passion for preserving the land and promoting the health of communities through organic agriculture and local foods. He transitioned his farm to organic in 1995, with his primary crops being... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm CST
Prairie Room
  Workshop, General

5:30pm CST

Cash Bar
Friday January 24, 2020 5:30pm - 6:00pm CST
Great Hall
  Break

6:00pm CST

Banquet Dinner
Friday January 24, 2020 6:00pm - 7:00pm CST
Great Hall
  Meal

7:30pm CST

Play: Map of My Kingdom
A farmland transition play
Speakers
avatar for Mary Swander

Mary Swander

Mary Swander is the Poet Laureate of Iowa, the Artistic Director of Swander Woman Productions, and the Executive Director of AgArts, a non-profit designed to imagine and promote healthy food systems through the arts. Her latest book is a collection of essays called The Sunny Side from Route 3 Press.Her most recent book of poetry is The Girls on the Roof (Turning Point/Word Tech, 2009), a Mississippi River flood... Read More →

Friday January 24, 2020 7:30pm - 9:00pm CST
Royale Room
  Play
 
Saturday, January 25
 

7:00am CST

Breakfast, Registration Opens
Saturday January 25, 2020 7:00am - 8:00am CST
Royale Room
  Meal

8:30am CST

Keynote: Developing High-Efficiency and Regenerative Agricultural and Food Systems: A Forever Green Agriculture Initiative
The Forever Green Initiative is leading an effort to develop more regenerative Midwestern agricultural systems by developing new winter annual and perennial crops that can be planted by farmers to produce a continuous living cover and provide them with new economically viable options for their farming operations. Based at the University of Minnesota, the Forever Green Initiative is broad-based involving many partners in the commercial, research, and conservation sectors. The goal of the Forever Green Initiative is to develop a wide range of commercial products from the new winter annual and perennial crops which will make it economically possible for farmers to produce the crops, and thereby achieve previously unattainable solutions to the water quality challenges facing Midwestern agriculture. The key to transforming Midwestern agriculture is the emergence of a new demand for a wide range of bio-based products (food, fuel, polymers) that can be provided by the new crops being developed by the Forever Green Initiative.
Speakers
avatar for Don Wyse

Don Wyse

University of Minnesota

Saturday January 25, 2020 8:30am - 10:00am CST
Great Hall
  Keynote

9:30am CST

Kid's Program: Boys and Girls Club, Big Blue Blocks
Join Boys and Girls Club to play with some giant blue foam building blocks!
Saturday January 25, 2020 9:30am - 1:30pm CST
Mezzanine 1
  Kid's Program

10:00am CST

Exhibitor Hall
Saturday January 25, 2020 10:00am - 10:30am CST
Harvest Hall
  Break

10:30am CST

Farmland Transition Workshop
In this workshop, Mary Swander discusses some of the family issues that arise with farm and
ranchland transition. She brainstorms with the class to map out common family scenarios that
often include: the aging parents who want to preserve their way of farming but come into conflict
with the younger generation; the farmland owner who has no heirs who want to take over the
operation; the family with an on-farm offspring with sweat equity in the operation who wants to
take over the farm, but the siblings want to sell all the land and cash out.
Speakers
avatar for Mary Swander

Mary Swander

Mary Swander is the Poet Laureate of Iowa, the Artistic Director of Swander Woman Productions, and the Executive Director of AgArts, a non-profit designed to imagine and promote healthy food systems through the arts. Her latest book is a collection of essays called The Sunny Side from Route 3 Press.Her most recent book of poetry is The Girls on the Roof (Turning Point/Word Tech, 2009), a Mississippi River flood... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Embassy B
  Workshop, General

10:30am CST

Healing Generation RX: Supporting Our Young People Without Psychiatric Drugs
​Is our current society a safe place for young people to be themselves and learn resilience? Are we offering our young people the nutritional support and physical outlets that their systems require in order to self-regulate and thrive? 

According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, half of all 13 - 18 year olds have had a mental illness at some point in their life, and one out of 5 is said to have had a “seriously debilitating mental illness.” The use of psychiatric drugs is escalating wildly. These statistics call into question who is profiting from these diagnoses and whether we’re looking at the whole picture. 

Using research on the microbiome, the gut-brain connection, changes in soil microbiology and agricultural practices, and the role of connection in human resilience and development, Didi Pershouse (author of The Ecology of Care and founder of the Center for Sustainable Medicine) offers a whole-systems perspective on “mental illness” and brain function. She will lead participants through exercises for developing strong communities of peer support, and outline a strategic plan for young people, educators, parents, and healthcare providers to grow a generation of zestful, empowered, and grounded young leaders for the next generation.
Speakers
avatar for Didi Pershouse

Didi Pershouse

Author, teacher, Soil Carbon Coalition
Didi Pershouse is the author of The Ecology of Care: Medicine, Agriculture, Money, and the Quiet Power of Human and Microbial Communities as well as Understanding Soil Health and Watershed Function: A Teacher's Manual. As the founder of the Center for Sustainable Medicine, she developed a practice and theoretical framework for systems-based ecological medicine—restoring health to people as well as the environmental and social systems around them. After 22 years of clinical work with patients, Pershouse now travels widely: writing, teaching, and... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Frontier Room
  Workshop, General

10:30am CST

Marketing Grassfed Meat
Speakers
CT

Cindy Tolle

Evergreen Ranch & Livestock LLC
Cindy Tolle owns Evergreen Ranch & Livestock LLC, which encompasses several large ranches in South Dakota (Hermosa and Hot Springs), New Mexico, and Mexico. Their family operation focuses on raising bison and Criollo cattle, a heritage breed, “the long-horn breed that settled the west.” The Spanish brought the first Crioll... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Prairie Room
  Workshop, General

10:30am CST

SARE Grantwriting: What You Need to Know
Developing, writing and implementing successful SARE grants: Information about the North Central Region's USDA Sustainable Ag Research and Education grant programs will be presented, emphasizing Farmer-Rancher and Youth Educator grants.  Tips for successful grant writing will be shared, and a successful grant recipients will talk about their experiences applying for and receiving a SARE grant.
Sponsors and Exhibitors
avatar for NCR- SARE

Saturday January 25, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Embassy A
  Workshop, SARE Farmer's Forum

10:30am CST

Seed Sovereignty: Who Owns the Seeds of the World, Bio-Piracy, Genetic Engineering and Indigenous Peoples


Speakers
avatar for Winona LaDuke

Winona LaDuke

Winona LaDuke is an internationally renowned activist working on issues of sustainable development renewable energy and food systems. She lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, and is a two time vice presidential candidate with Ralph Nader for the Green... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 10:30am - 11:30am CST
Royale Room
  Workshop, General

11:30am CST

Lunch Buffet
Saturday January 25, 2020 11:30am - 1:30pm CST
Great Hall
  Meal

12:30pm CST

NPSAS Annual Meeting
Saturday January 25, 2020 12:30pm - 1:30pm CST
Royale Room

1:30pm CST

Exhibitor Hall
Saturday January 25, 2020 1:30pm - 2:00pm CST
Harvest Hall
  Break

2:00pm CST

Kid's Program: SD Soil Health Coalition
Join South Dakota Soil Health Coalition for a hands-on presentation about how to care for our most precious resource, the soil! Ages 7 and up.
Saturday January 25, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Mezzanine 2
  Kid's Program

2:00pm CST

Creative Ways to Improve Local Food Access in Rural Areas




"Building a Virtual On-line Food Hub for Small Scale Sustainable Farms in Rural Areas”is a presentation on how we built an online farmers market in North Branch, Minnesota with potential and still growing outreach to East Central Minnesota. We will discuss what we learned from our experience, how we measured success and failure, and some of the challenges of an urban style pro-organic online project in rural corn-and- soy farm country which continues to suffer an organic farming food desert.  The North Circle project is designed to create a local rural food system supporting small-scale family farms using organic and regenerative growing methods, supported by surrounding communities in North Branch, Cambridge, Isanti, Wyoming, Center City, Taylors Falls, Almelund, and Stark Minnesota. We are growing food and community together.


Speakers
JN

Jacquelyn N. Zita

Jacquelyn N. Zita is professor emerita from University of Minnesota and currently works for the Women's Environmental Institute (WEI) as Farm Manager for WEI's Amador Hill Farm and Orchard, Director of Education for WEI's Down to Earth: Sustainability and Justice Education Program... Read More →
RO

Ren Olive

Ren Olive spends their time at work supporting produce farmers and rural grocery stores as the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Program Associate for the University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (RSDP), working throughout greater Minnesota... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Embassy A
  Workshop, SARE Farmer's Forum

2:00pm CST

Faith, Farms and Climate: Finding the Values in Farmer-Led Climate Action
The workshop will take participants through a facilitated discussion exploring how we are called to climate action in our vocation of farming or working with farmers. Farmers are important leaders as we move from a world organized by a vision of scarcity in the fossil fuel economy and into a world embracing the abundance of creation. Matt will share the success of Iowa IPL in helping farmers find solutions to the climate crisis by lean into their identity as problem solvers.
Speakers
avatar for Matt Russell

Matt Russell

Executive Director, Iowa Interfaith Power & Light
Matt Russell has spent his career advocating for social justice—the first 11 years training for and working in ministry and 16 years doing secular work focused primarily on economic and environmental sustainability. He draws on both backgrounds to lead Iowa Interfaith Power & Light... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Frontier Room
  Workshop, General

2:00pm CST

Improved Agroecology Using Perennial Grains
Agriculture is at an exciting, yet pivotal point in history. Climate change has already begun changing the agricultural landscape, and conventional agriculture will not be enough to overcome growing issues like soil erosion, eutrophication, and ecosystem collapse. As we move forward through the 21st century, it is essential that the agricultural community be equipped with crops and resources focused on "agroecology": an ecological approach to agriculture that views agricultural areas as ecosystems and is concerned with the ecological impact of agricultural practices.
Speakers
BS

Brian Smart

Brian Smart is currently pursuing a master's degree in both Plant Sciences and Software Engineering at North Dakota State University. Since beginning the programs in 2015, he has been on a research assistantship with Dr. Brent Hulke of the United States Department of Agriculture... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Prairie Room
  Workshop, General

2:00pm CST

Panel: New Models to Support Beginning Farmers
National Young Farmers Coalition survey of more than 3, 500 young farmers and ranchers across the country found that, regardless of geography or whether they had grown up on a farm, land access was their number one challenge.  Land access for young farmers is embedded in a complex system of needs and as we face a time when we need to rebuild local food economies, may requiring new models and outside investment.  This workshop introduces emerging areas of work for NPSAS supporting New Roots Farm Incubator Cooperative and Farmland Conservation Partners, LLC a social finance entity, modifying the existing business structure of a farmland management company to work with one or more non-profits.

Speakers
RM

Ron McFall

Ron McFall, Stoel Rives, LLP, Minneapolis, has 25+ years of experience serving the legal needs of the sustainable/cooperative agriculture community.  Recently, he has been advising the Pacific Northwest-based Organically Grown Company as it “became the first U.S.-based business... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Embassy B
  Workshop, General

2:00pm CST

What's Trending with Deep Winter Greenhouses?
Carol Ford from the Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and Dan Handeen from the University of Minnesota's College of Design's Center for Sustainable Building Research partner in this conversation about what's happening at the cutting edge of design, production and education in the innovative world of Deep Winter Greenhouse research and development.
Speakers
CF

Carol Ford

Carol Ford wrote the book "Northland Winter Greenhouse Manual," with her late husband Chuck Waibel back in 2009 and still raises fresh produce in the Garden Goddess deep winter greenhouse (DWG) they built in 2005. Carol has worked as the Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST
Royale Room
  Workshop, General

3:00pm CST

Exhibitor Hall
Saturday January 25, 2020 3:00pm - 4:00pm CST
Harvest Hall
  Break

4:00pm CST

Creating Trusted “Communities of Practice”: Ongoing Learning Groups that Support Innovation in Farming and Ranching
Many successful innovators in farming and ranching have an informal “community of practice.” This is a tight-knit group of people (nearby or far away) that talks together regularly to provide each other with long-term learning and support as they “break from the herd” and face tensions with their more cautious neighbors (those dreaded “coffee shop” moments). These groups, gatherings and ongoing conversations can provide opportunities for people to: 
· Listen to each other’s successes and failures—and learn from each other’s experiences. 
· Build strong connections with people tackling similar issues. 
· Talk about social and economic pressures that they are facing. 
· Report back from recent conferences and field days. 
· Share what they have been reading and learning 
· Help each other think things through, when things get rough. (Cows out on a rampage? Aging parents? Drifting sprays?) 
There are many ways to create a community of practice that works for you—even if your peers don’t live nearby. In this workshop and discussion, we will look at tried and true ways to create a community of practice that is fun, real, trustworthy, and that lasts.
Speakers
avatar for Didi Pershouse

Didi Pershouse

Author, teacher, Soil Carbon Coalition
Didi Pershouse is the author of The Ecology of Care: Medicine, Agriculture, Money, and the Quiet Power of Human and Microbial Communities as well as Understanding Soil Health and Watershed Function: A Teacher's Manual. As the founder of the Center for Sustainable Medicine, she developed a practice and theoretical framework for systems-based ecological medicine—restoring health to people as well as the environmental and social systems around them. After 22 years of clinical work with patients, Pershouse now travels widely: writing, teaching, and... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm CST
Embassy B
  Workshop, General

4:00pm CST

Hemp Panel: A Growing Industry
The industrial hemp industry is set to double in the next two years. Join a diverse panel of industry leaders, farmers, and agronomists to talk about the future of hemp in the northern plains. 
Speakers
avatar for Winona LaDuke

Winona LaDuke

Winona LaDuke is an internationally renowned activist working on issues of sustainable development renewable energy and food systems. She lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, and is a two time vice presidential candidate with Ralph Nader for the Green... Read More →
MO

Sponsors and Exhibitors
1E
LH

Saturday January 25, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm CST
Royale Room
  Workshop, General

4:00pm CST

Regenerative Ag: Meeting Challenges
The Future of Agriculture in the Next Decade will involve numerous changes that will be especially challenging for farmers, fut it will also need to be addressed by everyone in our food system. The "neo-caloric erea" which was ;based on an almost unlimited supply of cheap inputs that enabled farmers to maximize yields in now coming to a close sue to the depletion of cheap inputs and the challenges of climate change!
Based ona llife-time of study of past civilizations Jared Diamond gives us some important advise given these realities, that we should pay attention to.
Speakers
avatar for Don Wyse

Don Wyse

University of Minnesota
avatar for Fred Kirschenmann
avatar for Ryan Schmid

Ryan Schmid

Blue Dasher Farm
Ryan Schmid is an agroecologist working at Ecdysis Foundation (Blue Dasher Farm’s non-profit research institute). He received a PhD in Entomology from Kansas State University in 2018. Ryan credits his upbringing on a small farm in northwest Iowa for generating a passion to work... Read More →

Saturday January 25, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm CST
Prairie Room
  Workshop, General

4:00pm CST

Unusual Crops: Kernza and Quinoa
New perennial grain crops and partnerships to enhance rural prosperity and ecosystem services
A new perennial grain crop called Kernza is being developed to provide growers with a low-input, high-value crop for rotations in the Northern Plains. Kernza has extensive roots that prevent nitrate leaching to groundwater, reduce soil erosion, and sequester carbon. A multi-faceted research program is underway in Minnesota to optimize Kernza grain yields and ecosystem services while developing a supply chain for this new crop. I will describe two ongoing projects related to this research program. The first project includes a novel private-public partnership of various stakeholder groups working to simultaneously study Kernza’s ability to reduce nitrate leaching, establish production-scale fields for demonstration and education, and to coordinate local supply chain and commercialization efforts. The second project involves industry partners to measure carbon cycling in Kernza systems. These projects serve as models for deployment of other new perennial and winter annual cash cover crops being developed for the Northern Plains.


Quinoa Production in Central North Dakota
Growing the ancient grains quinoa and amaranth has been done successfully in central North Dakota. A project funded by USDA SARE helped identify varieties and practices for growing and harvesting both crops. This session will also identify tips for cleaning and marketing both crops as well as best practices and challenges.
Sponsors and Exhibitors
avatar for NCR- SARE

Saturday January 25, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm CST
Embassy A
  Workshop, SARE Farmer's Forum

5:30pm CST

Cash Bar
Saturday January 25, 2020 5:30pm - 6:00pm CST
Great Hall
  Break

6:00pm CST

Dinner, Childrens Music & Entertainment
Saturday January 25, 2020 6:00pm - 8:00pm CST
Great Hall
  Meal
 
Sunday, January 26
 

9:00am CST

Discussion/Action Planning: Role of Faith Communities in Climate Change
Breakfast and conversation. 
Speakers
avatar for Matt Russell

Matt Russell

Executive Director, Iowa Interfaith Power & Light
Matt Russell has spent his career advocating for social justice—the first 11 years training for and working in ministry and 16 years doing secular work focused primarily on economic and environmental sustainability. He draws on both backgrounds to lead Iowa Interfaith Power & Light... Read More →

Sunday January 26, 2020 9:00am - 11:00am CST
Royale Room
  Meal
 
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