2019 Young Farmers Conference: Full Schedule

Welcome to the 2019 Young Farmers Conference! Please be sure to register for each session you plan to attend, as capacity is limited. Also make sure to edit your schedule if you decide you no longer want to attend a session so that others have a chance to add it to their schedule.

Tickets are now sold out. Watch the conference LIVE!

7:30am EST

Registration & Breakfast

Wednesday December 4, 2019 7:30am - 8:40am EST
Hayloft

Community/Meal

8:40am EST

Opening Remarks

Wednesday December 4, 2019 8:40am - 9:00am EST
Hayloft

Community/Meal

9:15am EST

A Western Apache Paradigm on Food: Ethical Practices & Self-Care In A Shape-Shifting Food System

People of color are anticipated to be the majority in the United States by the year 2050. In light of that demographic shift, what changes can we anticipate in a complex and fragile food-system? This workshop will provide an Indigenous Perspective on power dynamics, poverty, nutrition, farming, food access, and public health. We will weave a narrative that brings community, ecology and viability together culminating with a cooking demonstration and tasting.

Speakers

Nephi Craig

Cafe Gozhoo Executive Chef, Rainbow Treatment Center

Professional Culinary Arts. Indigenous Foods & Agriculture. Heirloom Seed Saving. Social Recovery. Behavioral/Mental Health. Nutrition. Indigenous History. Decolonization. Indigenous Resurgence. Family Culinary Capacity Building. Native American Cuisine. I live and work in our ancestral... Read More →

LESHANA SANCHEZ

Sous Chef, Rainbow Treatment Center

Chef Leshana Sanchez is an enrolled member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Chef Leshana began her culinary work in fast-food service and would transition into working at the Arrowhead Café at Fort Apache, Arizona where she was able to get insight into a community-based food... Read More →

Frederick Colelay Sr

Farm tech, Ndee Bikiyaa (The People's Farm)

My name is Frederick Colelay Sr. I am an tribal member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe.willing to learn

Wednesday December 4, 2019 9:15am - 10:45am EST
Kitchen Lab

Action

9:15am EST

Growing Authentic Community Partnerships

It's important for farmers to know that you are not an island unto yourself, and that the ways you show up to your community beyond the fence-line matter. How can you create an inspired community through seeds, food, culture and storytelling? We will talk diversity, difference, power, access, and how we show up, learn and contribute as farmers. We'll begin by building your own community map, and identify the ways in which you can actively and deeply listen to the histories, needs, challenges and character of your larger community.

Speakers

Jovan Sage

Herbalist, Doula, Wellness Coach & Grower, Sage's Larder

Jovan Sage’s days are steeped in transforming seeds into plants and plants into enriching teas, hearty medicine and delicious dishes. As the alchemist behind Sage’s Larder, she guides people to find their own healing and resiliency through food, tea and plants. Sage is also the... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 9:15am - 10:45am EST
Private Dining Room

Action

9:15am EST

City-Grown Flowers: Building Buds in an Urban Oasis

This session will cover intensive urban flower farming, production methods, variety selections, and marketing outlets including florists, farmers’ market, and wedding/event design. Join us for a dynamic and informative presentation, with a focus on the opportunities for community building unique to the urban environment.

Speakers

Mimo Davis

Owner, Urban Buds

Mimo Davis has been growing specialty cut flowers in Missouri since 1994. Her first farm was called WildThang located in Ashland, Missouri. Her current project is Urban Buds: City Grown Flowers, an acre urban specialty cut flower farm located in the south St Louis Dutchtown neighborhood... Read More →

Miranda Duschack

Co-Founder and Co-Owner, Urban Buds: City Grown Flowers

Miranda is the co-founder and co-owner of Urban Buds, established 2012. Together, she and Mimo Davis grow 70 different varietals of cut flowers annually their one acre flower farm in south St Louis city and sell at Tower Grove Farmers' Market, direct to florists, and design for wedding... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 9:15am - 10:45am EST
Greenhouse

Business

9:15am EST

Developing Effective Sales Relationships: Chefs, Distributors, and Retailers

Hear from those across the sourcing and purchasing spectrum to understand the nuances of building successful partnerships with sourcing managers and chefs. The conversation will showcase the progress that is being made by these organizations to support farmers, and will offer concrete guidance to farmers looking to strengthen their sales outlets with committed culinary and retail food partners.

WATCH this workshop LIVE on Facebook or YouTube!

Speakers

Erika Nakamura

J&E Small Goods

Erika Nakamura was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. At 17, she moved to the Upper West Side, finished high school, attended college, then enrolled at The French Culinary Institute (now The International Culinary Center). Nakamura worked in some of New York’s premier kitchens, but... Read More →

David Bohlen

Owner, Bohlen Family Farms

David Bohlen, owner of Bohlen Family Farms, has developed a reputation among high-end chefs in St. Louis and beyond as the go to grower for specialty crops from around the world. Bohlen works closely with leading plant breeders, seed collectors, and chefs to develop and select varieties... Read More →

Kelly Landrieu

Global Coordinator - Local Brands, Whole Foods Market

As Global Coordinator of Local Brands at Whole Foods Market, Kelly Landrieu works closely with the company’s regional foragers and buyers to ensure strong, win-win partnerships with local producers across all product categories. A longtime local food advocate who has worked in the... Read More →

Franco Fubini

CEO, Natoora

Franco Fubini is the founder and CEO of Natoora. Bringing together some of the best independent growers in the world, Franco has built a supply chain founded on transparency and direct relationships in order to challenge intensive, year-round production methods geared towards high... Read More →

Jessica Galen

Senior Communications Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Jessica is the senior communications manager at Stone Barns Center. In this role she manages relationships with the media and partner organizations, and provides editorial support for programming for young farmers and other key audiences.She launched her career in branding and communications... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 9:15am - 10:45am EST
West Haybarn

Business

9:15am EST

Carbon Farming: Science and Practice

Carbon farming is rising in prominence nationally, both as a farm viability strategy and as a climate change solution. As both market and policy-based carbon farming initiatives grow, farmers are increasingly being asked to speak to their farms' greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration, and climate change resilience. These conversations can offer opportunities for customer education and engagement, as well as for growing community support for regenerative practices at the leading edge of the industry. This workshop will summarize the most up-to-date science and experience in the field on carbon farming's opportunities and challenges across production systems. The workshop will also explore how farms can effectively adopt carbon farming practices and engage with emerging structures such as state-level soil health initiatives and environmental service markets.

Speakers

Connor Stedman

Lead Designer, AppleSeed Permaculture

Connor Stedman is an ecological designer, farm planner, and educator with AppleSeed Permaculture in the Hudson Valley of New York. Connor specializes in applying carbon farming and agroecology practices to strengthen farm landscapes and businesses. He holds an M.S. in Ecological Planning from the University of Vermont... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 9:15am - 10:45am EST
Hayloft

Technical

9:15am EST

Growing Fruit Trees On A Diversified Farm

In this introduction to growing fruit on your farm, Peter Jentsch of the Hudson Valley Research Laboratory at Cornell University will walk you through site development of your orchard, selecting varieties for your topography and soil type, managing for pests and disease and how to market and add value to your fruit.

Speakers

Peter Jentsch

Director/Entomologist, Hudson Valley Research Laboratory/Cornell University

Peter J. Jentsch is a Senior Extension Associate with the Department of Entomology at Cornell University, stationed at and director of the Hudson Valley Research Laboratory in Highland, NY. His current appointment, research and extension focus is on insect problems facing commercial... Read More →

Laura Perkins

Gardens and Landscape Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Laura Perkins is formal gardens and landscape manager at Stone Barns Center. She spent much of her childhood on a family homestead in the Catskills, where she grew to love farm work and life. Early in her career she moved to a farm-focused community in California, working on farms... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 9:15am - 10:45am EST
Lambing Barn

Technical

11:00am EST

History of Farmworkers in the United States

Discussions on labor, immigration, and race are often some of the most difficult to have in farming. But to understand the present tensions around these issues we will think about the past and the historical trajectory of Mexican labor as both undocumented and guest workers on U.S. farms. In addition, we will talk about contemporary debates around the expansion of the H2A program and recent Central American migration.

Speakers

Mireya Loza

Assistant Professor of Food Studies, New York University

Mireya Loza is an assistant professor in Food Studies at New York University. She received her doctorate in American Studies at Brown University. Her areas of research include Latinx Studies, Immigration, Food Systems, and Labor History. She has published extensively on these topics... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 11:00am - 12:30pm EST
Private Dining Room

Action

11:00am EST

Rematriation: A Few First Steps Towards Going Home and Doing So Intentionally

Many land workers of color have immersed ourselves in agriculture here in the United States with plans of returning home to continue the work. How do we go about this intentionally? What are the necessary steps to build trust within and in communities we may or may not be in relationship with? How do we reclaim land if we’ve never/rarely been there? Where are the opportunities for intergenerational and intercultural learning and exchange? Who are we accountable to?

This workshop and community dialogue encourages people of color to hone in on and find empowerment in our reasons for returning home, question ways of potential savior mentality in response to our first world privileges, to dig deeply around our privileges as part of the diaspora, and more.

Speakers

Frances A. Pérez-Rodríguez

Farm manager, La Finca Del Sur Community Farm

Frances was born in Puerto Rico, raised in New York City, and stands in solidarity with the oppressed peoples of the world. The current farm manager of La Finca Del Sur Community Farm in the South Bronx, the Food & Land Education Coordinator for Woke Foods, and a recent Farm School... Read More →

Ysanet Batista

Founder and Worker-Owner, Woke Foods

Ysanet Batista is the founder and a worker owner of Woke Foods a coop focused on Dominican plant-based foods through catering, cooking classes, and workshops. Ysanet helps others start their own worker-cooperatives at Green Worker Cooperatives at their Coop Academy.--Ysanet Batista... Read More →

Christiaan Pfeifer

Student, Farm School NYC

Christiaan is a youth educator, land rights activist, and community farmer/healer in training. They were born and raised in Jersey City, NJ and trace their roots to Iloilo, Philippines. In 2018, they lived in Mindanao, Philippines and organized in the Filipino struggle for national... Read More →

Raina Robinson

Raina is a cook, farmer, and creator from the Bronx, NY with an immeasurable love of food, people, and cooperatives! She enjoys cooking and sharing her knowledge of food and agriculture with others. Raina hopes to one day open a farm, restaurant, and education center on the farmland... Read More →

Maria Marasigan

NA, Rise and Root Farm

Maria Muriel Remo Marasigan has an international background in environmental studies, education, youth/women leadership, and sustainable community development. Most recently, she has done consultancy and volunteer work in the Philippines for the past five years with environmental... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 11:00am - 12:30pm EST
Greenhouse

Action

11:00am EST

How To Build A Grassroots Nonprofit Farm

Have you considered creating a nonprofit farm but don’t know where to start? Do you want to create a community-based model that trains and employs community members as leaders for transformative change? Fresh Future Farm applies a multi-pronged approach to address health, wealth and quality of life issues. We grow healthy food to build strong communities by cultivating soil and genuine relationships for food, environmental, restorative and transformative justice in underserved neighborhoods. Our grassroots farm and grocery store are becoming a community gathering place where people receive dignity and support. We emphasize neighborhood job creation and affordable micro-entrepreneurial opportunities to create a circular economy. Germaine Jenkins, Fresh Future Farm’s Chief Farm Officer, will lead a presentation that covers FFF’s growth from concept to vacant lot to farm and grocery store, as well as our successes and challenges as a working-class black woman-led operation, with time for a question and answer session.

WATCH this workshop LIVE on Facebook or YouTube!

Speakers

Germaine Jenkins

Chief Farm Officer, Fresh Future Farm Inc

Ms. Germaine Jenkins is the co-founder and CEO of Fresh Future Farm Inc. in North Charleston, SC.After graduating from culinary school, she spent a few years working in the nonprofit arena beforecommitting to trainings around revitalization of marginalized communities. Germaine then... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 11:00am - 12:30pm EST
West Haybarn

Business

11:00am EST

Understanding Customer Behavior at Farmers Markets

In this workshop, staff members from FARMroots, which provides business and technical assistance to farmers selling through NYC Greenmarkets, will help small farmers leverage valuable research conducted by the multi-million-dollar supermarket industry and apply it to your farmers market marketing. Learn tips for advanced merchandizing, how to appeal to a customer’s behavioral habits, segmenting your market, and how to leverage sales data records to make informed marketing decisions. Farmers who have participated in our season-long marketing technical assistance have seen, on average, a 15 percent increase in sales!

Speakers

Chris Wayne

FARMroots, GrowNYC

Chris Wayne grew up on his Dad’s farm in Danbury CT, and cemented his love for agriculture after two years farming in Costa Rica. Over the last seven years with GrowNYC, Chris has worked as a market manager, an associate with the New Farmer Development Project, and as the Beginning Farmer Coordinator with the FARMroots program. He is currently FARMroots director... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 11:00am - 12:30pm EST
Kitchen Lab

Business

11:00am EST

Create Your PastureMap for Effective Grazing Planning

This is a hands-on working group for young graziers to practice using PastureMap to save time, plan grazing, and manage their grazing decisions. We'll also talk about how next-gen graziers have leveraged PastureMap to get land access, grant funding and loans, and navigate succession and power dynamics on ranches they work on. We'll walk through how the Stone Barns team keeps their grazing records on PastureMap, then share tips and best practices for optimizing paddocks, setting up grazing cells, and keeping photo monitoring and infrastructure repairs updated to save your team time. Participants are recommended to set up free PastureMap trial accounts prior to the workshop to set up their maps, bring their laptops, smartphones, and their questions.

Speakers

Christine Su

CEO, PastureMap

Christine Su is the CEO and co-founder of PastureMap, a software platform helping ranchers make more profits building healthy grasslands. At PastureMap, Christine has invested in statewide partnerships with the USDA to build soil carbon data into PastureMap's grazing management and... Read More →

Jared Tomlin

Livestock Processor Assistant, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Jared Tomlin is Livestock Processor Assistant at Stone Barns Center. The importance of local, small-scale agriculture was first introduced to Jared during his education in culinary arts at New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont. While studying, Jared had the opportunity... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 11:00am - 12:30pm EST
Lambing Barn

Technical

11:00am EST

Small Engine Mechanics Hands-On Workshop

This workshop will explain the internal workings of small engines. Attendees will get their hands dirty by dissasembling and reassembling engines in order to gain a basic understanding of farm machinery maintenance and troubleshooting. Some prior knowledge may be helpful but is not required.

Speakers

John DiMarco

Facilities Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

John DiMarco is facilities manager at Stone Barns Center. John has worked in the field of auto and truck mechanics and heavy equipment operations for 34 years, and has also worked as a service manager for a national company specializing in organic and environmentally sustainable tree... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 11:00am - 12:30pm EST
Garage

Technical

12:45pm EST

Lunch

Wednesday December 4, 2019 12:45pm - 1:45pm EST
Hayloft

Community/Meal

2:00pm EST

Relationships: Waste Feed Pick-up at Captain Lawrence Brewery

Tag along with Stone Barns farmers Zach and Shane to nearby Captain Lawrence Brewery for their routine pickup of spent grain. A large component of the center's waste fed pig program, the grain is fermented and stored on the farm. During the trip, learn about this special farm to brewery partnership, and take a short tour of the brewery in action.

If you sign up for this trip, it will take up the full 2 hours of "Relationships: Open Meeting Space and Deep Dive Tours/Activities."

Speakers

Zachary Heyman

Grounds Assistant, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Zach Heyman is grounds assistant at Stone Barns Center. His love of food and passion for conservation, natural lands and environmental justice took him from New Jersey, where he worked with trail-building crews, to Costa Rica, where he studied sustainable development while living... Read More →

Shane Hardy

Senior Land Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Shane Hardy is senior land manager at Stone Barns Center. He grew up across the river in Nyack, N.Y., and has worked on farms in New York’s Finger Lakes region, Orange County and Rockland County. He is thrilled to be working here at home in the southern Hudson Valley and pursuing... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 2:00pm - 4:00pm EST
Meet in Courtyard

2:00pm EST

Relationships: Open Meeting Space and Deep-Dive Tours/Activities

Hop on a tour of Stone Barns growing and livestock operations and join attendee-led meetings. More instruction to come at the conference!

Wednesday December 4, 2019 2:00pm - 4:00pm EST
Hayloft and Courtyard

Technical

4:15pm EST

Keynote: Rowen White

WATCH this session LIVE on Facebook or YouTube!

Speakers

Rowen White

Educational Director, Sierra Seeds

Rowen White is a Seed Keeper/farmer from the Mohawk community of Akwesasne and a passionate activist for indigenous seed and food sovereignty. She is the Educational Director and lead mentor of the Sierra Seeds, an innovative organic seed stewardship organization focusing on local... Read More →

Wednesday December 4, 2019 4:15pm - 5:30pm EST
Hayloft

Community/Meal

5:45pm EST

Dinner and Maker Fair

Wednesday December 4, 2019 5:45pm - 9:00pm EST
Haybarn

Community/Meal

7:45am EST

Breakfast, Registration, Opening Remarks

Thursday December 5, 2019 7:45am - 9:00am EST
Hayloft

Community/Meal

9:15am EST

Field Day: Business Consulting with Julia Shanks

Get the tools and tips you need to make your business run smoothly in a half hour consulting session with Julia Shanks, author of The Farmer’s Office: Tools, Tips and Templates to Successfully Manage a Growing Farm Business. Julia will reach out to you before the conference to familiarize herself with your business needs and questions.

If you sign up for this session we will assign a 30 minute slot to you before the conference.

Speakers

Julia Shanks

Principal, Julia Shanks Food Consulting/The Farmer's Office

Julia Shanks helps prepare food and farming entrepreneurs for growth through business planning, cash flow planning and financial feasibility studies. She is the author of The Farmer’s Office: Tools, Tips and Templates to Successfully Manage a Growing Farm Business. You can learn... Read More →

Thursday December 5, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
Blue Hill

9:15am EST

Field Day: Digital & Marketing Consultation with Meghan Goria

Consult with Stone Barns Digital Strategy and Fundraising Director on your farm's public facing materials. Talk about anything from branding to your website, to marketing, and social media. For a more in-depth experience, Meghan will ask you to send materials you'd like to work on ahead of the conference.

If you sign up for this session we will assign a 30 minute slot to you before the conference.

Speakers

Meghan Goria

Digital Strategy and Fundraising Director, Stone Barns Center

Meghan Goria is Director of Digital Strategy and Fundraising at Stone Barns Center. Prior to joining the team at Stone Barns Center, she worked in the marketing department at the Metropolitan Opera, overseeing a global effort to increase awareness of the art form through traditional... Read More →

Thursday December 5, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
Blue Hill

9:15am EST

Field Day: Mentor Matchmaking with Karen Washington

Talk with Rise and Root Farm Co-Owner and Black Urban Growers (BUGs) Co-Founder Karen Washington for 20 minutes. At the end of the session, she will have thought of the perfect mentor for you! After the conference, Karen will connect you with your new mentor.

If you sign up for this session we will assign a 20 minute slot to you before the conference.

Speakers

Karen Washington

Farmer, Rise and Root Farm

Karen is Co-owner/Farmer at Rise & Root Farm. In 2010 she co-founded Black Urban Growers (BUGS), an organization supporting growers in both urban and rural settings. In 2012, Ebony magazine voted her one of their 100 most influential African Americans in the country and in 2014 she was the recipient of the James Beard Leadership Award... Read More →

Thursday December 5, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
Blue Hill

9:15am EST

Field Day: One-on-One with Jack Algiere

You'll have Stone Barns Farm director Jack Algiere's full attention for 20 minutes, and he would love to answer any questions you have for him!

If you sign up for this session we will assign a 20 minute slot to you before the conference.

Speakers

Jack Algiere

Farm Director, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Jack Algiere is farm director at Stone Barns Center. Jack graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in horticulture and has been actively farming since the early 1990s. His lifetime of experience in organic, biodynamic and ecological systems brings a broad diversity... Read More →

Thursday December 5, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
Blue Hill

9:15am EST

Field Day: Roundtable with Fred Kirschenmann

Among his many achievements in the regenerative farming movement and as President of the Board of Stone Barns and Distinguished Fellow of the Leopold Center, Fred is a distinguished author and avid reader. Sit with him and a small group of other farmers to ask questions, philosophize and discuss the most important new literature in the food and farming world.

If you sign up for this session we will assign a one hour slot to you before the conference.

Speakers

Fred Kirschenmann

Distinguished Fellow / President of the Board, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Stone Barns Center

Born on a North Dakota farm during the Great Depression and in the grips of the worst drought in U.S. history, Fred Kirschenmann has spent most of his life working to change how we farm, as well as our relationship to the land.For more than four decades, Fred has been a champion of... Read More →

Thursday December 5, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
Blue Hill

9:15am EST

Field Day: Explore the entire Stone Barns campus and participate in hands-on activations and action-oriented conversations for beginning farmers.

Explore the entire Stone Barns campus and participate in hands-on activations and action-oriented conversations for beginning farmers. Come prepared to:

WATCH farmer interviews by Heritage Radio Network LIVE on Facebook or
Mobile Poultry Coops & Over-Wintering Laying Hens [Stone Barns Center]MycoSymbiotics [MycoSymbiotics]
Soil Testing [Solvita]
Herbs, Spices & Flowers in Value-Added Products [Sage's Larder]
Slow Tools [Johnny's Selected Seeds, Skyfall Flowers, Stone Barns Center]
Apple Tree Pruning & Fruit Q&A [Stone Barns Center, Hudson Valley Research Laboratory]
Swine Butchery & Cooking Techniques [Blue Hill at Stone Barns]
- 9:15 Primal Cuts
- 10:15 Specialty Cuts
- 11:15 Whole-Pig Utilization & Tasting
Reparations Map Sign-Up & Farming While Black Book Sale [Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust/Soul Fire Farm]
Building Your Brand & Storytelling Practice [The New Food Economy]
Press Interview & Pitch Practice [Mother Jones] Grow Your Wholesale Market [Natoora]
Job Seekers & Posters: Q&A with GFJ [Good Food Jobs]
Sign Petitions & Call Your Representatives [National Young Farmers Coalition, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition]
Farmer/Landowner Matching & Land Trusts [Hudson Valley Farmlink Network, Westchester Land Trust]
Connect with Whole Foods Market’s Local Forager [Whole Foods Market]
Map Your Pastures [PastureMap, Stone Barns Center]
Farms as Research Labs [Stone Barns Center]
Bee Q&A & Stone Barns Honey Tasting [Stone Barns Center]
Farm Machine & Tool Repair [Stone Barns Center]
Seed Corner: Sharing, Trialing, Breeding [Indigenous Seedkeepers Network/Sierra Seeds, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Pick A Carrot, Row 7, SeedLinked]

These sessions are by appointment. If you did not sign up already, please check at the registration desk for openings.

One-on-One with Jack Algiere [Stone Barns Center]
Mentor Matchmaking with Karen Washington [Rise and Root Farm]
Roundtable with Fred Kirschenmann [Stone Barns Center/Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture]
Business Consulting with Julia Shanks [Julia Shanks Food Consulting/The Farmer’s Office]
Digital & Marketing Consultation with Meghan Goria [Stone Barns Center]

Speakers

Jose Morquecho

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Jack Algiere

Farm Director, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Karen Washington

Farmer, Rise and Root Farm

Julia Shanks

Principal, Julia Shanks Food Consulting/The Farmer's Office

Adam Lemieux

Product Manager, Johnny's Selected Seeds

Adam Lemieux is the product manager of Tools and Supplies at Johnny’s Selected Seeds. He works with experienced growers like Eliot Coleman, Jack Algiere, Jean-Martin Fortier, and other members of the Slow Tools Group to bring scale-appropriate tools to market for small commercial... Read More →

John DiMarco

Facilities Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Maggie Schwed

Beekeeper/Livestock Asst, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Maggie Schwed is livestock assistant and beekeeper at Stone Barns Center. She first came to Stone Barns in 2007 and volunteered for two years, first in the fields and greenhouse and then with livestock, before joining the staff. Her previous farm experience includes a season at Bobolink... Read More →

William Padilla-Brown

Educator, MycoSymbiotics

William Padilla-Brown is a social entrepreneur, citizen scientist, mycologist, amateur phycologist, urban shaman, poet and father to his beloved 3-year old son, Leo. In 2014, he established Community Compassion, a nonprofit focused on radical sustainability, based in New Cumberland... Read More →

Ariana Taylor-Stanley

Northeast Regional Organizer / Farmer, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition / Here We Are Farm

Ariana works to educate, connect, and empower grassroots food and farm groups in the northeast. She also co-owns and operates Here We Are Farm in Trumansburg, NY, growing vegetables for CSA and farmers markets. She is active in her community as a chapter leader of Showing Up for Racial J... Read More →

Leah Penniman

Co-Director, Soul Fire Farm Institute, Inc

Leah Penniman is a Black Kreyol educator, farmer/peyizan, author, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. She co-founded Soul Fire Farm in 2011 with the mission to end racism in the food system and reclaim our ancestral connection to land.

Rowen White

Educational Director, Sierra Seeds

William F Brinton

Owner, Founder, Woods End Soil Laboratory

Will Brinton is the inventor of the Solvita and the founder of Woods End Laboratories in Maine. He grew up in Pennsylvania, and attended agricultural boarding school in Ohio. He managed a 15-acre organic vegetable & goat farm in Maine, and trained abroad earning degrees while studying... Read More →

Fred Kirschenmann

Distinguished Fellow / President of the Board, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Stone Barns Center

Laura Perkins

Gardens and Landscape Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Jovan Sage

Herbalist, Doula, Wellness Coach & Grower, Sage's Larder

Christine Su

CEO, PastureMap

Roger Brady

Buyer, Natoora

Roger Brady is a buyer and product manager at Natoora in New York.

David Howard

Northeast Campaigns Director, National Young Farmers Coalition

As the Northeast Campaigns Director for the National Young Farmers Coalition, David pursues state policy change in the region to remove barriers to success and help young farmers grow their businesses. In the ten years prior to joining Young Farmers, David served in various roles... Read More →

Çaca Yvaire

Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust

Stephanie Morningstar

Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust

Meghan Goria

Digital Strategy and Fundraising Director, Stone Barns Center

Nicolas Enjalbert

Breeder, SeedLinked

Nicolas brings a broad vision and passion for what is possible in the seed industry founded in his years of private sector plant breeding in multinational seed companies in Europe and the United States. His expertise in data architecture, crop modeling, fundamental breeding techniques... Read More →

Kate Cox

The New Food Economy

Kate Cox joined The New Food Economy after several years reporting on the American age boom for radio and text as a freelance health reporter. She has written extensively about end-of-life issues, elder incarceration, and the plight of living organ donors, and she reported and produced The... Read More →

Tom Philpott

Mother Jones

Tom Philpott has been the food and agriculture correspondent at Mother Jones since 2011, and co-host of the magazine’s food politics podcast, Bite. His award-winning writing on food politics has appeared in numerous publications. He has worked as a line cook at a steakhouse, a community... Read More →

Maddie Oatman

Mother Jones

Maddie Oatman is a story editor at Mother Jones, where she also writes about the environment, food, and culture. She is the executive producer and co-host of the magazine’s food politics podcast, Bite. Her work has been published in several other outlets and featured in The Best... Read More →

Shane Hardy

Senior Land Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Kelly Landrieu

Global Coordinator - Local Brands, Whole Foods Market

Jared Tomlin

Livestock Processor Assistant, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Michael Mazourek

Row 7 Seed Company/Cornell University

Michael Mazourek is the co-founder of Row 7 Seed Company and an Associate Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Michael’s work in agriculture began as a child growing butternut squash, cucumbers, peas and peppers in his family’s garden... Read More →

Taylor Cocalis

Good Food Jobs

Taylor's path to food enlightenment started long before founding Good Food Jobs...At Cornell University she studied Hospitality Management and then completed a Masters in Food Culture at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Parma, Italy. The program afforded her the opportunity... Read More →

Dorothy Neagle

Good Food Jobs

Dorothy was born and raised on a small farm in Kentucky...She was ready to escape the rural life in pursuit of her studies at Cornell University, which led to a career in Interior Design in New York City. Following a traditional career path had worked out beautifully on paper, but... Read More →

Caitlin Arnold

National Young Farmers Coalition

Kara Whelan

Westchester Land Trust/Hudson Valley Farmlink Network

Tania Cubberly

Skyfall Flowers

Trevor Swope

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Trevor Swope is the Culinary Director at Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

Thursday December 5, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
Stone Barns Center

Technical

12:30pm EST

Lunch & Prayer of Gratitude with Leah Penniman

Thursday December 5, 2019 12:30pm - 1:30pm EST
Hayloft

Community/Meal

1:45pm EST

Farming While Black

Some of our most cherished sustainable farming practices have roots in African wisdom. Yet discrimination and violence against African-American farmers has led to their decline to less than 2 percent of farmers today, and many Black communities lack access to fresh food and nature. Join us to learn how you can join the national effort for food and land sovereignty for all growers. Together we will (1) Learn how specific sustainable farming practices, like raised beds, polycropping, rotation grazing, the CSA, et al. have roots in African agrarianism; (2) Explore the legacy of land-based oppression that has impacted the Black community and examples of resistance over time; (3) Engage in conversation about current and future land sovereignty work in Black-Indigenous communities.

WATCH this workshop LIVE on Facebook or YouTube!

Speakers

Leah Penniman

Co-Director, Soul Fire Farm Institute, Inc

Thursday December 5, 2019 1:45pm - 3:15pm EST
Hayloft

Action

1:45pm EST

Budgeting and Cash Flow for Farmers

In this workshop, we will use a real farm’s historical financials to create cash flow projections in Excel. We’ll discuss how to create your own spreadsheets to use for future planning. Finally, we’ll talk about how to make adjustments to your plan when the numbers don’t quite add up. At the end of the session, you will receive a dynamic cash flow Excel template to help with your own projections.

Speakers

Julia Shanks

Principal, Julia Shanks Food Consulting/The Farmer's Office

Thursday December 5, 2019 1:45pm - 3:15pm EST
Private Dining Room

Business

1:45pm EST

From Piglet to Pork Chop: Waste-Fed Forest-Raised Swine

The pigs at Stone Barns eat solely forage from the woods, pre-consumer waste from Blue Hill restaurant, rejected crops, and waste from local businesses like a nearby brewery and supermarket. This reduces the feed price tag to zero, and provides the animals with a balanced, healthy diet, with delicious results. Take a hayride to winter pig quarters to see this system in action and discuss the details and challenges of this farming method.

Speakers

Zachary Heyman

Grounds Assistant, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Shane Hardy

Senior Land Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Jared Tomlin

Livestock Processor Assistant, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Thursday December 5, 2019 1:45pm - 3:15pm EST
Meet in Courtyard

Technical

1:45pm EST

Fungi & Farming: How to Build a Mushroom Business

Mushrooms are an excellent primary crop or value-added product for farmers. Most gourmet and medicinal mushrooms will grow readily on agricultural waste products. This presentation/hands-on workshop will cover the basics of mushroom cultivation including mycology 101, commonly cultivated species of mushrooms, common and cheap substrates, and easily identifiable wild mushrooms of the northeast. You will then prepare to start your own mushroom crop by making small kits of oyster mushroom spawn to take home with you, along with detailed instructions for success.

Speakers

William Padilla-Brown

Educator, MycoSymbiotics

Thursday December 5, 2019 1:45pm - 3:15pm EST
Kitchen Lab

Technical

1:45pm EST

The Role of Seeds in Regenerative Farming

This workshop will begin with a discussion about on-farm seed saving, seed restoration efforts, building relationships between farmers, seed companies and breeders, as well as the value of farmers participating in seed trials. The second part will be hands-on interaction with basic tools around seed inventory, seed trials and data by exploring Pick A Carrot and SeedLinked. Come with your smartphone, tablet or computer to sign up for a free trial and see first-hand the power of crowdsourcing seed trial data.

Speakers

Jason Grauer

Crop Production and Farm Consulting Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Jason Grauer is crop production manager at Stone Barns Center. With a degree in economics from Tufts University, Jason spent the early part of his career in the financial industry. A year spent volunteering at Stone Barns confirmed his desire to farm full time, and he spent two seasons... Read More →

Rowen White

Educational Director, Sierra Seeds

Jacqueline Pilati

Jacqueline Pilati is a Professional Development Instructor at the New York Botanical Garden and Adjunct Instructor at Bank Street College of Education where she leads teacher institutes and courses in garden-based learning and elementary science investigations. She has taught in... Read More →

Michael Mazourek

Row 7 Seed Company/Cornell University

Nicolas Enjalbert

Breeder, SeedLinked

Thursday December 5, 2019 1:45pm - 3:15pm EST
West Haybarn

Technical

3:30pm EST

Agriculture as Conservation Stewardship

The growing number of land trust and protected State and NGO lands offer unique opportunities for collaboration that supports regenerative farming while also furthering ongoing conservation goals. This workshop will cover principles of generative agricultural conservation and discuss the framework to write a Conservation Action Plan (CAP) with a partner organization, using examples developed and implemented by Stone Barns Center and the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, a New York State park. We will also discuss the mutual benefits and potential that exists for farmers to develop a conservation stewardship partnership for improved land management.

WATCH this workshop LIVE on Facebook or YouTube!

Speakers

Jack Algiere

Farm Director, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Thursday December 5, 2019 3:30pm - 5:00pm EST
West Haybarn

Action

3:30pm EST

Reconciliation and Solidarity On The Farm

This session has been designed to extend and deepen farmers’ understanding of Indigenous food sovereignty and settler colonialism in the US and Canada. Join Rowen White and she lays the groundwork and facilitates a conversation with participants for discussions around how farmers can act in solidarity with Indigenous peoples. Plan to come ready to engage in meaningful dialogue.

Speakers

Rowen White

Educational Director, Sierra Seeds

Thursday December 5, 2019 3:30pm - 5:00pm EST
Kitchen Lab

Action

3:30pm EST

You're Already Newsworthy: How to Get Your Story Told

You’re already working hard planning, growing, harvesting, packaging, transporting, selling; but you’ve got a story to tell that others (your customers, policymakers, etc). need to know. How do you maximize your time and effort to get your message to resonate with others? This session will convene local and national media that can help you craft, refine, and deliver your message to journalists, policymakers, and other key influencers.

Speakers

Lisa Elaine Held

Journalist

Lisa Elaine Held is a food and agriculture journalist. She is currently Civil Eats’ senior policy reporter, and her stories on the food system, sustainable agriculture, and food policy have appeared in many publications, including Eater, NPR’s The Salt, Edible Manhattan, and... Read More →

Katy Keiffer

Heritage Radio

Katy Keiffer has worked in and around the food industry for over thirty years. First as a cook, then a butcher, a cookbook publicist, and finally, a food writer, Katy has been present for the massive transformation of the food industry in America. Growing up in a rural New England... Read More →

Jovan Sage

Herbalist, Doula, Wellness Coach & Grower, Sage's Larder

Tom Philpott

Mother Jones

Kate Cox

The New Food Economy

Thursday December 5, 2019 3:30pm - 5:00pm EST
East Haybarn

Business

3:30pm EST

Choosing A Soil Fertility Management Program

Soil fertility management is perhaps the #1 concern of growers. The are many choices in actual strategy. Proponents of specific theories of soil fertility often demand exclusivity, leaving followers in the lurch if something goes wrong. Will Brinton, who has run a soil lab for four decades, will start with conventional N-P-K theory and progress into sustainable and organic farming, showing contrasting views from cation balancing to soil food web and soil health. The group will explore “carbon farming”- stressing the balance of farm and global carbon cycle. How do we bring this approach into mineral balancing, organic tillage and cover cropping? Farmers will leave this workshop with an understanding of how to develop an overall strategy to soil health that fits their farm, their soil and the climate.

Speakers

William F Brinton

Owner, Founder, Woods End Soil Laboratory

Thursday December 5, 2019 3:30pm - 5:00pm EST
Lambing Barn

Technical

5:30pm EST

Plenary: The State- and City-Led Drive for Healthier Soils

WATCH this session LIVE on Facebook or YouTube!

Speakers

Gail Taylor

Owner/ operator, Three Part Harmony Farm

A long-time resident of Washington, D.C., Gail Taylor has worked as an organizer and social justice activist focusing on Latin America solidarity (internationally) and affordable housing issues (locally). She has been farming organically since 2005. Three Part Harmony Farm is a project... Read More →

Maddie Oatman

Mother Jones

Didi Barrett

NYS Assemblymember, District 106, Legislator

Didi Barrett was elected to the New York State Assembly in a special election in March 2012 and is now in her fourth full term in office. A resident of the Hudson Valley for more than 30 years, she came to elected office after a career as a writer, museum professional and longtime... Read More →

Anthony Myint

Founder, Zero Foodprint

Anthony Myint is a chef and activist mobilizing the restaurant industry toward healthy soil as a solution to the climate crisis. He is the Co-Founder of Mission Chinese Food and is the 2019 winner of the Basque Culinary World Prize for his non-profit work as Co-Founder of Zero Foodprint... Read More →

Thursday December 5, 2019 5:30pm - 6:45pm EST
Hayloft

Community/Meal

7:00pm EST

Dinner

Thursday December 5, 2019 7:00pm - 8:45pm EST
Hayloft

Community/Meal

8:00am EST

Breakfast

Friday December 6, 2019 8:00am - 9:00am EST
Hayloft

Community/Meal

9:15am EST

Advocacy for Young Farmers

To build the world we want to farm in, we must change state and federal policies that are oppressive, outdated, or ineffective at meeting the needs of young farmers and farmers of color. You already have the most crucial element in any policy campaign: lived experiences that have the power to inform and persuade policy makers to pursue the change you know you need. In this session, you’ll learn a framework for approaching policy and advocacy, then put that framework into practice, collaborating with your peers to envision and plan for meaningful and equitable policy change. No experience in policy or advocacy required!

Speakers

Ariana Taylor-Stanley

Northeast Regional Organizer / Farmer, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition / Here We Are Farm

David Howard

Northeast Campaigns Director, National Young Farmers Coalition

Friday December 6, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
Private Dining Room

Action

9:15am EST

How to Build a Cooperative Farming Enterprise

There is a rich tradition of cooperative and collaborative businesses in the food system. Learn to translate your interest in working together into practical action steps in setting up a group business. We will review the diverse types of collaborative businesses that exist in the US and offer case studies, followed by a breakdown of the structural components that make collaboration function: Choosing a legal structure, creating ownership agreements, forming a business plan, and organizing group process.

Speakers

Faith Gilbert

Partner, Letterbox Farm Collective

Faith is the vegetable manager and lead administrator for Letterbox Farm, a start-up diversified farm in Hudson, NY. She is the author of Cooperative Farming, a handbook on forming collaborative farm businesses.

Friday December 6, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
Lambing Barn

Business

9:15am EST

So You've Attended YFC - Now What? Activating an Entrepreneurial Mindset

This workshop will provide tools, tips, and maps to practice entrepreneurial leadership - so when the buzz of the Young Farmers Conference has worn out you won’t be stuck asking, now what? In this active workshop, participants will meet two California farmpreneurs, Jesse Smith and Nikiko Masumoto, who were part of the first cohort of the Stone Barns Farmer Entrepreneurship Intensive (2018). They will each share key components of their entrepreneurial practice in their operations (one based in regenerative ranching, the other in organic farming). Participants will learn about unlocking place-based leadership, how to look at holistic decision-making, practice telling the story of place, and develop a plan to enact goals and dreams articulated during the Young Farmers Conference.

Speakers

Nikiko Masumoto

farmer and artist, Masumoto Family Farm

Nikiko is a yonsei (4th generation) farmer at the Masumoto Family Farm. Though she grew up on her family’s peach farm, she came to farming herself through a journey that included a B.A. in Gender and Women’s Studies at UC Berkeley and a MA in Performance as Public Practice at... Read More →

Jesse Smith

Director of Land Stewardship, White Buffalo Land Trust

Friday December 6, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
West Haybarn

Business

9:15am EST

Integrated Land Management

This workshop will focus on the ecological approach taken at Stone Barns Center to managing pastures and woodlands with the goal of working with natural cycles to build resilient pastures and animals. Our land management philosophy revolves around soil health, improving plant biodiversity for forage, and creating habitat for wildlife through the use of ruminants. We will discuss grazing strategies, pasture planning, pasture based lambing, and the benefits of a multi-species ‘flerd’ management system in the context of our cattle and sheep operation. We will also detail our strategy for utilizing goats for trail maintenance and invasive species control in woodland areas. A crucial aspect of our grazing system is genetics. We will also cover the genetics that we have chosen for our system and why those are so important. Lastly, we will discuss our sampling and monitoring strategies to analyze changes in our soils and pastures. As a part of this program, we will also take a pasture walk (weather permitting), which will exhibit our grazing system and we will talk about livestock integration, portable fencing, and portable water systems.

Speakers

Shane Hardy

Senior Land Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Mike Peterson

Senior Livestock Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Mike Peterson is the senior livestock manager at Stone Barns Center. Mike and his wife Molly owned and operated a multi-species livestock farm in Virginia for five years prior to coming to Stone Barns. Practicing holistic management concepts, they rotationally grazed cattle, sheep... Read More →

Friday December 6, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
Kitchen Lab

Technical

9:15am EST

Metal Inert Gas (MIG) Welding

Learn the basics of MIG welding, the most widely used welding technique in the industry. Instruction will include understanding and operating the equipment, technique, pressures, different types of metals and safety. Then gear up and try it out for yourself!

Note: Participants are advised not to wear contact lenses during this session

Speakers

John DiMarco

Facilities Manager, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Friday December 6, 2019 9:15am - 12:15pm EST
Garage

Technical

12:30pm EST

Lunch

Friday December 6, 2019 12:30pm - 1:30pm EST
Hayloft

Community/Meal

1:45pm EST

Evaluations & Closing Ceremony

Friday December 6, 2019 1:45pm - 3:00pm EST
Hayloft and Courtyard

Community/Meal