Thank you to everyone who joined us!
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Your feedback helps us to improve the Conference each year.
This year’s Conference featured a diverse range of sessions and dynamic workshops (60 in total), insightful keynotes and dynamic panel discussions, offering attendees the opportunity to network and collaborate, forging new connections and partnerships and enhancing the magic that we all love about VABF.
We were especially proud to announce the Lifetime Achievement Award given to Ira Wallace for her life-long love of growing, educating and sharing her experience with others. Jon Jackson and Niaz Dorry elicited deep emotions with their keynotes and reminded us not only of our inner strengths and power but of our interdependence and our ability to up-lift one another. It was an amazing weekend, and we are honored that so many of you were able to join us in Roanoke again this year.
Our much-anticipated pre-conference sessions on Friday kicked off the weekend and set the stage for the Farmer Listening Session later in the evening, where we gathered lots of input and information from the group and we can’t wait to see how your comments translate into next steps for us and our partners. Special thanks to American Farmland Trust (Amanda Cather, Jamie Mierau, Elizabeth Beggins and Caitlin Robinson), the Virginia Soil Health Coalition (Mary Sketch-Bryant) and the Virginia Tech Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation (Katie Trozzo and Kim Niewolny) for their help in planning and pulling off such a collaborative event.
The conference also showcased some of the latest advancements in technology and farm support, with more than 50 exhibitors and sponsors presenting cutting-edge products and solutions for farming into the new era with climate and carbon management at the fore. The Taste of Virginia Market and Expo added another dimension to the weekend, offering local treats and crafts for the general public as well as conference-goers.
A special thank you goes out to the VABF staff who made the event happen: Lindsay Johnson, Catherine Bolling and Eryn Alloway worked for months to make this one of the best conferences in recent memory, and we could not have done it without their tireless effort and passion for creating such a wonderful space. Also special thanks to Nancy Hadden, Angela Vitale, Becki DeRusseau, Chris Ercolano and the rest of the staff and volunteers who put in the extra time and love to allow us all to enjoy the best weekend of the New Year! Special shout out to It is a great team indeed…
Special thanks to Hotel Roanoke and the farmers who provided the food for the event. It was an amazing gathering and we are so happy and energized that it’s hard to believe we will have to wait until next January to do it again! If you attended and didn’t have a chance to fill out the survey, you can do so here, so please give us your thoughts and ideas and we’ll do it again January 9-11th, 2026!
On behalf of the Board of Directors and all of us at VABF, we sincerely thank you for spending your weekend with us in Roanoke and we can’t wait to see you all again soon!
-Brent Wills, VABF Program Manager
Keynote Recordings
We wish to extend a huge thank you to Daniel James @herd.ventures for filming this year’s Keynote Addresses!
Find out more about Daniel and Herd Ventures here.
Photos
Thank you again to Daniel James @herd.ventures for sharing some excellent photos of this year’s Conference with us!
Additionally, a big thank you to Andrew Fry, Beatriz Balderas, and Mandy Cribb for taking photos at the Lick Run Farm Tour with Cam Terry of Garden Variety Harvests and the Composting Facility Tour with Davey Stewards of Star City Compost and Mark Davis of Real Roots Food Systems.
Speaking of which, a huge thank you and shoutout to our dedicated team of volunteers who helped to make this year’s Conference a success! Thank you Aaron Terry, Andrew Fry, Beatriz Balderas, Colleen Swingle, Garrett Waters, Hannah Patrick, Mandy Cribb, Melissa Erin Boitnott, Meredith Corey-Disch, Nat Hodges, and Veronica Horst!
Stay tuned to our Newsletter
for details on the next Conference!
Save the Date
January 9th – 11th, 2026
at the Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke, Virginia
Read more about the 2025 Conference below
Keynote Speakers
Jon Jackson
Comfort Farms & Stag Vets
GACD’s 2024 Conservationist of the Year
Jon Jackson is a distinguished U.S. Army Airborne Ranger and the current Executive Director of Stag Vets Inc. He is also the founder of Comfort Farms, established in memory of his Ranger comrade, CPT Kyle A. Comfort, who tragically lost his life in action on May 8, 2010. At Comfort Farms, Jon oversees a regenerative agricultural operation that emphasizes multi-species livestock and heirloom vegetables. His mission is to empower veterans by helping them reconnect with their communities through the medium of agriculture.
Saturday Keynote
Harvesting Resilience: Cultivating People Through Cultivating Our Land
Image credit: Paul Bilodeau, Gloucester Daily Times
Niaz Dorry
NAMA & NFFC
Sunday Keynote
Celebrating Our InterDependence
Pre-Conference Workshops
7 Full and Half-Day Pre-Conference workshops
and an urban farm tour
Friday, January 10
Harvester Sponsor
Virginia State University’s College of Agriculture is one of the country’s leading 1890 colleges of agriculture, natural resources, food, and life sciences.
Our academic programs offer a comprehensive array of majors and concentrations that prepare our students to become leaders in the fields of nutrition, food science, apparel design and retail, child care, restaurant and hotel management, agriculture and more.
As part of VSU’s land-grant mission, the College of Agriculture also houses the Virginia Cooperative Extension program and an Agricultural Research Station, each which provide valuable resources to Virginia residents, while also providing practical, hands-on internship and work study opportunities for our students.
Our Transformational Committments
- Agricultural Innovation, Integration, & Sustainability
- Student Success, Experiential Learning & Workforce Development
- Integrated Well-Being of Youth, Family and Community
The Carbon Farming Partnership offers a proven, science-based deep soil management approach that enhances soil biology and fertility, supporting farmers in achieving higher productivity, increased resilience, and long-term profitability. In collaboration with the USDA and NRCS, we assess deep soil organic carbon levels, nutrient profiles, and overall soil health through comprehensive meter-deep soil sampling, helping farmers track the impact of conservation practices on soil health over time, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions that support sustainable farm management. Based in Virginia and working in states across the Southeastern US, our hands-on educational workshops and specialized training for service providers empower producers with the tools and knowledge needed to boost soil health and unlock new opportunities for enhanced farm productivity. By embracing regenerative techniques to foster deep soil carbon, farmers can drive transformational change in both their farming practices and financial outcomes, ensuring a healthier, more resilient farm for the future.