Sessions and speakers

Keynote

No-Toil Farming: Making Your Soil Practices Complement Your Farm Goals

Jesse Frost, No-Till Growers

Saturday · 8:15 am

It's one thing to reduce tillage, increase biodiversity, and really take care of your soils. It's another thing to do so in a way that is profitable and healthy for you as a farmer.…

Keynote

Agriculture in the age of AI

Michael Carter, Jr.

Sunday · 8:15 am

Michael Carter and his family farm, Carter Farms is directly effected by the Joshua Yeats Valley Link transmission line project proposed to run directly behind his 116 year old family farm. Michael will share…

Concurrent session

Choosing the Best Certification for Your Farm Operation

Meredith Morgan, Quality Certification Services

Saturday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

With growing consumer demand for transparency and sustainable food, certifications help farms access new markets and build customer trust. Many farmers—especially beginning or small-scale producers—struggle to choose the best certification. This session provides an…

Concurrent session

Farm Bookkeeping 101: Preparing for Tax Season

Cassie Vanderhart, Good Agriculture

Saturday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

Starting a farm is exciting—but without a solid financial foundation, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. This session will walk new, aspiring and seasoned farmers through the essential bookkeeping and financial practices needed to build…

Concurrent session

Farming with Care: When Farming Promotes Physical & Emotional Resilience

Ashley Hoffman, Fox Haven Farm & Learning Center

Saturday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

Learn how farming can contribute to a multifaceted approach to well-being for farm-workers, volunteers, and farmer trainees. Farming is physically and emotionally demanding, leading to potential injuries, burn-out, and mental health crisis. In this…

Concurrent session

From Seed to Sanity? Three Years of Building a Farm

Kelly Parker, Junction City Farm

Saturday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

Starting a diversified farm is equal parts dream and gauntlet. In this session, we'll share an unfiltered look back at our first three years building a market farm from the ground up. We'll walk…

Concurrent session

Protecting Working Lands: Financial Benefits of Conservation Easements

Sherry Buttrick, Virginia Outdoors Foundation

Saturday · 2:15 pm–3:30 pm

Concurrent session

Strengthen your Farm with the Rodale Farm Fund

Betsy Trice, Rodale Institute

Saturday · 2:15 pm–3:30 pm

The Rodale Institute Farmer Fund provides financial and technical assistance to Southern farmers to strengthen their operations, expand market opportunities, and advance regenerative and organic agricultural practices. By reducing financial barriers and providing resources…

Concurrent session

Food Safety Recordkeeping that Actually Works

Stasia Greenewalt, SG Farm Services

Saturday · 3:45 pm–5:00 pm

Food safety recordkeeping doesn't have to be overwhelming. This workshop focuses on building simple, practical recordkeeping systems that work for small and diversified farms—supporting day-to-day farm management while helping farms stay organized, meet Produce…

Concurrent session

Strategies for Building Capacity from a Community Farm

Cam Terry, Garden Variety Harvests

Saturday · 3:45 pm–5:00 pm

We farm fresh vegetables on a small city parcel owned by a land trust on a busy street, with over a dozen residential homes on our fencelines. Striving to serve this proximate community has…

Concurrent session

Growing Together: Farmer-Miller Collaboration

Aaron Grigsby, Deep Roots Milling; Craig McClung, All Farm Organics

Sunday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

Our featured guests, Aaron Grigsby of Deep Roots Milling (operating the historic, water-powered Woodson’s Mill in Lowesville, VA) and Craig McClung of All Farm Organics (a certified organic farm in Louisa, VA), shared what…

Concurrent session

Seen & HERD: Storytelling as Infrastructure for Farms and Food Systems

Daniel James, Herd Ventures

Sunday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

Most small farms have a great product and no clear way to tell people about it. In a direct market, where the grower is also the marketer, visibility is infrastructure, as essential as cold…

Concurrent session

Organizing to Advance Policy Solutions that Support Regenerative Livestock Production

Eric Boatti, FACE (Farmers for Animals, Communities, and the Environment) Ag Network

Sunday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

As public awareness of and interest in regenerative farming systems grows, farmers and ranchers have a unique opportunity to ensure that our public policies match this demand for more humane, healthy food. Join representatives…

Concurrent session

Introduction to Grant Writing

Heather Salmon, Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Innovation and Rural Sustainability (VAFAIRS)

Sunday · 2:15 pm–3:30 pm

This introductory presentation provides participants with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to successfully pursue grant funding. Attendees will learn the key components of a grant proposal, including identifying funding opportunities, interpreting grant guidelines,…

Concurrent session

Community Seed Keeping: Collards

Chris Smith, Utopian Seed Project; Bonnetta Adeeb, Ujamaa Seeds and the Ira Wallace Seed School; Ira Wallace, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Saturday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

This panel featuring Ira Wallace, Bonnetta Adeeb and Chris Smith focuses on creating a foundational understanding of growing and saving seeds in the Southeast. They will covers some of the basics of seed saving,…

Concurrent session

Profitable Winter Greens: Is Supplemental Heat Worth It?

Hailey Sowden, Crooked Porch Farm

Saturday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

Winter greens can be a valuable way to extend the growing season and maintain sales through the winter, but does supplemental heat increase production and quality enough to justify the expense? And if so,…

Concurrent session

An Overall View of Less Care Fruiting Plants

Michael McConkey, Edible Landscaping

Saturday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

An introduction of less care edibles and their attributes

Concurrent session

On-Farm Variety Trials and Plant Breeding Research

Edmund Frost, Common Wealth Seed Growers

Saturday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

Doing variety trials, variety selection and plant breeding on the farm is exciting and rewarding. Using examples from current and ongoing projects on his farm, Edmund will help session attendees get on track to…

Concurrent session

Solving the Cucumber Mystery

Dan Gagnon, Broadfork Farm

Saturday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

By going through a real farm example of troublesome cucumber disease, participants will gain systematic problem-solving and troubleshooting skills for diagnosing plant diseases. They will learn to use available tools and technologies to achieve…

Concurrent session

Spray application techniques for small and regenerative farmers

Steve Haring, Virginia Agroecology Services

Saturday · 2:15 pm–3:30 pm

As the number of regenerative and biological amendments grows, more sustainable farmers are finding it necessary to make spray applications to their crops. Farmers working with unfamiliar inputs and varied crop layouts face a…

Concurrent session

Success with Tomatoes in the Mid-Atlantic

Pam Dawling, Twin Oaks Community

Saturday · 2:15 pm–3:30 pm

This workshop includes information on germinating tomato seeds, crop requirements, growing on, crop rotations, transplanting, pruning if any, crop support (particularly string-weaving), irrigation, physiological disorders, pest management, disease reduction strategies, diseases you might see,…

Concurrent session

From Restoration Need to Farm Opportunity: Exploring Native Seed Production in Virginia

Ale Aguirre – Bustos, Virginia Tech

Saturday · 3:45 pm–5:00 pm

Demand for native seed is growing as Virginia expand investments in ecological restoration, conservation, and resilient landscapes. Could producing native seed also offer a viable diversification opportunity for farmers and landowners? This session introduces…

Concurrent session

From Seed to Sale: Aligning Crop Planning with Flower Marketing

Curtis Childress, VSU

Saturday · 3:45 pm–5:00 pm

Successful crop planning begins with understanding the market before selecting what to grow. This presentation will explore how growers can align crop selection, succession planting, and production timing with their marketing and sales channels.…

Concurrent session

The Root Crop Dream Team: Onions into Carrots

Jason Pall, Glade Road Growing

Saturday · 3:45 pm–5:00 pm

Step up your game from just baby greens to two of the roots your customers cherish most: carrots and onions. In this session, I'll go over how to complete a reliable double-crop system with…

Concurrent session

Everlasting Florals: Adding Dried Flowers to Your Operation for Winter Cash Flow

Liza Dobson, Yarrow Springs Farm

Sunday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

Farmers are always dreaming up innovative solutions to fill the wintertime gap in sales. In this workshop, we’ll talk about a fun and creative opportunity: dried florals! Whether you're a flower farmer trying to…

Concurrent session

Organic Grapes Are Not Impossible in Virginia

Karl Hambsch, Loving Cup Vineyard & Winery

Sunday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

Karl will briefly describe Loving Cup's four pillars of organic grapegrowing: 1) varietal selection, 2) sanitation, 3) canopy management, and 4) organic inputs. For the first pillar, Karl will discuss the importance of growing…

Concurrent session

The Best Vegetable Cultivars to Grow in the Mid-Atlantic

Pam Dawling, Twin Oaks Community

Sunday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

This workshop will help you choose vegetable crops that fit your goals, resources, conditions and priorities. It will provide tips on choosing varieties likely to bring you success, and practical ways to compare several…

Concurrent session

Behavioral Control for Cucumber Beetles: How do we Best Deploy our Pheromones?

Don Weber, USDA ARS Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory

Sunday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

The striped cucumber beetle, key pest of cucurbits, has an aggregation pheromone (vittatalactone), a powerful attractant that not only attracts striped but also spotted cucumber beetles and squash bugs! The pheromone holds promise for…

Concurrent session

Overwintered Snapdragon Production

Andy Borak, Red Fern Farm

Sunday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

Snapdragons are the most profitable specialty cut flower grown on our farm. In this session, we will discuss a years worth of snapdragon production at Red Fern Farm with an emphasis on the overwintered…

Concurrent session

The Inner Life of an Apple Tree

Joseph Martinez, Rockbridge Cider Vinegar

Sunday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

I’ve been growing apple trees in Rockbridge County, Virginia using biological methods for 40 years. Over those years I’ve asked myself a lot of basic questions about how apple trees grow and thrive. In…

Concurrent session

A Quarter Century of Organic Vegetable and Grain Production, Coupled with Commercial Compost Production: What Does It Get You?

William Hale, All-Farm Organics

Sunday · 2:15 pm–3:30 pm

Co-present with "Farmer John" Wilson of Drishti Compost in Pungo Va. Both of us have been organic producers for at least 25 years and have both operated successful retail and wholesale compost production businesses.…

Concurrent session

Growing Great Transplants

Dan Gagnon, Broadfork Farm

Sunday · 2:15 pm–3:30 pm

Growing healthy and thriving transplants is crucial for farm and garden success. Dan will take participants through a detailed look at how Broadfork Farm has grown its transplants over the years and how they…

Concurrent session

Watering Without Irrigation

Jeff Poppen, Barefootfarmer

Sunday · 2:15 pm–3:30 pm

Recent scientific research augments traditional dry land farming practices that have allowed us to produce large vegetable crops for 30 years without irrigation. I’ll explain how we create and use the combination of key…

Concurrent session

Feats and Failures in Scaling Pasture Raised Poultry Production

Dan Sweet, Blackbird Farms

Saturday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

A core component of Blackbird Farms is developing a scaled approach to regenerative poultry production which restores the land, humanizes our workforce and customers, and is profitable. This session will focus on 2026 broiler…

Concurrent session

Farming at Scale: Navigating 1,500 acres at RiverRidge Farm

Charlotte Hanes, Riverridge Farm

Saturday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

Managing a large-scale agricultural operation comes with unique opportunities and complex challenges. In this session, the owner of River Ridge Farm shares insights on efficiency, resource allocation, and navigating the operational realities of farming…

Concurrent session

How to Raise Certified Organic Livestock

Lee Rinehart, NCAT-ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture

Saturday · 2:15 pm–3:30 pm

A discussion of the goals and methods of organic animal agriculture, as if adding a livestock enterprise to a crop system. We will cover organic livestock production by looking at the NOP organic regulations,…

Concurrent session

A Homesteader’s Introduction to Raising Coturnix Quail on Pasture

Ruth Reyer

Saturday · 3:45 pm–5:00 pm

Quail are an underutilized protein powerhouse for any farm or homestead. In this talk you will learn about the benefits, joys, and steps involved with raising Coturnix Quail on pasture - from hatch to…

Concurrent session

Poultry Processing for 1000+ birds a year

Sally Walker, Glade Road Growing

Sunday · 9:45 am–11:00 am

You've worked so hard to raise a healthy chicken. Here's how to close the deal with a small- to mid-scale poultry processing space on your farm. We'll go over equipment, layout, flow, and health…

Concurrent session

Regenerative Practices for Cattle Farms

Tim Service, Wind Ridge Farm

Sunday · 11:15 am–12:30 pm

There's a saying "You are what your food eats!" Recent studies have shown that the nutritive value of our food is less that half of what it was in the 1960's. We're eating more,…

Concurrent session

Biodynamic Beekeeping in the Blue Ridge: Who Are the Honeybees? What Do They Need? How Can We Serve Them?

Alex Tuchman, Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary

Sunday · 2:15 pm–3:30 pm

These are the central questions that guide the work at Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary, a biodynamic farm and education center located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Floyd, Virginia. Join Alex for this dynamic…