Winter Conference 2022 Brochure

SPEAKERS • VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS • ON-FARM SOCIALS

FEBRUARY 17th - MARCH 5th, 2022 An invitation to pause, collectively dream the agricultural future we long for, and learn together about seeds to plant today to grow the fruits of tomorrow

Welcome!

Dear Friends & Supporters, Much love from all of us at NOFA-VT! We’re thrilled to share space with you once again—both virtually and in person—at our beloved Winter Conference! We are inspired, despite the ongoing challenges, to continue to build community, strengthen our movement, and learn & celebrate together.

For over two weeks starting February 17, we invite you to join us for a mix of online learning, sharing, and discussions, as well as inperson opportunities to connect and grow our movement. We have doubled our online workshop offerings since last year and are excited about the array of knowledgeable speakers and timely topics. To complement this online space, we have planned a handful of social opportunities to gather outside on farms throughout the state (and just across the lake!) for some winter fun—time and space for joyful connection. We hope you’ll bundle up and come out.

We invite you to dream with us as we collectively imagine and nourish a more just, verdant, and sustainable food system for all here in Vermont.

With gratitude, Grace Oedel, NOFA-VT Executive Director

Conference Overview From February 17 to March 5, join us for over two weeks of conference offerings! The 40th annual Winter Conference theme is Dream Into Being—an invitation to pause, collectively dream the agricultural future we long for, and learn together about seeds to plant today to grow the fruits of tomorrow. The event will feature online learning and sharing, as well as in-person winter connection and fun.

Conference Welcome & Featured Speakers Thursday, February 17, 6:30–8:00pm Thursday, February 24, 6:30–8:00pm Thursday, March 3, 6:30–8:00pm Saturday, March 5, 12:00–1:30pm

Workshops & Roundtables Sessions scheduled most days: 9:00–10:30am, 12:00–1:30pm, 3:00–4:30pm, 6:30–8:00pm Themes & Tracks: Climate Change, Growing Community Resilience, Soil & Land, Social & Food Justice, Silvopasture & Agroforestry, The Creative Grower, Farm Reflections, and In the Kitchen

For the most up-to-date conference information,

including workshop descriptions, presenter bios, schedule, and more, visit nofavt.org/conference.

On-Farm Socials Earth Sky Time Farm, Manchester, VT Sunday, February 20, 2:00–4:00pm Knoll Farm, Waitsfield, VT Saturday, February 26, 2:00–4:00pm Stannard Farm, Stannard, VT Sunday, February 27, 2:00–4:00pm Essex Farm, Essex, NY Saturday, March 5, 2:00–4:00pm

More!

Trivia: Friday, March 4, 7:00pm Film: Watch Food for the Rest of Us Photo Contest: Submit throughout the conference BIPOC Caucus & Connection Space: February 18 & 24, March 2 & 5, 1:30pm For the Kids: Digital, hands-on activities, plus sledding & hot chocolate

Registration Information Registration for the conference gives you access to all events, including the featured speaker series, 40 workshops, panel discussions, participation in the on-farm socials, and special engagement opportunities. You will also receive access to video recordings after the conference.

Suggested general registration for members: $100 Suggested general registration for non-members: $120 Sliding scale options : $30 | $50 | $75 | $100 | $125 | $150 BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or person of color): Free of charge We believe that all voices must be present and represented for our movement to be successful and do not want registration costs to be a barrier to participation.

Our sliding-scale registration is an effort to create more equitable access to this event. The true cost of putting on this online conference is over $125 per person. Please pay the amount that fits your budget. Paying more than the suggested rates will help support the registration fees for someone who is unable to pay that cost. Thank you for the ways you show up for our whole community!

NOFA-VT offers the option of free registration to anyone who identifies as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color. NOFA-VT provides this offering in an effort to actively work toward dismantling systems of racism that have historically disadvantaged BIPOC and continue to do so today.

Registration opens first week of January!

Visit nofavt.org/conference to sign up.

If you need assistance registering, please contact Becca: becca@nofavt.org, 802-434-4122.

Featured Speaker Series Join us for an incredible slate of featured speakers, all sharing around this year’s theme, Dream Into Being. Like all of us, these inspiring folks are envisioning a future where everyone thrives and are helping turn these dreams into reality—they are sowing the seeds of liberation, feeding their communities, manifesting holistic approaches, planting trees for the future, and redefining resilience.

How Generous Can We Be? Happiness and Hurdles at Essex Farm Kristin and Mark Kimball

Thursday, February 17, 6:30pm

Imagine over 1,500 acres in pasture, hayground, crops, woods, and orchard—a farm with milking cows, harvest, slaughter, a subscription supermarket CSA with over 200 products, and 20 dedicated farmers working to make it happen.

Eighteen years in, as they try to provide a healthy alternative to mainstream agriculture, they ask: How generous can we be? How much of the triple bottom line—people, planet, and profit—are we able to address? What do we need to learn? They will share readings from Kristin’s two books and spark a lively debate as they wrestle with the meaning of life and farming in the context of the universe. Plus, don’t miss the visit to their farm on Saturday, March 5!

The Dream Our Ancestors Left for Us Amber Arnold and Naomi Moody

Thursday, March 3, 6:30pm

Join Amber Arnold and Naomi Moody of the SUSU commUNITY Farm in Brattleboro, VT to explore emergent possibilities, fractals, a life of purpose, and a culture of liberation that SUSU is working to bring to the state of Vermont.

They will share the wisdom they have been gifted from their ancestors, the struggles and joys of building liberation under the confines of capitalism, and how we can use embodiment, abundance thinking, and ancestrally powered commUNITY centered movement building to bring afrofuturistic visions and dreams to life in one of the whitest states in America.

Silvopasture: A Growing Movement to Restore Farm Economies and Ecologies Austin Unruh

Thursday, February 24, 6:30pm

Integrating trees into pastures represents a complete shift in agriculture, creating holistic, perennial farm ecosystems that can support more livestock, wildlife, and farmers. It offers an effective means of sequestering carbon on farmland, while building resilience in the face of increased storms, droughts, and heat waves.

Austin Unruh of Trees For Graziers will share how they have spurred widespread adoption of silvopasture in southeastern Pennsylvania, how you can apply this transformative practice to regenerate your region, and why it’s such a practical response to the climate crisis.

Don’t miss Austin’s workshop on establishing silvopasture on Monday, February 28!

Collective Dreams of Generative Resilience Stephanie Morningstar

Saturday, March 5, 12:00pm

The Earth is an Indigenous woman and she is resilient, but for how long? The colonial, extractive economy has depleted and warped soil, soul, and seed, temporarily overshadowing our regenerative and mutualistic ways of being, doing, and knowing. The resulting collective loss of memory has led to lateral violence, misogyny, and mimicry of dominant paradigms within our relationships to land—and each other.

Join Stephanie Morningstar (she/her, Mohawk, Turtle clan) to consider how we harness our grief, anger, desire, and longing to regenerate our understanding of resilience. Let’s dream into being the world we want our future generations to inherit.

The NOFA-VT conference filled my heart to brimming each February I attended and I believe it will this year online, as well. Thanks for making it happen.

—Conference attendee

Workshops & Roundtables Online Opportunities to Learn, Share, Listen, & Discuss!

CLIMATE CHANGE

Farmers are Climate Heroes and Climate Activism Marketing Your Products as Climate-Friendly Nicole Dehne, Certification Director, Vermont Organic Farmers LLC; Nancy LaRowe, Vital Economy and Food & Farm Manager, Vital Communities; Suzanne Long, Coowner, Luna Bleu Farm; Eric Tadlock, Executive Director, Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center Organic Farming for Climate Mitigation and Resilience: Science and Practice Mark Schonbeck, Organic Farming Research Foundation Farming as Repair Stephen Leslie, Cedar Mountain Farm Climate Activism Update Laura Simon, Extinction Rebellion Vermont

For the most up-to-date workshop schedule: nofavt.org/conference

GROWING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

Teaching the Next Generation and Food Access Building Local Food Sovereignty in Jericho, VT Laura Markowitz, Transition Town Jericho; John Abbott, Jericho Town Administrator; Alissa White, UVM Introducing Regeneration Corps: A Learning Collaboration Cat Buxton, Michelle Eddleman McCormick, Henry Harris, & Karen Ganey, Regeneration Corps Local Economy Rooted in Food: A Case Study from Pinehurst Farmers Market in South Carolina April Jones, Pinehurst Farmers Market

SOCIAL & FOOD JUSTICE

Seeds, Organizing, Campaigns, BIPOC Land Access Seed Rematriation and Community Seed Sovereignty Tony VanWinkle, Sterling College (formerly), Guilford College (currently); Tiana Baca, Sterling College Every Town Project Kenya Lazuli, Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust From Vermont to Maine and Across the Northeast: Farmworkers & Allies Call on Hannaford to Join Milk with Dignity!

Migrant Justice Organizing to Win: Building Community Power for Systems Change Hayley Jones, Community Action Works

SOIL & LAND

Health and Remediation The State of Soil Health in Vermont Alissa White and Heather Darby, UVM; Justin Rich, Burnt Rock Farm; Erin Lane, Dartmouth College and USDA Northeast Climate Hub; Melanie Harrison, Harrison’s Homegrown Myco-Phytoremediation Strategies for Water Quality and Pollinator Habitat Jess Rubin, MycoEvolve and UVM

Maintaining Living Soil in the Commercial Market Garden Jesse Frost, No-Till Growers Trialing Urine Fertilizer with New Crops: A Rich Earth Farm Partnership Project Tatiana Schreiber and Arthur Davis, Rich Earth Institute Gardening on the Wild Side: Growing Perennial Fruits and Vegetables, Biodiversity, and Resilience Nancy and John Hayden, Northwind Gardens Wonder of Woodchips Ben Raskin, Soil Association Wilder Farming and Paying the Bills Lynn Cassells, Lynbreck Croft Aerated Composting of Food Scraps, Manure, and More at Tamarlane Farm Brian Jerose, Agrilab Technologies Inc.; Eric Paris, Tamarlane Farm LLC

SILVOPASTURE & AGROFORESTRY

Trees, Nuts, Perennials, Mushroom Growing, Proforestation Planting Trees in Pastures for Shade, Shelter, and Feed Austin Unruh, Trees for Graziers Cold-Hardy Fruit and Nuts Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano, Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens Log-Grown Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation Ross Conrad, Dancing Bee Gardens Lesser Known Perennial Vegetables for Commercial Crop Cultivation and Home Gardens Graham Unangst-Rufenacht, Robinson Hill Beef and Land’s Nest Farm; Aaron Guman Nut Tree Processing Comes to Vermont: Hickory Oil in a Nutshell Jesse Marksohn, Yellow Bud Farm; Tina Barney, Vermont Tree Nut Processors Let ‘em Be Wild and Free: Making Proforestation a Component of Your Holistic Land Management Strategy Zack Porter, Standing Trees

THE CREATIVE GROWER

On-Farm Innovations & Tips

Compost Foraging: Valuable Resources and Reduced Feed Costs Buzz Ferver, Perfect Circle Farm; Caroline Gordon, Rural Vermont Customer Service for CSA Farms Katie Spring, Good Heart Farmstead From Seed to Harvest: Optimizing Your Seed Investment Paul Feenan, High Mowing Organic Seeds Beekeeping: Comparing TreatmentFree Varroa Mite Controls with a Commercial Pesticide Ross Conrad, Dancing Bee Gardens

FARM REFLECTIONS

The Culture in Agriculture, Beginning, Burnout, Grief, Transparency Breadseed Farm: An Inside Look at Year One of Market Gardening in the Northeast Kingdom Doug Wolcik and Kayleigh Boyle, Breadseed Farm Experimenting With a Gift Economy: Looking Back at Three Years of Brush Brook Community Farm Adam Wilson, Brush Brook Community Farm Reigniting After Burnout Shannon Hayes, Sap Bush Hollow Farm

IN THE KITCHEN

Value-Added Goods, Sourdough, Cookbook, Herbs A Journey into the World of Sourdough Heike Meyer, Brot Bakehouse School and Kitchen, Brotbakery How to Write a Farm Cookbook Ellen Odgen, Kitchen Garden Designs Wild Kitchen Herbalism Sarah Shaw, Hillside Botanicals

ROUNDTABLE & PANEL DISCUSSIONS Update on the Real Organic Project Dave Chapman, Real Organic Project Policy Updates Maddie Kempner, NOFA-VT

For the most up-to-date workshop schedule, please see nofavt.org/conference.

Is the Organic Dairy Industry Headed for Consolidation and How Can We Stop It? Facilitator Nicole Dehne, Vermont Organic Farmers LLC with panelists Dan Smith, Esq; Kate Mendenhall, Organic Farmers Association; Ed Maltby, Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance; Laura Ginsberg, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets Dairy Business Innovation Center Collaborative Farming & Land Access Models Facilitator Jen Miller, NOFA-VT with panelists Francine Miller, Vermont Law School and White River Land Collaborative; Shona SanfordLong, Flying Dog Farm and White River Land Collaborative; Brandon Bless, Bread & Butter Farm; Alisha Laramee, AALV

On-Farm Socials Outdoors & In Person!

While the online conference platform preserves the learning, sharing, and teaching parts of the conference, it loses much of the social, relationship-building, and networking aspects that we all love. We miss gathering around the wood-fired oven and snack table, meeting up with you at the ice cream social, making community art, and more. Missing this connection, too? Please join us for some safe, outdoor winter fun and farm field trips. Gather around a bonfire, sip on warm cider or hot chocolate, go sledding or take a snowshoe, and meet the farmers. Coordinate with your NOFA-VT friends to meet up for some much needed face-to-face time or bring someone new to meet our community! All ages welcome. Pre-registration required.

Earth Sky Time Farm, Manchester, VT

Stannard Farm, Stannard, VT

Sunday, February 20, 2:00–4:00pm

Sunday, February 27, 2:00–4:00pm

Enjoy plenty of trails for snowshoeing and cross country skiing—bring your gear! Warm up by a bonfire, meet the farmers and tour their winter production greenhouses, enjoy fresh wood-fired bread, catch up with friends, meet new folks, and sip on warm beverages.

Gather at this mountaintop maple farm for a campfire, sugar-on-snow, warm drinks, and friendship. Hosted by the Reynolds family, learn about organic maple sugarmaking, their wind-powered sugarhouse, sustainable forestry, and the bird-friendly maple project! Enjoy this sweet event in the Northeast Kingdom.

Knoll Farm, Waitsfield, VT Saturday, February 26, 2:00–4:00pm Experience the sledding hill, mountain views, and warm drinks around a toasty fire. Say hi to the Icelandic sheep and get to know NOFA-VT’s board president and co-owner of Knoll Farm, Peter Forbes. Come on out for a sledding party, NOFA-VT style!

Essex Farm, Essex, NY Saturday, March 5, 2:00–4:00pm Walk the land and tour Essex Farm with Mark and Kristin Kimball, just across the lake! Explore their full diet CSA farm after hearing them speak on February 17. Sunshine, snow, or rain, gather for camaraderie and celebration. Fire and warm beverages will lift our spirits.

Community & Connection Trivia Friday, March 4, 7:00pm Save the date and join us online for a raucous good time! Test your Vermont agriculture and 50 years of NOFA-VT knowledge in this fun, interactive game. Work in teams (Zoom breakout rooms) to answer trivia questions for the chance to win prizes. Name that plant! Who is the current NOFA-VT board president? Hosted by Sam Graulty and Maddie Ruth.

Photo Contest

Submit your best farm or garden photo from this past year! Show us your fields, food, fiber, animals, crops, flowers, barns, and more. Rules and submission details available online: nofavt.org/conference.

For the Kids

Check out the featured, hands-on activities and coloring pages on our website. Download, print, and enjoy (adults can color the wonderful garden artwork too). Plus, be sure to join us for our on-farm, in-person, family-friendly events with snow play and hot chocolate!

BIPOC Caucus & Connection Space 1:30–2:30pm: Friday, February 18; Thursday, February 24; Wednesday, March 2; Saturday, March 5.

The In Living Color (ILC) BIPOC space is a grassroots safe space organized by health and social justice activists Amanda David and Mandana Boushee: “The ILC space is designed to center the needs and voices of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) by creating a safe, meaningful space to go deep in our work, to celebrate lineages and experiences, and to find mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical support tailored to the unique needs of BIPOC conference-goers participating in spaces that have historically excluded us. No space, no matter how progressive, is without its challenges and unnamed biases, because of this we have devised the ILC space as a space of safe transformation, community care, education, and grassroots organization.”

For the most up-to-date conference happenings: nofavt.org/conference

Film Screening

Food for the Rest of Us is a feature film that presents four stories of people living life on their own terms, serving as leaders who are lending their voice to the underdog, and leading a revolution to a better world, from the ground up! Meet an Indigenous-owned, youth run organic farm in Hawaii; a Black urban grower in Kansas City who runs a land-farm at a high school; a female Kosher butcher in Colorado working with the queer community; and an Inuit community on the Arctic Coast who is adapting to climate change with a community garden in a small geodesic dome. Stay tuned for a discussion with the filmmaker.

T-shirts

Show your support for NOFA-VT by purchasing an organic cotton t-shirt featuring conference artwork by our very own Christine Hill! Visit nofavt. org/conference for more details and to place an order in our online store.

T-shirts will ship in March.

Raffle

Enter for a chance to win a basket of goodies from Vermont producers, including some NOFA-VT swag! Buy tickets when you register for $10 each. Proceeds benefit NOFA-VT’s Farm Share Program, which provides half-priced CSAs at local farms for limited-income Vermonters.

I’ve been attending the conference for the past ten years! As my own involvement in the Vermont farming community has changed (from bright-eyed farm intern, to farm-based educator, to small farm business owner, to ag employee and gardener) I have always found a home and a community with NOFA! I love the heralding of another growing season that the conference continues to promise!

—Conference attendee

Thank You to Our Sponsors CULTIVATOR

NURTURER

NOURISHER

GROWER

PLANTER

PRODUCER Black Dirt Farm Co-operative Insurance Companies Deep Root Organic Co-op Greenvest North Country Organics Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative Rural Vermont The Alchemist USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Additional funding for this conference was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM200100XXXXG122 and the Vermont Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, State of Vermont Grant Agreement 02200-SCBGP-16-X.

Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program Vermont Farm to Plate Vermont Grass Farmers Association Vermont Soap

s

NOFA-VT Membership We believe that a food and farming system that supports a robust economy and healthy communities where all are fed is possible. Join our movement.

GATHERER Cabot Creamery Co-operative Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School New England Farmers Union Nourse Farms, Inc OMRI Philo Ridge Farm Real Pickles Shelburne Farms South Royalton Market Food Co-op The Maine Potato Lady Vermont Land Trust

At NOFA-VT, we promote organic practices to build an economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially just Vermont agricultural system that benefits all living things. We all have a role to play in creating a more equitable and resilient food system, with joyful and vibrant agricultural communities at its heart.

Being a NOFA-VT member means that you are supporting programs and services that assist farmers, inform consumers, and advocate for policies that build the organic food movement in Vermont and nationally.

NOFA-VT is where you can go for information and education about all things organic. Your membership also includes many financial and educational benefits, like discounts on seeds and compost, our newsletters, and more! We hope you’ll join us in this work.

Get involved at nofavt.org/join.

nofavt.org/conference

Join us for over two weeks of conference events!

Return Service Requested

NOFA VERMONT PO BOX 697 RICHMOND, VT 05477

Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Permit No. 37 Richmond, VT