ANNUAL CONFERENCE SESSIONS & FEATURES 2027
Kids Program
For children ages 5 - 12. Supervised activities during the breakout sessions: 9:20am-12:20pm and 1:40-4:30pm.
Kids will have lunch with their adults from 12:20 - 1:40pm.
Advance registration required.
Parking Map
There are often multiple events on the St. Ben’s campus on the day of our conference, so we recommend that you allow time to find good parking. For a map of Guest parking and sidewalk routes to the Conference Center, click HERE.
Wisdom of the Community SESSIONS
101 = beginner; 201 = intermediate; 301 = advanced
Schedule At-a-Glance (descriptions below)
Room 204A, B & C
8:30am: "Opening Welcome"
Room 204A
9:40am - Analyze for the Weakest Link
11:10am - Yearly Farm Planning
12:20pm Lunch
1:50pm - Chemical Drift
3:20pm - Garlic Disease & Storage
Room 204B
9:40am - Solar Farm Stands
11:10am - Financial Benchmarks
12:20 - Lunch
1:50pm - Consulting in Action
3:20pm -
Homesteading
Room 204C
9:40am - Market Access & Evaluating Options
11:10am - Market Farming
12:20pm - Lunch
1:50pm - Direct Marketing
3:20pm - Irrigation for Market Gardens
Room 120A&B
9:40am - Prescribed Burna
11:10am - Brooding Chickens
12:20pm - Lunch
1:50pm - Elderberries
3:20pm - TBD
4:30 p.m.
Lakewinds Food Co-op Social Hour
Upstairs Lobby
--------- Full Schedule --------
8:30 a.m.
Opening Welcome
Rooms 204 A, B & C
TBD
9:20 a.m. Break & Exhibits
9:40 a.m. Sessions
Room 204A
How to Analyze for the Weakest Link in Your Farming Operation
Melissa Driscoll
Room 204B
Solar Powered Farm Stands: Expanding Direct-to-Consumer Markets with Off-Grid Technology
Zachary Paige, UMN Extension RSDP
Rachael Wandrei, Minnesota Grown
Dan Handeen, Center for Sustainable Building Research
Learn how solar powered farm stands can help farmers expand direct-to-consumer sales while reducing infrastructure costs and improving access to locally grown food, highlighting a U of M Extension RSDP project that developed and tested an off-grid farm stand that uses solar panels, battery storage, and refrigeration to keep produce fresh without requiring access to grid electricity.
Room 204C
Emerging And Beginning Farmer Resources
TBD
Room 120A&B
Prescribed Burn Panel (Tagline: "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?")
Tyler Carlson
10:50 a.m. Break & Exhibits
11:10 a.m. Sessions
Room 204A
Yearly Farm Planning
Patrick Toomey, Grazing Education Lead
Room 204B
Financial Benchmarks for Small Farms
Joel Barr, SFA Market Garden & Farm Management Systems Consultant
Jonathan Kilpatrick, SFA Farmer Education Director
Room 204C
Market Farming Panel
TBD
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12:20 p.m. Lunch & Exhibits
1:50 p.m. Sessions
Room 204A
Chemical Drift: Farmer Experiences and Resources
Gray Schmidt & Jules Schoenecker, Gray's Tomatoes
Jayna Larrea, Hummingbird Farm
Andrew Murphy, Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Claire LeCanne, U of M Extension
Jerry Ford, Moderator
Room 204B
Consulting in Action: A Farmer-to-Farmer Panel
Patrick Toomey, SFA Grazing Education Lead
Jonathan Kilpatrick, Farmer Education Director
Bryan Simon, Dairy Education Lead
Angie Walter
Joel Barr, Market Garden & Farm Management Systems Consultant
Join four SFA consultants for a candid, interactive conversation about building resilient farms through peer-to-peer learning. Bring your questions, share your challenges, and hear how SFA consultants work alongside farmers, one-on-one, to improve grazing systems, navigate farm finances and plan for long-term success. The panel will offer practical examples, a sense of the consulting process, and ways to get involved with SFA's farmer-to-farmer network.
Room 120A&B
Elderberries
Eric Young, Renewing the Countryside
3:00 p.m. Break & Exhibits
3:20 p.m. Sessions
Room 204A
Garlic Disease and Storage Research Findings
Dr. Cindy Tong, Professor, U of M Horticultural Science
Dr. Carl Rosen, Professor, Department of Soil, Water & Climate
Dr. Robert Alvarez-Quinto, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology
Jerry Ford, Moderator
Room 204B
Homesteading
Mary Fischer
Room 204C
Irrigation for Market Gardens
Joel Barr, Market Garden & Farm Management Systems Consultant
Room 120A&B
TBD
TBD
