Workshops

The Food and Farm Movement

Drought and Our Way Out

Robert Hamilton, Ohio Department of Agriculture Division of Soil & Water Conservation, Aaron Wilson, OSU, Matt Kleski and Trevor Kerr, Farm Service Agency

Ohio experienced the most severe drought in decades in 2024. Farmers and growers experienced crop and livestock losses in the face of natural disaster declarations, often unsure how to access support and resources from governmental programs. Learn how federal and state policies can help us be more resilient, and how to better understand the climate and its effects on our agriculture industry.

Sustainable Foundations and Personal Resilience

Whole Farm Planning

Shoshanna Inwood, OSU

What if farm planning encompassed the unique realities of the day-to-day work? Learn how educators are helping farmers integrate considerations for childcare, healthcare, and health insurance needs into their business model in a way that works for them.

Backyards, Lots, and Small Plots

Homestead Scale Staple Crop Production

Eleanor and Scott Hucker, Great Lakes Staple Seeds

Based on their lived homestead-scale experience cultivating staple crops using common equipment, manual labor, and minimal off-farm inputs, this workshop shares methods to help growers throughout the North Central region enjoy success in their pursuit of sustainable, ecologically grown staple crops.

Backyards, Lots, and Small Plots

C A N C E L L E D

Growing Sustainable Businesses

Want Your Employees to Work Faster? Create the Right Environment!

Katie Bishop, PrairiErth Farm, Sarah Janes Ugoretz, University of Wisconsin Extension

Efficiency comes naturally when jobs are made easier through the right tools, systems, environments, communication, and training. Explore real-life scenarios, identify key areas for improvement, and learn to ask the right question: how can I make the work easier?

Grain Crops

Start Clean, Stay Clean: Weed Control

Mike Stites, Rex Stites Farms, Inc.

“Start clean, stay clean” is a term often used by agriculture chemical companies when talking about weed control. This same mindset should also be used in organic row crops by “stacking” tillage and mechanical weeding passes together to make a solid organic weed control program.

Vegetables, Fruit, and Specialty Crops

Is Organic for Me? Panel

Adam Blaney, Blaney Family Farm, Leon Atwell, O Farm, Shara Trierwieler, Agape Organic Farms, Zachary Dobbelaer, Charlie’s Apples

Learn from a variety of farmers as they speak on their farming experiences, including why or why not they chose to become certified organic.

Tools and Techniques

Mini Site Assessment Workshop

Jerah Pettibone, OEFFA, Marc Amante and Denise Natoli Brooks, CSU

Before investing in farmland, you need to find the right land to support your farm and lifestyle. This workshop is for anyone searching for farmland, and is suitable for crop, livestock, and agroforestry producers. Explore key considerations on topography, land infrastructure, location, soil, and water, and connect with a team of supportive technical assistants from OEFFA and Central State University.

Connecting Communities

Community Land Ownership Models

Ian McSweeny and Kristina Villa, The Farmers Land Trust

Learn and discuss community-centered land protection and ownership structures that create a more just and equitable reality for farmland, farmers, communities, and regenerative agriculture. Hear about several case studies of community-centered ownership, with a focus on successes, failures, lessons learned, and the evolution needed to create and manifest the Farmland Commons model.