FARMER JOURNEYMAPS: VISUALIZING THE REAL-WORLD STEPS TOWARD SUCCESS

90% of farms in the US make a negative median income according to the USDA. Many of these struggling farmers are small-scale first generation farmers entering the farming field without an agricultural background because they have a strong belief that they can change the status quo to create a more sustainable food system. In collaboration with Kitchen Table Advisors (TKA), Stanford University's FEED Collaborative worked to understand what common threads exist amongst successful farmers as a way to help guide aspiring farmers. In creating these “Journeymaps” with KTA, we’re giving the younger generation a framework to see what’s already been done, what potential opportunities and pitfalls exist and possible trajectories that their farms, lives and businesses could take. This way, younger farmers can ask themselves specific, hard questions early on and understand key decision making moments, options and possible paths forward. Using human-centered design, we will be asking for your experience and thoughts to define key values and frameworks for identifying what makes more successful, resilient farming communities and how aligning business and personal values can create stronger community networks and partnerships to increase the likelihood of success achieving goals and values for farms and farm families.

Sarah Mccurdy, FEED Collaborative, Stanford University

THE FABRIC OF AGRICULTURE: FIBER & NATURAL DYE GROWERS' MEETUP

Get together with other livestock and crop growers interested in the leather, wool, cotton, & dye stuff products of agriculture.  What are issues faced by those growing livestock & plants?  How do we get those non-food products sellable?  How can we deal with obstacles to production?  What are issues surrounding selling those products at the farmers markets?  Whats bill AB 1871?  And what's climate beneficial wool?  To learn and discuss these issues, please join us!

For producers & those interested in the grassroots issues for fiber production, and the development of fiber agriculture in California.

Marie Hoff, Capella Grazing Project

TAKING BACK THE LEXICON OF FOOD

It has been proven that when consumers understand the true meaning of words, and the true cost of their buying habits, they will support a more sustainable food system. Unfortunately, this information is often corrupted and co-opted by the green-washing of corporate interests. As producers and good food advocates, we will gather to identify and localize solutions to share as a new lexicon of food. Together we will create new ideas for promoting key terms and principles that can help consumers to be more informed about the food they buy.  With your help we can help deepen the bonds of our community around our shared agricultural treasure here by the Bay.

Samantha Harmon and Laura Howard, The Lexicon of Sustainability

AT THE INTERSECTION OF PERMACULTURE & AGRICULTURE
 
Often cast as the “alternative” to agriculture, the emerging practice and philosophy of Permaculture is today attracting a whole new generation of greenthumbs. But with our food system still generally beholden to self-proclaimed Agriculturalists and the loose movement dubbed Permaculture ever-broad in scope, what challenges and what opportunities exist within the overlap as well as the clash of these two worlds, in name, practice and culture? And what might the relationship between them mean for the future of new farmers and of our food?

Erik Ohlsen, Permaculture Skills Center; Paul Kaiser, Singing Frogs Farm; Gowan Batist, Fortunate Farm; Caiti Hachmyer, Red H Farm; Moderated by Miriam Volat

GUILD GRAZIERS GATHERING FOR CARBON FARMING

Calling all grassland goons, pasture pushers, and forage fiends. In this session we'll be circling up to discuss our common causes of producing excellent animal products while stewarding grazing land into greater health and productivity. We'll also be hearing an update on some new carbon farming opportunities that all graziers should know about. Bring your questions, your opinions, and your needs so that that we can address roadblocks and create opportunities to develop a more robust grazing community on land-bases large and small. 

Ariel Greenwood, Holistic Ag; Renata Renata Brillinger, CalCAN; Erin Axelrod, Lift Economy & the Compost Coalition of Sonoma County

NEW FARMER & FARMWORKER HOUSING: A TINY HOME SOLUTION?

Amid a statewide housing crisis spurred by skyrocketing real estate and rental costs, new farmers are no longer just struggling to find farmland, but also homes in which to live during their start-up years as well as affordable housing for their interns and employees. The vision of Shone Farm's new Tiny House Club is to create a housing program that not only provides farm students with an opportunity to directly participate in the building and ownership of their own home, but also to provide students and future farmers with sustainable housing.

Chelsey Kolbeck, Shone Farm & SRJC Tiny House Club

FARMER COOPERATIVES: BANDING TOGETHER FOR SUCCESS

Learn about agricultural cooperatives. We’ll cover the basics of starting, structuring, and running a co-op, and how cooperatives compare to other organizational structures.  We’ll also share case studies, including some local examples. We and the North Bay Flower Collective will discuss their process of exploring cooperative solutions to: business development, resource access, marketing, and knowledge sharing. Don’t miss this opportunity to understand co-ops from cooperative developers and your peers.

Luis Sierra & Mai Nguyen, The California Center for Cooperative Development; Nichole Skalski & Heidi Herrmann, North Bay Flower Growers Collective

EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF FARMERS
 
In just the next 20 years, 400 million acres of American farmland will change hands. That's the size of California... times four. Meanwhile, we’re now learning that a huge shift in how we grow food is necessary to preserve the natural resources on which we rely and to restore the equity of our local communities. Luckily, not only is there a whole new generation ready to roll up their sleeves, but in just past few years, a dozen innovative, new educational programs have emerged here in Northern California to help prepare the next crop of farmers and ensure a stronger local food system. Come learn more about them here!
 
Center for Land-Based Learning, Farm Academy
Grange Farm School
Permaculture Skills Center, Farm School
​Shone Farm, SRJC
Growing Roots, University of California, Berkeley
UCCE, Farming 101 & Incubator Farm

SHONE FARM TOUR

Shone Farm is a 365-acre outdoor learning laboratory for the Santa Rosa Junior College’s Agriculture/Natural Resources Department. The farm provides students with hands-on experience that cannot be duplicated in the classroom. Join us for us for a tour Shone's 120 acres of forest, 100 acres of pasture, 70 acres of vineyard, 12 acres for crop production, and 4 acres of olive and apple trees, one of the largest agriculture sites in the California Community Colleges system. In addition, there is open space around the farm’s perimeter that serves as wildlife habitat, as well as the farmstead, which includes various buildings and improvements.
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Leonard Diggs, Shone Farm Manager

KEYNOTE: PAUL KAISER, SINGING FROGS FARM

Paul Kaiser runs Singing Frogs Farm, a unique, no-till, ecologically beneficial, highly intensive vegetable farm in Sonoma County. Through innovative systems, including no-till soil management, Paul--along with his partner and wife Elizabeth--have more than tripled the organic matter in their soil, all while producing more than five times the state average of crops per acre and while bringing back tremendous, healthy populations of pollinators, beneficial insects and vertebrates (natural pest control).  Not only do they use less water to produce vegetables because of soil organic matter, they also use NO sprays of any kind, not even organic sprays, and their crew of year-round employees (not seasonal) have job security.