LA CROSSE, Wis. – Kinetic is one of the words used to describe the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service Organic Farming Conference. The 2020 MOSES conference will feature 60 workshops in 10 categories. The industry’s hottest topics will be featured in those workshops, said Lauren Langworthy, executive director of the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service.
The conference also will showcase keynote speeches, roundtable discussions, film screenings and 170 trade-show exhibits.
“How to ensure we’re capturing a living off farming and different marketing models will be discussed,” Langworthy said. “So will agroforestry, silvopasture and resilient production. And there will be a workshop about a neighborly approach to addressing pesticide drift.”
Pre-conference registrations are on track with what they were last year, she said. The 2019 conference attracted 3,100 attendees.
Before joining MOSES as an employee, Langworthy said she was impressed by the electric atmosphere of the conference. It’s a unique gathering of large- and small-scale farmers raising a host of farm products. She and her husband own a grass-based farm where they produce sheep, beef cattle and hay.
“The conference generates lots of surprises and ideas one might not think of otherwise,” she said. “It helps farmers learn about things outside their wheelhouse.”
The conference will feature keynote speeches. Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm, author of “Farming While Black,” will discuss small-scale farming and prejudice in the food system. John Ikerd, a University of Missouri agricultural-economics professor emeritus, will discuss the economics of sustainable farming.
Workshops will cover numerous subjects.
- business, marketing and management
- certification and labeling
- farming systems
- field crops
- health and homestead
- leadership and community
- livestock
- market farming
- soils
- specialty crops
The conference offers special programming in five tracks.
- new organic stewards – developed for farmers in their first 10 years of farming
- “In Her Boots” – featuring round-table discussions for women farmers
- certified crop advisers – individuals may earn continuing-education credits through the Certified Crop Adviser Program
- organic research – featuring the latest research regarding organic production
The MOSES Organic Farming Conference will be held Feb. 27-29 at the La Crosse Center, 300 Front St. S., La Crosse. Visit mosesorganic.org and click on the events tab or call 888-906-6737 for more information.
Lynn Grooms writes about the diversity of agriculture, including the industry’s newest ideas, research and technologies as a staff reporter for Agri-View based in Wisconsin.