Description
Course Schedule:
Tuesday, December 12, 2023 & Wednesday, December 13, 2023
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Blue Ridge Community College Plecker Workforce Center, One College Lane, Weyers Cave, Virginia 24486
If you need any assistance with registration, please contact our helpline at vceprograms@vt.edu.
Conference hosts: Eric S. Bendfeldt of Virginia Cooperative Extension and the VT Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation and Mary Sketch Bryant of Virginia Tech and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition.
To learn and enjoy collaboration, conversations, and community with farmers, practitioners, and researchers, plan to attend the 2023 Virginia Farm to Table Conference. After a three year hiatus, Virginia Cooperative Extension, in partnership with the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, the VT Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition, Virginia Sustainable Agriculture Research Education (SARE), Blue Ridge Community College, and community partners, presents the 2023 Virginia Farm to Table Conference December 12 –13, 2023, at Blue Ridge Community College’s Plecker Workforce Development Center, Weyers Cave, VA. The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Nourishing Collaboration, Conservation, and Community’
This year’s conference will feature Dr. Elizabeth Heilman of Wichita State University, Dale Strickler, farmer, advisor of AgSpire, and author of the Drought Resilient Farm and the Complete Guide to Restoring Your Soil, Dr. Gail Myers of Farm to Grow and director of Rhythms of the Land, Daniel Austin of Green Sprig Ag and Little Red Hen Farm, David Montgomery and Anne Biklé authors of What Your Food Ate, Ken Meter of Crossroads Resource Center and author of Building Community Food Webs, Pedro Aponte of Saint Isidore Homestead & Permaculture, Social Impact Studios, and others.
Conference topics will include presentations, conversation, and discussions around regenerative agriculture, safety trauma, drought resilience, managing pasture, local and regional food system development, community food webs and clusters, connections between soil health and human health, diversifying and stacking complementary enterprises, and value chain connections and market development where producers and practitioners share their local and regional expertise and perspectives.
On Tuesday afternoon, there will be a special exclusive screening of Rhythms of the Land, a multimedia documentary film directed by Dr. Gail Myers, cultural anthropologist, farmer, and co-founder of Farms to Grow Inc.
The 2023 Virginia Farm to Table Conference will be of interest to farmers, producers, buyers, restaurateurs, food entrepreneurs, community organizers, agricultural development officials, nutrition and dining service directors, dietitians, policymakers, educators, regional food system stakeholders, technical service providers, and regenerative agriculture stakeholders.
Note: We are applying for Certified Nutrient Management Planners, Certified Crop Advisors, and continuing education credits for nutritionists and dietitians.
Notes
If you have any questions about this program, please contact: Eric S. Bendfeldt, ebendfel@vt.edu, 540.232.6006
If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact your local Extension Office during the business hours of 9:00a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to discuss accommodations 5 days prior to the event. *TDD number is 800-828-1120.