Education. Community. Environment.

Partnerships are the focus of virtual 2021 Food & Farming Conference

The Northern Plains Food & Farming Conference, hosted by the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society, will be held virtually this year. No driving on winter roads required! Participants are encouraged to sign up now for the Jan. 21-23 conference; pre-conference events are being held throughout January.

The conference theme is “Building Success Through Partnerships.” Events that fit that theme include:

• A pre-conference workshop, plus a breakout session, hosted by members of Organic Farmers Agency for Relationship Marketing (OFARM), covering how they work together to market grain and overcome challenges in the organic market.
• A conversation with chef Dan Barber, breeders, and farmers on how they can work together to breed crops with better flavor and nutrition.
• A keynote speech from corn breeder Walter Goldstein on how partnerships—such as those between breeders and plants, and between plants and the microbiome of the soil—are essential to successful plant breeding.

Other topics include a keynote presentation from meteorologist Daryl Ritchison, advice and stories from long-time veterinarian Paul Dettloff, a panel discussion that includes N.D. Commissioner of Agriculture Doug Goehring on how COVID-19 has affected our food system, and several presentations from farmers who have experimented on their farms with projects funded by SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education).

Participants are also invited to come up with their own conversation topic, as time will be set aside on Saturday, Jan. 23, for participants to gather in informal breakout sessions of their own design. An explanation of how this works will happen on Friday, Jan. 22.

You can learn more about the conference in several ways:

• Read feature stories about sessions and keynote speakers in the Winter 2021 issue of The Germinator: https://www.npsas.org/resources/newsletter-2/
• Peruse the conference program book: http://bit.ly/2021conferencebrochure
• Check out the most up-to-date information on the schedule and speakers at the conference site: https://pheedloop.com/npsas2021conference/site

The cost for NPSAS members is $100, and the cost for non-members is $125. Students can attend for $40. The cost for pre-conference workshops is $25 each. Register and find more details at the conference site: https://pheedloop.com/npsas2021conference/site (click on “Register” at the top of the page).

For more information, email events@npsas.org or call 218-331-4099.