Young Farmers Conference

(12/3/2009 8:00 AM - 12/4/2009 4:00 PM)

Click here to register! This December, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture presents its second annual Young Farmers Conference: Reviving the Culture of Agriculture, a program especially for young and new farmers. The number of American farmers aged 55 or older has grown from 37% to over 60% in the last 60 years, meaning the future of farming depends heavily on the entry of a new generation of farmers. In order to better guarantee their success, it is vital that they receive all the training, tools, and knowledge available. This conference is designed to help remove obstacles faced by young farmers, such as access to land and capital, working with various distribution channels (markets, cooperatives, institutions), lack of general agricultural skill-sets, and more. The Young Farmers Conference is a space to network with peers and learn from leaders in the field, helping to ensure that the next generation of farmers is equipped for the work ahead. The 2008 conference featured workshops on topics ranging from animal husbandry, greenhouse maintenance, and slaughterhouse initiatives to land access, farm-based education, and global agricultural policy. Conference participants benefited from keynote speeches by two leaders in the sustainable agriculture field: Fred Kirschenmann, President of the Board at Stone Barns Center and Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and Eliot Coleman, author, farmer and expert on organic four-season farming in the northeast. During mealtimes and in between workshops, participants had the opportunity to network while enjoying farm-fresh food prepared by Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Building off of last year’s momentum, the 2009 Young Farmers Conference will be a forum for more than 200 participants to learn from agricultural luminaries, peers, and advocacy organizations through workshops, keynotes, and panel discussions. Surveys of this year’s attendees will help shape future conferences and year-round workshop offerings at Stone Barns. This year's keynote address will be given by Wes Jackson of the Land Institute. Conference fee: $180