By Jason Valcourt, NOFA/Mass Winter Conference Coordinator

Livestream Event – January 8-10, 2021 

Join us this weekend! It’s time. See and be seen with farmers and food system reformers for the 34th annual NOFA/Mass Winter Conference. Food Security for the Common Wealth. Our conference program is chock-full of talented, wise presenters and tasty information as we always strive to deliver in our most significant event of the year.  

You can pick your path through livestreaming options all weekend, or purchase the video recordings so you can absorb the conference on your own schedule. There are various combinations of registration options to suit your needs! You can REGISTER NOW here. 

Annual Meeting and Keynote Friday, January 8th at 7pm  

We invite you to join as members of NOFA/Mass for our brief annual check-in where we summarize the prior year and set our sights anew. This year our annual update will be enhanced by the presence of two additional esteemed allies in the food system locally;  Massachusetts State Senator Jo Comerford, and the Director of the Mass Food System Collaborative and NOFA Alumni, Winton Pitcoff.  

Our keynote Greg Watson, Director of Policy and Systems Design at Schumacher Center for a New Economics, will follow the Annual Meeting and deliver his keynote address Our Local Food System: Planning for a Post-COVID, Climate Changing World.

Saturday Evening Keynote 

Our 7pm Saturday evening keynote session with Eric Toensmeier, author of The Carbon Farming Solution, will address the powers that perennial crops have to address the climate crisis, sequester carbon and impact Northeast agriculture.  

Focused Study – Intensive Workshops 

Farmer to Farmer Intensive – Sunday 9am – 3:30pm 

Is it time to take it to the next level and get in a room with deeply experienced farmers digging deep into their experience to share on a peer-to-peer level? Eight experienced growers gather together in three distinct panel discussions on the topics: Tillage Reduction, Nutrient Management, and Crop Intensification.

We are excited to host decades of farming and soil management experience in this potent day of discussion with our esteemed peers from near and far. You can attend in person or purchase the video recordings separately! 

  • Jen Salinetti of Woven Roots Farm, Tyngsborough, MA 
  • Noah Kellerman from Alprilla Farm, Essex, MA   
  • Doug Wolcik from Gaining Ground Farm, Concord, MA  
  • Heather Darby Agronomic and Soil Specialist, University of Vermont Extension  
  • Francis Thicke, soil expert and dairy farmer, Fairfield, IL  
  • Yoko Takemura and Alex Carpenter from Assawaga Farm,Putnam, CT  
  • Mark Fulford of Teltane Farm, Monroe, ME

An Amazing Collection of Conference Workshops! 

Our workshop lineup is amazing! Feast on this rich collection of topics we’ve curated from the region. If you cannot join this weekend, you can purchase the conference video recordings! 

  • “We Come Together” Food Medicine + Diasporic Herbal Transmission 
  • Beginning Maple Syrup Making 
  • Making and Canning Salsa Using a Water Bath Method 
  • Experiments in Reduced Tillage at Alprilla Farm 
  • Farming without Farmland 
  • Honeybee Hives for Community Gardens 
  • DIY Cultured Vegetables: Increase Immunity, Mitigate Stress, & Support a Healthy Gut-Brain Connection 
  • Root Cellaring and More – Preserving Food for the Entire Year 
  • Healthy Soil – Healthy Food 
  • Speak for the Soils – How to Become a Healthy Soils Advocate 
  • Restoring Old Apple Orchards 
  • Goat Management 101 
  • Hedgerows, Windbreaks, and Buffers: Functional Trees on the Farm 
  • Imagine 2040: Build Co-operatively! 
  • Raising Backyard Poultry for Processing – Basics 
  • How to Make 100 Yards of Compost on the Farm 
  • Q&A Session – Soil Health & Nutrition 
  • Grow Your Own Apothecary: Introduction to Growing Medicinal Herbs 
  • How Local Farmers are Adapting to Changing conditions in a Pandemic 
  • System Change, Not Climate Change – Time for Root Solutions 
  • Exploring the Outer Limits Post Soil Testing and Soil Amendments 
  • Pollinator or Weed: How to Identify and Manage Undesirable Herbaceous Plants 
  • Growing Nuts: Soil Building and Land Management  
  • IPM For Home and Garden 
  • Resources to Assist in Reaching Your Soil Health Goals 
  • Q&A Session – Growing community 

We hope you’ll Register Now! and join us this weekend, and if not, that you’ll purchase video recordings of our 34th Annual Winter Conference. 

See you soon!
Jason Valcourt 

NOFA/Mass Winter Conference Coordinator