Virginia Farm to Table Conference 2024

"Connecting Food, Farms, and Health"

Thursday, December 5 and Friday, December 6, 2024

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Blue Ridge Community College

Plecker Workforce Center

One College Lane, Weyers Cave, Virginia 24486

Link to register: https://tinyurl.com/2024VAF2TConfRegistration

You are invited to the 2024 Virginia Farm to Table Conference: Connecting Food, Farms, and Health on December 5-6, 2024 at the Plecker Workforce Center at Blue Ridge Community College!

Join us to learn and enjoy collaboration, conversations, and community with farmers, practitioners, researchers, and more. View the keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and latest agenda here: Conference At a Glance here.

We aim to bring together 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.

We have confirmed 4 Conservation Planning credits and 3 Nutrient Management credits.

Please note: For attendees who may have food allergies, the conference will highlight a peanut farmer and his family's "single origin" peanut story and long-time relationship with Hubbard's Peanuts. Samples of the "single origin" peanuts will be displayed and available for attendees to consume during the conference.

Conference At A Glance

To view a PDF version of the Conference At A Glance schedule, please click here.

Registration

Rate: $50 per day

Deadline: December 2, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. ET

Registration is limited to 200 people.

The registration fee to attend the Thursday evening Virginia Farm to Table Networking event and 4 The Soil Jam at The Granary at Valley Pike Farm Market is an additional $20.

Refunds may incur a processing fee. Additionally, a $20 refund processing fee for refunds requested after December 2, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. ET

Lodging Options

The Village Inn

Approx. miles from the venue: 8.0 mi

Address: 4979 S. Valley Pike, Harrisonburg, VA 22801

Hotel 24 South

Approx. miles from the venue: 12.4 mi

Address: 24 South Market Street, Staunton, Virginia, 24401

Hampton Inn - Harrisonburg South

Approx. miles from the venue: 9.8 mi

Address: 43 Covenant Drive, Harrisonburg, Virginia, 22801

Best Western Plus Harrisonburg

Approx. miles from the venue: 10.0 mi

Address: 3325 S Main Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801

Hyatt Place Harrisonburg

Approx. miles from the venue: 15.0 mi

Address: 1884 Evelyn Byrd Avenue, Harrisonburg, VA 22801

Double Tree by Hilton Harrisonburg

Approx. miles from the venue: 15.0 mi

Address: 1400 E. Market Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia, 22801, USA

Holiday Inn Express options in Harrisonburg, Staunton, and Waynesboro

Harrisonburg: 196 Burgess Road, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801

Staunton: 47 Rolling Thunder Lane, Staunton, Virginia 24401

Waynesboro: 108 Chicurel Lane, Waynesboro, Virginia 22980

Avid Hotels Staunton - an IHG Hotel

Approx. miles from the venue: 15.0 mi

62 Sangers Lane, Staunton, Virginia 24401 United States

Candlewood Suites Harrisonburg - an IHG Hotel

Approx. miles from the venue: 15.0 mi

1560 Country Club Road, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801

Questions?

About this program, please contact Eric S. Bendfeldt, ebendfel@vt.edu, 540.383.5393 or

Mary Sketch Bryant, msketch2@vt.edu, 919-402-7241

For assistance with registration, please contact our helpline at vceprograms@vt.edu.

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 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to discuss accommodations 5 days prior to the event. *TDD number is 800-828-1120.

Networking

Hosted by the Virginia Soil Health Coalition

Thursday, December 5, 2024

4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
The Granary at Valley Pike Farm Market
3494 Lee Hwy, Weyers Cave, VA 24486

On Thursday, December 5, join fellow attendees for an evening of community, networking, and a jam session at Valley Pike Farm Market!

Valley Pike Farm Market is home to a local farmers market, coffee shop, bakery, deli, and wine & beer shop. The barn is over 100 years old and has been restored with great care. David Gardner, a local farmer saved the Sellers barn from demolition to make way for large-scale commercial development. Learn more about David's work and the venue here.

The Flip Charts will share their brand new music video of their original song "We Are 4 The Soil." If you would like to join the "Hoot-n-Annie" jam session, bring your guitar, harmonica, your voice, or any other instrument!

Speakers & Topics

Conference topics will include presentations, conversation, and discussions around regenerative agriculture, soil health, business marketing and promotion, market trends, business planning IQ, local and regional food system development, different market channel models including sole source production, heritage varieties, and alliances, regional value chain connections, and everyday opportunities to impact local governance. Producers and practitioners will share their local and regional expertise and perspectives on concurrent session panels. Click here to see the current Conference At A Glance.

Click the links under each photo to learn more about the speakers.

Speakers

Clarenda "Farmer Cee" Stanley

Green Hefa Farms

Clarenda "Farmer Cee" Stanley is a visionary entrepreneur, farmer, herbalist, and advocate for ethical business and sustainable living. Known affectionately as "Farmer Cee," she is the founding CEO of Green Heffa Farms, a wellness brand and herb farm that celebrates the power of nature to heal and nourish. Beyond her work as an executive, farmer, and herbalist, Farmer Cee is also a passionate educator and community leader. Her farm has achieved the distinction of becoming the nation's premier Black-owned farm to earn the Certified B Corp credential, a significant recognition denoting its commitment to social and environmental responsibility. Learn more about Farmer Cee here.

Green Heffa Farms Website

Nicole Masters

Director and Owner of Integrity Soils

Nicole Masters is an agroecologist, educator, systems thinker, and author. She has extensive practical expertise and experiences in regenerative soil and landscape practices and coaching and training the trainers. Nicole has a huge commitment to finding win-win solutions for the wellbeing of both landscapes and landmanagers. With her team they work alongside food producers and the organisations who support them, covering over 29 million acres. Learn more about Nicole here.

Integrity Soils Website

65b7b9e261d098f90cfab8e3_Maureen4_2023 2.jpg

Maureen McNamara Best

Executive Director of Local Environmental Agriculture Project (LEAP)

Maureen loves food -- thinking about food, growing food, eating food, cooking food, and, of course, buying local food at LEAP's famers markets. Maureen has been working with food, agriculture, and community since the early 2000s. Her work and professional experience is wide-ranging and includes teaching high school agriculture in Raleigh, NC, working with migrant farmworkers in eastern North Carolina and in the Colorado plains, doing food safety inspections in Boulder, CO, and studying the economic viability of the local food system in Northern Colorado. Learn more about Maureen here.

LEAP Website

Elisha Barnes

Pop Son Farm, fourth-generation farmer

Elisha Barnes of Pop Son Farm is a fourth-generation peanut farmer in the small town of Branchville, Virginia. Barnes farms two locations totaling 36 acres, one of which was bought by his father sometime before World War II. On this land his family sustained itself raising everything from animals to produce. Learn more about Elisha here.

The Peanut Grower: Farmer Feature

Hubs Peanuts and Elisha Barnes's "single origin" peanut story

David M. Kohl, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus, Virginia Tech

Dr. David Kohl is an academic Hall of Famer in the College of Agriculture at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. Dr. Kohl has keen insight into the agriculture industry gained through extensive travel, research, and involvement in ag businesses. He has traveled over 10 million miles; conducted more than 7,000 presentations; and published more than 2,500 articles in his career. Dr. Kohl’s wisdom and engagement with all levels of the industry provide a unique perspective into future trends. Learn more about Dr. Kohl here.

Program descriptions by Dr. Kohl

Breakouts and Panel Discussions

Day 1 Breakouts, Part I (1:15-2:15 PM)

Funding for Farmers: Demystifying Grants with Farmer Cee
Moving Beyond Practices: Deepening Internal Resilience for Landscape Resilience with Nicole Masters
Collaborating across the Commonwealth to Strengthen Agriculture and Food System Resilience

Day 1 Breakouts, Part II (2:30 - 3:30 PM)

Beyond the Harvest: Building a Brand That Grows with Farmer Cee
Farming in a Changing Landscape: A Conversation with Virginia Producers
Farmer and Community Emergency Preparedness: Planning for Resilience

Day 2 Breakouts, Part I (1:30-2:30 PM PM)

Adding Value to Grain Through Story, Sustainability, and Identify Preservation- Insights from the Distilling Industry
A Conversation on the Emotional and Psychological Aspects of Family and Community Disaster Resilience

Day 2 Breakouts, Part II (2:30-3:30 PM)

Local Governance and Everyday Opportunities for Impacting Food Systems Change

Learn about the breakout and panel topics here.

Conference Hosts & Partners

The conference is presented by the Virginia Cooperative Extension in partnership with the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, the Virginia Tech 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), and Blue Ridge Community College.