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Kansas Rural Center 2016 Farm & Food Conference

By Submitted

09/09/2016

The Kansas Rural Center will host its annual Farm and Food Conference on November 18 and 19, 2016, in Manhattan, Kansas, featuring three renowned keynote presenters who will emphasize the importance of pollinators, diversified farming systems, community organizing and local social networks.

Kicking off day one, Dr. Jonathon Lundgren will speak on the critical roles that diversity and pollinators play in creating healthy farm and food systems. Lundgren is an award-winning entomologist and agroecologist who worked for the USDA Agricultural Research Service for 11 years before starting his current project, Blue Dasher Farm, a research and demonstration farm in South Dakota.

Jennifer Hopwood, Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, will speak on the importance of pollinators in a healthy, sustainable agricultural system and how ecologically-based farming systems can help support pollinator populations.

On day two of the conference, Dr. Liz Carlisle, author of Lentil Underground, will speak about the ways in which successful alternative food networks are built on broad-based moral economies and social support networks. Lentil Underground recounts Carlisle's research and experience working with Montana's sustainable, organic and local food movement, and the social networks that organized to make it all work. Dr. Carlisle was a lecturer at the Berkeley Food Institute's Diversified Farming Systems Project before heading to Stanford University as a lecturer in the Thinking Matters Program in the School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Science.

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In addition to inspiring keynote presenters, the two-day program will highlight conservation and diversified farming systems with an emphasis on pollinators and soil health on day one, and local food systems and how collaboration and networking are critical to developing a successful local and regional food system on day two.

With over 25 breakout sessions across the two days, the conference promises to have something for a broad spectrum of attendees, ranging from very practical how-to's for farmers and ranchers, to community organizing ideas for community leaders, to policy analysis and issue presentations.

Breakout sessions will feature equally extraordinary presenters and expertise. Experts including farmers, community and organizational leaders, and state agencies from all over the Midwest will join panels and presenters. New this year, North Central Region - Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (NCR-SARE) is co-sponsoring an entire track of SARE funded farmer research project sessions titled "The Farmer Forum."

Each day will include a lunch made with locally-sourced ingredients and will offer conference attendees time for networking and visiting exhibitor booths in order to connect with and learn more about the great people and exciting things happening in farming, food production, and the environment, in Kansas and beyond.

KRC welcomes sponsorship at several different levels and benefits to sponsorship. Cost to attend the conference is $65 per day or $120 for both days which includes access to all presenters, lunch and snacks both days, and a Friday evening social hour. Scholarships may be available.

To learn more about becoming a sponsor, registering, or scholarship at this year's conference visit http://kansasruralcenter.org/conference-2016/ or call Natalie Fullerton at 866-579-5469, or email nfullerton@kansasruralcenter.org.

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