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DECEMBER 3 – 5, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
Thank you for an amazing conference! We had a record attendance of almost 900 people! Hope to see you all next year at the 2011 Conference!
Check out the photos on our Facebook page!
Visit the CFSA blog for posts from the conference including pictures and a pod cast
watch the amazing 2010 Conference video from our friends at Geocore films!
Top 10 Reasons
We are so pleased to be hosting SAC in Winston-Salem this year. We will be right downtown, a short walk to restaurants and brew pubs, and five minutes from beautiful Old Salem. We will also tour the wonderful farms around Winston-Salem!
The SAC theme this year is, “Local & Organic Arrives: Our Opportunity is Now.” Local and organic food is at a popularity level that we would have only dreamed of a few years ago. How do we, as a movement, seize this opportunity and take it to the next level? Our keynote this year, author, attorney, economist and entrepreneur Michael Shuman, will offer us compelling and provocative ideas about this important topic.
Michael is known as one of the nation's leading voices on "buy local" and serves as research and economic development director for the much-heralded Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). His books, "The Smallmart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition" and "Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age" have become bibles of the "buy local" movement. Not just calling for more local buying, Michael is a thought leader in how we increase the supply oflocal goods -- a key issue for the local food movement today. Recently,Michael has been focusing specifically on food and farming and will give us the latest on Bay Friendly Chicken, a community-owned, eco-friendly poultry enterprise based in Maryland. He helped start the company and is its President. Using his experience with this and other community investment projects, Michael will offer concrete ideas on how we can use our local wealth to create businesses and support farms to reach a larger scale. And he will talk about WalMart and the pros and cons of engaging with big box retailers and the wholesale market. Michael has been a regular commentator on NPR and PBS news programs, and is a internationally-known lecturer and consultant. He is a graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Law School. Don't miss this opportunity to hear this timely message from one of the brightest leaders in the local food and local economies world.
For more information on Michael, go to www.smallmart.org. andwww.livingeconomies.org.
3. Cutting Edge
Sessions!
Julie Major from International Biochar Initiative in Montreal; Jim Adkins of the International Poultry Center; Diane Eggert of the Farmers’ Market Federation of NY; Chuck Mohler on weed control and crop rotation; David Orr on organic insect controls; soil expert Joel Gruver, and staff from Animal Welfare Approved on pastured hogs. Plus, Carolina favorites: Tony Kleese, Tradd Cotter, Charlie Headington, and Debbie Roos!
There really is something for everyone! For gardeners, we have experts like Chuck Marsh talking about permaculture and Bountiful Backyards staff about fruit trees. For cooks, Greek chef Angelina Koulizakis-Battiste (Angelina’s Kitchen) will demonstrate how to cook with local meats and we will have a cool class on basic canning. For community food activists, we will be showcasing community projects from around the Carolinas, including farm to school and county level farm planning and a special Carolina Food Policy update featuring food and farming experts. There is a new track on Farmers’ Markets, a whole track for beginning farmers, another on how to make your farm business thrive, plus in-depth tracks on horticulture, soil fertility, livestock, and food safety.
We’ve packed the Friday, Dec. 3 pre-conference with an amazing lineup of workshops. But, space is limited! Register now to guarantee your spot for the Vegetable Intensive Workshop with Alex Hitt of Peregrine Farm, the Poultry Mobile Workshop, intensives from Tradd Cotter and Joel Gruver or the Food Policy Intensive led by top regional food policy leaders. A very special SAC offering this year is a five hour hands-on cheesemaking workshop at Goat Lady Dairy -- taught by master cheesemaker Steve Tate. This very affordable Friday session will sell out, so don’t delay.
And how about the one-of-a-kind tours of heirloom horticulture at Historic Old Salem, the new Edible Schoolyard Project in Greensboro, or the sustainable livestock tour featuring an organic dairy! There are also two tours, the all-day fruit and vegetable tour and the halt-day diversified local farm tour that will visit local and sustainable wineries! Right now there are spaces available in all of these outstanding choices! But, don’t wait – they’ll fill up fast!
In Friday's Dinner and Special Panel: “Local and Organic Food and Farming: 2010 Policy Update,”
we will hear from a distinguished panel of academics, policymakers, business leaders and farmers, including Nancy Creamer of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, Michael Sligh of RAFI and others. Then, on Saturday morning, we'll hear the experts' take on how we grow the movement beyond our niche impact. Can we grow the supply of sustainable food and fiber in this country without losing our values? Can financial models like coops and local investment clubs create community-scale enterprises that have a bigger impact? Are there strategies to help mid-size farms grow? And what does it mean when WalMart sells organics and even local produce? A distinguished panel of private sector leaders will tackle these and other issues.
The energy and excitement generated by the folks who attend our conference is one of the best reasons to attend. Tap into the heart of the local food movement. Catch up with old friends or meet new ones! We will have expanded time for networking and visiting the Exhibit Hall. Friday afternoon we will have a “Speed Networking” session for those who want to meet new people.
And, of course, not to forget, all weekend long we will enjoy local and organic food, much of it purchased from and donated by member farmers. Once again, we have the talented and energetic chef, Kris Reid in the kitchen working the local-organic magic. Bring your appetite.
Our registration costs reflect our committment to create a gathering of all kinds of folks who are passionate about local, organic farming. We know that the economy has been tough for everyone this year. And so our conference costs haven't gone up for a few years now even though we've expanded conference offerings and keep bringing high-quality speakers. We're working hard to make the conference affordable for everyone. There are also special discount rates for students, interns, and apprentices and work exchanges for folks who'd like to help out at the conference in exchange for a conference registration discount.
If you have questions about the conference, contact SAC organizer Fred Broadwell at fred@carolinafarmstewards.org. We look forward to seeing you in 2011!.
Check out the 2009 conference!