TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Rural Center will host its annual Farm and Food Conference November 16 and 17, 2018, in Wichita, Kansas, at the Hotel at Oldtown. This will mark the first year KRC has brought this conference to Wichita.
This year the two-day program will explore the theme “Framing Our Future: What is Right about Food, Farming and Communities in Kansas.” It will highlight diverse people, communities, farms, and organizations that are working hard to build resilience and community wealth in the face of great challenges. It will also focus on the connections between healthy people, healthy soil, and how we farm.
To register, please visit https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07efl2kiybe2dbb9e7&oseq=&c=&ch=.
The conference promises to have something for a broad spectrum of attendees – from conventional and organic farmers, to beginning and established farmers, conservationists and environmentalists, and local food advocates and community leaders.
The Friday keynote will be Mary Hendrickson, rural sociology associate professor at the Univ. of Missouri and contributor to the recently published “Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities”. A daughter of the prairie plains and deeply rooted in rural communities, Hendrickson will speak on local food for regional economies and creating community wealth.
Saturday will feature David Montgomery and Anne Bikle, authors of “The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health”. They will speak on the connections between soil health and human health, and the farming practices needed for a transformation in agriculture and health.
Each day will also feature 12 to 15 workshop sessions including practical sessions on production and marketing, farm transition options for the next generation, conservation practices and management, panels and roundtable discussions from experts, and sessions on state policy, community and civic organizing efforts in Kansas, and more.
Call for Sponsors
The conference each year would not be possible without the generous support of sponsors. KRC invites sponsors to help support this growing conference. Sponsors have the opportunity to network with the over 200 participants each year by hosting an exhibitor booth. Other sponsorship opportunities include an ad in the conference program, or helping with the costs of local food, scholarships for students and beginning farmers to attend and more. Sponsorship allows KRC to produce a top quality conference complete with top experts, diverse workshops, exhibits, locally sourced food and other opportunities that create a positive, meaningful experience for conference participants.
Register
Cost to attend the conference is $70 per day or $135 for both days which includes access to all presenters, a light breakfast, lunch and snacks both days, and a Friday evening social hour. Both days will include a lunch from locally-sourced ingredients and will offer conference attendees time for networking and visiting exhibitor booths. To register, please visit https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07efl2kiybe2dbb9e7&oseq=&c=&ch=.
To learn more about becoming a sponsor or registering at this year’s conference visit www.kansasruralcenter.org or call Natalie Fullerton at 866-579-5469 Extension 701 or email info@kansasruralcenter.org.
The mission of KRC, a non-profit research, education and advocacy organization founded in 1979, is to promote the long-term health of the land and its people through research, education and advocacy that advance an economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially just food and farming system. For more information, visit www.kansasruralcenter.org.
— Kansas Rural Center
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