8:00 AMtalk
Greeting
Bruce Cohen
Auditorium
January 8–10, 2027
Full program schedule
Explore talks, panels, five Saturday breakouts, meals, and networking. Choose a day and filter the agenda, or print the full schedule.
8:10 AMtalk
Food Insecurity in Our Neighborhoods
Sally Uden — Vice President of the East Lyme Giving Garden
Annie Stockton — Vice President, Gemma E. Moran United Way/Labor Food Center
Auditorium
Description coming soon
8:30 AMtalk
Organic Matter, Mineral Availability, Biological Diversity and Energy Gradients
Auditorium
To make decisions about amending or improving soil, growers need a model of how the system works and how plants take up nutrients throughout the growing season. This session explores organic matter, mineral availability, biological diversity, and the gradients that continually change within the soil-plant ecosystem.
9:45 AMpanel
Compost Panel Discussion and Q&A
Craig Floyd, Nigel Palmer, Bryan O'Hara, Yoko Takemura, Koralee Lawrence
Auditorium
10:30 AMbreak
Break
—
10:45 AMtalk
Combining Basic Wisdoms in Starting a Garden
Auditorium
Every garden approach begins with soil. Craig will cover garden design, soil health, irrigation, foliar feeding, and practical choices for growers at every experience level.
12:00 PMmeal
Lunch and Socialize
Cafeteria
1:00 PMtalk
Preparing the Soil for Planting
Auditorium
We will cover the various methods of preparing the soil for the seeding or transplanting of a crop. Till and no-till approaches, plows, harrows, shovels, raking, rolling, tarping, composting, mulching. Which one, and when? We will look at the many options and seek to give an understanding of which is most appropriate for a given condition. Time permitting, we will also take a look at pre-plant fertilization. This presentation will be packed full of useful ideas and an enjoyable subject.
2:15 PMbreakout
Maximizing Cover Crops in a Small Space Using No-Till Techniques
Room 1
Learn to integrate cover crops into a crop plan, sow and terminate them without tillage, select species for a season and goal, and maximize cover crops in a small space.
2:15 PMbreakout
2:15 PMbreakout
What the Fungus Is Going on Down There? A Dive into Fungal Biology and Ecology
Room 2
A crash course in how fungi reproduce, eat, grow, and adapt ecologically, with examples ranging from forest mushrooms to symbiotic and decomposer fungi in fields and gardens.
2:15 PMbreakout
Integrated Pest Management
Room 3
How can growers manage pests in the garden without relying on insecticides?
2:15 PMbreakout
Growing Flowers Regeneratively
Room 4
Allyson shares the practices behind growing more than 250 varieties of flowers for CSA shares, farmers' markets, and events while maintaining diversity on a small family farm.
3:15 PMtalk
Preserving a Harvest: A Nutritionist's Perspective
Auditorium
Freezing, canning, salting, brining, fermenting, drying, and cold storage: what are the best ways to preserve the harvest while retaining as many of those healthy nutrients and flavors as possible? We will have hands-on demonstrations for some of the processes we discuss.
4:30 PMpanel
The Journey of Improving Soil Health and Food Quality: A Farmer's Perspective with Q&A
Bryan O'Hara, Yoko Takemura, Allyson Angelini, Mark McBrine, Cass Gilmore
Auditorium
6:00 PMmeal
Socialize and Dinner
Flanders Fish Market and Restaurant
All invited; pre-registration required. $37 USD per person. Capacity: 114 guests. Reservations close December 15, 2026, or earlier if capacity is reached.
Friday, January 8
5:30 PMnetworking
Meet and Greet DinnerOptional
Flanders Fish Market and Restaurant
All invited; pre-registration required. Order from the regular menu and pay the restaurant directly.
Saturday, January 9
8:00 AMtalk
Greeting
Bruce Cohen
Auditorium
8:10 AMtalk
Food Insecurity in Our Neighborhoods
Sally Uden — Vice President of the East Lyme Giving Garden
Annie Stockton — Vice President, Gemma E. Moran United Way/Labor Food Center
Auditorium
Description coming soon
8:30 AMtalk
Organic Matter, Mineral Availability, Biological Diversity and Energy Gradients
Auditorium
To make decisions about amending or improving soil, growers need a model of how the system works and how plants take up nutrients throughout the growing season. This session explores organic matter, mineral availability, biological diversity, and the gradients that continually change within the soil-plant ecosystem.
9:45 AMpanel
Compost Panel Discussion and Q&A
Craig Floyd, Nigel Palmer, Bryan O'Hara, Yoko Takemura, Koralee Lawrence
Auditorium
10:30 AMbreak
Break
—
10:45 AMtalk
Combining Basic Wisdoms in Starting a Garden
Auditorium
Every garden approach begins with soil. Craig will cover garden design, soil health, irrigation, foliar feeding, and practical choices for growers at every experience level.
12:00 PMmeal
Lunch and Socialize
Cafeteria
1:00 PMtalk
Preparing the Soil for Planting
Auditorium
We will cover the various methods of preparing the soil for the seeding or transplanting of a crop. Till and no-till approaches, plows, harrows, shovels, raking, rolling, tarping, composting, mulching. Which one, and when? We will look at the many options and seek to give an understanding of which is most appropriate for a given condition. Time permitting, we will also take a look at pre-plant fertilization. This presentation will be packed full of useful ideas and an enjoyable subject.
2:15 PMbreakout
Maximizing Cover Crops in a Small Space Using No-Till Techniques
Room 1
Learn to integrate cover crops into a crop plan, sow and terminate them without tillage, select species for a season and goal, and maximize cover crops in a small space.
2:15 PMbreakout
2:15 PMbreakout
What the Fungus Is Going on Down There? A Dive into Fungal Biology and Ecology
Room 2
A crash course in how fungi reproduce, eat, grow, and adapt ecologically, with examples ranging from forest mushrooms to symbiotic and decomposer fungi in fields and gardens.
2:15 PMbreakout
Integrated Pest Management
Room 3
How can growers manage pests in the garden without relying on insecticides?
2:15 PMbreakout
Growing Flowers Regeneratively
Room 4
Allyson shares the practices behind growing more than 250 varieties of flowers for CSA shares, farmers' markets, and events while maintaining diversity on a small family farm.
3:15 PMtalk
Preserving a Harvest: A Nutritionist's Perspective
Auditorium
Freezing, canning, salting, brining, fermenting, drying, and cold storage: what are the best ways to preserve the harvest while retaining as many of those healthy nutrients and flavors as possible? We will have hands-on demonstrations for some of the processes we discuss.
4:30 PMpanel
The Journey of Improving Soil Health and Food Quality: A Farmer's Perspective with Q&A
Bryan O'Hara, Yoko Takemura, Allyson Angelini, Mark McBrine, Cass Gilmore
Auditorium
6:00 PMmeal
Socialize and Dinner
Flanders Fish Market and Restaurant
All invited; pre-registration required. $37 USD per person. Capacity: 114 guests. Reservations close December 15, 2026, or earlier if capacity is reached.
Sunday, January 10
8:00 AMtalk
Greeting
Bruce Cohen, Eric Bauman
Auditorium
8:05 AMtalk
How to Ask a Farmer About Their Growing Practices Without Being Rude
Auditorium
Description coming soon
8:30 AMtalk
Commercial Cranberry Transformation to Regenerative Growing
Auditorium
With the negative effects of conventional growing becoming clearer, the move to regenerative practices is becoming more attractive. Making the change is daunting for most farmers. In this session Cass will discuss his journey: the successes, cost savings, and empowerment of working with nature rather than trying to outsmart her on his 80-acre cranberry farm.
9:30 AMtalk
Wildcrafting Microbes for Pest Management
Auditorium
Explore Indigenous Predatory Microorganisms, a Korean natural-farming practice rooted in observation, local ecology, and biological pest regulation, including responsible on-farm evaluation.
10:45 AMtalk
11:55 AMceremony
12:00 PMmeal
Lunch and Poster Session
Auditorium Breezeway
1:15 PMtalk
The Underappreciated Importance of Seed Quality and Seed Saving
Auditorium
Kris will share her experience growing crops for seed alongside food crops. Learn how to avoid cross-pollination—or encourage it if you like an adventure—how to grow enough plants to preserve the genetics of your seeds, and the tools and tricks of the trade that can help you become a better seed saver.
hands-on seeding session
2:30 PMpanel
Panel Discussion: Real Food? How Did Eating Get So Confusing?
Joan Palmer, Kathleen DiChiara, Mark McBrine
Auditorium
3:45 PMpanel
End of Conference Q&A
All speakers
Auditorium
4:45 PMnetworking
Socialize
Cafeteria