The California Small Farm Conference is the state's premier gathering of small farmers and those who support them. The three day educational conference includes on-farm tours, focused workshops, general educational sessions and opportunities for peer networking.

The next convening of the California Small Farm Conference is planned for March 1-3, 2009 in Sacramento.

Conference registration is now open! 

The theme of the 2009 conference – Farming for the Future – reflects the commitment of the California Small Farm Conference and its team of volunteer planner from around the state to help prepare California's small farmers for the challenges ahead. Higher energy costs, a statewide drought, new air and water quality requirements, invasive plants and insects and global warming are all cited as signfiicant threats to California's agricultural industry, and especially to small farms.

But in the midst of these threats are incredible opportunities. An increased public awareness of the importance of buying locally, the willingness of consumers to spend on "greener" products including organically-grown foods, and the shift in the federal farm bill to support more funding for organics and specialty crops all hold great promise to aid small California farmers in sustaining and expanding their farm operations.

The 2009 California Small Farm Conference will help small farmers – and those who support them: including researchers, agriculture extension agents, farmers' market operators, agriculture students, and consumers – to better understand and navigate the changes the future will bring.

Thanks to the generosity of our partners at USDA, scholarships are once again available for farmers, agriculture students, and farmers' market managers. Scholarship applications are available now and are due by December 31, 2008 deadline extended to January 22!.

Conference registration is now open. Register today! Registration fees go up on January 17.

Make plans to be a part of this exciting and educational event!

The California Small Farm Conference is proud to announce that Thaddeus and Moyra Barsotti, Ann Evans and A.G. Kawamura have been added to the agenda for the 2009 California Small Farm Conference in Sacramento as plenary speakers.

Thaddeus and Moyra Barsotti are farmers in the Capay Valley who exemplify the movement of small farms towards organic production and new methods of direct marketing. 

Ann Evans is a noted writer and community leader, organizing consumers around local food and agricultural issues. .

A.G. Kawamura is secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Click here to learn more about these featured speakers.

Other exciting speakers are also being enlisted for conference workshops, short courses and farm tours.

Conference topics include:

• Urban farming techniques
• Cherry production and marketing strategies
• Greening your farmers’ market
• Water, land, soil, air and energy conservation
• Small-scale meat production
• Transitioning to organic production
• Niche marketing concepts
• Bringing farmers’ markets to colleges and universities
• Regional marketing campaigns
• Land access and succession planning
• Cost-effect advertising for farmers’ markets

Sign up for our e-mail newsletter to keep informed of conference plans and to be the first to know when conference registration opens.

The conference will be held at the Radisson Sacramento. All onsite events - keynote speeches, workshops, meals and the networking reception - will occur at the Radisson while all off-site events - tours and short courses - will depart from and return to the Radisson.

The most recent Small Farm Conference was February 24-26, 2008 in Visalia.

The theme of the 2008 California Small Farm Conference was Growing Opportunities. While small farmers continue to face many challenges, they are also finding unprecedented opportunities. The growing interest in locally-grown food and supporting sustainable food systems offers great promise for the small farmer that is able to produce a high quality product and market it effectively to consumers hungry for California-grown foods.

Featured speakers for the 2008 California Small Farm Conference included Dr. Preston Maring of Kaiser Permanente, a vocal advocate for locally-farmed foods within Kaiser Permanente and the community; Huell Howser, host of numerous PBS shows including the popular California Gold; and David Runsten, the Executive Director of Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF)

Conference topics included cultivation, water conservation, pest management, business development, USDA opportunities, and marketing. In addition, workshops were offered that addressed the particular issues facing new farmers, experienced farmers and farmers' market manangers.

The mission of the Farm Conference is to conduct an educational conference on topics relevant to family farming, direct marketing and issues related to agricultural sustainability.