2025 California Small Farm Conference: Full Schedule

Welcome to the 37th annual California Small Farm Conference, a week-long event featuring over 40 online workshops as well as a dozen in-person gatherings around the state. Whether you’re a beginning farmer or a seasoned grower, a local food advocate or a farmers market manager, you’ll find something here for you. This year’s theme, "Rooted in Place", honors the vital relationship between farmers, communities and the land they steward.

Check out the schedule below for event times and locations. Click "Reserve Tickets" to register. Admission is on a sliding-scale, to ensure everyone can attend. Please select the amount you’re comfortable paying. Enjoy the conference!

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8:00am PST

A New Model for Farmland Access and Transition: The Farmland Commons

Sunday February 23, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am PST

Online

The Farmers Land Trust is a national organization working to support farmland protection, transition, and secure access for farmers through the innovative Farmland Commons model, which decommodifies land by placing it in the ownership of local communities. This dynamic and engaging presentation will share how the Farmland Commons model works, and participants will leave with the knowledge and resources that will enable them to carry forward creative land transition and access opportunities to their own communities.

Speakers

Ian McSweeney

The Farmers Land Trust

Kristina Villa

The Farmers Land Trust

Sunday February 23, 2025 8:00am - 9:15am PST
Online

Issues in Food & Ag / Other

Audience New & Beginning Farmers, Experienced Farmers, General Public (including non-farmers), Farmers Market Professionals, Farm Advisors & Technical Assistance Providers

9:45am PST

Practical Entrepreneurship Guide for Raising Poultry on Pasture or Integrated with Crops

Sunday February 23, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am PST

Online

To successfully raise poultry on pasture, or in rotation with crops, farmers need practical plans to launch, scale and manage a successful business. In this workshop, seasoned farmers will discuss practices and innovations that work well. According to the interest of those participating in the workshop, we will discuss production systems design, enterprise budgets and profitability calculators, breed selection, brooder management, sturdy mobile coops, preventive health, predator management, managing pasture for poultry, and navigating regulations on meat processing and egg marketing. NCAT/ATTRA will share highlights of the poultry entrepreneurs toolbox and take-home messages from experiments in three states on broiler production in rotation with vegetable crops. Aspiring and beginning poultry farmers will learn about how to access to sources of practical information and ongoing support.

Speakers

Caleb Barron

Fogline Farm

Ann Baier

Sustainable Agriculture Specialist, National Center for Appropriate Technology

NCAT/ATTRA information service for farmers, ranchers and other food systems peopleBeginning Farmer workshops Pastured poultry integration with crop productionOrganic certificationCulture and agriculture Soil for Water, healthy soils, conservation planningLife, meaning and cycles... Read More →

Sunday February 23, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am PST
Online

Farm Production / Practices

Audience New & Beginning Farmers, General Public (including non-farmers), Farm Advisors & Technical Assistance Providers

9:45am PST

Strawberry Production in Hotter Climates

Sunday February 23, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am PST

Online

Strawberries thrive in the cooler, sunny climates of California’s Central Coast which is why the region is home to the majority of the state’s commercial strawberry production. However, there are many small-scale operations throughout the state growing strawberries in hotter, drier regions. What does it take to successfully grow strawberries on a smaller scale—especially in less climatically ideal regions? How do coastal practices need to be adapted to hotter growing conditions? How does the heat affect disease and pest prevalence?

Join UC Cooperative Extension Small & Organic Farms Advisor, Margaret Lloyd, and Community Education Specialist, Lindsey Klein, as we dive into these questions plus topics like cultivar selection, irrigation needs, planting and harvesting schedules, post-harvest handling, and more!

Speakers

Margaret Lloyd

Small and Organic Farms Advisor, UC Cooperative Extension

Lindsey Klein

Small Farms Program Community Education Specialist, UC Cooperative Extension

Sunday February 23, 2025 9:45am - 11:00am PST
Online

Farm Production / Practices

Audience New & Beginning Farmers, Experienced Farmers, Farm Advisors & Technical Assistance Providers

11:30am PST

Beyond the Newsletter: 5 Strategies to Scale a 100+ CSA Program in Less Than One Season

Sunday February 23, 2025 11:30am - 12:45pm PST

Online

Most farmers know a newsletter is key to engaging an existing audience, but it’s the activities surrounding your newsletter that deliver growth. Scaling a CSA program requires more than just communication; it demands strategic planning and execution across various aspects of the business.

After a brief presentation, attendees will be guided through a hands-on workshop, where they’ll learn 5 strategies to grow a CSA. By the end of the session, attendees will leave with a clear, actionable plan to scale their CSA membership to 100+ members this season, leveraging a mix of good products, community engagement, and technology.

Speakers

Ari Memar

Sunday February 23, 2025 11:30am - 12:45pm PST
Online

Sales & Marketing

Audience New & Beginning Farmers, Experienced Farmers

1:15pm PST

Which Direct Market Channel Is Right for Me?

Sunday February 23, 2025 1:15pm - 2:30pm PST

Online

Learn about different market channels and their pros and cons. Identify which market channels may be beneficial for your business.

Speakers

Ramiro Lobo

Small Farms Advisor, UCCE San Diego

Darlene Ruiz

Staff Research Associate, UCCE San Diego

Siguenos en las redes sociales- Follow us on social media:https://www.instagram.com/cesandiego/ - Instagram@UCCESanDiego - X/Twitterhttps://www.facebook.com/sandiegoucce - Facebook

Sunday February 23, 2025 1:15pm - 2:30pm PST
Online

Sales & Marketing

Audience New & Beginning Farmers, Experienced Farmers

4:45pm PST

Wildlife Safe Ranching

Sunday February 23, 2025 4:45pm - 6:00pm PST

Online

We will cover the practical and legal knowledge required to run a successful operation in California alongside wildlife. We will cover deterrence, exclusion, guardian animals, and the dynamics of "Barnyard CSI" and kill site forensics. We will also touch on conflict with domestic animals (especially loose dogs) with livestock, and how wildfires, drought, and a changing legal landscape impact farmers, ranchers and wildlife. Our perspective is pro-farmer, pro-rancher, pro-homesteader, and pro-wildlife. Attendees will come away informed and empowered, including with information on how to access free resources to solve conflicts with wildlife legally and safely.

Speakers

Gowan Batist

The Mountain Lion Foundation

Sunday February 23, 2025 4:45pm - 6:00pm PST
Online

Farm Production / Practices

Audience New & Beginning Farmers, Experienced Farmers, General Public (including non-farmers), Farm Advisors & Technical Assistance Providers

4:45pm PST

Is There Soul in the Soil? The Spirituality of Farming

Sunday February 23, 2025 4:45pm - 6:00pm PST

Online

This workshop will explore the weaving of spirituality and agriculture from the experience of several panel members. These will include representatives from (for example) the Biodynamic community, Native American / Indigenous farmers, and food producers with a more traditional faith background.

Science has given us so many incredible tools to advance agriculture and especially food production. We can now produce more food with greater nutrition in more diverse ecosystems while paying attention to the impacts of different methods on the environment and segments of society. But a scientific focus can also lead to objectifying nature as something to manipulate at will, to control and use as a lifeless, mechanical resource. But what if the soil has soul? What if the land we depend on for life and livelihood has something akin to consciousness or even personhood-- different from the human sort but just as real? Historically, many indigenous cultures have not separated their collective experiential knowledge (another name for empirical science) from their spirituality. What might it look like to form more intentionally collaborative relationships with the more-than-human beings that feed us, to honor spirit and science together? This upbeat workshop will be facilitated with curiosity, dialogue among speakers, and respect for diverse views. Plus time for Q&A of course! :)

Speakers

Dr. Stan Rodriguez

Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel

Angelie Ryah

Hello! I've been growing food all my life, most recently as a regenerative farmer-producer with Foodshed. A few years ago I started Belong Farm where I grow veg & fruit, and envision a community-building, healing space where (re)connection to the land is the focus. All my life, my... Read More →

Lacey Cannon

Sunday February 23, 2025 4:45pm - 6:00pm PST
Online

Issues in Food & Ag / Other

Audience New & Beginning Farmers, General Public (including non-farmers), Farmers, Experienced Farmers

2025 California Small Farm Conference

From $20.00