Pre-Conference Events Thursday, January 11th
Not included in conference registration. Register and pay for separately.
Please note that many of the the times overlap and are at different locations, so you may not be able to register for multiple events.
7:00 AM
5:00 PM
Amigo Farm Tour & Lunch
Symbria Patterson
The Amigo Farm tour is always a good time! We meet in Cedar City early in the morning and enjoy hot beverages and pastries before we load the shuttle bus. We will be heading to Kanab, driving through Zion National Park, and touring a mixed vegetable market garden, flower farm, and bison ranch. Lunch this year will be made by board member Chef Shon!
Symbria Patterson, co-founder of Red Acre Center, will be your guide.
All aboard!
Starting Location
105 W 100 E
Cedar City, UT 84720
10:00 AM
1:00 PM
How to Kill DoorDash and Grubhub Through Food Prep
Alison Einerson
In this hands-on workshop, Alison will spill the saucy secrets of canning to be ready when the urge to call grubhub hits. You'll learn all about canning veggies in season – and no, it's not just a summer fling. Even in the icy grip of winter, local farms are dishing out a root vegetable extravaganza, and we're seizing the best from Red Acre Farm's winter storage crops - beets, carrots, radishes, kohlrabi, and turnips. Hone your culinary skills, foster self-sufficiency, and savor the flavors of preserved produce long after the workshop concludes.
Location
2322 West 4375 North
Cedar City, UT 84721
9:30 AM
4:00 PM
Co-Creating Freedom, Reverence & Relationships through Biodynamics
Lloyd Nelson, Russell Blackstone, Andrew Crawford
Join our pre-conference workshop to dive deeper into the art and spiritual science of Biodynamics. We will explore the foundational teachings of Rudolf Steiner, the importance of Light and Sound in our work to regenerate our gardens, farms and ranches and how to foster relationships with all of Life. Participants will learn how and why to use Biodynamic Preparations, instruments to increase vitality and other simple Biosprays. This workshop will include meditation, sections of lecture and hands on group experiences in the Greenhouse as well as outside around the farm and compost piles. Lunch is included.
9:30 AM
12:30 PM
Cheese Workshop
Corinne Cornet-Zinn
A rare opportunity to learn from cheesemaker Corrine Zinn, owner of Park Place Creamery. She pairs her Belgian cheese-making experience with the Utah terroir to teach you in this hands-on class (limited to ten participants). You'll learn the art of crafting your very own goat feta and take a small tub home to enjoy. For lunch, a cheese board will be served with all of the Park City Creamery cheeses. Feel free to bring your own bottle of wine.
Location
2322 West 4375 North
Cedar City, UT 84721
10:00 AM
3:00 PM
Branching Out: Pruning 101
Charlie Perington, Danielle Ringle
A short overview of different pruning systems and discussion of pruning wounds. Followed by sensitive observations of the trees of Red Acre Farm in response to their pruning during 2023. Decisions will be made on the future pruning cycle for the trees and pruning will hopefully take place the same day. Lunch break from 12 PM - 1 PM.
Location
2322 West 4375 North
Cedar City, UT 84721
2:00 PM
4:00 PM
Fresh Sausage
Tom Wheatley
Hands-on. Learn how to make sausage, and take home 2 lbs pounds of sausage and detailed notes and recipes/formulas.
Location
2322 West 4375 North
Cedar City, UT 84721
1:00 PM
4:00 PM
Determine the Health of Your Soil
Tony Richards
Sponsored by E & I Conservation District
Led by Tony Richards of Utah Soil Health Partnership
Learn how the power of observation and some simple in-field tests can tell you how healthy your soil is and identify resource concerns that might be impacting the productivity of your soil. We will use a rainfall simulator to demonstrate how soil health principles impact its ability to be resilient to extreme weather conditions. We will make onsite comparisons of a biodynamic, certified organic, two-acre vegetable farm and a neighboring larger-scale alfalfa farm.
Location
2322 West 4375 North
Cedar City, UT 84721
1:30 PM
4:30 PM
Canning: Hands-On Intensive
Paige Collett
Led by Paige of Cache Canning in Escalante.
Learn the basics of both water bath and pressure canning with an emphasis on modern food safety. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, you'll leave with skills and knowledge to add to your food preserving arsenal and leave with a few completed jars for your pantry.
Location
2322 West 4375 North
Cedar City, UT 84721
3:00 PM
4:30 PM
Small-Scale Market Garden Tools
TK Kern
Led by TK of Red Acre Farm
Free to all conference attendees.
A 90-minute nerd-out on small-scale, no-till-market garden tools.
TK will show and demonstrate some of Red Acre Farm's many tools: the Neversink gridder, Jang seeder, Growers & Co rake and broadfork, Neversink Mutineer hoe, Glaser wheel hoe, a high-arch wheel plow, Earthway seeder, flame weeders, and more.
Location
2322 West 4375 North
Cedar City, UT 84721
Thursday, January 11th
6:30 P.M.
Welcome and Gather
Blessing - Scott Redhorse
Keynote - Cultivate Change by Going Back to the Basics - Jorge Fierro
Presentation of the Clinton Ray Miller Food & Agriculture Legacy Award
Dinner brought to you by Chef Shon Foster of Sego and Wood Ash Rye
Sponsored By Utah's Own, Water Canyon Winery, and Redmond Real Salt
Music Sponsored by Utah Farm to Fork School Network
8:30 P.M. - 9:30 P.M.
Introduction and Stewarding of the Seed Exchange - Al Grossi
Blessing of the Seeds - Bill McDorman
Sponsored by KRCL Punk Rock Farmer Al Grossi
Friday, January 12th
at Heritage Theater
105 North 100 East, Cedar City, UT, 84720
8:00 A.M.
Check-In & Registration
8:30 A.M. - 6:00 PM
Room 7 - Kid Cultivation Station
8:50 A.M. - 10:20 A.M.
Theater
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Welcome and Gather with Cedar City Councilman Scott Phillips
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Greeting
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Keynote - Double Click on Small Scale - Bill McDorman
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Keynote - The Enormous Power of Small Farms - Jesse Frost
10:30 A.M. - 11:40 A.M.
Workshops
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Theater - Till Less, Enjoy More - Jesse Frost
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Room 1 - Change You Can Taste - Bill McDorman
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Room 2 & 3 - Flower Farming: in the USA, in Utah, and on Your Farm - Loretta Clayson
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Room 4 & 5 - Farmers Don't Fear the Carbon - Tony Richards
11:50 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.
Workshops
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Theater - Tips for Maximizing Your Hoophouse or Greenhouse Vegetable Production - Andrew Mefferd
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Room 1 - What's Happening in the Utah Flower World - Fawn Rueckert, Stephen Workman, Julie Hall, Kaydee Emmet
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Room 2 & 3 - Breakin Out! - My Life as a Whole Animal Butcher in Utah - Phillip Grubisa
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Room 4 & 5 - 1924-2024 - 100 Years of Biodynamic Agriculture - Lloyd Nelson
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Upstairs Board Room - The Organic Discussion - Jesse Frost, Sara Patterson, TK Kern
2:00 P.M. - 2:20 P.M.
2:30 P.M. - 3:40 P.M.
Workshops
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Theater - Holistic Management - Doniga Markegard
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Room 1 - Key Pillars to Profitability For Flower Farmers - Lennie Larkin
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Room 2 & 3 - Alternative Housing - Stanford Jensen, Josh Ellis
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Room 4 & 5 - Self-Reliant Communities: Small Farm Growth Through a Shared Digital Marketplace - Bobby Clayson
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Room 6 - What Do Farmers Think About Farmers Markets? - Chandler Rosenberg, Sara Patterson, Madison Goodman, Penny Trinca, Laci Tagge
4:00 P.M. - 5:45 P.M.
Keynote: Making It Happen in Utah - Steve & Emily Forbes of The Forbes Family Farm, Philip Grubisa of Beltex Meats in the Theater
6:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M
Dinner
Please support a local business.
For inspiration on nearby eating options check out our Where to Eat page.
Saturday, January 13th
at Heritage Theater
Heritage Center
105 North 100 East, Cedar City, UT, 84720
8:00 A.M.
Check-In & Registration
8:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.
State-Wide Farmer's Market open in Festival Hall and Heritage Theater Lobbies
Sponsored by Downtown Farmers Market and Cedar City Brian Head Tourism Bureau
We encourage you to purchase breakfast at the Farmer's Market from one or more of our vendors and a hot beverage on-site from The Grind Coffeehouse
8:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.
Vendors, Book Store, & The Grind Coffeehouse open in the Heritage Theater Lobby
10:10 A.M. - 11:10 A.M.
Workshops
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Theater - Pastured Poultry in Utah...Is it possible, profitable, worth it? - Mitch Dumke
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Room 1 - Growing for Market - 33 Years of Publishing (and Now Podcasting!) - Andrew Mefferd
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Room 2 & 3 - Harmony and Homestead - Living a Permaculture Lifestyle - Ros McCann
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Room 4 & 5 - Tree Talk - Charlie Perington, Danielle Ringle
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Room 6 - Movement Building - Utah Farm to Fork
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Room 7 - An Introduction To Crop Cost of Production & Profitability (Flowers and Veg, too!) - Lennie Larkin
11:20 A.M. - 12:20 P.M.
Workshops
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Theater - Collectively - An Easier Way - Jessie Westover, Stephen Workman
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Room 1 - Mushroom Cultivation in Dry Climates - Katie Lawson
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Room 2 & 3 - Engaging with the Deeply Spiritual Power of Nature - Randy Ramsley
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Room 4 & 5 - Using Private Communities to Grow & Protect Your Farm - Phillip Taylor
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Room 6 - Movement Building, Continued - Utah Farm to Fork
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Room 7 - The Stars and the Spirit in Agriculture - Lloyd Nelson
12:30 A.M. - 1:30 P.M.
Closing and Keynote - Cultivate Change by Embracing the Wild - Doniga Markegard