WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – An organizer of the upcoming virtual Indiana Small Farm Conference said attendees will still find many of the topics and opportunities for networking they’ve come to expect.

The ninth annual conference is March 4-6 via the Microsoft Teams platform. The cost is $35 and the registration deadline is March 1.

“We made the decision back in July to be virtual,” said Tamara Benjamin, conference committee chair and Purdue University assistant program leader in diversified farming and food systems. “We were concerned about trying to prepare and coordinate two different things – in person and virtual. We thought it would be irresponsible to say we’re going to do an in-person conference when we didn’t know what would happen (with COVID-19). I have a true belief we’re going to be back in person in 2022.”

Networking has always been an important feature of the conference and options to connect with others will continue this year, she said. “It’s such a great place for people to meet each other. We have such a strong networking component. We come together and create relationships over food and we see people we haven’t seen all year. That we can’t be in person this year is the one thing the committee was really sad about.”

A trivia night is planned for March 5. Microsoft Teams has an area called “The Lounge” where people can visit with each other, Benjamin said. “Everything is going to be recorded,” she explained “We’re never going to take the channels down. You can go back and chat with each other. For the cheap price of $35, you can also go back and see everything. We wanted to be sure the information was accessible as much as possible.”

The conference has eight tracks – advanced livestock, advanced vegetable, beginning farmer, business marketing, regenerative agriculture systems, urban agriculture, youth focus and mental health. The mental health track will be free on demand for anyone to access at the website, www.purdue.edu/dffs/smallfarms/small-farm-conference-2021/, including those who don’t register. Registration and a conference agenda are also available through the site.

Purdue extension is committed to supporting small scale and diversified farming, Benjamin said. “This year, we’re offering more information on advanced livestock and vegetable production,” she stated. “This is our ninth year. When we started, everything was about beginning farmers. Some people who have come to several conferences have told us, ‘you don’t have the content we need.’ We’re bridging the gap between beginning and advanced farming.”

The conference included a youth track last year for the first time. “Farmers continue to get older,” Benjamin noted. “If we don’t have content that brings in youth, we’re going to lose another generation.”

The March 5 keynote speaker is Richard Perkins, a Swedish farmer, who will discuss regenerative agriculture. The March 6 keynote speakers are Dan and Julie Perkins, who own a 20-acre organic vegetable farm in DeMotte, Ind.

The conference will host a virtual trade show for attendees to interact with vendors. Virtual tours of six Hoosier farms will also be available.

In previous years, the conference has drawn 400-500 people. “If we could get over 200, I would be very happy,” Benjamin said. “If we got closer to 400, I would be ecstatic.”