WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Organizers of the 10th annual Indiana Small Farm Conference were planning a return to an in-person event this year until the omicron variant of COVID-19 peaked in January. They decided then to transition to a virtual conference set for March 3-4.

Last year’s conference was also presented virtually. Unlike 2021, this year’s event will be free to view online.

“If we waited (to decide on an in-person conference), omicron might have cleared up,” explained Tamara J. Benjamin, conference coordinator and Purdue University assistant program leader in diversified farming and food systems. “But we decided it was too risky to wait. If it didn’t clear up, we would have had to cancel the conference. I’m sure some people are wondering why we’re not doing this in person. But we made the decision when omicron was peaking. Planning an online event isn’t easy. We’re running to get this done online. Don’t think it has been easy.”

This year, two educational seminars are planned for each week in March on the Zoom platform. The days may vary each week. Registration is required; the deadline is March 1. Registrants will be sent a link for the sessions.

All the presentations will be live, Benjamin said. “There will be an opportunity for questions and interaction with the speakers. We also encourage people to reach out to each other.”

Keynote speaker Malik Kenyatta Yakini will open the conference on March 3. He is co-founder and executive director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. The organization has a seven acre urban farm in the city and is working to open a building that will feature a co-op grocery store in Detroit’s North End.

On March 4, founders of the Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition – Liz Brownlee and Genesis McKiernan-Allen – will talk about the importance of creating community among diverse farmers. Both women, along with their husbands, operate successful farms in the state. Educational sessions will follow the speakers on both days.

The conference will offer information on 10 tracks: vegetable production, livestock production, marketing, urban agriculture, regenerative agriculture, value added, soil health, pollination management, perennial crop production and innovations in response to climate change.

The sessions will be recorded and organizers hope to add a closed caption option to the recorded programs, Benjamin said.

At the time the conference was changed to a virtual format, about 50 people had registered, she noted. As of press time, that number had increased to more than 320. “I realize (the conference) won’t be all that we wanted. But we are going to be able to reach a lot of people.”

Some people might have been hesitant to register when the conference was going to be an in-person event due to COVID or to costs associated with going to the event, such as gas, a hotel and eating out, Benjamin stated.

People who registered before the conference became a virtual event have received refunds, she added.

“We always have three goals for the conference – create content that farmers will want to hear, teach it in a way they can understand, and create community.” Benjamin explained. “(Creating community) is really hard to do in a virtual setting.”

To register, and for a detailed schedule, visit www.purdue.edu/dffs/smallfarms/sfc-2022/.