COLUMBUS, Ohio – The theme of the 2024 Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association’s (OEFFA) 2024 conference is Cultivating Care. Following that theme from the time the conference kicks off until the final session, participants will have the opportunity to learn how to cultivate care for their farms and the communities they call home. The conference is Feb. 15-17, 2024, at the Cherry Valley Hotel in Newark, Ohio.

“OEFFA hears from attendees that this conference is their way to ground themselves with people who care,” said Reilly Wright, OEFFFA communications director. “Almost every conference conversation and workshop narrow down to caring for our land, our environment, our food, our community, our future. The programming at the 2024 OEFFA Conference will reflect how essential it is to cultivate care today.”

On Feb. 15, the conference will again offer Food and Farm School classes. Wright said the classes offer attendees in-depth information, before workshops begin, with a choice of five sessions on key topics. The classes run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Food and Farm School Classes are not included in the general conference registration. This year, the sessions include Key Principles for Regenerative Agriculture Success, Organic Systems Plan Help-Shop, Raising Better Chicken with Heritage Breeds, and Wholesale for All Scales.

“We select these classes to reach the diverse areas of sustainable agriculture and advocacy,” Wright said. “Each of these five classes is open to anyone interested, but may be of more interest to specific audiences, such as farmers transitioning to organic or folks wanting to learn more about the heritage poultry.”

Following the Farm to School sessions, the conference will officially kick off with a special gathering that evening. Last year’s kick-off to the conference proved to be very popular and it is back again this year, with a new twist, according to Wright. The evening session features a keynote panel comprised of Walter Bonham, of Mansfield, an urban farmer, consultant, and a founding member of the Richland Gro-Op Cooperative; Sophia Buggs, owner and operator of Lady Buggs Pharm, a 1.3-acre urban farm in Youngstown, Ohio; David Kline, an Amish farmer, and author who farms 120 acres in Holmes County; and Mardy Townsend, who raises grass-fed beef cattle on certified organic pasture on 226 acres, most of which is considered marginal or highly erodible land in Ashtabula County, Ohio.

“This year’s Thursday keynote panel is something we’re extra excited about. Instead of having a single keynote speaker talking about a specific topic, we will instead have a panel of four Ohio farmers answering the question, ‘What is your favorite mistake?’ Wright said. “After they tell their stories of mistakes and lessons on the farm, the floor will open for attendees to do the same. This, along with its happy hour and snacks, is our first event of the general conference, so it’s a fun way to kick things off.

“Looking at our conference theme, we wanted keynote speakers who reflected that community and cultivation of care. Thursday’s keynote panel is composed of a diverse group of farmers – including urban, Amish, and livestock farmers to tell their mistakes and lessons, helping farmers learn and care for one another through the challenges.”

The conference offers two full days of more than 60 workshops, each featuring a different topic, according to Wright. “From herd shares to USDA grants and loans, bookkeeping to no-till vegetable production, there’s something for everyone,” she added.

Feb. 17 will begin with keynote speaker Jim Embry, a 2023 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award winner, Embry will speak on how the food system can be the point of transformational change toward a more caring and sustainable future.

“Sustainability is important in every aspect of life but especially in agriculture and food systems,” Embry said. “Agriculture food systems are the foundation of human civilization. Food and agriculture form the basis of an unsustainable lifestyle and mindset. Food and agriculture then represent the foundation of sustainable living.”

But on a positive note, according to Embry, farmers and consumers can make the system regenerative and sustainable by organizing locally, nationally, and internationally to overcome the challenges faced within the food and agricultural system by thinking outside the barn in unique and innovative ideas.

General registration begins at $215 for OEFFA members and $280 for non-members. This year, OEFFA is also offering registration options to attend one day of the conference. The final deadline for online registration is Feb. 1.

For more information about the conference and a complete description of the workshops available, details on the Food and Farm School classes, support for conference sponsors, and conference registration can be found on OEFFA’s website: conference.oeffa.org.  All workshops are held in person and on-site at the Cherry Valley Hotel, but they will be recorded for registrants to access online after the conference until the end of March. Also, the Thursday keynote panel will be livestreamed on OEFFA’s Facebook.