MT. HOPE, Ohio – Regenerative farming and permaculture are among the topics for the 2023 Organic Farming Conference. The conference will be Nov. 9-10 at the Mt. Hope Event Center, 8076 SR 241, Mt. Hope, Ohio.

Themes for the conference come from participants of previous conferences, according to Leah Miller, conference coordinator. This year’s conference includes sessions on permaculture and maintaining honey bees for honey production and pollination of crops.

Miller said participants from previous years were interested in ways to broaden the use of organic farming methods in their operations. Permaculture is a holistic, living in harmony with nature practice, combined with a technical approach on how to implement it on the farm.

The goals of the conference are simple, according to the planning committee: building local agriculture with practices that benefit rural and urban communities, advocating a way of farming offering products that are nutritious, wholesome, and delicious, and promoting growing practices that conserve, renew and improve soils, provide healthy foods for the well-being of families, communities and all inhabitants that share their farms and land.

This year, the conference features three keynote speakers covering a variety of topics beneficial to farmers and consumers alike. Dwight Stoltzfoos, Springwood Farm, Kinzers, Pa., Stefan Sobkowiak, of Cazaville, Quebec, Canada, and Nathan Weaver, of Cazenovia, N.Y.

Stoltzfoos and his family are the fourth generation to farm Springwood Farm. As the oldest of 11 children, he helped his father transition the farm to becoming a certified organic farm and later established grassfed grazing practices on the farm. Today, the farm is a 100 percent grass-based operation. Stoltzfoos spent some time away from the family farm before returning to the farm with his wife, Brenda, and young family in 2007, and joining his parents as minority partner. Stoltzfoos took on the dairy herd and crop management and purchased the operation in 2022. They market their milk through Organic Valley/CROPP’s grassmilk program.

Sobkowiak operates Miracle Farms, the largest organic permaculture orchard. Miracle Farms consists of 12 acres. He started with an organic monoculture operation in 1993 and developed it into a permaculture u-pick orchard. He uses nitrogen fixer, apple and plum and pear trees. The farm incorporates livestock with his fruit and vegetable crops. He uses a CSA and u-pick for his operation. He has taught at McGill University and is a presenter on permaculture orchards to interested groups.

Weaver farmed in Mt. Hope before moving to Canastota, N.Y., with his wife, Barbara and children in 2008. Weaver was part of a group of farmers from the area who moved to New York, looking for more farmland for their families. Weaver established a dairy grazing operation and today, four of their nine children have started farms in the area. Nathan and Kristine moved to Cazenovia and started a new dairy farm after turning their farm over to one of their sons. Nathan is a frequent contributor to Graze magazine.

The deadline for early-bird registrations is Oct. 23, 2023. The cost of the conference before Oct. 23 for one day is $25 per person; it’s $35 per person after Oct. 23. The cost of the conference for both days is $40 per person before Oct. 23 and $50 per person after Oct. 23. After Oct. 23, registrations may also be made at the door. Children five and under are free. The planning committee wants the conference to be family-friendly, with a room available for mothers to feed or tuck their babies down for naps. Sleeping cribs and rocking chairs are included.

The conference fee includes meals, breaks, registration, and the vendor show.  Checks should be made payable to the Organic Farming Conference and mailed to PO Box 214, Millersburg, Ohio 44654.

For more information, contact the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce at 330-674-3975 or e-mail info@organicfarmingconf.com. Visit their website at www.organicfarmingconf.com. Lodging is available at Sleep Inn in Mt. Hope (330-294-9977) or Comfort Suites in Berlin (330-893-7400). Mention the organic conference for a special discount.