Day 3: Tuesday, Dec. 8th
9am – 7:30pm CST
Help Desk Open
Help desk open: We have staff on call during the entire conference to help with any questions or issues you may have.
For questions please email us at [email protected]
9:30am – 10am CST
Yoga
Stretch out and mentally prepare for your day with yoga instructor: Megan Miller, Yoga For Good. Today’s focus is: a gentle yin to help synthesize what you learned yesterday and for the lessons to come.
10am – 12pm CST
Silvopasture Nutshell Talks: Sponsored by Forest Agriculture Nursery
A main feature of the gathering will be the ever-popular 5-minute Nutshell Show & Tell talks, which are open to all attendees to share success stories, lessons-learned, or nagging questions to help build knowledge across the region. This session has a focus on Silvopasture.
Forest Agriculture Nursery: “Where Ecology Meets Agriculture” Our nursery, located in Southwest Wisconsin, provides hardy seedlings for use in ecosystem restoration and the creation of perennial food systems. We specialize in adaptive breeding of hybrid hazelnuts. A minimum of 10% of our annual revenues goes into organizations who also support ecological agriculture. Learn more at forestag.com

10am – 11am CST
AFTA Panel: Agroforestry, Biodiversity, and Restoration Agriculture

11am – 12pm CST
AFTA Panel: Help Shape an American Forest Farming Council

11am – 12pm CST
Perennial Food Cooking Demo
with Beth Dooley
Beth is an award winning author of several cooking books and Minneapolis food writer. Join Beth in her kitchen as she prepares delicious dishes based on Midwest perennial foods.
Lunch Break: 12pm – 2pm CST
12:30pm – 1:30pm CST
Decolonizing Agriculture Brownbag Part II:
Reginaldo Haslett Marroquín, Regenerative Agriculture Alliance
Decolonizing Science and Methodology
Establishing the core earth-based indigenous foundations that define the chemical, physical, and biological processes, governed by the laws of thermodynamics that determined the geo-evolutionary processes that gave origin to life and its diversity on earth, and applying this understanding to the process by which we use modern scientific knowledge and technology so that the destructive nature of colonizing systems can start to be reserved systemically.

2pm – 3:20pm CST
AFTA Panel: Practical Tools for Agroforestry
2pm – 3pm CST
The Role of Land Trusts in Perennial Agriculture: Sponsored by Food
Freedom Radio
The role of land trusts in perennial agriculture: Suzan Suzan Erem- Sustainable Iowa Land Trust (SILT), Alison Volk- American Farmland Trust, Chris Gutschenritter- Tall Pines, and Erik Hagan- Savanna Institute will be moderating. Learn more about the NCR SARE’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program, how agroforestry practices can work on land trust owned property, how land trusts work for landowners, and why land protection is essential for the future of agroforestry.
3pm – 3:45pm CST
Exploring the Collaborative Landscape Design Process with Grassland 2.0
What would a transformative shift to perennial agriculture across the Midwest look like? It will require a shift in perspective, thinking beyond individual farms and independent decision-makers. It will require coordination and planning at a landscape level. The Grassland 2.0 project, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, seeks to catalyze this transformation. Join project leaders Randy Jackson and Claudio Gratton to explore a landscape-based approach to expanding perennial agriculture.
Dr. Randy Jackson – UW-Madison Dept. of Agronomy
Dr. Claudio Gratton – UW-Madison Dept. of Entomology

3pm – 4pm CST
AFTA Poster Presentations
3:45pm – 4:30pm CST
Policy and Program Supports for Agroforestry
Hear from NRCS, state forestry, and university center staff (invited) about financial and technical assistance programs to help you implement agroforestry production on your land, from cropland conversion and alley cropping to riparian buffers.
Erin Meier: Director, Green Lands Blue Waters
Hannah Hemmelgarn: Education Program Coordinator, University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry
Joe Alley: State Forester USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Lauren Cartwright: Natural Resource Specialist/Agricultural Economist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Dinner Break
4:30pm – 6pm CST
Enjoy your dinner while you check out some of our Farmer Interviews!
6pm – 6:45pm CST
Zen of Elderberries
Chris Patton, President of Midwest Elderberry Coop. Elderberries and their place in your forever green farm plan, companion planting and other alternative roles in farm design; a profitable way to grow our lands more green while keeping our waters more blue

6pm – 7pm CST
Careers in Agroforestry Workshop
Kate Macfarland, USDA, Kaitie Adams- Savanna Institute, Hannah Hemmelgarn- MU Center for Agroforestry, Sven Pihl- Savanna Institute. In this workshop, you’ll hear from a variety of professionals about their career paths, what opportunities exist, how to build your toolbox of credentials, and balancing work life with personal passions; you’ll have a chance to network with peers who are also entering the field.
6:00pm – 7:30pm CST
Agroforestry, Livestock & Food Safety
Join staff from Farm Commons, a nonprofit providing legal guidance for farmers, and Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection for a presentation and Q&A session regarding how to manage potential food safety risks associated with incorporating livestock into agroforestry systems.