Cornucopia staff is packing our bags, mapping our routes, and combing through the conference schedule in anticipation of this year’s MOSES Organic Farming Conference. The country’s largest gathering of organic and sustainable farmers draws more than 3,000 people to La Crosse, Wisconsin for educational workshops, inspiring speakers, a two-floor Exhibit Hall and organically grown food.
What inspires us this year? MOSES’ commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion—a strategic plan to develop intercultural competence at MOSES through specific trainings and outreach. On the workshop schedule, we’re highlighting The Most Organic Path to Local Food Sovereignty (Kelsey Ducheneaux, Intertribal Agriculture Council); Walk the Talk: Food Justice Certification (Elizabeth Henderson, Agricultural Justice Project); Farmers for Food Justice (Leah Penniman, Soul Fire Farm Institute) and System-Level Strategy to Decolonize Agriculture (Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, Regenerative Agricultural Alliance). View the complete workshop schedule here.
One of this year’s Keynote Speakers is Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm, part of a national network working toward food sovereignty and land justice. A Black Kreyol farmer, author, and food justice activist, Penniman’s presentation “Uprooting Racism. Seeding Sovereignty,” will speak to how some of our most cherished sustainable farming practices—from organic agriculture to the CSA—are rooted in African wisdom. Learn how we can build upon Afro-Indigenous wisdom in reshaping the food system to be based on equity and abundance rather than exploitation and deprivation.
This year’s other keynote speaker is Cornucopia’s own advisory committee member John Ikerd, professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics (University of Missouri). Ikerd’s presentation “Reclaiming the Future of Farming” will share insights on people-centered farming systems as a way to mitigate the negative ecological and social impacts of industrial agriculture, offering new hope for the future of farming.
MOSES’ conference gives us a much appreciated opportunity to connect with our friends, supporters and luminaries in the good food movement. Please stop by our booth (#312), sit with us at lunch, stop us in the hallway; we would be delighted to exchange ideas, fill you in on our work moving forward, or just get to know more about you—the region’s most dedicated and passionate farmers. Cornucopia is hopeful about the future of authentic organic farming, and we look forward to connecting with other folks working to heal our food system and our planet!
