The 6th Annual Soil & Nutrition Conference, sponsored by the Bionutrient Food Association, explores how the intersection of farm and human ecosystems holds the key to environmental sustainability, quality food and overall well-being. The conference will take place December 4 – 6 at the Kripalu Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Registration is $225 ($200 for BFA members.) Register online at http://bionutrient.org/soil-and-nutrition-conference

Bringing together the collective knowledge of the food movement from the perspectives of successful farmers, cutting-edge researchers, enlightening health practitioners, and pioneers of food quality, this conference is a nexus of information and networking for all interested in delving deeper into the connections and importance of soil and nutrition.

Integrating these diverse viewpoints, this year’s program engages growers and gardeners with principles, practices and innovations for ecologically and financially sound farming, and presents the health-conscious consumer and medical professional valuable skills to effectively advocate and select for quality in their local region and food supply.

Conference Topics:

Successful applications of biological (ecological) management, from garden to wholesale scale
Improving public health through agriculture, education and local capacity building
Effectively using nutrition to mitigate disease across the landscape
Regenerating ecological systems to provide environmental stability and weather climate change
Flavor as a focal point in the food quality conversation
Implementation and development of techniques for grower success including seed establishment, emergence and in season monitoring solutions
Growing and marketing your farm business with an eye to quality
Improving human health through conscientious food production and cultivation of soil health

The BFA is proud to announce that grass-farmer, author and lecturer Joel Salatin will be the keynote speaker at its 6th Annual Conference. His family’s Polyface Farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley is a multi-generational, pasture-based and “beyond organic” enterprise. At Polyface, Salatin follows the guiding principles of transparency, grass-based agriculture, individuality, valuing community, following nature’s template, and embracing earthworms. Featured in Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Salatin is widely-known throughout the alternative and sustainable farming world for promoting ecologically friendly and economically viable farming strategies and methods. He is the author of numerous works, including: Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal: War stories from the local food front, Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A farmer’s advice for happier hens, healthier people, and a better world, and The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer.

With over 30 additional speakers currently scheduled to present at this year’s conference, all widely considered experts in their respective fields, choosing between which sessions to attend will be a wonderful problem to have!