
SCHEDULE
Schedule subject to change
Wednesday November 2nd
6:00-9:00 p.m.
National Western Center
REGENERATE Reception + Social + Film Screening
3 hours
Thursday November 3rd
7:00-8:00 a.m.
National Western Center
Coffee + Network Time + Exhibitor Tabling
60 minutes
Join us for coffee and networking each morning as we kick off our day together.
8:00-8:30 a.m.
National Western Center
Intro Remarks
30 minutes
Directors from Holistic Management International, American Grassfed Association, and Quivira Coalition
8:30-9:15 a.m.
National Western Center
Keynote TBA
9:15 a.m. - 10:00 a.m,
National Western Center
Plenary
Creating Connections between land owners and Native Youth
40 minutes
Beth Robinette & LaRae Wiley
Wondering how you can help Native youth and Native people in the struggle for justice? Beth Robinette of Lazy R Ranch and LaRae Wiley of Salish School of Spokane will share their story of collaboration, justice, food sovereignty and Native Youth empowerment. You can make a difference!
Speakers:

10:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m.
National Western Center
Morning Break
15 minutes
Enjoy a mid-morning break!
+ Explore our Exhibitor hall and meet some of your regional and community business partners and regenerative resources!
10:15 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
National Western Center
Plenary Panel
Rangeland Conservation Toolkit: Knowing and tweaking available tools to fit your context
60 minutes
Mark Biaggi, Coley Burgess, & TBA
Land regeneration comes in all shapes and sizes, and numerous tools are applicable for different places at different times. Join us for a panel discussion on a diverse suite of tools available to you to support rangeland health and agricultural production. Toolkit topics include prescribed burning (Mark Biaggi, TomKat Ranch), bison grazing (Speaker TBD), and silvopasture (Coley Burgess, Cattle & Pecan farmer).
Panelists:
11:20 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
National Western Center
Two Sessions
Split Session Plenary
Funneling the money where it matters: regenerative and just food systems
50 minutes
Jessica Chiartas & Mariela Cedeño
Truly regenerative agriculture nourishes soil, ecosystems, and people, particularly those most marginalized. Financial support is necessary to advance truly regenerative agriculture. In this split plenary you’ll hear from Jessica Chiartas (UC Davis, REGEN1) about soil carbon and a new food label that supports producers’ regenerative practices. And you’ll hear from Mariela Cedeño (Manzanita Capital Collective, Equitable Food Oriented Development Collaborative) about local economies and resilient food systems, and how she’s collectively catalyzing new models of investment and economic opportunity that center and uplift BIPOC entrepreneurs, farmers, and community-based organizations.
Panelists:

12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
National Western Center
Lunch
60 minutes
1:15 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.
National Western Center
Two Sessions
Split Session Plenary
Roots and shoots of creative, collaborative farming models
50 minutes
Collaborative farming models with Dr. Jessica Gordon-Nembard followed by Tim May and Oliver Chedgey
Roots and shoots of creative, collaborative farming models
In this split plenary, we’ll hear different perspectives on collaborative farming models – their origins and some ways collaborative farming is happening on the ground right now.
First Plenary Session:
Dr. Jessica Gordon-Nembhard
Regenerative Promise of Black Community Economics
Throughout African American history, even when Blacks were discriminated against and oppressed at work, or could not find a job, they engaged in economic cooperation and solidarity. Blacks pooled their resources to provide and pay for services they needed but did not have access to otherwise, either due to their masters’ control, or exploitative economic systems. African Americans used solidarity for escape (i.e., the Underground Railroad); started independent schools, intentional communities, and mutual aid societies. They created intentional communities, and used cooperatives to successfully farm, to run their own cotton mills, to collectively buy equipment and supplies, to provide insurance and health services, to gain access to credit and financial services, to provide electricity and alternative energy, etc. Black Americans have retained a sense of humanity and cooperative practice from their African ancestors, and created alternative economic activities that were jointly owned and democratically governed to provide for their families and strengthen their communities. These community solidarity economic accomplishements and strategies are increasing being used to address 21st century crises.
2nd Plenary Session:
Oliver Chedgey & Tim May
Sharing the Regeneration
Regeneration of farms is about much more than fixing broken soils, we have whole supply chains and farm rural communities that need regeneration as well. At Kingsclere estates we are working towards building more resilient farming models allowing new entrants onto the land. In this two person discussion Tim will give a background to the business and how they got this point. Followed by Oliver Chedgey who runs the Roaming Dairy on the farm under a share farming agreement with Tim. Olly will tell his story about how the system works for him.

2:20 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
National Western Center
Roundtables
65 minutes
Six roundtables crafted around our 2022 plenaries topics
3:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
National Western Center
Afternoon Break & Exhibitor Tabling
30 minutes
Enjoy a mid-afternoon break!
+ Explore our Exhibitor hall and meet some of your regional and community business partners and regenerative resources!
4:00 - 4:45p.m.
National Western Center
Keynote
John Liu: The Flourishing Path
40 minutes
The Flourishing Path
Observing, documenting and studying over the past 40 years pursuing greater understanding of how Earth Systems Function have led me to certain important findings. This has changed my life and could change yours as well. First I found certain principles that determined functionality in natural Earth systems. Then I found that it was possible to restore large-scale degraded landscapes including those destroyed over long historic time frames and vast areas. Then I found that functional ecosystems are always beautiful and nurturing and that dysfunctional ecosystems lead to collapsed systems. In walking this path in life to the ripe old age of 70 I have found that to restore the Earth’s ecological function is to walk on “The Flourishing Path”.
Speaker:

4:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
National Western Center
Closing Remarks
15 minutes
Directors from Holistic Management International, American Grassfed Association, and Quivira Coalition
5:00 p.m.- 6:30 p.m.
National Western Center
NAP Career Connections + Butchery Demo + Exhibitor Tabling
60 minutes
Connect with a career in mind!
This mixer will connect excited job-seekers with employers in fields such as regenerative agriculture, sustainable food systems, conservation, and more. Even if you aren’t immediately seeking a job or hiring a candidate, we welcome you to still come shake hands (or tap elbows) with others who might be a part of your next step forward.
6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
National Western Center
Dinner + Barn Dance + Live Music
3 hours
End of Day – Thursday November 3rd
Friday November 4th
7:00-8:00 a.m.
National Western Center
Coffee + Network Time & Exhibitor Tabling
60 minutes
Join us for coffee and networking each morning as we kick off our day together.
+ Explore our Exhibitor hall and meet some of your regional and community business partners and regenerative resources!
8:00-8:30 a.m.
National Western Center
Intro Remarks
30 minutes
Directors from Holistic Management International, American Grassfed Association, and Quivira Coalition
8:30-9:15 a.m.
National Western Center
Keynote
Linda Faillace: The Power of Cheese: How the USDA’s battle with our family farm took us to the jungles of Belize, Colombia, and beyond
45 minutes
The Power of Cheese: How the USDA’s battle with our family farm took us to the jungles of Belize, Colombia, and beyond
What began as a peaceful, small family sheep farm in Vermont with a grass-based dairy and the best genetics in the world, three years later, turned into a nightmare battle with the USDA. Learn the full story behind the book and documentary about the USDA’s war on a family farm, and how tragedy made one family even stronger.
Linda Faillace, co-owner of Three Shepherds Farm, overcame adversity to find her voice in the world of agriculture. A pioneer of the local food movement, and champion for farmer’s rights, Linda & her husband, Larry have spent the last four decades helping other small farmers and food producers around the world follow their passions, find unique agricultural niches, while using sustainable, organic, earth- and life-enhancing practices.
Speaker: Linda Faillace
9:15 - 10:00 a.m.
National Western Center
Plenary
Phil Warsaw: Ecological Economics and Agriculture: Alternative Economic Approaches to Achieving Food Sovereignty
45 minutes
Ecological Economics and Agriculture: Alternative Economic Approaches to Achieving Food
The shocks created by the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread breakdowns in global agricultural supply chains, revealing the fragile nature of our industrialized food system, as well as the deeply embedded inequalities within it. Decades of increased concentration and market specialization among agribusinesses and growers in the name of increased profits resulted in massive food waste, as large- scale farming operations were slow to pivot their production away from wholesale production. This waste occurred at the same time as lines at food banks around the country grew due to an economic downturn brought about by shutdown orders. These impacts were felt most by working class BIPOC families, many of whom already face inadequate food environments, despite that fact that many of them work in ‘essential’ jobs in the production of our food.
These breakdowns have intensified the call for a new economic paradigm, one which centers resilience and equity in local food systems. In this plenary, Dr. Warsaw will discuss the rise of ecological economics, a heterodox field of economics which challenges the default assumptions of external economic growth and centering profit seen in mainstream economic approaches. During this discussion, Dr. Warsaw will present the primary critiques the ecological economists make of ‘business-as-usual’ economics, alternative foundations for an economic system, and real world applications to agricultural systems both in the United States and abroad.
Speaker: Phil Warsaw
10:00-10:15 a.m.
National Western Center
Mid-Morning Break
15 minutes
Time to stretch your body and move around as needed
10:15-11:30 a.m.
National Western Center
Plenary: Young Agrarians: Living the Questions Now & Seeking Bold Solutions & NAP Graduation Ceremony
75 minutes
Young Agrarians: Living the Questions Now & Seeking Bold Solutions
The familiar quote of Ranier Marie Rilke, “Be patient towards all that is unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves”, inspires this panel of 2nd year NAP apprentices as they share the questions, hopes, and concerns formed by their experiences in the field and their vision for the future.The questions we ask shape the partnerships, land access models and food systems we create. Join the next generation as they “live the question now” towards a creative, inclusive future of restorative ecological, economic and human systems. The plenary session will conclude with a graduation celebration for all this season’s NAP graduates.
11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
National Western Center
Plenary
Dorn Cox: Cultivating Universal Access to Agricultural Knowledge and Better Soil Health
45 minutes
Cultivating Universal Access to Agricultural Knowledge and Better Soil Health
Description coming soon!
Speaker: Dorn Cox
12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
National Western Center
Lunch
60 minutes
1:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
National Western Center
Two Sessions
Short Session Plenary
Sarah Carden: 2023 Farm Bill— Dismantling Big Ag’s Fragile System Propped up by Myths and Hidden Costs
50 minutes
Sarah Carden

1:45-2:15 p.m.
National Western Center
Two Sessions
Short Session Plenary
TBA
50 minutes
TBA
Description coming soon

2:20 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
National Western Center
Afternoon Roundtables
65 minutes
Six roundtables crafted around our 2022 plenaries topics
3:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
National Western Center
Afternoon Break + Exhibitor Tabling
30 minutes
Enjoy a mid-afternoon break and meet our exhibitors!
+ Explore our Exhibitor hall and meet some of your regional and community business partners and regenerative resources!
4:00-4:45 p.m.
National Western Center
Keynote
Sarah Mock: Big Team Farms
45 minutes
Big Team Farms
Though the small family farm is an American ideal, the reality is that they’ve experienced little economic success. Yet our obsession with trying to save them continues, prompting the question: What if small family farms aren’t the best way to organize American agriculture? From New Mexico’s high desert to Iowa’s hill country to the grassy expanses of the Carolinas, the answer is that there is a better way. Big Team Farms is a journey among farm and food businesses that are challenging convention when thinking about growing food, working together, and caring for landscapes. These farms are not obsessing about small scale and family ownership, but instead prioritizing their customers, employees, and success as businesses.
Informed by deep research and personal experience, this presentation will tackle questions like:
- Is it possible to empower farmworkers without driving up food prices?
- How do we craft environmental protections without threatening farms?
- Are small, family-run farms the best farms?
We’ll explore alternative farm business models and shine a light on the often underestimated roles of collaboration, collectivism, and democracy in American agriculture, offering a hopeful vision for a future that’s more inclusive, resilient, and better for workers and consumers alike.
Speaker: Sarah Cox
4:45 - 5:00 p.m.
National Western Center
Closing Remarks
15 minutes
Directors from Holistic Management International, American Grassfed Association, and Quivira Coalition
5:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m.
National Western Center
Exhibitor Tabling
60 minutes