COMMUNITY COMMITMENTS for NSAS
We encourage open and constructive participation in our online conference gatherings. Our board and conference team have committed to facilitating our virtual events in an equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist framework. By agreeing to these commitments, all participating attendees commit to communicate in this community spirit. We all agree to honor the following community commitments, whether participating in the 2021 Healthy Farms Conference discussions, panels, workshops, across all social media, or any other community group setting.
We Commit to:
We Commit to:
- - Foster collaborative discussion
- - Respect opinions and experiences that diverge from our own - Seek to understand ideas, rather than to judge individuals
- - Step back when we make a contribution so other participants can make theirs
- - Create a space free from harassment of any kind
- - Assume good intentions of other participants
- - Speak for ourselves and from our own experiences
Recordings of the conference video will be translated into multiple non-English languages and made available for all
scholarship and paid attendees after the conference.
scholarship and paid attendees after the conference.
10am - 11am Pre-Recorded Presentations
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(Click here to expand)
Pre-Recorded Presentations
From 10am - 11am CST conference attendees will listen LIVE to the pre-recorded video.
- Register in advance for this meeting (RED BUTTON AT TOP OF THIS PAGE).
- After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
- Tune in at 11am for our live panel discussion.
11am - 12pm Question & Answer Session
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(Click here to expand)
Question & Answer Session
From 11am - 12pm CST conference attendees will be able to submit questions via ZOOM chat.
- Your registration for the 10am ZOOM WEBINAR is the same place for the 11am - 12pm CST Q&A Session.
(RED BUTTON AT TOP OF THIS PAGE) - After registering above, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
6pm - 7:30pm Break Out Room Conversations
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(Click here to expand)
Break Out Room Conversations
From 6pm - 7:30pm CST conference attendees will join ZOOM BREAK OUT ROOMS and reflect and discuss about the morning conference theme & presentation. Peer to peer communication will facilitated by volunteers.
- Register in advance for the 6pm - 7:30pm CST conference BREAK OUT ROOM meeting. (RED BUTTON AT TOP OF THIS PAGE)
- After registering above, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
CONNECT WITH US
THROUGHOUT THE CONFERENCE
(FOR SATURDAY CONFERENCE HELP)
(PLEASE ALLOW 48 HOUR RESPONSE TIME OVER EMAIL)
Join us In Supporting Healthy Farming Communities
Saturday Agenda Outline
Recordings of the conference video will be translated into multiple non-English languages and made available for all
scholarship and paid attendees after the conference.
scholarship and paid attendees after the conference.
Panelists and Bios
Click the title of each date above to see the panelists & their biographies.
- February 6th: Direct Marketing in a Pandemic
- February 13th: How Nebraska’s Agriculture Fits into the Global Dynamic
- February 20th: Local Meat Processing
- February 27th: Land Access: Connecting the Generations via NSAS
- March 6th: Creating A Seat at Our Table: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- February 6th: Direct Marketing in a Pandemic
- February 13th: How Nebraska’s Agriculture Fits into the Global Dynamic
- February 20th: Local Meat Processing
- February 27th: Land Access: Connecting the Generations via NSAS
- March 6th: Creating A Seat at Our Table: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Past Conference Sessions
February 6th, 2021
Direct Marketing in a Pandemic
(Click to View Speakers)
Direct Marketing in a Pandemic
(Click to View Speakers)
Daniel Brisebois
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Dan is a founding member and seed production manager for Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm in Les Cèdres, Quebec, about 45 minutes west of Montreal. Dan is co-author of Crop Planning for Organic Vegetable Growers and blogs about farming and seeds at https://goingtoseed.wordpress.com/. In 2019, Dan launched the Farmer Spreadsheet Academy to focus on solid farm planning and management.
Dan has a B.Sc. in agricultural engineering from McGill University. He is a past president of Canadian Organic Growers, a USC Canada board member, and serves on the Eastern Canadian Organic Seed Growers Network’s steering committee. |
Charlotte Smith
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Charlotte Smith is a farmer in Oregon who runs 3 Cow Marketing, an online marketing training company helping farmers in the U.S., Canada, and around the world, learn the most current online marketing techniques to grow a successful, profitable business. Charlotte has created a sustainable farm-to-consumer business selling premium meats, poultry, eggs and milk. After witnessing one too many small business owners close up shop after being run ragged and still not being able to pay the bills with their sales, she founded 3 Cow Marketing to help others transform their marketing skills and begin to live the life they always dreamed of. She is a sought after speaker and has been named a food rebel, pioneer and visionary by PBS’s Food Forward TV, and a “Pioneering Leader in Raw Milk Production” by Mark McAfee, CEO Organic Pastures Dairy, and Food Tank named her one of the 25 “World’s Most Influential Women in Food and Ag''.
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Chloe Diegel
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Chloe and her husband Alex, along with their skilled and dedicated farm crew, grow Certified Organic baby greens and micro greens year-round at Robinette Farms 15 minutes outside Lincoln, Nebraska. Robinette Farms has been growing produce, growing soil, and growing their capacity to provide healthy food to their community since 2010. Most recently Robinette Farms has narrowed its farm production to focus solely on baby greens and micro greens, and partners with several other local produce farmers and local food businesses to provide the Lincoln area with fully customizable local food boxes 40 weeks of the year. Chloe is passionate about building regional food systems, strengthening the small farming community in Nebraska, and finding ways to make local food easy and accessible for all.
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Lainey Johnson
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Lainey owns and operates Bright Hope Farm in Firth, Nebraska. Bright Hope Farm strives to provide produce and cut flowers grown with ecological integrity for their community using no-till farming practices. Lainey, with the help and support of her family, works hard to improve the soil and environment, and her passion is farming for future generations.
Lainey is also the co-founder of Women in Local Food and Farming (WLFF) and is currently raising funds to establish WLFF as a non-profit organization. The group's mission statement is: Women supporting women to improve our local food systems and sustainable farms. Currently, WLFF services include networking events, book discussions, farm tours, work days, and markets. They hope to provide additional services, host events, and offer support in the future when they become a non-profit organization. Visit https://gofund.me/e5c00836 for more info. |
February 13th, 2021
How Nebraska’s Agriculture
Fits into the Global Dynamic
(Click to View Speakers)
How Nebraska’s Agriculture
Fits into the Global Dynamic
(Click to View Speakers)
Charles Francis
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Charles Francis, the panel moderator, is a Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture at UNL. His background is in farming, plant breeding, agronomy, agroecology, and food systems, with long-term teaching and research in the Philippines, Colombia, and Norway and short-term consulting in many other countries. He teaches courses at UNL in Agroecology, Organic Farming, and Land Use in the Midwest and in Lower-income Countries, and Agroecology in Norway each fall semester. His current research is on long-term crop rotations and the transformation of teaching to a co-learning model.
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Darci Vetter
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Darci is General Manager and Vice Chair for Food, Agriculture and Trade at Edelman, a global communications firm. She previously served as an international trade consultant and Diplomat in Residence at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In July 2014, she was appointed as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative; she held the position until January 2017. From 2010 to 2014, she served as Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services and, from 2007 to 2010, she was an International Trade Advisor on the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance.
Prior to working in the Senate, Ms. Vetter held numerous roles at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, including Director for Agricultural Affairs from 2005 to 2007. Ms. Vetter received a B.A. from Drake University and an M.P.A. and Certificate in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Her experience in international trade and agriculture brings significant value to the conference. |
Stan Garbacz
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Stan served 40 years in the Nebraska Department of Agriculture as Nebraska’s Agricultural Trade Representative, a position that emphasizes international market development for agricultural products grown in Nebraska. Garbacz graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance and marketing. He is a 1971 graduate of Lincoln’s Pius X High School. In 1989, he was a member of the Nebraska Leadership, Education, Action Development Program (LEAD), a two-year program involving both national and international travel studies. LEAD has helped develop future agricultural leaders, such as Garbacz. He was drawn to international events because his parents emigrated from Poland in 1949.
Garbacz has received multiple honors like the James A. Graham Award for Outstanding Service to Agriculture from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture in 2014; the Lifetime Service Award from the Nebraska Cattlemen in 2018; and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Pius X High School in 2019. He was most recently awarded the Silver Eagle Award in 2020 by the Nebraska Farm Bureau. Stan and his wife, Mary, live in Lincoln. |
Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel
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Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel often wears two hats – one with the University of Nebraska as an Extension Rural Prosperity Nebraska Specialist and the other as an active partner in a family agri-business. Cheryl, and her husband Leon, own and operate Kriesel Certified Seed, a small grain certified seed business, located near Gurley.
Cheryl is a former LEAD Alumni and has served as the President of the Nebraska Wheat Growers Association, Vice-Chair of the South Platte Natural Resources Board, and is a member of several state organizations including UNL Ag Builders and the Nebraska Hall of Ag Achievement. |
February 20th, 2021
Local Meat Processing
(Click to View Speakers)
Local Meat Processing
(Click to View Speakers)
Paula Sandberg
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Paula and Chris Sandberg along with their family raise beef in Stratton, NE in the southwest part of the state. The Sandbergs raise grain-finished beef and implement intensive rotational grazing and cover crops to rebuild soil and pasture health. In addition to cattle, they also grow wheat and forage as well as pastured laying hens.
Like many farmers in Nebraska and nationally, finding a processing facility has been a challenge for their business during the pandemic. In light of COVID-19, Paula has also uniquely collaborated with local farmers to bring local food to their community. The goal is to connect local southwest Nebraska farmers and consumers with easy online ordering and convenient delivery methods. |
Thomas Massie
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Congressman Massie represents Kentucky’s 4th Congressional district which stretches across Northern Kentucky and 280 miles of the Ohio River. Congressman Massie, along with Congressman Pingree of Maine reintroduced the PRIME (Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption) Act on May 23, 2019. The Prime Act (H.R. 2859/S. 1620) would give individual state freedom to permit intrastate distribution of custom-slaughtered meat such as beef, pork, or lamb to consumers, restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, and grocery stores. Current law exempts custom slaughter of animals from federal inspection regulations, but only if the meat is slaughtered for personal, household, guest, and employee use. This means that in order to sell individual cuts of locally-raised meats to consumers, farmers and ranchers must first send their animals to one of a limited number of USDA-inspected slaughterhouses. These slaughterhouses are sometimes hundreds of miles away, which adds substantial transportation cost. The PRIME Act would expand the current custom exemption.
Congressman Massie, a rancher, lives on an off the grid farm in northeast Kentucky. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. |
Patty Plugge
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Patty is the Executive Director of Burt County Economic Development Corporation (BCEDC). BCEDC was formed in 2005 as a nonprofit economic development organization. The governments of Burt County, Tekamah, Oakland and Lyons invested to develop a professional office to coordinate all economic development activities for the county. Private businesses also contribute to these efforts. BCEDC works with both prospective and existing businesses to stimulate new jobs and capital investment to the county. Housing, leadership development and tourism are also areas that BCEDC concentrates.
Patty has been a longtime supporter of rural matters and rural economic development. Patty was awarded the Center for Rural Affairs 2019 Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP) Friend Award. The REAP Friend Award is presented annually to an individual, organization, or institution that provides invaluable service to entrepreneurs by assisting REAP staff in offering technical assistance, business training, loans, and networking across rural Nebraska. Patty has recently been involved with the Oakland Meat Processing Plant in Oakland, NE and the planned conversion from a custom exempt to USDA inspected facility. |
Karen Bredthauer
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Marty and Karen Bredthauer started raising bison on their Broken Bow ranch in the 90's after a family vacation to Ft. Robinson peaked their interest in bison, their meat, and their place in the grassland ecosystem of the great plains. The family had suffered through the farm crisis of the 1980's and were ready for a new start. Though initially started as a way to make supplemental income, over the past two decades their methods have been refined, and their customers have expanded. Today they have a herd of over 100 animals including cows, bulls, young calves, yearlings and 2 year-olds and sell their bison meat regularly to grocery stores, individuals, restaurants and schools. Not only are they producing healthy and regional meat, they are doing it together as a family and through the past twenty-odd years that is the most important part of their business.
Straight Arrow Bison uses an on-farm processing facility that is state inspected and Custom Pack in Hastings, NE where the bison is cut and wrapped meets HACCP requirements (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system). Because Bison is classed as a “Wild” meat, USDA inspection is not required. |
February 27th, 2021
Land Access: Connecting the Generations via NSAS
(Click to View Speakers)
Land Access: Connecting the Generations via NSAS
(Click to View Speakers)
Allan Vyhnalek
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Allan Vyhnalek has spent over 33 years in Extension working in both Iowa and Nebraska. He is a native of Saline County, Nebraska. Vyhnalek received his Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in Agricultural Education. He taught in high school and post-secondary classrooms for 8 ½ years prior to joining Extension.
His current role is as Extension Educator for Farm/Ranch Succession and Transition – state-wide. For the past 13 years, he has helped lead the Extension education effort on Ag leasing for Nebraska. He works from Ag Economics Department at UNL. He has a passion for the future of rural Nebraska. That is why he is interested in helping individuals, groups, and communities understand how good communications, negotiation skills and generational differences relate to how communities and families function as we develop Nebraska for future generations. |
Tom Tomas
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I have been involved in organic and sustainable agriculture since the late 1950s when I became acquainted with Bob Steffen at Boys Town. He introduced me to Organic Gardening Magazine and the Biodynamic publications. I have maintained an organic garden wherever we have lived since then. Our current garden for the past 28 years incorporates Fruit trees, grape vines, bush fruits, vegetables, flowers, perennial habitat plants and cover crops for soil building. We also have chickens to do the composting for us.
I earned a Bachelors and Masters in Vocational Education from The University of Nebraska at Kearney and PhD from Cornell University in Plant Science. I taught Horticulture at UNSTA for six years. I worked for NSAS for two years and I have worked with organic certification and evaluation of inputs for organic production since 1992. I consult with organic farmers and gardeners when asked but do so on a voluntary basis as I am now retired. I have been an EMT for 46 years and am still active on the Orleans Fire and Rescue Dept. My wife and I have six children, 20 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren, many of them have gardens. |
Larry & Lanette Stec
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Larry & Lanette Stec are 3rd generation farmers in Platte County, NE. 22 years ago they started moving towards more sustainable and organic practices. In 2009 Erstwhile Farm, LLC was formed to direct market their farm goods, specializing in organically raised pasture pork. Unique genetics have developed over time in their pig herd, specific to Erstwhile Farm. They feel very dedicated to keeping the land organic. They are working towards mentoring other young farmers to succeed them on their land, taking over existing enterprises, or developing a vision of their own.
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Martin & Linda Kleinschmit
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Linda (Moosman) Kleinschmit is semi-retired, after working with Martin the last 48 years, on the 365-acre Kleinschmit ever transitioning organic family farm, by Bow Valley, Nebraska.
The Kleinschmit tradition continued, as 1 girl and 4 boys romped and worked around the farm, just like Martin’s family. Linda was a townie, growing up in cattle country, in Valentine, NE. She graduated from UNL with a B.S. in Elementary Education and taught over the years. Since operating machinery wasn’t her forte, she became an organizer, advocate for small family farms and rural development, worked in public policy development, serving on a number of local, state and national NGO boards. Linda was a Research Assistant for UNL Public Policy Center for 4 years prior being the Associate Coordinator/Coordinator for NCR SARE Professional Development Program from 2006-2012. She was appointed to the Nebraska State FSA board from 2011-2016. Currently the farmland is rented to two Generation X Kleinschmit farmers, one organic for the past 15 years under Martin’s tutelage, the other transitioning. Linda is operating the FarmHouse Inn Airbnb, transitioning the farmhouse so the kids and grandkids can come home and Martin can still putter around home. Martin, a Nebraska farmer with 50 years of experience as a sustainable farmer (24 as an organic farmer) now focuses his skills toward being retired and sharing his experiences. His greatest accomplishments include his 52-year marriage to Linda, their five above- average children and their 13 exceptional grandchildren. After 22 years of managing his 385-acre grain and livestock farm, Martin accepted a position with the Center for Rural Affairs Beginning Farmer/Sustainable Agriculture Project in 1993. The goal of the project was to follow 12 beginning farmers in their quest to become successful farmers. Martin documented their efforts to access land, build landlord relationships and coached them on farming practices. Martin also gained a 3-year history with the National Assessment of Climate Change, Great Plains Region, and can speak to renewable energy systems at the farm scale and the importance of addressing carbon sequestration to enhance soil quality to provide soil resilience to future weather extremes. Soon after retirement, Martin focused on farm-scale, net-metered solar systems with a goal to cut energy costs and reduce carbon emissions. |
We are updating the profiles and biographies of our speakers each week, as we confirm them! Check back each week and touch base if you would like to suggest a presenter of our Healthy Farms Conference.
Creating a Seat at Our Table
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Sanjay Rawal
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A James Beard Award winning filmmaker, Sanjay made FOOD CHAINS (EP Eva Longoria, Eric Schlosser) which chronicled the battle of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a small group of Oaxacan and Chiapan indigenous farmworkers in Florida, against the largest agribusiness conglomerates in the world. The film was released theatrically in a number of countries (Screen Media in the US) and won numerous awards - including citations from the US Conference of Mayors, the Clinton Global Initiative and the White House. The film was also a Winner (shared) of the 2016 BritDoc Impact award and several festival prizes.
Sanjay’s last film 3100: RUN AND BECOME won several festival prizes, had a robust theatrical release in the US in 2018 and is opening in traditional theatrical engagements across Europe and Australia in 2020 and 2021. |
We are updating the profiles and biographies of our speakers each week, as we confirm them!
Check back each week and touch base if you would like to suggest a presenter of our Healthy Farms Conference.
Check back each week and touch base if you would like to suggest a presenter of our Healthy Farms Conference.