Sustainable Ag News and Information
Future of Urban Food Systems Conference Coming to Orange County in November; Early Bird Tickets Available
August 22, 2016 | seedstock
The Grow Local OC: Future of Urban Food Systems Conference takes place on November 10 – 11, 2016 at California State University, Fullerton.
Early Bird Special Tickets are now available for a limited time for the Grow Local OC: Future of Urban Food System Conference presented by Seedstock in partnership with the Orange County Food Access Coalition. The conference is slated for Nov. 10 – 11, 2016 at California State University, Fullerton in Orange County (Hosted by U-ACRE). It will focus on the community and economic development potential of urban food systems efforts across southern California and the country to improve food access and health outcomes, connect people to their food, and create new jobs and business opportunities by employing innovative business models and farming systems of the future.
Below are additional details on the two-day conference.
Day 1: Conference Day (Nov. 10, 2016):
Attendees will convene at the Portola Pavilion on the campus of California State University, Fullerton in Orange County, CA for a series of panels and keynotes that will address such topic areas as the importance of local food systems development for cities, the economic potential of indoor agriculture, the expansion of the local food marketplace, urban farming and local food access, community gardens and farms, and more.
Limited Seats Remain: Only Six More Days Until Seedstock’s Urban Ag-Focused ‘Grow Riverside’ Conference
March 13, 2014 | Robert Puro
Only SIX more days remain to obtain tickets at for Seedstock’s urban ag-focused “Grow Riverside: Citrus and Beyond!” conference. The event, to be held Wednesday and Thursday, March 19-20, at the Riverside Convention Center, will focus on the development of urban agriculture strategies and solutions that cities, Riverside in this particular case, can use to reconnect with their agricultural roots and create economic opportunities that citizens, growers, advocates, government officials and other major stakeholders can leverage to foster a robust and sustainable local food future.
PRESENTED in partnership with the City and Community of Riverside by Seedstock, a social venture that fosters the development of robust and sustainable local food systems through the use of a variety of tools, including the news and information blog seedstock.com, live events and consulting services.
The event will feature a broad lineup of speakers ranging from urban agriculture entrepreneurs, USDA representatives from the Farm Service Agency, Rural Development program and Natural Resources Conservation Service to investors, funding and policy experts, sustainable farmers and aquaponics practitioners and buyers and distributors of local produce; Read More
‘Grow Riverside’ Conference to Focus on Sustainably Re-integrating Agriculture into Cities
February 12, 2014 | seedstock
Re-integrating agriculture into cities, developing economically viable urban farming operations on small plots of land, exploring how best to implement policy to support and foster such endeavors – these are but a few of the important issues and opportunities that will be examined in depth at the upcoming Seedstock ‘Grow Riverside’ conference on March 19 – 20 at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside, CA.
The conference will focus on the development of urban agriculture strategies and solutions that cities can use to reconnect with their agricultural roots and create economic opportunities that investors, citizens, growers, government officials and other major stakeholders can leverage to foster a robust and sustainable local food future.
The event is PRESENTED in partnership with the City and Community of Riverside by SEEDSTOCK, a social venture that fosters the development of robust and sustainable local food systems through the use of a variety of tools, including the news and information blog seedstock.com, live events and consulting services.
Register now to receive the Seed Saver Special Rate to learn from and interact with these experts:
http://growriverside.eventbrite.com
We have an exciting list of expert speakers from across the sustainable agriculture spectrum including:
Richard Conlin – Former Seattle City Councilmember and prime mover behind Seattle’s ‘Local Food Action Initiative,’ passed in 2008, that envisions an exciting new urban agriculture model that is good for the economy, the environment, and our health.
Dr. Glenda Humiston – California State Director for U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. Humiston brings over 25 years of experience working on public policy development and program implementation supporting sustainability.
Rodney K. Taylor – Director of Nutrition Services, for the Riverside Unified School District. A noted pioneer, and expert in farm-to-school salad bars, he is particularly known for establishing the “Farmers’ Market Salad Bar” (FMSB) program in 1997, while working as Director of Food and Nutrition Services in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, in Santa Monica, California.
Pierre Sleiman – Founder of Go Green Agriculture, a company that builds high tech mini-farms in or near large cities. Pierre is a young entrepreneur, who has become involved in the mission of accelerating the movement towards local and sustainable farming and fostering interest in youth to choose agriculture as an exciting career.
Curt Covington – Managing Director, Agribusiness Banking Division for Bank of the West. With 34 years of agricultural banking experience, Curt is responsible for managing the growth and performance of the bank’s $1.5 billion regional agricultural loan portfolio.
Bob Knight – Founder of Old Grove Farm Share, which make local growers sustainable by connecting them to local families and school districts via direct sales.
Leah Di Bernardo – Partner in Cultivating Good and Co-leader of Slow Food Temecula Valley. Di Bernardo is also the award-winning Chef of E.A.T Extraordinary Artisan Table, a locally grown Eatery in the Temecula Valley. Dedicated to providing farm foraged, hand crafted fair, since 2002. E.A.T’s business-mission statement champions purchasing local and supporting your neighbors, as this stimulates the region’s economy and creates conviviality, loyalty & community.
Hassan Ghamlouch – Co-founder of The Grove, a 10-acre organic family farm located in the Riverside ‘Greenbelt’. The Grove is committed to Organic growing practices with an emphasis on sustainable farming and conserving natural resources.
Register now to receive the Seed Saver Special Rate to learn from and interact with these experts:
http://growriverside.eventbrite.com
Additional notable speakers include:
Representative Mark Takano – California’s 41st Congressional District
Val Dolcini – State Executive Director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Paula Daniels – Founder of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council
Don Webber – Partner, Cultivating Good, Inc. and Owner of Harvest 2U
Dwight Detter – Local Forager, Whole Foods Market
Etaferahu Takele – County Director/Area Advisor Farm Management/Agricultural Economics
Milt McGiffen – Cooperative Extension Vegetable Crops Specialist & Plant Physiologist
Gabriel Ruiz – Unity Farm
David Rosenstein – Founder of EVO Farm and Chair of the Aquaponics Association – Western Region
Fortino Morales III – Community Garden Coordinator at University of California, Riverside
Rickey Smith – Founder of Urban Green
Noah Fulmer – Farm Fresh Rhode Island
Rick Pruetz (FAICP) – Founder of Planning & Implementation Strategies
Gregg Warren – American AgCredit
Erika Block – Local Orbit
John Gless – Gless Ranch
Robert Hewitt – USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Clay Monroe – Principal Account Manager for the City of Riverside Public Utilities Department
… and more!
Register now to receive the Seed Saver Special Rate to learn from and interact with these experts:
http://growriverside.eventbrite.com
Archi’s Acres and VSAT Co-founders to Participate in Urban Ag Conference in Riverside, CA on March 19 – 20
January 3, 2014 | seedstockColin and Karen Archipley, the CEO and Co-founder/Vice President, respectively, of Archi’s Acres, Inc. and the Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training (VSAT) program will be participating in the upcoming Grow Riverside: Citrus and Beyond! conference at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside, CA on March 19 – 20. The two co-founders will discuss sustainable agriculture entrepreneurship, how to create an economically viable operation on a small plot of land and how to create more new farmers.
Founded in Escondido, Ca., Archi’s Acres has demonstrated there is profit, public interest, and a compelling story in joining one of our country’s most pressing needs—sustainable food—with our country’s greatest untapped resource—our returning veterans.
Archi’s Acres developed sustainable, hydroponic, organic farming to create opportunities for our returning veterans. To reach out to these veterans and give a hand up (not a hand out), Colin and Karen created the Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training (VSAT) program, an intensive six-week agriculture entrepreneur incubator. By making business opportunities available to our veterans through farming, and capturing the entrepreneurial spirit with rigorous training, the mission is defined.
Now, Archi’s Acres is looking to expand its successful, profitable and environmentally friendly hydroponic growing model and enable motivated VSAT graduates to open their own Archi’s Acres farms in select areas nationwide. This expansion is poised to become the largest, for-profit, veteran-driven initiative in our nation’s history.
In addition to the healthy, high-nutrient food that this initiative brings to local communities, every acre of greenhouse will create over ten jobs, and every job created on the farm will create over 2.5 jobs elsewhere in that community.
Register today and receive the Early Bird Ticket discount!
Donate to the Riverside Food Systems Alliance
