Plenary Descriptions & Speaker Bios
This page will continue to be updated as Plenary Speakers are confirmed.
Kate Edwards
Alexis Bonogofsky
Bev Durgan
|
Tera Johnson
Monica Rainge
Julia Freedgood
|
Sarah Lloyd
Kelsey Ducheneaux
Jan Joannides
|
Tuesday 12:30pm - Welcome and Opening Remarks: Welcome to the Region!
Welcome to Minnesota and the upper Midwest! Our opening plenary panel and speakers will share the current state of the agricultural sector here in the region, market trends and challenges affecting farm viability, emerging farm business models and opportunities on the horizon. We will kick off the conference with a strong sense of what is happening in agriculture in the region as it relates to farm viability, with representatives of a diverse set of agricultural communities and support organizations.
Jan Joannides, Renewing the Countryside, Minnesota
Kelsey Ducheneaux, Intertribal Agriculture Council, South Dakota
Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota Extension
Sarah Lloyd, Wisconsin Farmers Union
Kate Edwards, Wildwood Farms/Renewing the Countryside, Minnesota
Wednesday 8:30am - Plenary Panel: Farmers as Entrepreneurs
Unprecedented change is upon us in Agriculture. A five year farm recession, variability in weather and the political climate are pushing farmers to explore new business models to ensure their future viability. At the same time, consumer food preferences are changing at an unprecedented rate. Survival in this business environment requires the ability to adapt quickly and fail fast forward to address customer needs with profitable products and to create a farm business that can work financially. This is the domain of entrepreneurs; it is not the domain of farmers who grow what they know and do the same thing every year as efficiently as possible. How are we adapting to this new environment?
Tera Johnson, Food Finance Institute, Wisconsin
Jen Riemer, Riemer Family Farm
other speakers TBD
Thursday 12:15pm - Closing Remarks: Conference Themes and Insights for the Future
WIth a range of topics and trainings addressed at the conference, our closing panel will reflect on the themes and ideas that emerged during the time together, and share key insights into what the future of agriculture may bring. How can our organizations and networks best support agricultural businesses as they adapt, grow and change?
Monica Rainge, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Georgia
Julia Freedgood, American Farmland Trust
Alexis Bonogofsky, Quivira Coalition
other speakers TBD
Speaker Bios
Jan Joannides, Renewing the Countryside (Conference Host)
Jan Joannides is the Executive Director and co-founder of Renewing the Countryside. For the past fifteen years, she has been an advocate and organizer for rural communities and citizens who are working to stimulate economic growth and enhance their communities through sustainable uses of their landscapes and resources. Jan also holds an appointment as Senior Fellow at the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture. Prior to her work with Renewing the Countryside, Jan coordinated the Community Assistantship Program at the University of Minnesota and helped found and directed the Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management. Jan holds a master's degree in natural resources from the University of Minnesota. She lives in Zumbro Falls, Minnesota with her husband Brett, daughter Olivia, and son Axel.
Kelsey Ducheneaux, Intertribal Agriculture Council, South Dakota
Kelsey Ducheneaux is a member of the Lakota Sioux Nation. Alongside her work as a beef cattle rancher on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, Ducheneaux is the youth programs coordinator and natural resource director of the Intertribal Agriculture Council, a national organization working to improve Indian Country. Since 2015, her work with the Intertribal Agriculture Council has allowed Ducheneaux to engage with over 550 native youth from more than 150 tribal nations.
Tera Johnson, Food Finance Institute, Wisconsin
Tera Johnson is a serial entrepreneur whose mission is to create the next generation of environmentally and economically regenerative food and farming businesses. The founder of teraswhey® and host of the Edible-Alpha® podcast, Tera participated in the full arc of creating a successful investor-financed company. Now the founder and Director of the Food Finance Institute and recipient of the University of Wisconsin Extension Chancellor’s 2017 Wisconsin Idea Award, Tera is a frequent speaker, teacher and financial consultant to sustainable food and farming businesses, social venture funds and investors.
Monica Rainge, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Georgia
Monica A. Rainge, an agricultural lawyer, serves as the Director of Land Retention and Advocacy for The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/ Land Assistance Fund. Attorney Rainge leads the development and implementation of regional land retention and advocacy initiatives which support and advance the membership of FSC/LAF. She has worked in the public and private agricultural sectors for over 20 years, and previously served as the Florida State Coordinator for The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund.
Julia Freedgood, American Farmland Trust
Julia Freedgood is a national expert in farmland protection, agricultural viability, and food systems who heads AFT’s efforts to support the future of farming by increasing land access and supporting next-generation farmers. She co-authored “Cultivating the Next Generation: Resources and Policies to Help Beginning Farmers Succeed in Agriculture,” and leads AFT’s efforts to train trainers and build a network of service providers to help beginners secure land and succeed in agriculture. Freedgood co-authored AFT’s “Farms Under Threat” report and published “Growing Local: A Community Guide to Planning for Agriculture and Food Systems” to strengthen local economies and improve community food security. Freedgood served on USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Grant Review Board and the USDA-Secretary Vilsack’s Land Tenure Advisory Committee. She is also a founding member of North American Food Systems Network and serves on the Advisory Board and Editorial Committee of the Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development and the Network Committee of Food Solutions New England.
Jen Riemer, Riemer Family Farm
Jen Riemer is one of the family owners of Riemer Family Farm in Brodhead, Wisconsin. Jen and her husband, Bryce, moved back to the family farm a decade ago seeking the opportunity to raise their family and their food in accordance with the land and their faith. Together, the Riemer family seeks to promote community and practice stewardship in a way that regenerates the landscape, starting with the soil and continuing with the treatment of the animals - both domestic and wild - to result in a healthier world, a healthier food system, and a healthier people for a brighter future. Jen and Bryce are the third generation of the Riemer family to farm this land in South Central Wisconsin, dating back to 1927.
Alexis Bonogofsky, Quivira Coalition, New Agrarian Program
Alexis is a fourth-generation Montanan, sheep rancher, community organizer, and freelance writer and photographer, who lives and works along the Yellowstone River in southeastern Montana on her family’s ranch. For eleven years she managed the Tribal Lands Partnership Program for the National Wildlife Federation. She received her B.A. in International Studies from Gonzaga University and her M.A. in International Development from University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies. In 2014, Alexis was awarded the Cultural Freedom Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation in Santa Fe. She is also on the board of the directors of the national pipeline safety organization, the Pipeline Safety Trust.
Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota Extension
Bev Durgan is the Dean of University of Minnesota Extension. In addition to administrative tasks, Durgan conducts research and provides leadership for extension programs in small grain weed management systems.
Sarah Lloyd, Wisconsin Farmers Union
Kate Edwards, Wildwood Farms & Renewing the Countryside, Minnesota
Welcome to Minnesota and the upper Midwest! Our opening plenary panel and speakers will share the current state of the agricultural sector here in the region, market trends and challenges affecting farm viability, emerging farm business models and opportunities on the horizon. We will kick off the conference with a strong sense of what is happening in agriculture in the region as it relates to farm viability, with representatives of a diverse set of agricultural communities and support organizations.
Jan Joannides, Renewing the Countryside, Minnesota
Kelsey Ducheneaux, Intertribal Agriculture Council, South Dakota
Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota Extension
Sarah Lloyd, Wisconsin Farmers Union
Kate Edwards, Wildwood Farms/Renewing the Countryside, Minnesota
Wednesday 8:30am - Plenary Panel: Farmers as Entrepreneurs
Unprecedented change is upon us in Agriculture. A five year farm recession, variability in weather and the political climate are pushing farmers to explore new business models to ensure their future viability. At the same time, consumer food preferences are changing at an unprecedented rate. Survival in this business environment requires the ability to adapt quickly and fail fast forward to address customer needs with profitable products and to create a farm business that can work financially. This is the domain of entrepreneurs; it is not the domain of farmers who grow what they know and do the same thing every year as efficiently as possible. How are we adapting to this new environment?
Tera Johnson, Food Finance Institute, Wisconsin
Jen Riemer, Riemer Family Farm
other speakers TBD
Thursday 12:15pm - Closing Remarks: Conference Themes and Insights for the Future
WIth a range of topics and trainings addressed at the conference, our closing panel will reflect on the themes and ideas that emerged during the time together, and share key insights into what the future of agriculture may bring. How can our organizations and networks best support agricultural businesses as they adapt, grow and change?
Monica Rainge, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Georgia
Julia Freedgood, American Farmland Trust
Alexis Bonogofsky, Quivira Coalition
other speakers TBD
Speaker Bios
Jan Joannides, Renewing the Countryside (Conference Host)
Jan Joannides is the Executive Director and co-founder of Renewing the Countryside. For the past fifteen years, she has been an advocate and organizer for rural communities and citizens who are working to stimulate economic growth and enhance their communities through sustainable uses of their landscapes and resources. Jan also holds an appointment as Senior Fellow at the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture. Prior to her work with Renewing the Countryside, Jan coordinated the Community Assistantship Program at the University of Minnesota and helped found and directed the Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management. Jan holds a master's degree in natural resources from the University of Minnesota. She lives in Zumbro Falls, Minnesota with her husband Brett, daughter Olivia, and son Axel.
Kelsey Ducheneaux, Intertribal Agriculture Council, South Dakota
Kelsey Ducheneaux is a member of the Lakota Sioux Nation. Alongside her work as a beef cattle rancher on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, Ducheneaux is the youth programs coordinator and natural resource director of the Intertribal Agriculture Council, a national organization working to improve Indian Country. Since 2015, her work with the Intertribal Agriculture Council has allowed Ducheneaux to engage with over 550 native youth from more than 150 tribal nations.
Tera Johnson, Food Finance Institute, Wisconsin
Tera Johnson is a serial entrepreneur whose mission is to create the next generation of environmentally and economically regenerative food and farming businesses. The founder of teraswhey® and host of the Edible-Alpha® podcast, Tera participated in the full arc of creating a successful investor-financed company. Now the founder and Director of the Food Finance Institute and recipient of the University of Wisconsin Extension Chancellor’s 2017 Wisconsin Idea Award, Tera is a frequent speaker, teacher and financial consultant to sustainable food and farming businesses, social venture funds and investors.
Monica Rainge, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Georgia
Monica A. Rainge, an agricultural lawyer, serves as the Director of Land Retention and Advocacy for The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/ Land Assistance Fund. Attorney Rainge leads the development and implementation of regional land retention and advocacy initiatives which support and advance the membership of FSC/LAF. She has worked in the public and private agricultural sectors for over 20 years, and previously served as the Florida State Coordinator for The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund.
Julia Freedgood, American Farmland Trust
Julia Freedgood is a national expert in farmland protection, agricultural viability, and food systems who heads AFT’s efforts to support the future of farming by increasing land access and supporting next-generation farmers. She co-authored “Cultivating the Next Generation: Resources and Policies to Help Beginning Farmers Succeed in Agriculture,” and leads AFT’s efforts to train trainers and build a network of service providers to help beginners secure land and succeed in agriculture. Freedgood co-authored AFT’s “Farms Under Threat” report and published “Growing Local: A Community Guide to Planning for Agriculture and Food Systems” to strengthen local economies and improve community food security. Freedgood served on USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Grant Review Board and the USDA-Secretary Vilsack’s Land Tenure Advisory Committee. She is also a founding member of North American Food Systems Network and serves on the Advisory Board and Editorial Committee of the Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development and the Network Committee of Food Solutions New England.
Jen Riemer, Riemer Family Farm
Jen Riemer is one of the family owners of Riemer Family Farm in Brodhead, Wisconsin. Jen and her husband, Bryce, moved back to the family farm a decade ago seeking the opportunity to raise their family and their food in accordance with the land and their faith. Together, the Riemer family seeks to promote community and practice stewardship in a way that regenerates the landscape, starting with the soil and continuing with the treatment of the animals - both domestic and wild - to result in a healthier world, a healthier food system, and a healthier people for a brighter future. Jen and Bryce are the third generation of the Riemer family to farm this land in South Central Wisconsin, dating back to 1927.
Alexis Bonogofsky, Quivira Coalition, New Agrarian Program
Alexis is a fourth-generation Montanan, sheep rancher, community organizer, and freelance writer and photographer, who lives and works along the Yellowstone River in southeastern Montana on her family’s ranch. For eleven years she managed the Tribal Lands Partnership Program for the National Wildlife Federation. She received her B.A. in International Studies from Gonzaga University and her M.A. in International Development from University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies. In 2014, Alexis was awarded the Cultural Freedom Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation in Santa Fe. She is also on the board of the directors of the national pipeline safety organization, the Pipeline Safety Trust.
Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota Extension
Bev Durgan is the Dean of University of Minnesota Extension. In addition to administrative tasks, Durgan conducts research and provides leadership for extension programs in small grain weed management systems.
Sarah Lloyd, Wisconsin Farmers Union
Kate Edwards, Wildwood Farms & Renewing the Countryside, Minnesota