2020 Winter Conference Request for Proposals
November 15, 2019
CT NOFA’s 38th annual conference will be held on March 7th, 2020 at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. This new location will allow easier access to this event for people from all over our state as well as guests from Massachusetts and Rhode Island and New York. Our keynote speaker is Niaz Dorry of the National Farm Family Coalition and the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance who will be bringing her innovative perspective on movement-building to her keynote speech. To round out this wonderful day we are requesting proposals for workshop sessions, each will be 1.5 hours in length. CT NOFA is looking for inventive, inclusive, and diverse topics, as always.
We welcome all submissions for workshops that capture CT NOFA’s mission of fostering the organic movement in Connecticut. This year our conference priorities are:
- Climate Change, and Resilience, and Conservation Agriculture
- Regional Economics and New Farming Economies
- Land Access
- Beginning Farmers
- Equity, Ag Justice, and Food
- Emerging Markets (ie; kelp, hemp, cannabis)
The deadline for workshop submissions is January 15th. Applications will be subject to review and presenters will be notified of their acceptance by January 24th.
At the Summer Conference workshop on Fermenting Social Justice Values in the NOFA Culture, the guidelines that the NOFA Domestic Fair Trade sub-committee holds were reviewed and it was agreed upon that information about dismantling racism in farming be included with our RFP. This gives our presenters the chance to consider these ideas when they design their presentation. Please see ‘Dismantling Racism and Integrating Race and Equity for NOFA Presenters at Conferences‘ document.
Please follow this link to our online workshop submission form.
We look forward to seeing you at OrganiConn 2020!
Recent Posts
Advocacy News: May 2026
The Good News: CT Senator Chris Murphy has introduced a bill (bipartisan and bicameral) to increase funding for Agricultural Management Assistance to $30 million and to expand the eligible uses for these funds to include “soil health improvements, composting, implementing organic farming, and food safety certification in addition to existing authorized uses such as water management structure and soil erosion control.” Let’s thank Senator Murphy for introducing this bill!
The Bad News: The Farm Bill passed the House of Representatives on April 30, despite 320 food, farm, and conservation organizations, including CT NOFA, voicing our opposition to a bill that does not fix SNAP, does not support new and beginning farmers, and does not adequately support conservation programs or organic agriculture. Now it goes to the Senate and we need to urge both of Connecticut’s Senators to reject this Farm Bill.
Our Vision for a Future of Resilient, Plentiful, Healthy and Locally-Grounded Farming and Food
In concluding its annual retreat, the Northeast Organic Farming Association Interstate Council (NOFA IC) reaffirms the values that have grounded our work for 55 years.
Our vision is that every person is able to live their life with healthy food, clean water and air, community, livelihood, dignity, and purpose within the means of our life-giving planet. We seek that vision on every level, from our households and farms to our communities, states, bioregions, nation, and world. For that vision to be fulfilled, every person, no matter their origin or circumstances, must have all their basic human needs met without degrading the air, water, soil, ecosystems, and climate which we have been given and on which we depend for our lives.