OUR WINTER CONFERENCE SPONSORS
2024 Conference
About the Conference
CT NOFA is proud to present our 42nd Winter Conference, featuring a series of virtual workshops on March 20-21 in the lead up to our full day, in-person gathering and celebration on March 23, 2024 at Eastern Connecticut State University, in partnership with their Institute of Sustainability.
We'll be offering a variety of workshops, covering topics such as farming, seed saving, organic land care, community food security, social justice issues, and more, including a keynote address by Maya van Rossum, founder of the Green Amendments for the Generations organization. Our in-person celebration will also feature the presentation of the Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth award and our members' annual meeting.
Join us this March as we learn, grow, innovate, and think critically about what we want our food system to look like in the future.
Conference registration includes access to all virtual and in-person sessions, as well as exclusive access to all recordings for 3 months after the event.
This year, we will continue to implement a sliding scale pricing model, allowing us to practice economic solidarity, providing mutual support for the cost of our programs. In this way, we make our education more accessible and help cover costs of operation. Choose the pricing tier that fits with your income and access to wealth, and help us create a more just, inclusive, and equitable conference. Scholarships are still available thanks to our generous donors and sponsors. If you would like to request a registration fee waiver, please click here.
Request for Workshop Proposals
CT NOFA is excited to announce that we are now accepting workshop proposals for the 2024 Winter Conference. Although we're happy to receive proposals for any workshops that capture CT NOFA's mission of fostering the organic movement in New England, the following topics are of particular interest for our 2024 conference:
- Beginning Farmer
- Organic Certification
- Organic Land Care
- Policy and Advocacy
- Soil Health
- Ecological Restoration
- Seed Saving
- Permaculture
- Urban Agriculture
- Regenerative Agriculture
- Farm Improvement/Innovation/Resources
- Funding Your Farm
- Social Justice
- Food Access
- Black, Indigenous Farming Practices & Resources
- LGBTQ+ Farming Resources & Support
- Homesteading (beekeeping, soapmaking/candlemaking, butchering, hands-on, etc.)
- Mental Health and Well-Being
THE BILL DUESING ORGANIC LIVING ON THE EARTH AWARD
This award is for a recipient who has demonstrated the advancement of organic living on our earth with a project, innovation, action, or lifestyle that supports the continuation of the life work of Bill Duesing – for all to live on this earth in a society in harmony with nature. The accomplishment must contribute to the advancement of organic living in Connecticut in a demonstrable way and be a current or recent accomplishment that reflects Bill’s devotion to organic living and his wish that this critically important work be continued by his friends and colleagues. Award recipients can be one of the following:
- Organic farmer/farm (example: added new revenue sources to secure the farm’s future; expanded availability of organic food in the community; added carbon sequestration measures on his farm, e.g. cover-crops, no-till)
- Organic land care professional/business (example: transitioned from conventional to organic land care; added carbon sequestration measures, e.g. replacing lawn with meadow, etc.)
- Organic advocate (example: spearheaded a change in their local school system, or worked to promote organic legislation, supported healthy soil legislation)
- Organization (example: farmers market became 100% organic; the advancement of farmworkers’ rights; created organic-based social media group)
- Educator (example: developed new ways to add organic food and agriculture to school curriculum)
- Mentor (example: developed process for passing along organic knowledge and skills to new farmers or land care professionals)
Conference News & announcements
Maya van Rossum Announced as 2024 Winter Conference Keynote Speaker
CT NOFA is excited to announce that Maya van Rossum will be the Keynote Speaker for our 2024 Winter Conference. Maya van Rossum is the Founder of Green Amendments For…
Winter Conference 2024 Request for Workshop Proposals
CT NOFA is excited to announce that we’ve opened the workshop proposal submission window for our 2024 Winter Conference, which will take place in-person on March 23, 2024 at Eastern…