OUR WINTER CONFERENCE SPONSORS
Workshops
REQUEST FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS
The CT NOFA Winter Conference educational slate of workshops is made possible thanks to the interest and enthusiasm of our knowledgeable community members. Are you an expert on a topic that would be of interest to conference attendees? We'd love to hear from you. Presenters are provided with free admission to the conference, as well as a $150 honorarium.
We welcome all submissions for workshops that capture CT NOFA's mission of fostering organic and regenerative agriculture, including topics such as:
- Food Equity and Access
- Seed Saving
- Urban Agriculture
- Regenerative Agriculture and Ecological Restoration
- Farm Improvement and Innovation
- Black and Indigenous Farming Practices and Resources
- LGBTQ+ Farming Resources and Support
- Homesteading Topics
- Mental Health and Well-Being for Farmers
- Beginning Farmer Funding and Resources
- Organic Certification Resources
- Organic Land Care
- Soil Health and Permaculture
- Policy and Advocacy Issues
Workshop details
CT NOFA is proud to offer a variety of workshops, both virtually and in-person, at our winter conference. Workshops will cover topics such as organic farming, organic land care, government policy, homesteading and gardening, and more. See our current roster of workshops, below. This list will be updated as more workshops are added.
march 3 (online)
Organic Approaches to Plant Disease Control
9:00 AM
Dr. Yonghao Li | Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Tracks: Gardening and Homesteading
More and more growers and gardeners are interested in growing plants organically because it is beneficial for every level of life: soil, plants, animals, environments, and human health. A big challenge for growers and homeowners is to manage diseases without using pesticides in organic gardens. This presentation will discuss eco-friendly approaches to disease management by understanding pathogen features, disease cycles, host resistance, environmental factors, and biological control agents.
Attendees should expect to learn about common plant diseases in gardens and landscapes, factors that affect their development, and strategies for managing them.
Soil Health 3-Ways: Physical
12:00 PM
Monique Bosch | CT NOFA
Tracks: Soil Health
This workshop will look at the physical properties of soil. You will learn to interpret what type of soil and conditions you are working with, using simple tools and methods. We will explore management practices for best structure, texture, and tilth.
Understanding the physical properties of soil will help with many aspects of soil health that are often ignored. Rather than relying just on a chemical soil test, physical testing will give us a better understanding of the actual make-up of our soils. You will learn what texture and structure you are working with, how water moves through soil, as well as how our soils change within different horizon layers. This course will give you the ability to use simple tools to perform physical tests on soil to determine compaction, soil texture, structure and permeability.
This workshop is part of a 4-course series that will run as virtual workshops on March 3, 4, and 5, as well as a final, interactive workshop on March 7, in-person.
An Overview of Connecticut Department of Agriculture’s Services and Programs
3:00 PM
AliRose Grabarz | Connecticut Department of Agriculture
Tracks: TBD
This workshop will cover the services available through CT DoAg’s three bureaus (Ag Development, Regulatory Services, and Aquaculture). These services include grant programs, licensing, and more. It will also cover technical assistance available for farmers (business planning and soil testing) and sub-grant programs available from partner organizations around the state. The goal of this workshop is to familiarize farmers with CT DoAg programs, services, and partners.
Attendees will gain knowledge on: CT DoAg grants and opportunities for business development; CT DoAg bureaus and services available; technical assistance for business planning; sub-grantee programs available from partner organizations; and other resources from partner organizations.
march 4 (online)
Food Systems Policy: How Local Food Can Help Solve Food Insecurity in Connecticut
9:00 AM
Christian Duborg | Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity, and Opportunity
Tracks: Policy & Advocacy
Connecticut has two major problems related to food: less than 3% of all food spending is on local items, and hundreds of thousands of residents are food insecure
While local food is often associated with affluent customers at farmers markets, that does not need to be the case. Many of the foods that are currently most affordable and accessible are ultraprocessed and detrimental to public health. By promoting access to local food, not only can a sufficient quantity of food be guaranteed, but quality as well.
The food insecurity crisis in Connecticut necessitates a policy intervention. Ensuring those policies support the provision of local food to food insecure residents has the potential to address food insecurity in the short term and through increased food supply and economic development help address the underlying causes of food insecurity in the long-term.
Participants will learn about and discuss opportunities for policy to create such links between local food and food security. This workshop will also cover current policy initiative possibilities in Connecticut regarding food insecurity, opportunities to bolster the local food system through short-term food insecurity solutions, and how bolstering the local food system has the potential to address the underlying causes of food insecurity in the long-term.
Soil Health 3-Ways: Chemical
12:00 PM
Monique Bosch | CT NOFA
Tracks: Soil Health
We will learn how to interpret a chemical soil test, analyzing macro and micro-nutrients, pH, Cation Exchange Capacity and Organic Matter content, and how these values affect our soil’s ability to grow healthy plants and nutritious food. Using regenerative farming methods, we will address issues of nutrient deficiency, chemical imbalance, and excesses.
This workshop is part of a 4-course series that will run as virtual workshops on March 3, 4, and 5, as well as a final, interactive workshop on March 7, in-person.
march 5 (online)
Soil Health 3-Ways: Biological
12:00 PM
Monique Bosch | CT NOFA
Tracks: Soil Health
We will study the ‘Soil Food Web,’ learning about the living organisms in our soil, from the visible to the microscopic. Using a microscope, we will zoom in to study the microbial communities that live in our soils and compost. With an understanding of the complex trophic structure of life in our soils, we can determine aggregate structure, fungal/bacterial ratios, as well as nutrient cycling, all influenced by our soil management practices, as well as the chemical and physical make-up of our soils.
This workshop is part of a 4-course series that will run as virtual workshops on March 3, 4, and 5, as well as a final, interactive workshop on March 7, in-person.
March 7 (in-person at wesleyan University)
session 1 (9:45am-11:00am)
Everything You Need to Know to Run an On-Farm Airbnb
9:45 AM
Robert Maddox | Sun One Organic Farm
Tracks: TBD
Building upon my 15 years of experience, I will discuss everything you need to know to set up and successfully operate an on-farm Airbnb. I will also touch upon converting the farm to an event space, as well. Our farm Airbnb was featured in the Fall 2025 issue of the NOFA publication, The Natural Farmer. Our Airbnb’s are unique and consist of a silo, loft, dome, and tiny house. They are solar powered and have several green building features. The old equipment barn has been transformed into a 2,600 square foot event space.
Attendees will learn whether an Airbnb is right for their farm, what’s required and how to get started, important mistakes to avoid, and how to deliver an incredible agriculture-based experience to their guests.
Policy for an Organic Connecticut
9:45 AM
Dr. Kimberly Stoner | CT NOFA
Tracks: Policy & Advocacy
CT NOFA’s policy vision includes the following:
- A clean and healthy environment for everyone, regardless of where they live, with special emphasis on protecting vulnerable people and communities.
- Organic farming, gardening, and land care to protect human and environmental health, and as essential solutions to our climate and biodiversity crises.
- Funding for rapid agricultural disaster assistance in the face of the changing climate.
- Land access and opportunity for new and beginning farmers, centering racial justice.
- Fresh, healthy, and locally grown food available to everyone, regardless of income, and across the life cycle, from childhood to old age.
- Support for Connecticut’s unique agriculture, with smaller and more diversified farms compared to other regions of the country.
I want to hear from you – what policies do we need to change to get to where we want to go? How can we organize to change policy and realize our vision? What are the systems that keep us from moving forward, and how can we change them?
In addition to providing an opportunity for CT NOFA members to network and help inform our future advocacy efforts, attendees will hear about:
- Specific policy proposals that apply to our vision and that have been proposed for the 2026 legislative session in Connecticut.
- The current state of the Federal Farm Bill, including what has been changed since the Farm Bill coalition was disassembled.
session 2 (11:15am-12:30pm)
Soil Health 3-Ways: Interactive
11:15 AM
Monique Bosch | CT NOFA
Tracks: Soil Health
This is-person session at CT NOFA’s Winter Conference will be a culmination of all topics covered in the virtual sessions. There will be a microscope ‘in the room,’ to offer views of students’ soil/compost samples. We will also demonstrate methods to determine physical properties, as well as chemical analysis, using an ‘at-home’ soil test. This interactive session promises to offer valuable tools and information that you can use back in the field.
This workshop is part of a 4-course series that will run as virtual workshops on March 3, 4, and 5, as well as a final, interactive workshop on March 7, in-person.
session 3 (4:15pm-5:30pm)
Sorry there are no workshops posted yet.