2026 EcoFarm Conference Content Proposals
We will be opening our call for 2026 content proposals in March and will be collecting them until June 15, 2025!
Much of the program content at the EcoFarm Conference is created or suggested by our attendees. Our farmers and food businesses, advocates and researchers, and many others know what is happening out in the world - and what we should be talking about when we gather. So each year we ask them to send in proposals on what we should be talking about - and what they want to share at the EcoFarm conference.
We want to hear from you! If you have an idea for a session at EcoFarm, be it a workshop, discussion group, or a keynote speech, we would love to hear it. If you know of a successful farmer or someone deserving of our Sustie or Justie award, tell us.
We do get more proposals than we can accommodate every year. Our planning committee, which is also made up of conference attendees, spends a lot of volunteer time every summer voting on content to develop a diverse lineup of events and an engaging conference. We will email you if your workshop is selected by late August. We are not able to accommodate all proposals, but we encourage everyone to suggest - if your proposal does not make it this year, try again next!
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Workshop Proposal
Workshops are the heart of EcoFarm. Each year, we host over 50 sessions where our attendees share their knowledge and expertise. We hear about the latest farming techniques, changes in regulations, advice for operations and sales, and so much more. The workshops last around 90 minutes with plenty of time built in for conversation with the presenters. Have an idea for a workshop for next year’s conference?
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Discussion Group Proposal
Discussion groups are sessions where attendees gather to discuss ideas, share perspectives on a specific topic, and solve problems. Facilitators will tee up a topic for the group and help guide the conversation. We often sit in a circle when we do this. Past discussions have included changes to the farmworker overtime law, the use of technology on the farm and more. What topics do you think our 2026 discussion groups should be focusing on?
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Keynote Proposal
The EcoFarm Conference starts and ends with a keynote speaker and has one more in the middle for good measure. Speakers inspire us. They inform us. They get us ready to do the hard work. Who would you like to hear at the conference?
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Successful Farmer Proposal
One keynote session is dedicated to successful farmers, those who have been working in the field for at least a decade. Each year, we hear from 3 different farmers. Their stories inspire us greatly. Who’s success should we celebrate and be inspired by this year?
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Sustie Award Proposal
The Steward of Sustainable Agriculture Awards, or Susties, honor those people who have spent a lifetime working to improve sustainable agriculture, be it on their farm, in their community or in the broader society. Is there someone who has inspired you by their lifetime of work?
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Justie Award Proposal
The Advocates for Social Justice in Sustainable Agriculture Awards, or Justies, honor those people who have spent a lifetime working to improve the environment that we work in, to make sustainable farming a more diverse, inclusive and just place to work. Who has inspired you by their work to improve the world that we farm in?
Additional Information
If your workshop is selected through the voting process, the moderator and speakers will receive a benefit of a conference day pass and lunch ticket.
If your discussion group is selected, the facilitator will receive the same benefit.
The workshop moderator typically will be you, the proposer of the workshop, or someone else who you ask to moderate.
The person who organizes the workshop typically is also the proposer of the workshop.
We have 30-minute zoom moderator orientations for first-time moderators and as a re-orientation for anyone who wants to brush up.