Watch your mailbox for your conference brochure
or take a look at our full program online!

We've put together an outstanding program for you this year. There are more conference sessions this year than ever before--62 educational sessions, plus networking sessions! We've got a lot of valuable pre-conference offerings also (see below)! Don't miss this year's Practical Tools and Solutions for Sustaining Family Farms conference.

Great Pre-Conference Courses

Four Short Courses
If you are looking to start or expand a farming venture, our 1½ day pre-conference short courses are designed to give you the knowledge you most need to be successful. These are intensive learning experiences that provide comprehensive information in class and with extensive take-home materials. The short courses we are offering this year are:

  • Start-Up Organic Vegetable Production and Marketing

  • High Tunnel Production and Marketing

  • Controlled Grazing Management: Theory and Application on Livestock Farms

  • Growing Farm Profits

To learn more about these four Intensive Short Courses, click here.

Four Mini Courses
Our ½ day Mini Courses give participants an opportunity to get in-depth information on specific topics. Our expert presenters will dive into these topics, provide you the latest information and answer your pressing questions. This year's courses are:

  • Lambs to Market: Raising Sheep for Meat and Profit

  • A Cut Above: Fresh Ideas for Growing and Marketing Cut Flowers

  • Bug-Tusslin' with Dr. McBug: Sustainable Pest Management for Your Vegetable Crops

  • Regional Food Hubs: Moving From Ideas to Action

To learn more about these Mini Courses, click here.

Five Exciting Field Trips

Our ½ day field trips are always popular. With five excellent field trip options, we've got an in-the-field learning opportunity for everyone! Field Trips are geared toward organic and sustainable production and marketing of horticultural crops and livestock, school gardens and community food initiatives. The field trips we offer this year are:

  • Arkansas Natural Produce: Focus is on marketing and high tunnel production.

  • Laughing Stock Farm and Little Rock Urban Farming: Participants will visit two excellent examples of farming enterprises operated by young farmers. Trip will focus on what it takes to start a small-scale farming enterprise.

  • Heifer Ranch: This trip will focus on the educational component of Heifer Ranch, demonstrating how they shape programs based on age groups, while giving you a tour of the Ranch.

  • Freckle Face Farm: Focus is on livestock production practices, meat processing and marketing strategies.

  • School Gardens: Field trip participants will visit two diverse models of educational gardens.

Click here to learn more about these outstanding field trips.

Arkansas Natural Produce

Save Those Seeds

We will provide space on Thursday night for those who wish to swap seeds. Bring photos and samples if you can, too.

Exhibitors Invited

If you have products, services or programs you'd like conference participants to learn about, click here. You can reach a lot of people through our conference. We're expecting over 1,200 registrants!

Registration and Fee Waivers

The Southern SAWG conference is always a great bargain, given the quality of the information to be gained and the networking opportunities that come with such a large turnout of the South’s most innovative and successful producers, organizers and advocates in sustainable agriculture. Your farming operation or local foods organization can’t afford to miss this event.

For a listing of fees and a printable registration form, or to use our safe and secure online registration system, click here.

This year we have three options for those looking for a fee waiver to participate in this conference. To learn more about fee waivers and how to apply, click here.

Call for Posters!

If your research or program provides practical information relevant to organic and sustainable family farmers and/or to those working to build local food systems, you are invited to display a poster about your work at the 2013 Practical Tools and Solutions for Sustaining Family Farms conference.

Those interested in displaying a poster or posters must first submit a brief abstract for each poster. Abstracts are due November 16, 2012. Members of the Southern SAWG Scientific Committee will review all submitted abstracts and make decisions regarding acceptance. Click here to learn more and download the full details.

Be a 2012 Conference Sponsor

Your presence as a sponsor will help hundreds of farmers, community food advocates, educators and researchers across the South, and with the visibility this event affords, it will distinguish you as a supporter of the sustainable agriculture movement. Click here to learn more and show your support.

Note to organizational and institutional leaders: We can provide letters of support to your potential funders if you are seeking funds for producers in your area to participate in the pre-conference and conference activities. Just contact us with the details.
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