Full-color conference brochure is in the mail!

Watch your mailbox for your conference brochure or

take a look at our full program online!

"Nothing has been as valuable to our farm's evolution as the practical advice from experienced growers we've heard and met at the SSAWG conferences. Like us, they have spent decades on the frontlines of organic production and local marketing, winnowing out the techniques, varieties, marketing strategies, and attitudes that make for successful businesses (many have become dear friends we see only once a year at the annual conferences). New growers can't afford not to know these folks--wish we would have had access to such rich experience when we started 30 years ago!"

-- Mark Cain of Dripping Springs Garden,
veteran farmer and presenter at this year's conference.

Call for Posters:

Abstract Deadline November 15!

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 2015 Southern SAWG conference.

Those interested in displaying a poster or posters must first submit a brief abstract for each poster. Abstracts are due November 15, 2014. Members of the Southern SAWG Scientific Committee will review all submitted abstracts and make decisions regarding acceptance. Click here to learn more.

Wanted:
A Few Good

(not tall) Farm Tales

Got an amazing farm tale to tell? We'd love to hear it! At our Practical Tools and Solutions For Sustaining Family Farm Conference this January in Mobile, "Tales from the South", a public radio program, will be taping talented farmers at our conference reading their own true stories.

Submit your story for consideration for the show! Those selected for the show will receive a FREE conference registration.

Deadline for submissions is December 1, 2014 and you must be able to attend the Saturday evening recording. Click here for submission details.

Pre-conference Info: Wed & Thu - Jan. 14-15


Short Courses Our popular 1� day pre-conference short courses are intensive learning experiences that provide comprehensive information. 1. Start-Up Organic Vegetable Production and Marketing 2. High Tunnel Production and Marketing 3. Growing Farm Profits by Managing for Profit 4. Farm to School 101: Building a Strong Foundation 5. Food Policy Councils: Building the Southeast Region's Food Policy Capacity Click here to learn more about the short courses.	Mini Courses Our � day pre-conference mini courses cover specific topics in greater depth than is possible in our regular conference sessions. 1. Making Your Market Farm Work for You 2. Adding Fruit to Your Southern Market Farm 3. Getting Started in Natural Beekeeping 4. Disease Management for Vegetables: Sustainable Practices and Disease Resistant Varieties 5. Strategic Planning for Effective Community Organizing To learn more about mini courses, click here.	Field Trips Load up on the bus and head out to see things in action. For those who learn best by getting out in the field, we offer four outstanding � day field trips this year. 1. New Farmers Getting it Done! 2. Vegetable, CSA, and Agri-tourism Farm 3. Livestock, Vegetable and Teaching Farm 4. Community Garden and School Aquaculture Program To learn more about field trips, click here.

General Conference Info: Fri & Sat - Jan. 17-18

Conference Sessions

The general conference, running all day Friday and Saturday, offers well over 50 sessions on a broad range of topics. We have sessions for those with years of experience and for those who are new to the field. The session topics include organic and sustainable vegetable, livestock and specialty crop production; unique marketing strategies; business and finance management; beginning farming; farm to school; community food systems; federal farm programs; agriculture policy developments; and more. Click here to see the full description of sessions on this year's program.

Expert Presenters

We have a very exciting slate of "field-tested" presenters this year. They are successful farmers and ranchers, along with well-respected educators and local food organizers. All have extensive knowledge and most importantly, practical experience.

Click here to see the incredible expertise our presenters are bringing to this program!

Special Events


Opening Mixer Meet up at the Convention Center Thursday 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. to catch up with old friends, make new friends, and enjoy live music by Excelsior, the famous Mobile-based brass band that was a 2012 Inductee to the Gulf Coast Ethnic & Heritage Jazz Festival Hall of Fame and received the 2013 Alabama Folk Heritage Award. We'll also have tables set up for Seed Swapping at the Opening Mixer. Click here to learn more.	Farming Film Terra Firma: A Film about Women, War and Healing will be screened 6:00p.m. - 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. This is a very moving film that weaves together the stories of three women veterans who have found ways to heal the hidden wounds of war through farming. These vets find that organic and sustainable farming gives them purpose and a new way to serve their country by growing food for their communities. Click here to learn more.	Tales from the South Join us Saturday evening during our Taste of Alabama dinner for "Tales from the South". This is a public radio program that will be taping talented farmers at our conference reading their own true stories. We'll have tales ranging from hilarious to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering experiences. In addition to fascinating farm stories, we'll have live music to entertain you too! Click here to learn more.

Registration and Fee Waivers

Registration

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.

Click here for registration information.

Fee Waivers

Southern SAWG offers a limited number of conference fee waivers to help make it possible for limited-resource farmers to participate in this event.

To learn more about fee waivers and how to apply, click here.

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.

Trade Show and Advertising

If you offer products or services to those looking for sustainable farming and local food system solutions, then this is the event for you. Think about it--over 1,000 potential customers for your business!

New this year! Our program is going full-color, which will bring more attention to your advertisement! Place a full-color advertisement in our conference program to inform attendees about the products and/or services your company or organization offers.

Click here for information about our trade show and advertising opportunities.

You Never Forget Your First Time!
Many of us will never forget our first time we attended the Southern SAWG conference. Feeling the energy and enthusiasm about sustainable agriculture strengthened and empowered each one of us to keep up the good work.

Click here to read Susan Pavlin 's first time story. Susan works a lot with growers who have moved to the South from other countries, sharing innovative tools and farming strategies with them.

Click here to read more first time stories.

Send us your first time story. We'd love to hear all about it.

Become a 2015 Conference Sponsor

As a sponsor you will be helping 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 critical supporter of the sustainable agriculture movement. Click here to learn more and show your support.

Be a Sponsor!

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PO Box 1552, Fayetteville, AR 72702