The California Small Farm Conference is the state's premier gathering of small farmers and those who support them. The three day educational conference includes on-farm tours, focused workshops, general educational sessions and opportunities for peer networking.

The next convening of the California Small Farm Conference is planned for March 1-3, 2009 in Sacramento. Sign up for our e-mail newsletter to keep informed of conference plans and to be the first to know when conference registration opens.

The most recent Small Farm Conference was February 24-26, 2008 in Visalia.

The theme of the 2008 California Small Farm Conference was Growing Opportunities. While small farmers continue to face many challenges, they are also finding unprecedented opportunities. The growing interest in locally-grown food and supporting sustainable food systems offers great promise for the small farmer that is able to produce a high quality product and market it effectively to consumers hungry for California-grown foods.

Featured speakers for the 2008 California Small Farm Conference included Dr. Preston Maring of Kaiser Permanente, a vocal advocate for locally-farmed foods within Kaiser Permanente and the community; Huell Howser, host of numerous PBS shows including the popular California Gold; and David Runsten, the Executive Director of Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF)

Conference topics included cultivation, water conservation, pest management, business development, USDA opportunities, and marketing. In addition, workshops were offered that addressed the particular issues facing new farmers, experienced farmers and farmers' market manangers.

The mission of the Farm Conference is to conduct an educational conference on topics relevant to family farming, direct marketing and issues related to agricultural sustainability.