Every year at Asilomar in the lovely town of Pacific Grove on the Central Coast, Ecofarm, the greatest gathering of organic farmers in the U.S., takes place.
Founded by organic pioneer Amigo Bob, the conference features speakers who are some of the truly great talents and embraces community. They're all trying to turn the Queen Mary of modern agriculture toward more sustainability, health and resilience by way of organic farming.
California has nearly 3,000 certified organic farms, representing 21 percent of all U.S. certified organic land. A new report on the state's organic farming community is due out from U.C. Davis in the next month or two.
In the past, I've enjoyed lectures from Amigo himself (sadly he is no longer with us), Pam Marrone (the internally acclaimed expert on biopesticides and a great person to follow on LinkedIn as her feed is full of goodies), and Kelly Mullville of Paicines Ranch on the stage with the hilarious Nathan Stuart, formerly the shepherd at Tablas Creek Vineyards. (Nathan should have been a professional stand up comedian. You can get a taste of his irreverent, down to earth approach by watching some old Tablas videos on YouTube where he teams up with their winemaker Chelsea.)
2025 LINEUP : ALTIERI, NABHAN, CDFA on REGENERATIVE, and MORE
This year's lineup is made of equally famous stars and promises a lot of knowledge and good times. This year features:
• Agroecology founder and former U.C. professor Miguel Altieri
• ROA and CDFA staff on state policy issues on definitions of the word "regenerative" and the sustainable pest management roadmap
• MacArthur fellow Gary Nabhan and his new book on immigrants
• The one and only organic wine tasting party (certified grapes only)
• Bee and pesticide expert Susan Kegley (former chief scientist for Pesticide Action Network and bee protector)
• And more
OPENING NIGHT KEYNOTE
Big name keynoters include the agroecology leader Miguel Altieri (officially Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley) the man who founded the field of agroecology. He has worked for the Pope and with Prince Charles on large scale ecological agriculture projects. He did several significant studies on vineyards when he was at Cal. (I audited his Berkeley class one year when Houston Wilson was his teaching assistant).
Altieri will also lead a workshop called "Diversifying Plants and Soil Microbes Fosters Pest Control" on Thursday.
(Wilson now heads the UC Organic Agriculture Institute and sits on the CDFA's sustainable pest management group.)
THURSDAY AM WORKSHOPS: CDFA's Definition of Regenerative and a Session on Sustainable Pest Management (SPM)
CDFA has been attempting to define the word "regenerative." An Ecofarm panel on this developnent includes Elizabeth Whitlow, well known to many for her role as founding director of the Regenerative Organic Alliance, a role that the late Paul Dolan recruited her for.
DPR's Julie Henderson, who headed the SPM committee, will be speaking at one of the workshops this year on the state's attempt to steer agriculture, long term, toward using less toxic chemicals and spurring development of alternatives. (See story here for background).
THURSDAY AFTERNOON KEYNOTE: Gary Nabhan on the Creative Value of Immigrants
A man of the desert known for his ethnobotanical expertise, agave appreciation and a professor at the University of Arizona, this original thinker (and author of 26 books) has turned his attention to immigration issues–timely as Trump assumes office that week. Nabhan is a MacArthur Fellow and James Beard award winning author.
"The key themes of the new book, Against the American Grain, are that innovation usually emerges from the margins of our society, that bilingual and multicultural individuals generate problem-solving strategies that spill out from rural areas to enrich all of America, and that multi-cultural collaborations have enriched American landscapes and protected the poor and marginalized in innumerable ways.
With a farm workforce that now includes climate refugees from more than a dozen desert countries, we should anticipate another wave of resistance and innovation. Speaking as an orchard-keeper, agave and spice-grower, and rural community development organizer with a half century of experience, Nabhan will inspire more direct action from multicultural alliances that will leave no farmer, farmworker or food service worker behind."
Yes, it sounds political, but isn't that what the next year looks like? How will food survive without these immigrant workers? How will farms prosper? The coming clash seems like a crisis filled work in progress that could be illuminated with Nabhan's insights. (Although I would question who are the resisters?...Think of the Bear Flag Revolt. California was once Mexican.)
THURSDAY PM WORKSHOPS: ALTIERI ON BIODIVERSITY AND PEST CONTROL
Altieri is on a two person panel for the workshop "Diversifying Plants and Soil Microbes Fosters Pest Control," which address pest control through a natural balance of predators and beneficials.
THURSDAY NIGHT: ORGANIC WINE TASTING PARTY
The one and only tasting each year of wines from certified organic vines is a crowd pleaser for this gang, year in and year out.
FRIDAY PM WORKSHOPS: Microbes with U.C.'s Tim Bowles, Pollinators with Susan Kegley
Bees are on the agenda with rock star pesticide researchers and bee champion, Susan Kegley, formerly the senior scientist for Pesticide Action Network and an evangelist for bees. She's the director of Pesticide Research Institute and runs her own farm, Bees n Blooms Organic Flower Farm, in Santa Rosa.
There's much more to enjoy at the event. Learn more at the eco-farm.org website.
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