Lunch and Learn

media release: On Monday, September 9, 2024 from 1-4pm, farmers and farm-curious folks from around Wisconsin are invited to the Farley Center in Verona, WI for a field day featuring agricultural conservation practices and farm-fresh local lunch. Spanish interpretation will be provided, and the event is designed to be Spanish language-friendly. Find information and register for this free event in English or Spanish at gofarmconnect.org. The event is co-hosted by the Farley Center, Go Farm Connect, Renewing The Countryside, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service of Wisconsin (NRCS-WI). 

Participants will have the chance to tour farms at the Farley Center, see how farmers have integrated conservation practices into their operations, and learn about diverse agricultural conservation practices that are eligible for funding through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Wisconsin. Farmer Juan Gonzalez Torres (Los Abuelos Farley Farm & Los Jalapenos CSA) will join us to share about his on-farm conservation practices. 

Kaitlin Schott, Urban Conservationist at NRCS-WI, works with a wide range of agricultural producers to support them in implementing on-farm conservation practices. Regarding the event, Schott is "looking forward to highlighting the great conservation work at the Farley Center and helping attendees plan for conservation in their own growing spaces.”

NRCS staff will be there to meet participants and share about programs and funding available to small-scale, urban, and historically underserved producers. Go Farm Connect and Wisconsin Women in Conservation staff will talk about how they can support you in getting started on your conservation goals and applying for NRCS funding. Spanish interpretation will be provided, and we'll talk about specific resources for Spanish-speaking growers.

Go Farm Connect (GFC) is a farmer-led initiative to build relationships between historically underserved specialty crop farmers and federal farm agencies that can help producers succeed. The core of the program is farmer Connectors who are trained to help farms of all sizes and specialties in Minnesota and Wisconsin access agricultural assistance programs. The three-year project is led by Renewing The Countryside in partnership with the US Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service.