Texas State hosts annual Southern Family Farmers & Food Systems Conference

Author Gary Nabhan will deliver the keynote address for the Small Producers Initiative’s (SPI) annual Southern Family Farmers & Food Systems Conference Aug. 6-8 at Texas State University.

The conference is hosted in partnership with the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) and the Council for Healthy Food Systems (CHFS). Registration, sponsorship and scholarship information can be found at southernfamilyfarmersconference.org.

The collaborative event brings together growers, producers, local food advocates and supporters from Texas, the southern U.S. and beyond to celebrate small farms and regional food systems. With seven learning tracks ranging from production to marketing, it provides three days of education focused on small- to medium- scale agriculture and includes plenary speakers, research findings, pre-conference workshops, professional consultations, an exhibit hall and abundant opportunities to connect with farmers, ranchers, food system leaders, farm support organizations and agricultural businesses. It is the largest conference of its kind in the state.

Nabhan is a prolific author and ethnobiologist who works on conserving the links between biodiversity and cultural diversity. He is considered a pioneer in the local food movement and efforts to save heirloom seeds.

A first-generation Lebanese American, Nabhan holds a Ph.D. in the interdisciplinary arid lands resource sciences from the University of Arizona. He co-founded Native Seeds/SEARCH; served as director of conservation, research and collections at both the Desert Botanical Garden and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum; and became founding director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University. Now professor emeritus from the University of Arizona, he served for many years as the Kellogg Endowed Chair in Southwestern Borderlands Food and Water Security and founded the Center for Regional Food Studies there.

SPI is a program within the Department of Agricultural Sciences at Texas State providing outreach, training and extension for farms and ranches. While the primary focus is on small and mid-sized producers in Texas, SPI supports producers of any size and production method and is especially interested in assisting historically underserved farmers and ranchers and those who are pursuing regenerative production practices. For more information, visit smallproducersinitiative.txst.edu.

FARFA is a national organization that supports independent family farmers and protects a healthy and productive food supply for American consumers. FARFA promotes common sense policies for local, diversified agricultural systems and advocates on behalf of thousands of small-scale farmers and ranchers who produce food using sustainable/regenerative methods and for millions of consumers wanting to protect traditional food system rights and freedoms. For more information, visit farmandranchfreedom.org.

CHFS serves to build community, educate policymakers, and inform the public on healthy food systems, namely diversified local and regional food systems that are healthy, safe, economically sound and environmentally sustainable. CHFS develops information to educate farmers, consumers, elected officials and media on the systemic changes needed to establish healthy food systems, from the soil to the dining table. For more information, visit healthyfoodsystems.org.