We’re excited to welcome Tom Zimmer of Calypso Farm and Ecology Center, who brings over 25 years of farming and teaching experience. Tom’s practical insight and deep commitment to ecological agriculture will set the tone for an energizing weekend.

Tom will be delivering the keynote presentation Friday evening titled “Rooted in Place: Growing Food and Community in Alaska.” He will also offer a class on one of his top passions, soil health, and a rundown on irrigation systems. 

We’re also featuring a presentation by Allie Barker of Chugach Farm, who will talk about synergistically raising animals and plants on the Chugach Farm regenerative homestead. 

Her presentation will discuss the systems she uses and lessons learned over 25 years of incorporating chickens, ducks and pigs into her small-scale homestead farm. 

Joining us virtually this year is Dan Brisebois, one of the co-founders of Tournesol Farm in Les Cèdres, Québéc. He’s been growing vegetables and seeds commercially for over 20 years.

Dan has always been interested in planning and managing farms more efficiently and effectively while maintaining the quality of life and joy we all want from farming.

Spreadsheets are one of his favorite tools to relieve his farmer brain of having too many decisions to make. In the summer of 2019 he launched the Farmer Spreadsheet Academy to focus on solid farm planning and management.

Dan will be hosting two workshops this year - one on farmer spreadsheets and another on cooperative farming models. 

Kelli Foreman of The Last Small Farm on Kodiak Island will give her a virtual tour of her diverse farm. Foreman is a fifth-generation farmer from Nebraska who found her way to Kodiak, Alaska 20 years ago. With nothing but determination, she built a Grade A certified goat dairy and a small farm that produces beef, pork, chicken, eggs, and raw milk products.

Today, she and her family raise their own Kodiak Island beef, farrow hogs, and raise pigs, along with a thriving raw milk dairy operation with goats and an A2A2 Jersey cow. Chickens are essential to their operation, and donkeys, horses, and mule add joy to the daily grind.

Farragut Farm owners Bo Varsano and Marja Smet began building their homestead in Farragut Bay near Petersburg 20 years ago, and today, that homestead has become a financially viable farm despite their remote location. In 2023, they were named the Alaska Farm Family of the Year. 

Bo and Marja will join us virtually to talk about their decision in 2023 to pivot toward their most profitable crops, including carrots and garlic, and will also offer a presentation on successful carrot growing.