Southcentral Growers Conference April 10-11, 2026

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Southcentral Growers Conference
April 10–11, 2026
Click here to register!

Get the full details below - scroll down for detailed schedule, presenters, and everything you need to know.

For questions or help with registration, call 907-235-1674.

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Visit with our great group of Vendors during the conference!

Hello Growers!

🌱 The Southcentral Growers Conference Returns — Bigger, Better, and Growing! 🌱

The Southcentral Growers Conference is back for its second year, bringing together an inspiring lineup of Alaska farmers and growers ready to share the hard-earned knowledge, practical skills, and innovative ideas that help southcentral growers thrive.

Whether you’re a seasoned commercial producer, a market gardener, or tending a homestead, this year’s expanded two-day conference offers something for every level of experience.

Most presentations will be streamed on Zoom as well as offered live at the Kachemak Bay Campus. The exception will be classes held in the campus high tunnel, which will be in person only.

💵 Registration

$30 per day

Includes lunch and dinner on Friday, and lunch on Saturday. Register for one or both days. Most sessions are also available via Zoom - links will be sent out to registrants the day before the conference.

Click here to register!

Scholarships are available!

We are thankful for our vendors and sponsors for making assistance possible to support local producers. Fill out the application here. The first round of applications will be reviewed March 27. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis after that date.

Daily Schedule

Friday: 8:00 AM – 7:30 PM
🍽 Dinner & Keynote: 5:30 – 7:30 PM

Saturday: 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM

Enjoy complementary morning snacks and lunch each day, plus dinner on Friday at no additional charge. (Meals funded in part by the Alaska Farm Bureau.)

Conference Session Details

Friday, April 10, 2026

8:00 - 9:00 | Registration, Coffee, & Mingling
Start your day with coffee, connect with fellow attendees, and get registered for the day ahead.
Location: KBC Lobby

9:00 - 10:15 | Record Keeping for Market Growers
Presenter: Dan Brisebois, Tourne-Sol Farm & The Farmer Spreadsheet Academy
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Dan will show you how to build a reliable system for tracking planting dates, harvest yields, and task durations. This session will help you estimate crop profitability and refine your future planning, and will also cover how to use Google Forms for data collection.
Location: P201 & 202

9:00 - 11:30 (Open Hours) | High Tunnel Q&A with Kenai Feed
Presenters: Sarah Donchi, Kenai Feed
Sarah will be set up in the KBC High Tunnel (on the south end of campus, southwest of the parking lot) to answer your questions. Drop in to talk about the pros and cons, features and add-ons, and services and products that Kenai Feed provides for our grower community.
Location: KBC High Tunnel

10:30 - 11:30 | Tools for Collaborative Farming
Presenter: Dan Brisebois, Tourne-Sol Farm
Do you farm with other people? Whether as partners, co-farmers, or employees, this session will explore how to balance running an efficient and productive farm while allowing people to think independently and creatively. Dan will share 20 years of experience farming in a worker co-op and the key tools to make collaboration easier.
Location: P201 & 202

11:45 - 12:00 | Updates from the Alaska Farm Bureau: What is New and Improved in 2026
Presenter: South Peninsula Farm Bureau
Get an overview of new activities at the state level and learn how Homer farmers can connect with others across Alaska on common interests.
Location: P201 & 202

12:00 - 12:30 | LUNCH
Location: KBC Lobby

12:30 - 1:00 | Food Policy in Alaska: Cross-Sector Food System Updates
Presenter: Rachel Lord, Alaska Food Policy Council
The Advocacy & Policy Director for the Alaska Food Policy Council will provide an overview of the numerous proposals in Juneau that could impact our farms and food systems. We'll talk about how you can stay informed, engage, share your voice, and answer your questions.
Location: P201 & 202

1:15 - 2:15 | Synergistically Raising Animals and Plants on the Chugach Farm Regenerative Homestead
Presenter: Allie Barker, Chugach Farm
This class will discuss the systems and lessons learned over 25 years incorporating chickens, ducks, and pigs into a small-scale homestead. Allie will talk about how pigs can turn forest to farm, how deep litter coop methods add fertility to hot thermophilic compost systems, and the value of using ducks as slug patrol—all stepstones to growing nutrient-dense food.
Location: P201 & 202

2:30 - 3:30 | Mycorrhizal Potential
Presenter: Dave Ianson, Former agronomist with NRCS, UAF CES, and SWCDs; PhD in Plant Pathology and Rhizosphere Biology from Oregon State University
What’s all the "myco-noise" about? Join us for a discussion on “Biologicals are not widgets” and other myths and realities surrounding the soil health craze.
Location: P201 & 202

3:45 - 4:30 | Carrot Seeding Success
Presenter: Bo Varsano, Farragut Farm
Do you want to know the secret to growing beautiful carrots in Alaska? Farragut Farm has some winning ideas on this challenging crop.
Location: P201 & 202

4:45 - 5:30 | Chugach Farm Virtual Tour
Presenter: Allie Barker, Chugach Farm
Allie will give a virtual tour of her off-grid farm where she raises vegetables, chickens, ducks, and pigs and has reduced her inputs by focusing on using her animals for rich compost. She also has a killer root cellar and much more innovative infrastructure to share!
Location: P201 & 202

5:30 - 6:30 | DINNER
Location: KBC Lobby

6:30 - 7:30 | Rooted in Place: Growing Food and Community in Alaska

Presenter: Tom Zimmer, Calypso Farm & Ecology Center

Tom started Calypso Farm with his partner Susan in the hills outside of Fairbanks 25 years ago. They have since built an incredibly diverse educational farm where they raise veggies and flowers for CSA and Farmers Market sale, sheep and a dairy goat, and have a working blacksmith shop. Tom will share their journey and their recent work building a robust Indigenous farming program to develop the next generation of leaders in rural Alaska.

Location: P201 & 202

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Saturday, April 11, 2026

8:30 - 9:30 | Registration, Coffee, & Mingling
Start your day with coffee, connect with fellow attendees, and get registered.
Location: KBC Lobby

9:30 - 10:30 | A Quest for Profitable Simplicity: Farragut Farm's Journey from Diversification to Specialization
Presenter: Marja Smets, Farragut Farm
Farragut Farm's journey from diversification to specialization—analyzing crop profitability and how they refined their farm offerings to start making money.
Location: P201 & 202

9:30 - 11:00 (Open Hours) | High Tunnel Q&A with Kenai Feed
Presenters: Sarah Donchi, Kenai Feed
Sarah will be set up in the KBC High Tunnel (on the south end of campus, southwest of the parking lot) to answer your questions. Drop in to talk about the pros and cons, features and add-ons, and services and products that Kenai Feed provides for our grower community.
Location: KBC High Tunnel

10:45 - 12:00 | Hands On Soil Health
Presenter: Tom Zimmer, Calypso Farm & Ecology Center
Getting to know your soils chemically and biologically. Soils are more than just a growing medium; they are a dynamic living ecosystem. Let's learn more!
Location: Starting in P201, moving to KBC High Tunnel (high-tunnel portion is in-person only)

12:00 - 12:30 | LUNCH
Location: KBC Lobby

12:30 - 1:30 | The Last Small Farm Virtual Tour
Presenter: Kelli Foreman, The Last Small Farm
Kelli 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.
Location: P201 & 202

1:45 - 2:30 | Slug Panel
Presenters: Joey Slovick & Casey Matney (UAF), Carey Restino (Homer Hilltop Farm)
This panel features three experts on this slimy subject. Joey Slovik will present on his slug barrier research, Carey Restino will explain her bomb-proof slug control methods for salad green production, and Casey Matney will offer time-tested advice from his years of teaching gardeners.
Location: P201 & 202

2:45 - 3:30 | Backyard Poultry for Beginners
Presenter: Casey Matney, UAF Cooperative Extension Service
Casey will share what you need to know before raising poultry in Alaska. He has a wealth of knowledge on the subject and will give advice on all aspects of housing, feeding, and caring for these feathery friends!
Location: P201 & 202

2:45 - 3:30 | Commercial Buyers Panel
Presenters: Representatives from SPH, Save-U-More, Alassandro’s Market, and The Goods

Q&A Roundtable with commercial buyers including Alassandro’s Market, Save-U-More, South Peninsula Hospital, and The Goods Sustainable Grocery in Soldotna. Get connected with local businesses who purchase goods from farms right here on the Kenai Peninsula!

3:45 - 4:30 | Practical Drip Irrigation
Presenter: Tom Zimmer, Calypso Farm & Ecology Center
A hands-on approach to learning practical drip irrigation concepts. Every farm and garden has different needs. We will explore the fundamentals of flow.
Location: KBC High Tunnel (in-person only)

3:45 - 4:30 | Kenai Peninsula Livestock Producer Panel
Facilitator: Anna Liljedahl | Panelists: Lisa Rae Stevenson, Jeremy Manz, Faith Schade
This interactive panel will feature three local livestock producers to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities of raising livestock on the Kenai Peninsula.
Location: P201 & 202

4:30 - 5:30 | Body Mechanics for the Physical Farmer

Presenter: Maggie Goedeke

How to farm without breaking your back (or your knees, or your shoulders).

Location: KBC High Tunnel (in-person only)

Conference Presenters

Tom Zimmer of Calypso Farm and Ecology Center

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.

Allie Barker of Chugach Farm

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.

Allie will also take us on a virtual tour of her farm and its systems

Dan Brisbois

Joining us virtually this year is Dan Brisbois, 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

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

Farragut Farm owners Bo Varsano and Marja Smets began building their homestead in Farragut Bay near Petersburg more than 30 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 2022 to pivot toward their most profitable crops, including carrots and garlic, and will also offer a presentation on successful carrot growing.