***Draft Schedule- Subject to Change!!!***

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Thursday November 14th

The Lyric - The Lyric – Casper Wyoming | (casperlyric.com)

Buyer/ Grower event, keynote, mixer

 

We highly encourage producers interested in learning more about school sales, and schools interested in purchasing local foods

to attend the conference on Thursday.

Both groups will have a chance to hear from

schools purchasing local and producers selling to schools.

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Attendees will also receive training on how to make farm to school successful for your school or food business.

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Local foods buyers and producers will have several opportunities to network and make those connections that may lead to a procurement relationship! 

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Other additional opportunities for upscaling local foods businesses and Securing large-scale contracts will also be highlighted!

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​11AM-12PM

- Producer Showcase, Local Food Sampling in lobby

- Wy Table and Statewide local Foods Directory Overview

- Regional Food business Center Resources for Producers:

Get Your Recipe to Market, Local Food Marketing Course 

WY Producer Experiences from The 2024 Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas

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12-12:20pm 

introductions

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12:20-1:20PM

Farm to School Panel Facilitated by Andrea Alma with USDA:

-WY Schools purchasing local foods

-Bobby Lane: WY Farm to school, Department of Education

-WY Producer(s) currently participating in Farm to School 

-Nik Ritter: Equality State Farms, WY seller and Distributor

hear suggestions from nik on which local produce is a good fit for larger scale contracts

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Breakouts (2 Tracks)

1:30-3:30PM

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track 1

1:30-3:30pm

What is Farm to School: Hear from Wyoming’s Farm to School Coordinator, the developers of the Bringing the Farm to School Curriculum, Wyoming Food Coalition, and more.

 

This session will cover: 

• School Food Service and Producer Peer-Sharing 

• Discussions and problem solving around seasonal availability, delivery, processing, and storage gaps 

• Getting to know the farm to school supply chain 

• What makes farm to school different from other channels 

• Advance planning, scale, and price point 

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Track 2

1:30-2:30pm

Local Sourcing to feed WY Neighbors: Food Bank of WY-Odessa oldham

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2:30-3:30pm

Forward Contracts Between Producers, Pantries, and other buyers​

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3:30-5PM

Buyer/Grower Mixer: cocktails and hors d'oeuvres

-Sponsored by the Rocky Mountain FArmers Union

 

5-6pm

Keynote: WY Local Food Infrastructure and transport trends, Roadblocks, and Successes: fresh foods WY- Jesse and LeAnn Miller

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Friday November 15th

Casper Community College

Informational sessions

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All Tracks

8:00-9:30AM

- Wy Food freedom Act (WFFA) and Food Safety nuances, Roundtable discussion with local foods consignment markets

- A2a: locals foods stakeholders and consumer health focus group-WFFA faq Presentation

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Breakouts (3 tracks)

9:45-4:30

 

track 1

Ranching for profit day long workshop 9:45am-4:30Pm

 

*participants of this workshop also have access to the 8-9:30am roundtable and will break for the agritourism lunch panel from noon-1:30pm*

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Jordan Steele, RMC Director of Operations, will lead a one-day workshop on building a business you love to operate. Jordan will cover the 3 Secrets to Increasing Profit by building a livestock business from scratch. Participants will also be introduced to discovering their own paradigms and the difference between working in their business vs on their business. Don't miss out on this highly sought-after informational opportunity!

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Track 2:

9:45-10:30AM

Right to REpair Act and other policy updates: Rocky Mountain Farmers Union- chad franke

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10:45-11:30AM​

Pressure canning vs water bath canning: Uw Extension- vicki Hayman

   

 

11:30am- noon

SNAP at Farmers Markets: Laramie MAinstreet -Ana castro

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Track 3:

9:45-10:30AM

Beginning Farmer/Rancher Discussion: Quivira Coalition and NEw AGrarian Program- Bridger Rardin & Hana Fancher, (Past quivira coalition interns)

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10:45-11:30AM

Resources for rural entrepreneurs: UW Extension and Wy Community Navigator Program- Cindy Garretson-Weibel

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All Tracks

12:00-1:30Pm

Locally-sourced lunch and Agritourism Panel - Led by haley sorg of UW Extension

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Track 2

1:45-2:30PM

Wind river Food Sovereignty Project Updates: Trout Creek Farm- Livvy Lewis and Kelly Pingree

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​2:45-3:30PM

A wy producer's history with RAw Milk Testing: Brush Creek Creamery- 

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​3:45-4:30PM

Perennial agriculture opportunities for wy producers: The Land Institute- Tessa Peters

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Track 3

1:45- 2:30pm

WY Business Builder Grant AnnouncemenT and Q&A Session: USDA Regional Food Business Center

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2:45-4:30Pm

Composting meat Byproducts Panel discussion led by Dr. Caitlin youngquist- Mihail kennedy, composter from montana beef operation; wy department of evironmental quality; brie hashem- wy Game and Fish Department; Processor who received Exemption to compost

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All tracks

4:30-5PM

Closing​ statements

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Farm to table Dinner 6-8pm

Tate Pumphouse

Tate Pumphouse - Platte River Trails

 

provided by Heirloom and Native 

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Keynote Speaker - Ron Rabou at 6-7 pm

Rabou Farms | Organic Wheat in Southeastern Wyoming

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***Meet in the Ramkota Parking Lot this evening, for a complementary shuttle to and to and from the pumphouse!***

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Saturday Nov 16th

 - Casper Greenhouses, Permaculture farm, and flower farm/concert venue tour 9am - noon​

- brunch and "Storytelling to build your brand" session led by melissa hemken at the Bloomery from noon to 2pm

 

​​***Meet in the Ramkota Parking Lot this morning, for a complementary tour shuttle!***