Soil health and civic engagement will be in the spotlight at the Kansas Rural Center’s 2015 Farm and Food Conference. The two-day conference, centering on these two important themes in farming and rural community health, will be held November 13 – 14, 2015, at the Four Points Sheraton, 530 Richards Drive, Manhattan, Kansas.

Registration is available online at http://kansasruralcenter.org/conference-2015/, or by contacting KRC at info@kansasruralcenter.org or 866-579-5469.

This year’s program, “Roots, Shoots and Boots: Healthy Farms and Healthy People from the Ground Up,” includes a full-day Soil Health Forum on Friday, November 13, featuring local and national experts on soil health, organic and no-till. On Saturday, November 14, the keynote address and a number of breakout sessions will hone in on civic engagement strategies to advance and strengthen rural communities and farm and food systems in Kansas, as well as the usual wide variety of break-out sessions. A complete agenda for each day can be found at http://kansasruralcenter.org/2015-farm-food-conference-agenda/.

On Friday, featured speakers include Jeff Moyer, Director of the Rodale Institute and world- renowned authority in organic agriculture; Klaas Martens, certified organic farmer and owner/operator of Lakeview Organic Grain, a certified organic feed and seed business, and Dr. Bianca Moebius-Clune, USDA NRCS Soil Health Division Director. The focus of the day will be on organic systems and opportunities, cover crops and commonalities among no-till, cover crops and organic.

Friday will also include three breakout sessions covering Public Seed Varieties: Availability, Regulations and Research; Incorporating Cover Crops into Specialty Crop Production; and Soil Health Principles and Rainfall Simulation Demo.

On Saturday, the keynote speaker will be David Hunt, a nationally recognized teacher and leader in organizing for social change. Hunt is one of four principal trainers from the Midwest Academy, one of the nation’s premier organizer training institutions. He founded Hunt and Associates in 1996, dedicated to citizen empowerment and community development. His presentation will set a tone of action for strategizing and community-building for a day packed with diverse sessions and speakers.

Breakout sessions on Saturday will focus on local food systems, community food solutions and economic opportunities, farm transitions and beginning farmer opportunities, farm practices and marketing strategies for diversification, conservation on the farm, food and environmental policy, and organizing for social change.

Each day will feature a locally-sourced lunch and will offer conference attendees time for networking and visiting exhibitor booths in order to connect with and learn more about the great people and exciting things happening in farming, food production, and the environment, in Kansas and beyond.

KRC invites farmers, ranchers, food enthusiasts, community advocates and more to attend its 2015 Farm & Food Conference.

Cost to attend the conference is $65 per day, or $120 for both days. A special Student Rate and scholarships are available. To inquire about the conference agenda or scholarships, call Mary Fund at 866-579-5469, or contact her at mfund@kansasruralcenter.org. Call Joanna Voigt at 866-579-5469, or jvoigt@kansasruralcenter.org, for registration questions. To register to attend please visit http://kansasruralcenter.org/conference-2015/.

The mission of KRC, founded in 1979, is to promote the long-term health of the land and its people through research, education and advocacy that advance an economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially just food and farming system. For more information, visit www.kansasruralcenter.org.