Michigan TOPP Network Partner Event: Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference 2026
October 4, 2026 - October 6, 2026
Various locations in and near Bellaire, Michigan
This year, we’ll explore the theme of Culture Keepers — a celebration of the people, practices, and traditions that sustain our land, foodways, and communities. Join us to learn about Perennial Farming, Plant Seeds + Breeds, Farming as a Business, Farming through the Generations, and so much more.
Sunday: On-Farm Workshops
Option One: Providence Organic Farm
Get a behind-the-scenes look at one of Northern Michigan's most beloved farms. For over 20 years, Andrea and Ryan Romeyn have been growing clean, chemical-free food at Providence Organic Farm — and this tour gives you an up-close view of how it all comes together. You'll walk both sides of the operation, the pasture-raised livestock and vibrant vegetable production. Attendees will learn practical systems you can take back to your own farm.
Option Two: Daybreak Dreamfarm
Founded in 2014 on a former trout farm in Pleasant Valley, Daybreak Dreamfarm spans 16 acres of spring-fed ponds and open fields in East Jordan. Farmers Kelly and Pat farm beyond organic — no synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or GMOs — guided by a deep belief in food as part of a larger, interconnected ecological system. You'll see the Indoor Mushroom Operation, alongside their Vegetable Production + Diversification Strategies.
Monday Sessions
Keynote Speaker: ROSEBUD BEAR SCHNEIDER
New Hands, Old Ways: Growing With Kids WENDY BELL
American Chestnuts: the OG Giving Tree BEN MCMURRAY
Managing Succession and Stress REMINGTON RICE + CHRIS BARDENHAGEN
Thinking Like a Forest: Whole Systems Design for Homes, Farms, & Beyond + Growing in a Poly Culture LEVI MEEUWENBERG + SCOTT KALLEK
Wholesale 101: Roadmap for Becoming Wholesale Ready (with Grain Train & Oryana Co-op) MINDY TAYLOR + AMY MCINTIRE + SARAH SMITH
Culture, Copywriting, and Ideal Customers CLAIRE BUTLER + TRICIA PHELPS
Creating a Vision of Greatness ELNIAN GILBERT
Preserving and Caring for Heirloom Apples within the Sleeping Bear Dunes NATE WALTON
Tuesday Sessions
How Living Soil Works ROBBIN POTT
Stewarding Climate Resilient Seeds MAGDA NAWROCKA-WEEKES
Tools for Small Scale Farms DANA HILFINGER
Chickens as Culture Keepers: Raising Birds that Nourish Land, Food, and Community CAITLIN MCSWEENEY-STEFFES
Organic Seed Production Research on Economics and Yield (OSPREY) MICHAEL LORDON
Farmer as Catalyst: An Experimental Approach to Farming TAYLOR HARTSON
Setting Goals and Making a Plan for Your Farm KATIE BRANDT
Transition to Organic Farmer Roundtable MARIEL BORGMAN + A PANEL OF FARMERS
Towards a Michigan Food Worker and Farmer Writing and Visual Arts Anthology ADAM MONTRI + ABBEY PALMER
The Ins and Outs of Tree and Shrub Propagation SCOTT KALLEK
Visit https://www.smallfarmconference.com/ to learn more!
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