Over 1,500 people came together at the Asilomar conference
center last week, just south of Monterey. Under pine trees and on white sand
beaches they met and talked about all things related to sustainable
agriculture. Lectures on subjects ranging from the Farm Bill to cover cropping were
packed with attentive crowds. At meals, novice farmers sat shoulder-to-shoulder
with seasoned producers. Business cards and advice flurried like a snowstorm.
This was the 33rd annual EcoFarm conference, which describes
itself as the oldest and largest gathering of ecologically sustainable
agriculture advocates in the West. People came from as far away as Malawi to
participate in what Bolinas farmer Peter Martinelli called his yearly “organic
church” experience. Most other attendees seemed to feel similarly.
“The EcoFarm conference is an essential organism in the body
of organic agriculture that feeds the culture of farming,” said Dina Izzo of
BluDog Organic Produce Services. “It feeds the heart and soul of many farmers
who are isolated during the year, a reminder about brothers and sisters who
along with them steward the earth while making measurable strides towards
giving our earth the care she needs to thrive.”
The conference kicked off with preliminary events including
a bus tour of sustainable farms, a butchery skills seminar, and a course in
pollinator conservation. I missed this part, but it sounds excellent. In the body of the conference, there were roughly 30 workshops, lectures and
discussion groups on Thursday and Friday, the two main days of the conference,
and a dozen more on Saturday. These sessions were spread throughout the spacious,
forested Asilomar campus; nametag-bedecked conference-goers were free to wander
from one to the next.
People from my neck of the woods, West Marin, turned out in force—both as attendees and lectures. Albert Straus, owner of the renowned dairy, shared
how his farm generates electricity using methane captured from manure. A
talk on the implications and opportunities stemming from the 2012 Cottage Foods
law was given by my friend Fred Smith. Helge Hellberg,
former ED of Marin Organic and producer of the radio show An Organic Conversation, offered advice on finding a
niche market through specialty crops, value-added production, and selling the farm’s
story. And Penny Livingston-Stark
of the Regenerative Design Institute in Bolinas discussed permaculture, local
food independence, and regenerating our foodsheds.
National and regional notables were also present.
Fermentation guru Sandor Katz lectured and led discussions on the benefits,
biology, and history of ferments such as kimchi, kefir and sauerkraut. Mary
Pittman—the Mary behind Mary’s Free Range Chickens—told how she and her husband
managed to buck the pressure to grow conventional poultry. And Amigo Bob
Cantisano, an organic farmer, activist, and one of the founders of EcoFarm,
seemed to be everywhere at once, with his long dreadlocks bouncing.
Yet many of the most interesting exchanges were informal
conversations. Whether in the cozy and rustic social hall—designed in 1912 by
Julia Morgan—or around a late-night bonfire on the beach, EcoFarm is set up to
encourage chance encounters. Meals were pricey but especially rewarding--you were seated randomly at large tables, perfect for meeting people. And because everyone there shared the goal of
learning and networking, conversation was made even easier.
“The Ecological Farming Conference is the best place to be,
come late January. Whether you are farmer, distributor, or just a person of
interest, this is the highlight of the year for me,” said Steve Schuman of
North Valley Produce. “It is not very often that we, as an industry, get to
come together and learn, laugh, and play together. The potential is unlimited.”
The conference has certainly grown over the years. The very
first one, in 1981, was held at the firehouse in the town of Winters, with 45
people in attendance. Then and now, the event is put on by the Ecological
Farming Association, a non-profit focused on education, alliance building and
advocacy. The group describes
their goal as promoting a safe and
healthful food system that strengthens soils, protects air and water,
encourages diverse ecosystems and economies, and honors rural life. In addition
to EcoFarm, the association also hosts the Hoes Down Harvest Festival and the
Heartland Project.
The closing ceremony on Saturday
held in a large, wood-walled hall where a dance had lasted into the small hours
on the night before. In the morning, a more subdued group reconvened in rows to
listen to a speech by nun, activist and organic farmer Miriam MacGillis. In the
middle of the talk, which focused on the interconnectedness of life, MacGillis
asked the audience to have a moment of silence while five women walked slowly
up an aisle, bearing baskets of seeds like a sacrament. In silence, they passed
the baskets into the crowd. In silence each person took one seed, to hold and
contemplate as they listened to the rest of the talk.
“We aren’t in this world, we are it,” MacGillis said later. “From a
seed sprouting to a thriving ecosystem, life is only possible through a complex
web of relationships and ancient processes.”
(Pictures from 2012, courtesy of EcoFarm. A different version of this article was published in the Point Reyes Light on January 31.)
