Marbleseed Conference 2025 - Session

The Local Food for Schools (LFS) program created new market opportunities for local producers by fostering direct connections with schools. With the LFS funding concluded, how can farmers continue to connect with schools and keep local food on student plates?

This session will explore the impact of LFS and provide practical strategies for building lasting partnerships with school districts today. Learn from growers who have successfully navigated these relationships and discover ways to sustain and grow your farm-to-school efforts, even without dedicated funding. This session provides an opportunity to engage in a facilitated discussion of “Farm to Institution”. Together, we will delve into the opportunities and barriers to institutional sales as a market for farmers. Join us to share ideas, learn from peers, and strengthen the link between local farms and schools.

The Diverse Corn Belt project is a multi-institutional and transdisciplinary project studying diversification beyond corn and soybeans in the U.S. Corn Belt. This panel will highlight the experiences of several organic grain farmers involved with the DCB project, drawing on why they grow the crops they do, challenges and successes they have experienced, and a Q&A session with the audience. We will also provide an update on the DCB project including results from field trials on the agronomic impacts of diversified rotations, market opportunities, and key barriers and opportunities for diversification in row crop systems broadly.

New to weed management in organic grains? Effective organic weed management requires well balanced integration of cropping system strategies and direct control practices. Cropping system strategies like crop rotation that reduce weed pressure serve as the foundation for effective direct control practices like blind cultivation, row crop cultivation and rescue interventions such as weed zapping. Dr. Joel Gruver at Western Illinois will discuss how to choose and fine-tune time tested cropping systems and direct control practices. In addition, Dr. Gruver and his research technician Dr. Andrea Venturi will discuss some cutting-edge organic weed control strategies.