Workshops
Workshops for the 2026 Conference
Soil Regeneration through Intensive Ruminant Management
With: Greg Brann, Eric Smith, Kelsey Keener, Jeff Poppen
Day: Friday
Time: 2:00
Place: Solar Barn
In this pasture walk Greg Brann’s extensive experience and knowledge of grass species and insights into ruminant grazing will be augmented by a few other experienced grazers. Eric Smith from Bugtussle Farm, Kelsey Keener from Sequatchie Cove Farm, and Jeff Poppen from the Long Hungry Creek Farm plan to share their practices.
Enlivening the Soil with Horn Manure, Enlivening the Plant with Horn Silica
With: Daniela Maria, Ben Nommay and M Mueller
Day: Friday
Time: 3:00
Place: Barn
An introduction to biodynamics – a different perspective on agriculture, Horn Manure and Horn Silica – collaborating forces that bring forth life on the farm.
M Mueller, Ben Nommay and Daniela María offer their rich and diverse experience in biodynamics. Join them to learn hands-on preparation making, basic biodynamic guide lines, and practical applications. Together we will explore the importance of all 9 biodynamic preparations – the foundational impact of horn manure and horn silica – as well as how each compost preparation supports all growing phases of a plant from seed to fruit. These concepts will be presented in a two part series.
Garden Tour
With: Jeff Poppen and Todd Elliot
Day: Friday
Time: 4:00
Place: Solar Barn
The garden tour is a free wheeling trip around the farm. We will stop at various spots around the farm to look at what is going on. This will include the gardens, compost piles, biodynamic preparations, orchards, ponds, woods, pastures, animals, animal handling facilities and other farm infrastructure. It’s a great time for questions and answers in a smaller group with Jeff and Todd.
Alternative Land Ownership Models Outside of the Speculative Real Estate Market
With: Kristina Rossi Villa and Dorothy Hinkle-Uhlig
Day: Saturday
Time: 9:00
Place: House
Successful transition of farmland to next generation farmers is critical for agriculture and who can access land is tied to the present concept of land ownership. We are creating new paradigms around land ownership that take land out of the commodities market with it’s destructive forces of speculation. The Farmers Land Trust and Living Lands Trust are working within the present legal parameters to create alternatives to the way land is owned, accessed, stewarded, and how tenure and equity is conveyed. These two organizations are actively creating innovative models, examples, and pathways to transition land from one generation to the next, and securely give farmers, stewards and ranchers access to land for agricultural enterprises. The work is exciting and ever-evolving. Let us explore this topic together.
Beyond Moon Signs: Traditional Astrology, Magic, and the Art of Agriculture
With: Todd Elliott
Day: Saturday
Time: 10:00
Place: House
In this workshop seasoned organic farmer, astrologer, and magical practitioner, Todd Elliott, will show us some of the ways he incorporates the esoteric into the operation of a working farm. We will begin by exploring the cosmology of traditional astrology and continue from there to an explanation of the basic concepts of the magical art and how it can relate to farming. We will concentrate on astrological magic, which is an ancient system for harnessing the energies of the stars and planets for spiritual growth and practical success, as well as discussing theurgical and shamanic approaches to working with earthly and heavenly powers from ancient Paganism, Western esotericism and beyond. We will touch upon weather magic, pest control, increasing fertility and more. We will also discuss the various traditions of using astrology to time work on the farm.
Practical Preparation Making, Some Spiritual Imaginations from Steiner’s Ag Lectures
With: Ben Nommay, Daniela Maria, and M Mueller
Day: Saturday
Time: 9:00
Place: Barn
Introduction to the biodynamic compost preparations. Looking at the biological process that the preparations hold and the spiritual side that drives them.
M Mueller, Ben Nommay and Daniela María offer their rich and diverse experience in biodynamics. Join them to learn hands-on preparation making, basic biodynamic guide lines, and practical applications. Together we will explore the importance of all 9 biodynamic preparations – the foundational impact of horn manure and horn silica – as well as how each compost preparation supports all growing phases of a plant from seed to fruit. These concepts will be presented in a two part series.
Strengthening Our Fiber Community:
Identifying and Addressing Local Needs in Fiber Production
With: Debbie Brann, Robin Verson, and Cher Smith
Day: Saturday
Time: 10:30
Place: Woodshed
Join Robin Verson from Hill and Hollow Farm, Debbie Brann of River Cottage Farm, and Cher Smith of Bugtussle Farm as they share their stories of developing farm fiber products while protecting our natural resources using regenerative practices in fiber production.
This session encourages everyone interested in all aspects of the local fiber community to share their perspectives on the current state of fiber production in the community. However you engage in the fiber community as a shepherd, dyer, spinner, weaver, designer or the wearer of locally sourced, sustainably raised clothing, this session will leave you inspired to build a resilient local fiber economy.
Know Till: Farming Without Plastic, Growing Without Harm
With: Anthony Villa
Day: Saturday
Time: 2:00
Place: House
Join farmer and artist Anthony Villa of Villa Acres for a fresh perspective on how food can be grown without harming the land. In this session, Anthony will share his “Know Till” approach an alternative to plastic ground covers, synthetic inputs, and the hidden costs of convenience. Instead, he offers regenerative methods that honor soil health, biodiversity, and future generations. Come learn how farming with knowledge, care, and creativity can feed communities while healing the earth.
From the Compost Pile to the Human Being:
The Preparation Plants as Medicine
With: Mark Hancock, and Enid Hancock
Day: Saturday
Time: 2:00
Place: Woodshed
Every biodynamic farmer knows yarrow, chamomile, nettle, oak bark, dandelion, valerian, and stinging nettle as the plants that go into the compost preparations. Fewer of us have looked at what those same plants do inside a human being. They are medicines, and the process each one carries in the compost is the process it carries in the body.
In this workshop we take the preparation plants one at a time. Dr Mark works as a physician in integrative oncology and anthroposophic medicine, and will describe what each plant does clinically: yarrow for venous congestion and the liver, nettle for the iron and blood-building process, chamomile for digestion and spasm, valerian for warmth and sleep. Enid will bring the hands on application alongside each plant. She has worked with these remedies and therapies for many years and has trained in metal colored light therapy in Sweden and Germany.
Participants will handle and smell the herbs, work briefly with an unnamed plant to practice reading its gesture directly, and learn a yarrow herbal compress.
Special Discussion: “The Long Haul”
With: Jeff Poppen and Friends
Day: Saturday
Time: 2:00
Place: Front Porch
Join in a circle of experienced farmers and gardeners who’ve been at it for decades to hear how and why they persevere.
Landrace Seed Selection for the Regenerative Farm: Resilience, Productivity & Flavor!
With: Susana Lein
Day: Saturday
Time: 3:00
Place: House
Learn to select and maintain locally-adapted landrace seed for more resilient, productive, and nutrient-dense crops that resist pests and disease! After more than 3 decades of regenerative organic food production, Susana Lein of Salamander Springs Farm considers seed stewardship a key element of a regenerative farm. For some crops, the difference in productivity, flavor and resistance has been dramatic, compared to commercial organic seed.
Understand and work with the pollination and seed production characteristics of important crop families, and how to harvest, dry, process and store seeds at small farm or garden scale without expensive equipment. Learn to select and maintain your own landraces with nutrient-dense flavor and the genetic diversity for ongoing local adaption and reliability in challenging climate conditions. Seed crop families covered will include the key staple crops of the milpa indigenous agricultural system that Susana learned during 8 1/2 years of working Mayan farmers in Latin America in the 1990’s.
” The Extollation of Decaying Light ”
A discussion on the virtue of Electricity
With: Chris Winters
Day: Saturday
Time: 3:00
Place: Barn
In this workshop we will explore the relationship of soil and soul through the lens of Electroculture and Medical Qigong. The dynamic development of the farmer is an integral and cardinal component within sustainable agriculture, and it is important to both the farm and the farmer. We will examine spiritual, agricultural, and scientific insights to find the points of coalescence and a unified concept of life energy.
We will install an Electroculture antenna and grounding system and discuss the many points of interest in the way they function in agriculture as well as how that relates to our bodies and the macrocosm. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers during this time.
Electroculture Installation
With: Chris Winters
Day: Saturday
Time: 4:00
Place: Barn
This is a continuation of Chris’s workshop that began at 3:00, where he will lead the installation of an electroculture device that he has made.
Reading the Agriculture Course
With: Jeff Poppen and Friends
Day: Sunday
Time: 10:00
Place: Solar Shed
In this event we will read from Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course. Someone will read aloud, and the rest of us will follow along. There will be time for questions during the reading so that we can elucidate the ideas presented in the text. It’s usually an insightful and lively discussion.