CALL FOR SPEAKERS
Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference (NMSFC) brings together farmers, growers, and land stewards to share knowledge, build connections, and strengthen the region’s agricultural community. The 2026 conference will be held October 4-6 in downtown Bellaire, with additional farm-based experiences nearby. To highlight the diversity of farms and regions we serve, the conference rotates to a new county each year, offering attendees the chance to experience local farms. The NMSFC is a program of Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology.
CULTURE KEEPERS
This year’s Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference centers on Culture Keepers — a celebration of the people, practices, and traditions that sustain our land, foodways, and communities. We invite proposals that explore culture in its broadest sense: from heritage skills and traditional knowledge to contemporary research, creative practice, and community leadership.
We welcome sessions that are academic, experiential, artistic, or rooted in lived experience. Culture may be expressed through farming practices, seed saving, storytelling, craft, land stewardship, or food traditions. We also encourage proposals that engage with culture in a biological sense — for example, fermentation as a practice, making workshops such as sauerkraut, sourdough, cheese, or other microbial arts relevant.
Whether you are preserving ancestral knowledge, documenting emerging practices, or cultivating new forms of cultural expression connected to land and food, we invite you to share your work as part of this gathering of Culture Keepers.
Why Speak at Our Conference?
Share your expertise and passion with a dedicated audience
Network with other professionals in the small farming community
Contribute to the growth and sustainability of small farms in Michigan
We welcome diverse perspectives and encourage proposals from farmers, community organizers, researchers, and educators. Space is limited, so we encourage early submissions!
Deadline to submit: April 23, 2026
Questions? Contact Katrina Daniels at 231-533-2555 or katrina@crosshatch.org.