Be part of the largest food, farmers market, and specialty crop conference in Illinois. Share your knowledge, lessons learned, or research with industry leaders and growers across the state. Consider speaking at the From Food to Flowers: Everything Local Conference hosted by the Illinois Specialty Growers Association, Illinois Farm Bureau, and Illinois Farmers Market Association on January 17 - 19, 2024 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield.
This unique event gathers specialty crop farmers, niche and value-added producers, agritourism businesses, farmers market managers, distributors, buyers, and other members of the Illinois agribusiness sector to partner in further developing the robust Illinois local food supply chain.
The conference planning committee is seeking 50-minute educational sessions, research presentations, panel discussions, grower presentations, lessons-learned. Presentation topics may include:
- Tree Fruit Production
- Vegetable Production
- Flower and Herb Production
- Pumpkin Production
- Bramble Production
- Beekeeping
- Composting
- Agritourism
- Urban Agriculture
- Farmers Market Management
- Community Food Systems
- Food & Farm Policy and Regulation
- Business Development
- Farmers Market Marketing
- Food Safety
- Liability & Risk Management
- Market Promotion & Outreach
We want to hear from all of you. If you have an idea or topic you would like to discuss at this upcoming conference, please consider completing the From Food to Flowers: Everything Local Speaker Application. Complete a separate online application for each individual presentation topic you would like to submit.
As a speaker, you will receive free admission to the conference and conference video library. Speakers are also eligible for travel reimbursement and one night of lodging. For multi-person speaking sessions, lodging and travel reimbursement are not guaranteed. An application does not guarantee the application will be accepted. You will be contacted by the conference planning committee for further review and confirmation.