Texas State hosting USDA Small Producer Initiative Conference

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
Office of Media Relations
August 10, 2017

More than 115 farmers are expected to attend the Small Producer Initiative Conference, hosted by Texas State University's Department of Agriculture August 14-16.

The conference is sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture and will feature more than 50 speakers and representatives from the Texas Department of Agriculture, farm financial organizations and farm mentors. Conference speakers include Robert Maggiani, Justin Duncan and Kevin Ellis, sustainable agriculture specialists from the National Center for Appropriate Technology. The free event requires pre-registration.

Conference session topics include:

  • Whole Farm Planning and Protection, legal and insurance issues, Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), and marketing and advertising for small producers
  • Scaling up production
  • Market readiness
  • Agrotourism
  • High tunnel production
  • Hot season crops
  • Irrigation
  • Small farm poultry
  • Goats
  • Cover cropping and specialty crops

This conference is designed to provide the leadership and services to better enable small producers to grow their businesses, as well as make available the latest in relevant research and educational outreach available. 

For more information, visit smallproducersinitiative.txstate.edu/Workshop.html.

About Texas State University

Founded in 1899, Texas State University is among the largest universities in Texas with an enrollment of 38,849 students on campuses in San Marcos and Round Rock. Texas State’s 180,000-plus alumni are a powerful force in serving the economic workforce needs of Texas and throughout the world. Designated an Emerging Research University by the State of Texas, Texas State is classified under “Doctoral Universities: Higher Research Activity,” the second-highest designation for research institutions under the Carnegie classification system.