Call for 2025 Proposals

The Southern Family Farmers & Food Systems Conference (SFFFSC) is seeking session proposals for the 2025 conference. 

The mission of the conference is to support small and mid-size producers, build stronger and more resilient local food systems, and support long-term profitability of farming and agri-entrepreneurs from start-ups to generational businesses. It offers attendees the opportunity to learn from industry leaders and other professionals in their fields, develop new skills, connect with colleagues in their area and across the South-Central Texas region, and other agricultural related businesses and organizations. 
 

We are committed to and working toward lifting up BIPOC perspectives throughout all aspects of the conference. We are actively seeking proposals from BIPOC led and focused farm organizations.  

  • We are seeking presentation proposals that fit the goals of the conference and provide relevant professional development to our target audience. We expect that most workshops will cover material that falls into one or more of the topic areas listed below and we are open to suggestions for other topics.  

    • Agricultural Policy and Advocacy 

    • Regenerative and sustainable livestock production 

    • Specialty crop, fruit and/ or flower farming 

    • Row crop production (including fiber and hemp) 

    • Equity and Social Justice in the Food System 

    • Business Planning and Development 

    • Cooperatives & alternative production, processing, distribution, and marketing systems 

    • Financial Farm Management 

    • Climate Adaptation, Risk Management and Disaster Preparedness 

    • Land Access, Retention, and Transfer 

    • Food and Farm Marketing and Distribution 

    • Accessing Capital 

    • Farm-to-School 

    • Urban farming 

    • Organic production

  • Most conference sessions are 60-90 minutes long, with workshops being an exception, so we ask that presentations be at least 45 minutes long and discussions and consults last at least 50 minutes.  

    We expect to offer some sessions to both beginner and advanced producers, so we ask you to keep this in mind when submitting your proposal.  

    The Conference Programming Committee will make final decisions regarding which proposals are selected, and where appropriate, presenters may be asked to collaborate with others or shift the content of their proposal. 

    Types of Sessions 

    • Workshop (half day or 1- 2 days): A combination of a lecture and/or a traditional power point presentation with activities that are hands-on and interactive. We encourage you to incorporate creative ways to keep your audience engaged. 

    • Session Presentation:  A single speaker presenting (with or without PowerPoint) followed by Q&A from attendees. 

    • Moderated Panel Discussion:  Bring together 3-4 agricultural professionals to share their perspectives or experiences on a topic. 

    • Roundtable Discussion: Pose a question that you’d love to have a conversation about with other professionals in your field and facilitate the discussion. You don’t have to be an expert on the topic you want to talk about, but we ask that you work to keep the conversation flowing. 

    • Consult (Ask the Expert):  Similar to a professor’s office hours, these small sessions provide a chance for those with expertise in a particular area/field to answer individual questions. 

    1. Review this proposal form, which includes the types of sessions that this conference is seeking. 

    1. Note that, if you are proposing a multi-speaker session, we welcome proposals that include a list of proposed speakers as well as those that have the full panel already in mind. 

    1. Contact the Programming Committee Coordinator with any questions: smallproducers@txstate.edu 

    1. Submit a proposal online by 8 p.m. CST on February 28, 2025. 

    1. You may submit up to a maximum of four proposals. 

    1. It may take 10-15 minutes to complete this form. 

  • This conference is intended as a peer-to-peer professional development event, with some sessions being led by local producers who are practitioners in this field. For the 2025 conference, we can offer conference registration and a modest honorarium for presenters and panelists.  

If you have any questions about the Call to Proposal submission form, contact smallproducers@txstate.edu