Nearly two hundred people attended this year’s Expanding Markets Conference in some capacity, with attendees tuning in from across Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Tennessee, Illinois, Minnesota, Georgia, and Florida!
Ranchers transitioning their land to regenerative management are taking significant financial risks to improve their land, create a better quality of life, and entice the next generation to come home. As an organization, WSE understand this and has vowed to continue to give them the knowledge, tools, and connections to make sound financial decisions for their unique operations.
We heard so many words of wisdom and experience from producers, marketers, and buyers during the three-day event and WSE is working to get recordings of the sessions ready to share! Below are a few tidbits from two of our keynote presenters:
“The non-GMO and organic movements have been talked about as values-based movements because the consumer purchases with their dollars, and it’s an emotional plea that’s made on those packages to get them to do that. Those movements were incorrectly termed values-based movements when they’re actually scientific-based movements. And now that same thing is starting to happen with the regenerative movement where people are saying it’s this emotional plea and it’s that heartfelt pull. But never forget that at the base of this is a science-based movement based on what happens in your soil, with your animals, and with your health. All of those things are part and parcel of the system. These are scientific-based movements and there is absolutely proof for what those outcomes are if you care to look.”
—Tina Owens during the “Why EVERYONE Needs to Market” panel
“What does a paradigm shift in the food supply and agriculture look like? To us, the picture appears in the eyes of the farmer and rancher when they look at us intensely and tell us over and over they are fed up with our system today. They tell us convincingly that they are ready to give up goals like yield and commodity pricing and work toward outcomes like health, nutrition, and community. And that’s why they are interested in the regenerative movement—its outcomes are the ones they find most satisfying to attach to their work on the farm or ranch… … When [producers] meet allies in the supply chain who want to help them, things start to happen.”
—Ryan Slabaugh of Think Regeneration, post-conference via LinkedIn
Whether outcomes or science, producers and consumers alike are ready for change and are finding their personal WHY. WSE is excited to continue this conversation, to meet producers where they are at, and to support them on their journey toward a better future!
Stay tuned as we share more snippets from the conference via social media in the coming months! Recordings will be made available to both in-person and virtual conference attendees for FREE and will be available for purchase for $25 each starting November 1st for those unable to attend. Examples of some of the most popular sessions include: Carbon Company Comparison, Food Is Medicine, Marketing 101, Innovative Rancher Panel, and What Consumers Want.
View the full agenda here. If you have questions about purchasing a recording, please contact hstoltz@wsestaff.org
Pictured: Speakers at the 3rd annual Expanding Markets Conference meet over dinner to explore ways to collaborate across the supply chain.
