2024 agenda coming soon! see past presenters and topics below.
September 12th, 2024
10am - 3pm
Midland Conservation District
954 E Isabella Rd, Midland MI 48640
Presenters to be announced soon! Networking Session Each conference date will host a networking session, inviting all of our attendees, presenters, and additional invited experts, to meet and discuss their careers, passions, and experiences. Midland Conservation District Barn Tour + Farm Tour Join us at the end of the conference for a tour of the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute nature preserve. Pierce Cedar Creek Institute is home to over 800 acres of managed wetlands, forests, and prairies full of native wildlife. They are a hub of outdoors education and outreach, offering visitors a valuable opportunity to experience nature. |
october 17th, 2024
10am - 3pm
Marquette, MI
![Picture](/uploads/1/4/7/1/147119295/editor/3-kasey.jpg?1697719795)
Kasey Wierzba
Winemaker, Shady Lane Cellars
Winemaker, Shady Lane Cellars
![Picture](/uploads/1/4/7/1/147119295/published/danielson-amanda.jpg?1697720000)
Amanda Danielson
Owner & Beverage Director, Trattoria Stella
Lead Consultant & Educator, Wordy Girl Wine Wise
Co-founder, City of Riesling™
Founder, Intentional Agriculture
Advanced Sommelier, Court of Master Sommeliers the Americas
After opening up restaurants internationally - including Sao Paolo, Brazil where she caught the wine bug - Amanda returned to her native Detroit and began taking a scholastic approach to wine. In early 2000, she moved north to Traverse City, Michigan; and, in July of 2004, opened Trattoria Stella, the first business in the redevelopment of the old state hospital. In July of 2014, Amanda launched the City of Riesling symposium, which brings Riesling makers from all over the world to Traverse City for an ambitious weekend of wine tasting and education with the ultimate goal of bringing awareness of the overall economic and environmental impact of "wine country" to its denizens. Amanda continues to direct the beverage and staff development programs at Trattoria Stella, which she operates with business partner, Executive Chef Myles Anton, and a team of managers with combined tenure of over ninety years among them. Thanks to the growth and success of her team, Amanda has extended her educational reach and operational influence through her educational consulting business, Wordy Girl Wine Wise. Most recently, Amanda started the wheels turning on Intentional Agriculture, a non-profit with the objective to connect more people with better farming through education. In collaboration with Michigan State University and MSU Extension, she launched the annual conference, Dirt to Glass: Elevating Michigan Wine from the Ground Up in the summer of 2022.
Networking Session
Each conference date will host a networking session, inviting all of our attendees, presenters, and additional invited experts, to meet and discuss their careers, passions, and experiences.
Partridge Farm Tour
Owner & Beverage Director, Trattoria Stella
Lead Consultant & Educator, Wordy Girl Wine Wise
Co-founder, City of Riesling™
Founder, Intentional Agriculture
Advanced Sommelier, Court of Master Sommeliers the Americas
After opening up restaurants internationally - including Sao Paolo, Brazil where she caught the wine bug - Amanda returned to her native Detroit and began taking a scholastic approach to wine. In early 2000, she moved north to Traverse City, Michigan; and, in July of 2004, opened Trattoria Stella, the first business in the redevelopment of the old state hospital. In July of 2014, Amanda launched the City of Riesling symposium, which brings Riesling makers from all over the world to Traverse City for an ambitious weekend of wine tasting and education with the ultimate goal of bringing awareness of the overall economic and environmental impact of "wine country" to its denizens. Amanda continues to direct the beverage and staff development programs at Trattoria Stella, which she operates with business partner, Executive Chef Myles Anton, and a team of managers with combined tenure of over ninety years among them. Thanks to the growth and success of her team, Amanda has extended her educational reach and operational influence through her educational consulting business, Wordy Girl Wine Wise. Most recently, Amanda started the wheels turning on Intentional Agriculture, a non-profit with the objective to connect more people with better farming through education. In collaboration with Michigan State University and MSU Extension, she launched the annual conference, Dirt to Glass: Elevating Michigan Wine from the Ground Up in the summer of 2022.
Networking Session
Each conference date will host a networking session, inviting all of our attendees, presenters, and additional invited experts, to meet and discuss their careers, passions, and experiences.
Partridge Farm Tour
October 19th, 2024
10am - 3pm
Allegan Conservation District
2412 Taft Rd, Allegan MI 49010
Monica Jean
Tess Van Gorder
Morgan MathisonSlee
Mariel Borgman
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Monica Jean, MSU Extension with Tess Van Gorder, Michigan Farm Bureau
"Climate-Smart Agriculture: Keeping You Farming in a Changing Climate" Monica serves central lower Michigan with an emphasis on the Saginaw Bay watershed region. Her position covers a large variety of crop production including corn, soybean, edible dry beans, potato and integrated crop and livestock systems. Monica is involved in cover crop, soil health, nutrient management and cropping system research projects. She enjoys conducting practical, on-farm research and working with farmers to improve the weather resilience of their farms. Monica is the Michigan chair for the Midwest Cover Crop Council and the North Central Climate Collaborative. Tess Van Gorder is a Conservation and Regulatory Relations Specialist at Michigan Farm Bureau. She works with farmers, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and universities on environmental issues and solutions such as agricultural film plastic recycling, energy, ecosystem services markets, and groundwater discharge permitting. In addition, Tess is part of the leadership team for the Michigan Manure Hauler Certification Program. Tess previously worked at ENGIE Insight, an energy and sustainability management firm out of St. Paul, Minnesota on natural gas procurement. Morgan MathisonSlee, MSU Center for Regenerative Agriculture "Economic Services and Holistic Wellbeing" Morgan MathisonSlee is currently a post-doctoral research associate at Michigan State University working with the Department of Community Sustainability and the Center for Regenerative Agriculture. After obtaining a PhD from Michigan State in 2022, Morgan began working on a multi-institute research project investigating the role of metrics, monitoring, and management on grass-based beef production systems. Primarily, Morgan is currently working on the monitoring of ecosystem services provided by grasslands being managed by livestock and how to use monitoring as a feedback tool for teaching farmers about the use of adaptive multi-paddock grazing to improve soil health and ecosystem function. Mariel Borgman, Michigan Farm to Institution Network "Building Community and Marketing Opportunities via Michigan’s Farm to Institution Network" Mariel Borgman is a Community Food Systems Educator with the MSU Extension serving the southwest Michigan region. Mariel’s areas of focus include supporting local and regional food systems, developing farm to institution value chains, and supporting beginning farmers. Her background includes degrees in Sustainable Business and Natural Resources, as well as certificates in organic farming and permaculture. She also has a micro-farm and grows vegetables, cut flowers and chickens for family and friends. Networking Session Each conference date will host a networking session, inviting all of our attendees, presenters, and additional invited experts, to meet and discuss their careers, passions, and experiences. |