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SAVE THE DATE:

SEPTEMBER 10th & 11th 2016  

RADISSON HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTER

Green Bay, Wisconsin

(Conference center information here)

Throughout rural America factory farms are expanding at an unprecedented rate. As a direct result, the air in rural communities is increasingly polluted, local waterways and wells are fouled, and farmers and rural citizens are finding themselves in a position of fighting for their homes, their businesses, and rural quality of lives.  This fall, citizens from across the country who are on the frontlines of factory farm expansion are invited to Green Bay, Wisconsin for the 2016 Factory Farm Summit – Demanding Accountability in Animal Agriculture. This day and half long conference will be bring together leading experts on factory farming issues to work directly with those citizens most impacted. The day will be an opportunity to network, workshop and learn new ways to stop the expansion of factory farms and hold bad-actor factory farms accountable for their pollution.

Purchase Brown Paper Tickets here.  

Speakers are being confirmed, but a tentative schedule is listed below. Check back for updates.

FFS Flyer (1)Saturday, September 10th
Details TBD: Media & Participant CAFO Tour
3:00pm Early Bird Check in/Registration
5:00pm: Words for Water
6:00pm Reception/Dinner
7:00pm Opening Keynote by  Gordon Steveson

Sunday, September 11th
8:00am 9:00am Registration

9:00am Opening Remarks/Ceremony of Gratitude

 9:30am The World We live In: International Trade Agreements, the Farm Bill and What it all means for our rural communities, Family Farms and the Environment (Speakers to be announced)

10:30am Trends in the Industry  (Speakers to be announced)

11:30 am CAFO and the Upper Midwest (Speakers to be announced)

12:00  Wisconsin Residents Standing Up, Fighting Back  (Speakers to be announced)

12:30 Lunch

1:30 4:30 Workshop Break-Outs:

Track One: Organizing Against a CAFO 101: Who should attend this track? Citizens who are just getting started to organize in their communities. This is very basic organizing skills building.

  • CAFO Organizing 101: In order to stop a new CAFO or successfully hold an existing CAFO accountable, community organizing is necessary. But where do you start? How do you organize? Learn valuable tips from top organizers. (Speakers to be announced)
  • Building Community: Communities can be diverse and sometimes it is hard to organize with people who are not like you. Learn valuable tips for overcoming barriers to organize for success.  (Speakers to be announced)
  • Moving from Victim to Empowered: Picking a strategy for success.  (Speakers to be announced)

Track Two: Getting Technical with CAFOs: Who should attend this track? Citizens who have organized their community and are actively looking for additional opportunities to hold bad actor CAFOs accountable.

  • Understanding Nutrient Management Plans: and coming up with a plan for community watching-dogging manure application  (Speakers to be announced)
  • Water Monitoring 101: Learn the ins and outs of testing waterways downstream from a polluting facility and following a protocol that will allow your community to keep legal options on the table. (Speakers to be announced)
  • Getting State Agencies to Work for You: Understanding FOIA, public records request and what your rights are under the law and local regulations  (Speakers to be announced)

Track Three: Understanding the Laws and and how they apply to CAFOs: Who should attend this track? Citizens who are well organized, have counsel or are seeking counsel and are looking for legal hooks to hold a CAFO accountable.

  • The Clean Water Act & Clean Air Act 101: What are these laws, why do they matter and how can communities use them in localized factory farming campaigns.  (Speakers to be announced)
  • Creative Counseling: What lawyers and citizens are doing to think outside the box when it comes to CAFO litigation.  (Speakers to be announced)
  • Research Public Health and Community Organizing – A case study of how one community organized for success using sound science, public health and a creative community organizing. (Speakers to be announced)

Track Four: Responding to their Talking Points: Tools for being effective communicators about a local CAFO in an agribusiness-dominated world of media. Who should attend this track? Anyone looking to better understand the media, how the media works and to build some valuable skills.

  • Communications 101: Demystifying the media so you can make the press work for you. (Speakers to be announced)
  • Social media 101: More and more people are getting their information from social media but what does that mean for your local fight and how do you plug in? Learn an overview of the world of Social Media and tools for getting your story out to a bigger audience on the internet.

4:30: There is a better way Panel of Farmers, We don’t need factory farms to feed the world. Hear from a panel of farmers who are farming outside of the CAFO model.

5:30 Closing Remarks – Dr. John Ikerd Closing

6:00 adjourn

Getting to the Factory Farm Summit

  • If you are driving to the Summit click  here for detailed directions.
  • If you are flying into the Summit you will want to fly into the Wingate by Wyndham Green Bay Airport, which is located across the road from the Oneida Conference Center. More details here.          

Accommodations  

  • We have a block of rooms reserved at a discounted rate. You can book your room by visiting this website  https://www.radisson.com/srap.  The Bay Motel is an alternative option. Single rooms with a queen or king size bed are $63.25 per night.