The PlacerGROWN Food and Farm Conference will be held on Saturday, February 4th at Lincoln High School. You can register for the conference at the PlacerGROWN website:
http://placergrown.org/wp/?p=480
The keynote speaker will be Scott Vernon of I Love Farmers.
“I Love Farmers,” as it is affectionately known, is a national agricultural advocacy group of young people with headquarters in San Luis Obispo. J. Scott Vernon, an agricultural communications professor at the Cal Poly State University, help found the group. Together, they have launched an ambitious campaign to inform the young people, primarily in urban areas, about agricultural issues, and family farming in particular.
The group’s mission is “to celebrate the choices we have in the marketplace for our food supply.” Vernon says, “we have pitched a big tent and welcome all types of food production models to join the conversation. It is not an ‘either or’ proposition, but instead helping young people understand the importance of balance in American agriculture that will secure our domestic food supply.”
I Love Farmers…They Feed My Soul originated out of the frustration by the students who have a passion for agriculture, but realized most of their peers don’t know how food is really produced in America.
Using new media technology, the young people decided to take matters into their own hands and launched an aggressive social media movement to share information about family farmers and ranchers. “I Love Farmers…They Feed My Soul” has become one of the fastest-growing FaceBook groups on farm advocacy issues in the world. The group’s leaders have gone on numerous stump speeches across the country, and have inspired young people nationwide to action by forming local “catalysts for conversation” teams around college campuses. They bring their message to Lincoln High School in February at the 2012 Food and Farm Conference as keynote presenters.