Tilth Producers Annual Conference
David Mas Masumoto and his daughter Nikiko Masumoto will give the keynote address at the 2013 Tilth Producers Annual Conference: Nourishing the Future: Cultivating our farming legacy. Save the date to join us in Yakima, Washington on November 8-10, 2013.
Masumoto Family Farm is a 4th generation certified organic farm in California’s Central Valley. Mas is the author of seven books, including the acclaimed “Epitaph for a Peach”, and his latest, “Wisdom of the Last Farmer”, and is also a regular columnist for the Sacramento Bee newspaper.
We are honored to have Mas and Nikiko joining us, bringing their wisdom, experience, and special storytelling talents to our Tilth conference. They will share their individual perspectives of how their family farm affects their inner lives and will also conduct a workshop on inter-generational transfer of farming knowledge and skills, along with transference of the farm itself.
Mas and Nikiko will convey their philosophy of nurturing the land that sustains them. Their family ties: to the farm, to each other as individuals, and to their farming community – stand out as strong characteristics that drive their day-to-day decisions. Their four-generation journey on this special farm is fascinating: from the “original” organic practices of Mas’ grandfather, to the “conventional” period of quick-fix farming, then “back” to the enlightened, organic farming practices they use today to sustainably farm 80 acres. Mas and Nikiko will share stories of their family’s – and the farm’s – history, including the heartbreaking Relocation Camp time during World War II for his grandparents. Over the years there have been crop failures, successes, market changes, and the tough, risky decisions the family has had to make – and to stick by. Now, Nikiko is poised to take on the mantle of the farm from her parents and continue this family’s amazing story of farming.
Click Here To Find Out More About Masumoto Farm
Please plan on joining us in Yakima this year. We need volunteers now! If you are interested in getting involved please contact Sofia via e-mail at: sofia@tilthproducers.org
The 2012 Conference Audio is now archived in our library. To listen to audio files or review workshop offerings please visit our library.
- Year | Keynote Speaker
- 2012 | Allan Savory Small Farmers Leading the World through New Approaches to Agriculture
- 2011 | Miguel Altieri Agroecology: Designing a New Agriculture for a Changing Planet
- 2010 | Chuck Hassebrook The Next Wave of Change in Agriculture, the Food System & Rural America
- 2009 | Dr. E. Ann Clark Organic and Sustainable: The Common Ground
- 2008 | Dr. Paul Hepperly No Till, Organic and Traditional Agriculture: They Can All Work Together
- 2007 | Lynn Miller Cultivating the Family Farm
- 2006 | Helena Norberg-Hodge Creating a Regional Food System
- 2005 | Fred Provenza The Role of New Science in Sustainable and Organic Agriculture
- 2004 | Vandana Shiva Agriculture for Life: Beyond the Suicidal Economy of Industrial Farming & Globalized Agriculture
- 2003 | Paul Stamets Mushrooms as Allies: Potentiating Planetary Host Defenses Through Fungi
Location for the conference alternates annually east and west of Cascade Mountains. Next year for our 40th anniversary we will be in Yakima for the first time!