NOFA NJ's 36th Annual Winter Conference
Stories of Organic Matter
"Listen, and you will realize that we are made not from cells or from atoms. We are made from stories."
A good story is much more than a simple re-telling.
NOFA NJ has the responsibility – and the privilege – of championing the stories of our community, and we know that each of us has a tale worth sharing.
This year and next, our Annual Winter Conference will explore the stories within our community, highlighting the people and the passion behind the work we love. In collaboration with The Moth, we’re making space and taking time to listen, learn, connect and create.
Building a better food system starts by telling a better story
Event Details
- Main Event Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026
- Time: 9AM – 9PM (Educational Workshops 9AM – 6PM; Post-Conference Fun 6PM – 9PM)
- Location: The Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, Asbury Park, NJ
- Parking: Guests are welcome to utilize ample street parking as well as several nearby free parking lots. Parking information will be provided to all registrants via email prior to the event.
- Post-Conference: After the workshops, join NOFA NJ for more fun – enjoy small bites from featured food artisans, local mocktails and cocktails, live music, film screenings, and more!
- Hotel Booking Link: Click Here to book your room or use the code 0126NORTHE at BerkeleyHotelNJ.com
Speaker, Session, & Additional Information Coming Soon!
Featured Speakers
Keynote Address
Join Anna Roberts from renowned storytelling organization, The Moth, for an interactive keynote presentation designed to help you explore the why behind your work and recognize the power of your own personal story. You will learn practical elements of compelling storytelling found in the New York Times best-selling book, How To Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth. The Moth is a nonprofit that believes in connecting humanity through the power of personal storytelling. For over 28 years, The Moth has presented over 65,000 true personal stories, told live without notes, to standing-room-only audiences around the globe.
Lakeview Organic Grains
Organic grain experts Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens will lend their insights and experience to help guide NJ's burgeoning local grains movement.
American Farmland Trust
Explore opportunities in agrivoltaics as American Farmland Trust works to grow renewable energy while improving farm viability and protecting soil.
Mycosymbiotics
Founder and CEO William Padilla-Brown will provide insights into specialty fungi production, including truffles in the Northeast!
Hayseed Collective
Farmer and Financial Trainer, Elaine Lemmon, offers up practical education and tools to improve farmers' financial management strategies.
Real Organic Project
Attorney & Professor Zephyr Teachout, Author Austin Frerick, and ROP Co-Director Dave Chapman take a deep dive into monopolies, rollups, and corporate control over our food system.
Farm Labor Movement
Join farmer, physical trainer, massage therapist, powerlifter and wellness educator Cynthia Flores to improve on-farm wellness, injury resistance, and more.
Sponsors
Our Winter Conference is the most diverse, exciting, and engaged celebration of local farming and local food in the Garden State – don’t miss out on your chance to connect! Get your organization in front of 500+ farmers, gardeners, local eaters, students, service providers, and more. Sponsorship comes with a variety of benefits, from complimentary registrations and exhibitor tables to heavy promotion before, during, and after the event.
Exhibitors
Local Businesses, Partner Organizations, and Service Providers are encouraged to participate as an Exhibitor. Sell products, connect with prospective clients, and promote your organization while enjoying all the fun and food that the Winter Conference has to offer. This year, we’ve expanded our Expo hall to feature even more local businesses, and we’ll be featuring local food artisans and value-added producers during the post-conference cocktail hour. Email us to learn more!
Conference Fun
Post-Conference Networking
Stick around after the workshops for Organic networking, sponsored by Rodale Institute! Sample artisan food products, connect with Organic buyers, processors, and producers, and enjoy mocktails and cocktails made with local Organic ingredients.
Sunday Morning Annual Meeting
Wake up to a locally-sourced brunch, learn about our plans for 2026 and our collaboration with Ironbound Farm, and share your vision for the future of NOFA NJ.
Aguilar Family Band + Tony & the Trees
Enjoy live music throughout the evening! Jam downstairs with The Aguilar Family Band (feat. Slick Aguilar of Jefferson Starship) and NOFA NJ favorites Tony & the Trees!
Saturday Night Film Screening
Enjoy a screening of Good Grain along with a panel discussion featuring film subjects and samples of their grain products!
Kids Conference Track
Nature and garden-themed activities for kids offered throughout the day, hosted by a team of professional educators. Keep your little ones engaged and learning so that you can enjoy the conference to the fullest!
Many Thanks to Our 2026 Conference Sponsors!
Keynote Speaker
Will Brinton, Ph. D.
Founder, Woods End Soil Lab & W B Foundation, Inc.
Will Brinton founded Woods End Laboratory in 1974 while working on a biodynamic farm in Down East Maine and while beginning studies for his bachelors in agronomy at University of Maine. Will spent time studying and researching for his masters under Nobel Laureate Albert Schatz (formerly of Rutgers) and interned at international organic research centers, including the Research Institute for Biological Husbandry in Switzerland, the Institute for Biodynamic Research in Germany and the Nordic Research Circle, in Sweden. Later, back in Maine he was awarded a doctorate in Environmental Science from Unity Environmental University for his research on plant response to compost. Will sees the early work on soil biology in Europe as having created the base for what today is called soil health – a movement and a science which Will believes rightfully belongs to the organic farming community.
After Will’s retirement, the lab continues to offer Solvita Nexus, an integrated soil health test and also manufactures the Solvita test which Will invented in 1994 to enable anyone outside a lab to self-test microbial output in compost and soil. Will presently serves as Faculty Associate at University Maine and curates his non-profit research institute, W B Foundation Inc, exploring issues of carbon cycling in farming.
Featured Speakers
Lyla June Johnston, Ph. D.
Lyla June is an Indigenous musician, scholar and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her dynamic, multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective and ecological healing.
She blends studies in Human Ecology at Stanford, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives and solutions. Her current doctoral research focuses on Indigenous food systems revitalization. Learn More
Danny Childs
Danny Childs is the author of the book Slow Drinks and the founder of the company by the same name. Danny is a trained ethnobotanist whose botanical approach to creating beverages embodies the flavors of the mid-Atlantic, using ingredients foraged from the wild, picked from his cocktail garden, and sourced from local farms.
Childs teaches others how to create drinks in this manner through his consulting business, educational courses, and his role on the Slow Food Ark of Taste committee.
Follow along @slowdrinks
Ayesha Dolasa & Jacob Tulius
After experimenting for two years, husband and wife team Ayesha Dolasa and Jacob Tulius founded Noble Mushrooms in 2017. They sell fresh organic mushrooms at farmers markets, direct to customers from the farm and to wholesale accounts. Since 2019, Noble Mushrooms expanded from producing fresh mushrooms into providing mycological laboratory services. Their lab work includes the isolation of mushroom mycelium from contaminants starting from tissue and spores, the expansion of the mycelium into spawn, and the inoculation of bulk substrate which is then sold to other mushroom farmers. Learn More
Tomia MacQueen
Tomia MacQueen is an Educator, Farmer and Master Gardener specializing in edible gardens. She is the owner of Wildflower Farm and a Board member of NOFA NJ and Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space. Tomia is a Founder of the Healing Waters Farming Project and is a seed grower and a governing member for the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance.
Wildflower Farm sustainably produces organically and ethically raised pastured and free range poultry, lamb, vegetables with a truly unique focus on humane animal husbandry policies and conservation practices. Learn More