NOFA NJ 37th Annual Winter Conference: Stories of Organic Matter
Saturday, January 30, 2027 - 8:30AM-8:30PM - Asbury Park, NJ
The NOFA NJ Winter Conference is not just for farmers and gardeners… our community and audience also includes students, educators, ag industry professionals, chefs, land stewards, locavores, brewers, and more.
This year, we welcome the return of The MOTH, the renowned global storytelling nonprofit. Enjoy a day full of connection, learning, and lots of local food. Stay with us Saturday evening, as 8 community stories will be told in our very own NOFA NJ StorySLAM, hosted by The MOTH!
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."
Members receive $25 discount! Non-Members receive complimentary Friend Membership with each attendee ticket!
20+ Workshops, Roundtables, and Interactive Demos on Food & Agriculture
Connect with 50+ local, regional & national food and farming organizations
Up to 75 participants can participate in The MOTH Storytelling Intensive… only 8 will be chosen to take the stage in Saturday evening’s StorySLAM!
Stay at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel and treat yourself to a full weekend of fun in Asbury Park!
View the Full Conference Program – printed programs will be limited/abridged to reduce waste from the event.
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
- Admission: $100 for NOFA NJ Members, $125 for Non-Members. Become a Member today for just $25! Discounts available for students and upon special request.
Funding to Attend NOFA NJ Winter Conference
NOFA NJ is partnered with PASA on a USDA Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) grant that reimburses farmers for continuing education expenses. If you’d like to request an expense, please fill out the request through this link: https://pasa.tfaforms.net/w/continuingeducation?partnerID=a3yEX0000002lBB
This year's Winter Conference is made possible with support from:
Our Winter Conference is the most diverse, exciting, and engaged celebration of local farming and organic food in the Garden State – don’t miss out on your chance to connect with 500+ farmers, gardeners, eaters, students, ag 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.
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
Sponsors
Our Winter Conference is the most diverse, exciting, and engaged celebration of local farming and organic 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!