TOPP Educator Webinars: Practical, Farmer‑Led Tools for Supporting Farmers

July | Webinar Series for Farm Educators & Agricultural Professionals

These webinars are open to all, but speakers will emphasize information relevant to farm educators and agriculture professionals working with Conservation Districts, MSU Extension, NRCS, MDARD, MAEAP, and nonprofit farm organizations.

This series will help farm professionals engage more effectively with growers by providing farmer‑led, scale‑relevant, financially savvy information that farmers are actively asking for.
Join the series to dig into three timely topics:

• Organic Certification for Urban Farms
• Research & Education that Centers Farmer Knowledge
• How Producers Weigh the Cost–Benefit of Organic Certification

July 16 | 12:00–1:00 PM EST

Organic Certification for Urban Farms

Speaker: Patrick Crouch
Where: Online Webinar

This webinar equips farm educators and agricultural professionals with a clear, real‑world understanding of how organic certification works on urban farms such as Earthworks. Learn about certification requirements, practices, records, inspection processes, and the challenges specific to urban production.

We will also explore when certification does or doesn’t make sense for urban growers and share lessons from urban farmer mentees who have navigated the process—from motivations to barriers to unexpected benefits.

July 23 | 12:00–1:00 PM EST

Research and Education that Centers Farmer Knowledge

Speakers:

• Sarah Janes Ugoretz, University of Wisconsin – Farmer participation in webinars & listserv communities
• Mariel Borgman, MSU Extension – Farmer-led and farmer-friendly field days
• Florencia Collella, MSU Extension – Creating farmer‑directed working groups
• Dr. Dan Brainard, Michigan State University – Engaging farmers as equal partners in research
• Alex Cacciari, Washtenaw County Conservation District & Seeley Farm – Peer‑to‑peer learning through mentorship
• Roundtable of everyone in the webinar! Full-group discussions and breakout rooms to share best practices and integrate more farmer wisdom into your outreach.

Where: Online Webinar

Join fellow farm educators and ag professionals for this TOPP webinar on how research, outreach, and education can better center farmer knowledge. We’ll begin with a series of quick, highly practical lightning talks from five educators explaining how they elevate farmer wisdom through webinars, field days, working groups, research collaboration, and mentorship.

The second half of the session will feature interactive discussions and breakout conversations, giving participants space to share their own approaches and identify realistic, actionable strategies for strengthening farmer‑centered education in their work.

July 30 | 12:00–1:00 PM EST

How Producers Weigh the Cost–Benefit of Organic Certification

Speakers: TBD
Where: Online Webinar

This interactive session digs into how farmers evaluate the return on investment of organic certification—financially, culturally, and in their markets. We’ll explore how producers think through the costs of certification compared to building trust “organically,” through transparency, consistency, and community relationships.

Through research insights, real‑world farmer stories, and a facilitated panel conversation, participants will gain a richer understanding of:

• The financial calculus to guide farmers' organic certification decisions
• How scale and market type shape decision‑making
• The role of relationships and community trust
• Why some producers pursue certification while others rely on marketing 'organically'

Why join this series?

✔ Designed specifically for farm educators supporting organic & transitioning growers
✔ Farmer‑led insights on scale‑appropriate, financially grounded decision-making
✔ Tools that strengthen technical assistance, outreach, and educator–farmer relationships
✔ Practical strategies you can apply immediately 

 Contact Katie Brandt at brandtk7@msu.edu with any questions.