Texas Center for Local Food

Executive Director

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Business Planning, Marketing, and Branding
·       Developing a business plan
·       Marketing strategies and brand development
·       Public relations for farms

The Connect Group NC LLC

CEO

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Integrated Pest and Disease Management
·       Managing pests and diseases in organic systems
·       Developing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plans
·       Identifying disease-resistant crop varieties

Flower Hill Institute

Regional Director

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Processing and Supply Chain
·       On-farm and small-plant processing
·       Plant design and operations
·       Best practices and processing regulations for producers
·       Livestock supply chain and producer-processor relationships

Africulture and Carter Farms LLC

Director

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Agritourism, Storytelling, and Equity in Agriculture
·       Marketing through agritourism
·       Telling and cultivating your farm’s story
·       Racial literacy and addressing the history of racism in agriculture
·       Ethnic vegetable production
·       Good Agricultural Practices (GAP/HGAP)

UGA

Professor

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Equipment Selection
·       Choosing the right-sized equipment for your farm scale
·       Maintaining and troubleshooting equipment for efficiency
·       Exploring cost-effective equipment alternatives

Good Roots

Senior Business Consultant

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Cost of Production and Enterprise Budgeting
·       Calculating the cost to grow
·       Developing enterprise budgets
·       Comparing enterprise profitability

Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance

Director

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Producer Mental Health
·       One-on-one sessions with a mental health professional (social worker, therapist, psychologist)
·       Mental health check-ins and creating plans for maintaining well-being
·       Recognizing stress, burnout, and how to seek support

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

Associate Executive Director for Programs

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
• Organic certification, crops
• IPM Practices, crops
• Funding opportunities to implement conservation practices

SupplyChange

CEO

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Institutional Purchasing and Value Chain Coordination
·       Facilitating purchasing and market access for BIPOC producers
·       Building relationships with institutional buyers
·       Leveraging value chains to increase profitability

Rodale Insititute

Southeast Organic Consultant

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Organic Farming and Weed Management
·       Transitioning to organic farming and understanding certification processes
·       Managing organic farms
·       Weed management in organic systems

NC A&T State University

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
• Organic farming in general from a farm perspective (crops and animal)
• Organic certification (Crops and animal)
• Soil and Weed Management (Crops and Livestock)

Olivia Tincani & Co., LLC

Principal

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Strategic Farm Planning and Enterprise Expansion
·       Business planning and strategic visioning
·       Family farm relations and succession planning
·       Moving from dream to reality
·       Expanding enterprises and evaluating new opportunities (row crops or livestock/meat)

Virginia Association for Biological Farming (VABF)

Program Manager

AREA OF EXPERTISE:
Soil Health and Crop Management
·       Building soil health and fertility
·       Implementing effective crop rotations
·       Using cover crops to improve soil resilience