National Farm Viability Conference: Full Schedule

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8:00am MDT

Driving Farmer Outcomes with Tax & Investment Strategy

Thursday September 24, 2026 8:00am - 9:30am MDT

This interactive workshop positions tax and investment planning as core financial levers for farmers that can shape outcomes as meaningfully as production, pricing, or marketing decisions. This session introduces a practical framework for using tax and investment strategy to influence cash flow, healthcare access, and long-term wealth building. Participants will walk through a simplified farm scenario and understand how key decisions flow through tax forms and create financial outcomes. Using a live, interactive tool, the group will test real-time scenarios - adjusting income, depreciation methods, retirement contributions, and other planning levers - and observe how these decisions affect four key outcomes: Tax due or refund, marketplace health insurance eligibility, wealth built through retirement accounts, and long-term tax savings. Participants will see how effective strategies differ across low-, medium-, and high-income years. Following a group demonstration, participants will break into small team to analyze additional scenarios and develop recommended strategies. They will present their strategies and rationale to the group. Learning Objectives: - Recognize tax and investment planning as core personal and business levers - Evaluate how decisions impact multiple outcomes simultaneously - Identify how different strategies shift across income levels - Facilitate peer conversations around financial strategy This session is designed to teach core tax and investment strategies and how they can be applied by farm business technical advisors without requiring deep technical expertise in these areas.

Speakers

Michael Robertson

NY FarmNet and/or Shelterbelt Advisors

Michael Robertson is the Farm Business Management Specialist at NY FarmNet. He also runs Shelterbelt Advisors, a small investment advisory and tax preparation firm that serves farmers. He lives in the Hudson Valley of New York on a sheep farm.

Thursday September 24, 2026 8:00am - 9:30am MDT
Weavers

Farm Financial Management, Business Planning and Development

10:00am MDT

Strengthening Farm Resilience Through Farmer-to-Farmer Learning

Thursday September 24, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am MDT

Weavers

In this time of mounting stresses impacting farm viability, this session explores the critical importance of farmer cohort learning in building farm resilience. Farms are struggling to navigate the volatility of the climate crisis and the shifting economic landscape. An effective and emerging method to facilitate learning for farmers is peer-to-peer cohorts in which the same group of farmers come together on multiple occasions to share and compare their experiences around a specific issue or practice, creating an information network that leads to deeper understanding. It is well documented that farmers trust information learned from other farmers and are most willing to adopt new management strategies/innovations if learned from a fellow farmer and/or see it working on a farm. Farmer-to-Farmer led cohort-based learning centers social and personal resiliency as a strategy for longer term economic and ecological resiliency. Farmer cohorts are dedicated to co-learning, sharing ideas, and relying on peers for information and inspiration. Being in community with peers is a balm to the isolation that many farmers feel - delivering programming that fosters connection, crowd-sourcing solutions, and shared learning provides deep benefits. We will share brief examples of cohort programs from each of our organizations and talk about best practices for facilitating farmer-driven lateral learning. OGS: Farm Beginnings and Journeyperson uses a values based approach to business development. When farmers understand their farming motivations and social connections, they are able to create economically and ecologically viable farms that are also built to withstand disruptions and disasters within a grounded and community based ecosystem. NOFA-VT: Climate Adaptation Planning Program taps the proven power of farmer-to-farmer learning by facilitating small peer groups of farms to develop adaptation plans grounded in the collective knowledge and experiences of the farmers with a strong focus on building social cohesion. AFT: Women for the Land Circles combines research-based, participatory methods to create peer-to-peer spaces for women in agriculture to share their expertise and experiences with each other while connecting with resources that can assist them in navigating challenges. To support long term learning and fun - participants in this session will do a few cohort activities from OGS, NOFA-VT, and AFT programs. Participants will - Investigate examples of an array of formats for inclusive peer learning - Understand innovative & best practices for facilitating successful values-based cohort - Engage in a peer activity exercise like cohort students

Speakers

Nicole DelCogliano

Director of Programs, Organic Growers School

Nicole DelCogliano is the Director of Programs with the Organic Growers School, She has been passionately teaching beginning farmers and supporting existing farmers to thrive personally and professionally since 2015. Nicole facilitates OGS's year long farmer cohorts, Farm Beginnings... Read More →

Nancy LaRowe

Farmer Services Director, Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont

Nancy has been delivering programming that advances farm viability, fosters healthy ecosystems, and builds community resilience for more than 25 years. Service provision focus includes climate adaptation planning, farmer cohort facilitation, and educational event development. Nancy... Read More →