Name: New Ideas for Our Intractable Problems
Start: 2026-09-23T09:00:00-0600
End: 2026-09-23T10:30:00-0600

Wednesday September 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am MDT

Our current environment is creating an opportunity for small innovative solutions to chip away at some of the big intractable problems that small and Ag in the middle farmers have been facing for years. With the status quo becoming untenable, and trust in large institutions at an all time low, even risk-adverse farmers and food system stakeholders are more willing to try something new. And innovators are out there already, sometimes in unrelated industries, quietly solving problems we think can't be solved. Now is the time for us to bring these solutions into our work. This session will convene three industry thought leaders to introduce three innovative, human-scaled approaches that have the potential to address difficult problems we face in our industry. 1) Lori Greenberg, the Executive Director of Marbleseed, will introduce Direct Family Practice, a model for primary care delivery that is spreading across the country that provides accessible health care at affordable prices. 2) Zach Ducheneau, former FSA Administrator and of , will share his work on Farmer Centered Loans that are structured to set farmers up for future success. 3) Tera Johnson, Founder of the Food Finance Institute, will introduce Self Directed IRAs as a way for ordinary people to become equity investors in farms and food system enterprises. The learning objectives for this session are: 1) To introduce the audience to these three innovative solutions that are "shovel ready" and ripe for bringing into our work. 2) Work with the audience to identify next steps that would enable our technical assistance community to integrate these approaches into their work with farms and food system enterprises.

Speakers

Lori Stern

Executive Director, Marbleseed

Lori Stern, MA Ed has been the Executive Director at Marbleseed since September 2020. Since joining Marbleseed, Lori has brought the organization through a re-brand and strategic planning process that centers ecosystem services for the regenerative and organic farm community. Her... Read More →

Tera Johnson

Founder and Finance Expert, The Food Finance Institute

Tera Johnson is a serial entrepreneur focused on creating the next generation of sustainable food and farm businesses. The Founder of the Food Finance Institute, Tera led the full arc of starting, growing, and selling the nations first organic whey processing facility and national... Read More →

Zach Ducheneaux

Former FSA Administrator, 5th C

Zach Ducheneaux is a relapsing 3rd generation rancher. After divesting his cattle herd to work at the Farm Service Agency, he is now back on the family ranch, currently owned and operated by the 4th generation. His time at the FSA was spent promoting the inclusive use of discretion... Read More →

Wednesday September 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am MDT
Alvarado F

Agricultural Policy and Advocacy, Accessing Capital

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National Farm Viability Conference

Lori Stern

Tera Johnson

Zach Ducheneaux

Attendees (3)

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Success you have shared X tickets.

National Farm Viability Conference

Lori Stern

Tera Johnson

Zach Ducheneaux

Attendees (3)

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