Connection Events

Each year, we host the Minnesota Organic Conference for farmers and others interested in organic agriculture.

Mark your calendars for January 9-10, 2025, in St. Cloud.

This year’s conference will feature:

– Fantastic keynotes and breakout sessions
– An 80-booth trade show
– Networking with friends
– And more!

2025 Keynote Speakers

Tom Cotter
Tom is a fourth-generation farmer and active member of the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition. He started planting cover crops in 1998, which helped him transition a third of his acres to organic cash crops and grass-fed beef. He was recently named a finalist for the inaugural Minnesota Leopold Conservation Award.

Mark Schiller and Simeon Rossi
Mark and Simeon co-founded Loon Liquor Company, an organic micro distillery in Northfield, Minnesota, crafting delicious spirits from organic, local suppliers. They recently won the Food, Ag, and Beverage Division of the 2024 MN Cup, a startup competition for entrepreneurs.

About The Midwest Fish and Wildlife Annual Conference
The conference attracts up to 1,000 biologists and students from state, federal, and tribal natural resources agencies and universities from the Midwest, Great Plains and Canadian provinces for the purposes of sharing technical presentations, poster displays, plenary sessions, and networking opportunities for wildlife professionals. Attendees include professionals in the field of fisheries and wildlife, including; directors, assistant directors, program managers, wildlife and fisheries biologists, as well as college students.

Overview
​This annual event provides a forum for conservation leadership and brings together professionals from state, federal, and tribal natural resources agencies from the Midwest, Great Plains, Rocky Mountains and Canadian provinces. Attendees include key decision makers in the field of fisheries and wildlife, including; directors, assistant directors, program managers, wildlife and fisheries biologists, and college students.

Key Reasons to Participate
The Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference offers you the opportunity to maximize your exposure to new prospects or to reinforce relationships with existing customers in a casual, conference setting with many opportunities for networking and socializing.

Trade Show
Tying it together at Minnesota Ag Expo Is a full trade show floor with nearly 100 booths. The floor is easy to traverse and hosts commodity groups, state agencies, agribusinesses, industry organizations, legislative leaders and guest speakers. Grab a cup of coffee and see the future of agriculture on display!

Keynote Speakers
MN Ag Expo is a unique chance to focus on the big picture while learning how the ag industry continues to grow and evolve. Each year, Expo hosts inspirational keynote speakers and breakout sessions that cover everything farmers need to know to keep their operations prosperous.

Networking
We don’t have to tell you that Minnesota winters are long and isolating. But MN Ag Expo brings industry leaders together during the winter doldrums to reunite, network and plot the year ahead. Community. Connections. Conversations. That’s what MN Ag Expo is all about!

BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE.
The Iowa Ag Expo will inspire you with the biggest names and newest innovations in agriculture. With more than 700 exhibitors spanning 7.25 acres, the Iowa Ag Expo is the third largest indoor ag show in the country—and it’s right in your backyard!

While you’re here, check out the series of education presentations called AgTalks in the Convention Center Rooms 301 and 311 for a deep dive into specific ag topics.

AT A GLANCE
No need to travel far to see the latest farm equipment when the Iowa Ag Expo brings the biggest names and newest innovations to Des Moines each winter!

Spanning 7.25 acres, the Iowa Ag Expo is the third largest indoor ag show in the United States, hosting nearly 700 exhibitors across 3 buildings of the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. These companies come from around the world to display the best ag has to offer, from big iron, precision ag, and livestock production to autonomous equipment, electric vehicles, robotics, artificial intelligence solutions—and more!

To view the full Iowa Ag Expo program and list of exhibitors, check out our digital program (coming soon).

Skip the line, pay for tickets in advance, and save $5 admission by purchasing your tickets to the Iowa Ag Expo online in advance. Regular admission is $10 at the door or $5 with advance registration.

The Marbleseed (formerly MOSES) Organic Farming Conference (held at the La Crosse Center) is widely known as the largest organic farming conference in the United States. Every year regenerative and organic farmers from a wide range of farm sizes, experiences, and backgrounds gather to learn the latest in organic farming methods, build community, and shape the future of the organic farming movement.

Whether you’re certified organic, using organic practices on your regenerative farm, or considering the switch to organic, you’ll find the people, partners, and skill-building opportunities to help your farm business thrive.

Save the date for the Driftless Area Stream Restoration Symposium in LaCross, Wisconsin

Join Trout Unlimited’s Driftless Area Restoration Effort (TUDARE) staff and volunteers for an important in-person symposium on February 25th. The Wetlands Science Conference will continue on February 26 – 27th featuring some of the most powerful and important voices in the partnership we have built to conduct this work. The Thursday Feb. 27th event focusing on our Aquatic Organism Passage inventory will be tailored specifically toward county and township officials and the conservationists who support them in making our infrastructure fish friendly and flood resilient.

There’s something incredibly special about the waters of the Driftless region, and it isn’t just the density or quality of trout finning in the currents or the streamside grasses waving in the breeze. What truly makes the Driftless Area special is the army of scientists, restoration specialist and nonprofit and agency partners working to study, care for and recover these fabled streams.

Join other scientists and professionals of the wetland and water community of Wisconsin and the upper Midwest to:

Share your wetland research, restoration, management, or outreach program;
Learn new identification and assessment approaches and techniques;
Hear about approaches to incorporating wetlands into watershed & community planning;
Discuss the latest in wetland science, planning, and protection issues;
Look ahead to the future of wetland science and practices in Wisconsin and the Midwest.
This 3-day conference, which draws upwards of 350 attendees annually, includes a keynote address, organized symposia, topical oral sessions, a poster session, working groups, workshops, roundtables, field trips to area wetlands, and great opportunities for networking, learning, and community-building.

2025 Wetland Science Conference
The 2025 Wetland Science Conference will be held February 25-27, 2025 in La Crosse, WI.

The theme for the 30th annual conference is:
Exploring the Confluence: Pearls of wisdom for wetlands, waters, and communities

We are pleased to also share that joint sessions with the Trout Unlimited Driftless Area Symposium will feature trout & wetlands talks.

Who should attend
We invite wetland experts, students, and enthusiasts from the Midwest and beyond to join us. Our audience typically includes:

Scientists from colleges and universities
Federal and state agency scientists
Local government staff and officials
Federal and state agency regulators
Tribal staff
Natural resource managers (public and private)
Private consultants
Land trust staff and volunteers
Graduate and undergraduate students in the natural sciences
Staff of local, statewide, and regional non-profit conservation groups
Volunteer leaders of non-profit conservation groups
Wetland enthusiasts and concerned citizens
Members of the media

2025 Wetland Science Conference Advisory Panel
Cindy Blobaum, The Nature Place
Dan Collins, Landscapes of Place
Sally GallagherJarosz, WDNR
Sarah Gatzke, The Nature Conservancy
Tod Highsmith, WWA Board
Mike Jones, Stockbridge-Munsee Community Ecology Department
Melinda Knutson, Trillium Consulting
Danelle Larson, USGS: Upper Midwest Ecological Sciences Center
Lauren Leckwee, Wisconsin Coastal Management Program
Sarah Majerus, Stantec
Travis Olson, UW Extension
Eric Parker, Heartland
Susan Schumacher, We Energies
Monica Spaenia, Access Ability Wisconsin
Josh Sulman, Stantec
Pat Trochlell, retired WDNR
Meredith Thomsen, UW-La Crosse
Dreux Watermolen, WDNR

Our annual conference provides valuable networking opportunities, forums to discuss current work and new ideas with colleagues, a chance to build technical knowledge, and space to be re-inspired by the passion for conservation across the state. The annual business meeting is held on the last morning of the conference. This meeting includes updates from our Board of Directors and a forum for discussion.

Other events occurring at the conference include the following:

Keynote and plenary speakers
Statewide youth education Poster & Speaking Contests
Honoring our the winners of our Conservation Awards
Networking and social hours
Silent auction to benefit youth education programs