
Grower-Buyer meeting. Photo courtesy of ASAP
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) presents its 2025 Business of Farming Conference on Saturday, February 22, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock. The location originally announced, A-B Tech, is undergoing repairs after serving as a disaster relief location during Hurricane Helene. “This year’s conference will have a strong emphasis on resilience planning and resources for post-Helene recovery,” says Sarah Hart, communications and engagement director with ASAP.
The 2025 slate of workshops and presenters is still being finalized, though Hart says attendees can rest assured the “bread-and-butter” workshops will be included, such as farm business planning, financial recordkeeping, social media marketing and legal resources. “For instance, Determining Your Market Mix is a workshop we include most years,” says Hart. “Its goal is to help farmers decide the best balance of market outlets for their business—whether that is selling at farmers markets, selling to restaurants or wholesale, using a Community Supported Agriculture model or focusing on agritourism opportunities. The focus of that workshop this year will include planning for uncertainty in some markets, like restaurants, while connecting with other market opportunities, like food relief organizations.”
The conference will also feature the popular Grower-Buyer Meeting, where farms can make quick introductions to restaurant, grocery and other buyers, as well as one-on-one consultations, an exhibitor hall and locally sourced breakfast and lunch for all attendees.
Craig Mauney, an area specialized agent with the NC Cooperative Extension, will facilitate a workshop on Planning for Farm Resiliency which will explore not only farm resilience but also risk management and sustainability. “A farm’s resilience is its ability to cope with disturbances or to come back to a routine regime following these disturbances,” says Mauney.
There are also plans to include workshops that can help farmers utilize or earn income from land that must remain fallow post-flooding, or plan for higher-yield crops that can bring in more income from less acreage. A popular fundraising and grantwriting workshop from last year will return, with a focus on storm recovery grants.
Bill Durr, an attorney with Ward and Smith PA, will present on legal considerations for farms, covering a multi-generational look at a hypothetical family farm operation. “We include broad topics that center around core legal concepts particularly relevant to farms in our region,” says Durr. “The legal concepts include estate planning, business formation and growth, labor and employment, contracts, and litigation/dispute resolution. Given the impact Helene has had on our farming communities, we plan to focus more on insurance coverage and liability issues growing out of the disaster.”
This year’s conference will naturally focus on post-storm recovery in light of Helene, but this is also a natural continuation of ASAP’s longstanding mission to support farms in adapting to challenges and uncertainties. “Helping farms plan business models that allow them to prepare for, navigate and recover from the unexpected—climate issues, pandemics, shifts in the economy—has always been at the foundation of ASAP’s Business of Farming Conference,” says Hart.
Register by February 1 to save with early bird registration. There are also a limited number of scholarships available. Learn more and register at ASAPConnections.org.