Washington, DC
Monday, April 29 — Tuesday, April 30
Funders-Only Event

Registration closed.
This past December, Congress finalized the 2018 farm bill––but that was only the first half of the process! Now begins the second half –– USDA administrative implementation, where legislative victories are won or lost. Regardless of which farm bill issues you work on and care about, USDA will play a role in how each and every aspect of the farm bill is rolled out on the ground.

This briefing will allow you to dig in and learn how the USDA administrative implementation process works, including the role of Congress, and hear from leading sustainable agriculture, rural development, and food system experts about the topline Farm Bill implementation issues they will be championing. Most importantly, you will have the opportunity for networking and collaboration, and you will leave this briefing with a clear understanding of how and where the grantmaking community can engage to broaden the impact of farm and rural policy in communities across the country.

Agenda
Monday, April 29
6:00 pm Dinner (Logan Tavern, 1423 P St NW, Washington, DC 2000)
Speakers:
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) – confirmed, ranking member, Senate Agriculture Committee
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) – confirmed, member, House Appropriations Committee

Tuesday, April 30
Meridian Institute
1800 M Street, NW, Suite 400N
Washington, DC 20036

8:00 am Registration and Light Breakfast
8:30 am Welcome, Introductions and Framing for the Day
Stacey Barbas, senior program officer for Health, The Kresge Foundation
A-dae Romero-Briones, director of programs – Native Agriculture and Food Systems, First Nations Development Institute

8:50 am Overview of Farm Bill Implementation
Traci Bruckner, policy program manager, SAFSF

9:15 am The politics of implementation: What it looks like inside USDA
Kathleen Merrigan, executive director, Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, Arizona State University; former USDA Deputy Secretary

9:45 am Break
10:00 am Panel Discussion: Critical implementation issues for sustainable agriculture and food systems
Moderator: Moira Mcdonald, program officer, Freshwater Conservation, Walton Family Foundation

Speakers:
Colby Duren, director, Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, University of Arkansas School of Law
Kate Fitzgerald, principal, Fitzgerald-Canepa, LLC
Ferd Hoefner, senior strategic adviser, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)
Ellen Teller, director of government affairs, FRAC

12:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky (invited)
1:30 pm Funder Only Discussion
Moderator: Michael Roberts, program manager, Ecological Agriculture and Food Systems, The 11th Hour Project

3:00 pm Summary & Next Steps
Virginia Clarke, executive director, SAFSF
Traci Bruckner, policy program manager, SAFSF