Stuart Weitzman School of Design
102 Meyerson Hall
210 South 34th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
The Farm of the Future is a series of deep dialogues that will gather diverse kinds of thinkers and doers to work together on opportunities to advance sustainable agriculture involving animal production for viable and humane food systems. These dialogues are a joint project of the Penn Veterinary School and the Weitzman School of Design at Penn, organized by PennPraxis, which supports design action and thought leadership to advance inclusion, innovation, and impact in communities that design doesn’t serve.
Seven high-energy conversations over a compact 2-month period will stimulate collaborative exploration of a range of exemplary projects, research streams, and strategies to increase animal health and the sustainability of agriculture, which are interconnected with the health of humans and the earth. We will study food systems, the design of leading teaching farms, and campuses for agricultural and veterinary colleges, biodiversity, soil carbon, water, and waste strategies, innovative and regenerative practices, and means of disseminating new knowledge. The topics support interdisciplinary conversation about The Farm of the Future in the United States, as well as ways that New Bolton Center, Penn Vet’s demonstration and teaching campus, can catalyze that future in Pennsylvania and beyond. Our dialogues will bring together faculty, students, stakeholders, farmers, agricultural innovators, ecologists, advocates and policymakers, and create an online educational library for people working to realize a sustainable future for farming.
The symposium will consist of seven 2-hour virtual sessions on Wednesday afternoons this fall. Each session will include distilled presentations by dynamic thought leaders on the day’s topic, followed by a 45-minute live discussion with the speakers. For all but the kickoff dialogue on September 30th, participants will have the option of reviewing material in advance of the live discussion at a time that best fits their schedule.
Visit the video library.
If you require any accessibility accommodation, such as live captioning, audio description, or a sign language interpreter, please email news@design.upenn.edu to let us know what you need. Please note, we require at least 48 hours’ notice. If you register within 48 hours of an event, we won’t be able to secure the appropriate accommodations.
September 30, 2020, 2:00–4:00pm
Live Session Only
Russell Redding, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture
Chief Vincent Mann, Ramapough Lenape Nation Turtle Clan
Wendell Pritchett, Provost, University of Pennsylvania
Andy Hoffman, Dean of School of Veterinary Medicine
Gary Althouse, Associate Dean of Sustainable Agriculture and Veterinary Practices
Margaret Leardi, Director of Development, Penn Vet
Marty Matlock, University of Arkansas
The role of agriculture and food production in improving society and bringing sustainability to the forefront of the science of food, agriculture, and the environment
Catherine Brinkley, UC Davis
The One Health sustainability paradigm and planning for healthy communities and food systems
October 7, 2020 2:00–4:00pm
Scott Erdy, Erdy McHenry Architecture
Design of acclaimed agricultural and veterinary buildings and campuses at Cornell, North Carolina State University, and Ohio State
Sierra Bainbridge, MASS Design Group
Winner of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award talks about designing for One Health
October 14, 2020, 2:00–4:00pm
Jennifer Wilcox, Penn Engineering + Kleinman Center for Energy Policy
Introduction to carbon management techniques
Aldyen Donnelly, Nori Carbon Removal Marketplace
Financing carbon sequestration in agricultural soils and creating market-driven strategies for carbon capture and storage projects
Ben Dobson, Hudson Carbon
Carbon farming, scaling up experimental work and demonstration
Dipti Pitta, Penn Vet
Ruminant microbiome management for methane emission reduction
October 21, 2020, 2:00–4:00 pm
Lamonte Garber, Stroud Research Center
Agricultural water quality protection and natural resource stewardship in the White Clay Creek and Red Clay Creek watersheds of New Bolton Center and beyond
Clare Billett, William Penn Foundation
Funding and strategies for watershed protection and novel agricultural stream buffers
Halina Steiner, Ohio State University
Designing water systems landscape for technical performance and legibility – collaboration and prototyping
October 28, 2020 2:00–4:00pm
Keith Bowers, Biohabitats, Inc.
Integrating natural systems with veterinary medicine and agriculture to respond to the challenges of the future
Dawit Zeleke, The Nature Conservancy
Practicing conservation agriculture and wildlife management in the Sacramento Valley
Jeremy Kaufman, Propagate Ventures
Collaboration with farmers to build long-term environmental and financial success of agroforestry systems
Conrad Vispo + Claudia Knab-Vispo, Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program
Facilitating cultural and ecological relationships to support healthy, productive agricultural landscapes and cross-collaborative research and outreach
November 11, 2020 2:00–4:00pm
Kelly Mulville, Paicines Ranch
Holistic design and practice for ecosystem mimicry and resilient agriculture
Mike Brubaker, Brubaker Farms
Innovating on an 800-head dairy farm and the benefits of methane digesters
Bridgett McIntosh, MARS Equestrian + Carey Williams, Rutgers University
Equine land management practices
Johnny Rogers, North Carolina State University Extension
Adaptive grazing management strategies for profitability, animal health, and environmental sustainability
November 18, 2020, 2:00-4:00pm
Gregory Bernard, Tuskegee University
Agricultural education for increased sustainability and access for minorities and historically under-served populations
Zhengxia Dou, Penn Vet
Designing a circular food system for sustainable animal production and biomass waste reduction
Gordon Hoover, Lancaster Farmland Trust
Agricultural outreach and community engagement for clean water
Andy Hoffman, Tiffany Turrentine, and Youth Leaders, Walter B. Saul High School
Aspirations of the next generation for action on animal well-being, climate, and sustainable food systems
