After the Harvest Conference - Nov. 4-5, 2026

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After the Harvest is a two-day conference focused on what happens once a food product is harvested or produced, and what it takes to move that product safely and successfully into the Arkansas marketplace.

Join growers and producers, food entrepreneurs and processors, farmers market vendors and managers, buyers, food system organizations, Extension personnel, and other partners from across Arkansas to explore the practical decisions, infrastructure, and relationships involved in getting local food from producer to market.

The 2026 conference is organized around three interconnected areas of the local food supply chain:

  • Sell Local Food – Explore market opportunities and learn how to prepare products and businesses for different sales channels, from farmers markets and direct-to-consumer sales to wholesale and institutional markets.
  • Move Local Food – Dig into the systems and infrastructure that help products move efficiently after harvest, including postharvest handling, aggregation, equipment, storage, processing, inventory, and distribution.
  • Connect Local Food – Build relationships across Arkansas's food system and learn how producers, buyers, organizations, agencies, and communities can work together to strengthen local and regional markets.

Throughout the conference, food safety and regulatory considerations will be integrated into conversations about selling, handling, processing, and moving food.

This year's program will include practical breakout sessions, workshops, panel discussions, and three in-depth bootcamps focused on Farmers Markets, Arkansas Food Freedom, and Food Processing and Manufacturing. Attendees will also have dedicated opportunities to connect with resource providers and others working across Arkansas's food supply chain.

Whether you are deciding where to sell your products, preparing to enter a new market, improving your postharvest operation, navigating food safety or regulatory requirements, connecting with buyers, or helping strengthen your community's food system, After the Harvest is designed to help you identify practical next steps and the people and resources that can help you take them.

Register for the conference today!

Farmers & Ranchers: Southern SARE Sponsorships May Help Cover Your Conference Costs!

Eligible farmers, ranchers, and producers may apply to Southern SARE for a Farmer/Rancher Education Sponsorship that can reimburse eligible conference registration, travel, and lodging expenses for educational events such as After the Harvest. Sponsorships are reimbursement-based and participants must apply for and receive approval before the event. Applicants should be primarily engaged in farming or ranching and generally have documented annual farm income of at least $1,000. Applications requesting $2,999 or less should be submitted at least 30 days before the event.

For more information and/or to apply, please follow this link: https://southern.sare.org/other-funding/farmer-rancher-education-sponsorship/ 

2026 Sessions

All-Attendee Sessions

Begin the conference with an introduction to the purpose of After the Harvest, the challenges and opportunities facing Arkansas’s local food system, and the ideas that will connect the sessions throughout the event.

Amanda Philyaw Perez, UADA

Explore the important role rural grocery stores play in community food access, local economies, and regional food-system infrastructure. Additional details will be announced soon.

Jenny Doty, Kansas State University's Rural Grocery Initiative

Food is Medicine (FIM) is transforming how healthcare and community organizations improve health by increasing access to nutritious food to prevent and manage diet-related chronic disease. As these programs expand across Arkansas, they will create new opportunities for local farmers. This session will provide an overview of these interventions through a panel of Arkansas Food is Medicine leaders who will share research, implementation best practices, lessons learned, and experiences sourcing Arkansas-grown foods. Together, we'll explore how stronger partnerships between agriculture and healthcare will improve community health.

Moderator: Austin Sublet, Arkansas Foodbank
Panelists: Michael Thomsen, UAMS; Sam Stadter, Baptist Health Community Outreach; Tonya Johnson, CHI St. Vincent; Lisa Stafford, Community Clinic

Selling to restaurants, retailers, institutions, distributors, and other wholesale buyers presents opportunities for local food businesses, but each market has different purchasing requirements and expectations.
 
In this panel discussion, buyers representing different market channels will share what they look for in local vendors, what they need to purchase consistently, and the practical challenges they encounter when sourcing local food. The discussion will explore product quality and availability, volume, pricing, packaging, ordering, delivery, invoicing, payment, and communication. Attendees will gain a better understanding of how these markets operate, what it takes to develop purchasing relationships, and what to consider when evaluating wholesale opportunities for their own businesses.
 

Moderator: Angie Bailey, End of the Road Farm & Best in Class Suppliers; Panelists: Rob Shaunfield, The Farmers Table & Performance Food Group; Wynn Peterson, Walmart; Kent Krause, Ferndale Market

Food insecurity remains a pressing challenge across Arkansas, but hunger-relief organizations are developing new approaches to meet the need. Speakers will share current information about hunger in Arkansas and discuss partnerships that connect food banks, local farmers, and other food-system organizations.

Participants will leave with a clearer picture of food insecurity in the state and practical examples of how local agriculture can contribute to hunger-relief efforts.

Moderator: Sylvia Blain, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance

Take a shared look at Arkansas’s food system and the people, organizations, resources, and infrastructure that shape it. This session will introduce the Food Atlas developed by the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance as a tool for visualizing food-system assets and needs while helping participants identify the partners needed to build a more connected and resilient food ecosystem.

Sylvia Blain & Alex Hendrickson, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance

 

Boot Camps

Designed for farmers market managers, vendors, and those interested in starting or strengthening a market, this bootcamp combines guidance on Arkansas farmers market requirements with practical approaches to market management and operations.
 
Participants will explore the Arkansas Farmers Market Guidelines, the Market Set Go farmers market food safety app, management and vendor best practices, and potential sources of market funding and support, including grants, sponsorships, and community partnerships. A panel of farmers market managers and vendors will share their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned from operating and growing markets across Arkansas.
 

Jeff Jackson, ADH; Kristen Gibson, University of Arkansas; Jaymie Pedigo, West Little Rock Farmers Market; Paragould Farmers Market Representative; Fayetteville Farmers Market Representative

Interested in making and selling homemade food products in Arkansas? Understanding which products qualify under the Arkansas Food Freedom Act and what requirements apply can be challenging.

In this hands-on session, participants will receive a copy of the Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guidelines and work through them with experts from the Arkansas Department of Health and the University of Arkansas. The session will explore which products are eligible under Food Freedom, the food-safety principles behind the guidance, labeling and disclosure requirements, and common misconceptions. Participants will also learn when a product may require additional testing, process review, or a different regulatory pathway before it can be sold.

Jeff Jackson, ADH; Sungil Ferreira, University of Arkansas

Moving from small-scale food production into commercial processing or manufacturing brings new considerations for facilities, equipment, food safety, and regulatory requirements.
 
This two-part bootcamp will explore how these considerations change as operations grow, progressing from commercial kitchen requirements and foundational food-safety practices to larger-scale production environments, including wholesale produce packing sheds and food manufacturing facilities. Speakers will discuss the practical and technical considerations involved in scaling production and help participants better understand the requirements and decisions they may encounter as their operations expand.
 

Jennifer Acuff, University of Arkansas; Sungil Ferreira, University of Arkansas; Bill Potter, University of Arkansas

 

Breakout Sessions by Track

Connect Local Food

Across Arkansas, new programs, investments, and partnerships are shaping opportunities for local food producers and strengthening the infrastructure that connects Arkansas-grown products with markets.

This panel will highlight initiatives underway across the state and explore what they mean for farmers, food businesses, and communities. Panelists will share the goals behind their work, the needs and opportunities they are seeing across Arkansas, and how producers and other local food partners can connect with these efforts. Attendees will gain a better understanding of the resources, partnerships, and investments helping shape Arkansas’s local food system.

Erin Killeen, Market Center of the Ozarks; Representatives from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's Small Farms Program

Continue the conversation in this interactive workshop designed to bring farmers, producers, FIM implementers, healthcare organizations, researchers, and community partners together. Through facilitated discussion, participants will identify challenges to sourcing local food for healthcare and nutrition interventions and work collaboratively to develop practical solutions. Topics will include improving local procurement, building partnerships, and creating new opportunities for farmers to sell into these programs. Together, we'll explore how stronger farm-to-clinic partnerships can improve community health while creating sustainable markets for Arkansas agriculture.

Facilitator: Emily English, Northwest Arkansas Food Systems, Walton Personal Philanthropy Group; Alex Hendrickson, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance

Building a resilient local food system takes a network of people and organizations working together. Through an interactive mapping activity, participants will identify the individuals and organizations that support local food in their communities, including schools, healthcare providers, food-access organizations, food hubs, funders, Extension, and technical-assistance providers.
 
Attendees will explore existing relationships, identify gaps in their local networks, and consider opportunities to build stronger partnerships that support local food production, distribution, and access.
 

Facilitator: Hunter Goodman, UADA

Many of the challenges facing Arkansas’s local food system are shared across producers, food businesses, buyers, and community organizations. In this facilitated workshop, participants will draw on their own experiences to identify barriers related to storage, transportation, aggregation, processing, purchasing, regulations, technology, labor, and infrastructure.
 
Together, the group will explore where these challenges overlap, identify common priorities, and discuss opportunities for collaboration and coordinated solutions.
 

Facilitator: Hunter Goodman, UADA

Learn practical ways to use social media to share the story behind your farm, food business, market, or organization and connect with the people you want to reach.
 
This session will explore choosing platforms that fit your audience, planning manageable content, using photos and visual storytelling, engaging with customers and community members, and promoting products, events, and services. Attendees will gain ideas for making social media a more effective and manageable part of their outreach and marketing efforts.
 

Moderator: TBA; Panelists: Jill Ragan, Whispering Willows Farm; Melissa Millsap, Turnbuckle Farm; Lizzy Herrera, UADA

Move Local Food

Aggregation brings products from multiple producers together to reach markets that may be difficult to serve individually, but how that coordination happens can look very different from one operation to another.
 
In this panel discussion, representatives of three different Arkansas aggregation models will share how their operations work and what it takes to coordinate products across multiple farms and markets. Panelists will explore how responsibilities for ordering, pickup, storage, transportation, pricing, and communication are divided, along with managing product quality, building relationships with producers and buyers, and navigating the challenges and tradeoffs of each approach.
 
Moderator: Stefanie Jaeger, Local Food Marketplace
Panelists: Sandra Leyva, Conway Locally Grown; Nena Hammer, Spring Creek Food Hub; Loretta Smith, Farindale Farms

Postharvest infrastructure can look very different depending on an operation's products, markets, scale, and resources. Through examples from Arkansas farms and food businesses, this session will explore the equipment and infrastructure used to handle, pack, store, and transport products after harvest.
 
Speakers will share how they selected and incorporated equipment into their operations, what has worked, what they would change, and lessons learned along the way. Attendees will see examples of different postharvest setups and gain practical considerations for planning infrastructure investments that fit their own operations.
 

Moderator: Sarah Bakker, UADA; Speakers: Chloe Cox, Mator Farms; Other speakers TBA

As an operation grows, keeping track of what is available, what has been ordered, what needs to be packed, and where it needs to go can quickly become complicated.

This session will explore some of the tools and systems producers and food businesses use to manage product availability, inventory, orders, fulfillment, deliveries, and customer communication. Speakers will share practical approaches ranging from paper forms and spreadsheets to specialized software, discussing how different tools work in practice and how to choose systems that fit an operation's size, needs, and capacity.

Nena Hammer, Spring Creek Food Hub; Stefanie Jaeger, Local Food Marketplace; Scott Shellabarger, SJCA

Every operation has its own way of moving products from one step to the next. In this interactive workshop, participants will map how a product moves through their own operation, from harvest or receiving through handling, packing, storage, transportation, and sale or delivery.
 
Using their maps, attendees will identify bottlenecks, unnecessary handling, food safety concerns, infrastructure gaps, and opportunities to improve how their operation functions. Participants will leave with a clearer picture of their current workflow and practical ideas for changes that could save time, reduce costs, or make their operation run more smoothly and safely.
 
Speakers: Sarah Bakker, UADA; Danielle Dozier, GSS Group & The Farmstop

 

Sell Local Food

Learn about commonly used methods for preserving food at home, including canning, freezing, and drying. This introductory session will explore the food-safety considerations associated with different preservation methods, the importance of using tested recipes and procedures, and reliable resources for preserving food safely.
 
This session focuses on food preservation for personal and household use, not the production of food products for sale. Attendees interested in making and selling homemade food products are encouraged to attend the Food Freedom Bootcamp.
 

Lida Araghi, UADA; Christie Wagley, UADA; Terrie James, UADA

Follow fresh produce from harvest to market and explore how food-safety risks and responsibilities change as products move through washing, packing, storage, transportation, and sale.
 
This session will examine common opportunities for contamination, the importance of maintaining safe handling practices throughout the supply chain, and practical steps producers, aggregators, distributors, and buyers can take to reduce food-safety risks as products move between operations.
 

Amanda Philyaw Perez, UADA

Selling meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, and other animal products directly to consumers comes with product-specific food-safety and regulatory considerations.
 
This session will explore the requirements and practical realities of selling animal products at Arkansas farmers markets and through other direct-sales channels. Speakers will discuss processing and inspection requirements, applicable exemptions, storage and temperature control, labeling, as well as challenges producers face in accessing processing facilities and bringing their products to market.
 
Attendees will gain a better understanding of the requirements that may apply to their products, the challenges involved in meeting them, and considerations for developing direct-market sales.
 

Dan Quadros, UADA; Bill Potter, University of Arkansas; Ruth Pepler, Dogwood Hills Guest Farm

What happens to the organic materials left behind after harvest, handling, and food production? Composting offers an opportunity to turn suitable agricultural and food waste into a valuable resource for future production.
 
Drawing on his research, Dr. Matt Bertucci will explore how composting practices affect food safety, nutrient retention, and the quality of finished compost. Participants will learn about managing compost materials and conditions, reducing potential biological risks and nutrient loss, and producing compost that can be used safely and effectively in agricultural operations.
 

Matt Bertucci, UADA

How a product is packaged, labeled, and presented affects more than its appearance. These decisions can influence product quality, food safety, customer expectations, and access to different markets.
 
This session will explore practical considerations for preparing individually packaged products for sale, including packaging materials, package and unit size, durability, shelf life, pricing displays, basic labeling requirements, and product claims. Attendees will learn how to make packaging and presentation decisions that protect their products, communicate important information, and meet customer expectations across different markets.
 

Renee Threlfall, UADA

 

2025 Event Slides and Resources

Friday Slides

Saturday Slides

Resources

Get updates on future After the Harvest events and webinars: sign up for email updates here.

Questions? Contact Dr. Amanda Philyaw Perez at aperez@uada.edu or Sarah Bakker at sbakker@uada.edu