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Agriculture and organic growing enthusiasts are invited to the Fourth Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference and Organic Growers School, March 21-22, at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge.

Participants will hear about the latest in marketing and horticultural research, weed control, small farm economics and renewable energy options. The event is sponsored by the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District and Western Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.

Keynote speakers will be the nationally recognized husband-and-wife team of Lynn Byczynski and Dan Nagengast. They will speak on a wide range of topics such as extending the growing season with hoop houses, energy production with wind power, cut flower production and direct marketing opportunities.

Byczynski is the editor of “Growing for Market,” America’s most respected publication on growing and the direct marketing of vegetables, fruits, herbs, cut flowers and plants. “Growing for Market” covers farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), the local food movement, organic growing and much more.

Byczynski operates Wild Onion Farm in Lawrence, Kan., where she resides with her husband Dan and two children.

Byczynski’s farming experience is based on the small-scale farm model, with no more than 4 acres in production at a time. They consider themselves accomplished at cut flowers, hoop houses and marketing.

She has extensive experience reporting on direct marketing and organic production of vegetables and flowers and is the author of “The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower’s Guide to Growing and Selling Cut Flowers,” a beautifully written and illustrated book on growing organic flowers — for yourself or for business.

Dan Nagengast is the director of the Kansas Rural Center, and has spent his entire life working in rural development and sustainable agriculture. He is considered brilliant at identifying trends, starting organizations and obtaining grants.

He has gotten the ball rolling on countless ecological-agricultural issues in Kansas, such as starting the first organic certification agency, the first CSA, the first cooperative CSA, the first food policy council and the first Farmers Market Nutrition Program. He is currently working on Farm to Cafeteria programs across Kansas and is involved in the childhood obesity issue.

Nagengast served as co-chair on the Kansas governor’s Rural Life Task Force. He is deeply involved in wind energy and was responsible for obtaining a grant to start installing small wind turbines at high schools across Kansas. Nagengast is an innovative thinker and has a hand in many policy issues.

Others slated to speak at the conference include Jeff Smeenk, Greg Egan and Amy Pettit.

Smeenk, statewide horticulturist for Cooperative Extension Service, will speak on his latest research efforts at the Palmer Research and Extension Center.

Greg Egan, owner and manager of Remote Power Inc., will present renewable energy options for home and businesses. Recently, due to lower costs, strong incentives and tax credits, the photovoltaic industry has placed more focus on home, business and utility-scale systems that are attached to the power grid.

Egan recently installed one of these systems in a local commercial greenhouse. He will share information on systems in Alaska along with costs, tax credits and available technologies.

Amy Pettit, development specialist with the Alaska Division of Agriculture, will address the new Alaska Agriculture Innovative Grant Program as well as other state grant opportunities for commercial agriculturists.

The Alaska Agriculture Innovative Grant Program is intended for specialty crop producers to develop methods and systems for season extension and increased crop productivity. Eligible specialty crops include fruits, vegetables and nursery crops with floriculture.

The conference will also feature a local growers panel giving overviews of their operations and answering questions from the audience.

This two-day conference runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. Everyone, from home gardeners to commercial growers, is welcome.

Cost is $50 for both days and $30 for one day. Additional information on registration and the conference brochure can be found online at http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces or by calling 907-474-2450.