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Keynote speaker: katie nixon
​Title: “Our Food System and the long game”  

Katie Nixon from Green Gate Family Farm in Wheatland, Missouri, is the keynote speaker for 2022 Great Plains Growers Conference. Katie, along with her husband, operates Green Gate Family Farm which is a diversified market farm established in 2011, certified organic in 2014 and Real Organic Certified in 2019. She also serves as the Director of Food Systems at West Central Missouri Community Action Agency and as President of Kansas City Food Hub. In addition, Katie is serving as the Chair of the North Central SARE Administrative Council holding one of the farmer representative seats on the Council. 
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​From the seed that was planted from Katie’s childhood backyard garden, a love for home grown goodness has emerged and matured into the work that she does today.   Her hands, head, and heart are dedicated to growing good food and building a strong resilient food system.  In her keynote, she will talk about running Green Gate Family Farm with her Husband and how that informs the other work she does with West Central Missouri Community Action Agency and the Kansas City Food Hub to improve our food system.  She will discuss emerging markets and how we can feed our region. 
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COVID POLICY​
The conference will abide by Missouri Western University's Covid mitigation policies. Effective Monday, Nov. 15, 2021 all students, faculty, staff and visitors are required to wear a mask covering their nose and mouth in all public indoor spaces on Missouri Western University campus. 

the conference

Great Plains Growers Conference (GPGC) is a great local conference for commercial fruit and vegetable producers from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and other midwest states providing research-based information, from both vegetable research specialists and local growers, to help your farms grow and thrive.

The 2022 conference will be hybrid (in-person + virtual).   

2022 Track Topics Include:
  • Business development/Marketing 
  • Tree Fruits
  • Small Fruits
  • Vegetable Production
  • Vegetable Integrated Pest Management
  • Greenhouse/high tunnels/hydroponics
  • North-Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Farmer Forum 
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Full Conference Agenda​


Presentation recordings will be available to watch on the conference website until March 31, 2022 for registered participants.
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the trade show

An in-person Trade show will provide opportunities for vendors to show and discuss with you current product offerings, including the latest seeds, supplies, equipment, and grower information. 

Conference partner

The NCR-SARE Farmers Forum gives farmers, researchers, and educators the opportunity to share results from their on-farm grant research projects with other growers. The grant projects are supported by North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE), a USDA-funded program that supports and promotes sustainable farming and ranching by offering competitive grants and educational opportunities.

Conference organizers

This conference is organized by Extension professionals from the following universities: