Saving America’s Working Lands National Conference 2027 Call for Proposals
Thank you for your interest in American Farmland Trust’s Saving America’s Working Lands National Conference scheduled for April 7-9, 2027. Please consider submitting a conference session proposal and helping us create an insightful, educational, and celebratory conference agenda. Please read all the information below and let us know if you have questions.
We hope you'll contribute to making this another memorable conference by submitting a session proposal today for Saving America’s Working Lands 2027!
As you consider submitting a conference session proposal, please be sure to note information about the session format, conference tracks, and important deadlines.
Session Formats
Saving America’s Working Lands 2027 will offer 24 conference sessions and 6 facilitated discussion sessions. We seek proposals for both formats; descriptions of the format types are provided below. A description of the sessions offered as part of Saving America’s Working Lands 2025 can be found here.
Conference sessions run concurrently within six conference tracks. The conference tracks are described below. Conference sessions are scheduled for Thursday, April 8, and Friday, April 9, 2027. These sessions are 90 minutes. Session rooms will be equipped with standard a/v and will be arranged to comfortably accommodate conference attendees. Each conference session will be offered only once.
Each conference track will have one Facilitated Discussion Session. These sessions are scheduled for Thursday, April 8, and Friday, April 9, 2027, and are 90 minutes each. Facilitated discussion sessions may not include presentations but can be formatted in various ways to encourage attendees to share, brainstorm, and discuss a topic relevant to that conference track.
We encourage proposals that:
Share policies, strategies, case studies, stories, or programming relevant to multiple regions of the country
Areas of Focus/Conference Tracks
Conference sessions are divided into six conference tracks. These tracks each focus on a separate aspect of America’s working lands; tracks are meant to guide session proposals - not limit creativity, ideas, or suggestions. You will be asked to choose the track that best represents your proposal. The conference organizers may change the track of accepted proposals.
Conference Tracks and Descriptions:
Track 1: Community Solutions: Planning and Zoning Tools to Support Local Agriculture
Largely the purview of local government, comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances and local land use policies can be harnessed to foster resilient and profitable local farms and ranches. This track showcases communities that are trying to balance planning, zoning, and other local policies to build an infrastructure of support for local agriculture and minimize the loss of working lands.
Track 2: Agriculture IS Economic Development
Agriculture is rarely front of mind when economic development authorities seek to attract new businesses. As working lands are developed into warehouses, data centers, and energy production, farms and ranches are increasingly fragmented, threatening their profitability, agricultural viability, regional supply chains, and rural economies. This track explores ways to quantify the economic, environmental, and social impacts of farmland loss, policies and strategies that can further agriculture as economic development, and examples or successful approaches that demonstrate agriculture as not just a land use but also an engine for economic development.
Track 3: Changing Hands: Land Transfer, Access, and Affordability
Land access and affordability are primary barriers for entry and expansion, especially for young, beginning, and small producers. Senior farmers, ranchers, and landowners face their own challenges in affording retirement and finding successors. This track looks at ways resources and public policies are being or could be deployed to address these interconnected issues and to keep working lands in agriculture as they change hands.
Track 4: Managing Working Lands for Economic and Ecosystem Resiliency
Economic and environmental resiliency go hand in hand. America’s working lands are essential to maintaining robust ecosystems—filtering our air and water, providing diverse habitats for plants and animals, and storing carbon and cycling nutrients. This track explores voluntary conservation tools and funding mechanisms that are helping farmers, ranchers, and landowners build economic and ecosystem resiliency by adapting for changing weather and water conditions.
Track 5: Forever Working Lands: A Deep Dive Into Agricultural Conservation Easements
Agricultural conservation easements and the programs that purchase them are popular among landowners who wish to see their land conserved for future generations. Nearly 8 million acres of farmland and ranchland are under easements held by hundreds of public agencies and conservation organizations. This track explores elements of agricultural conservation easements, compares and contrasts public Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) and conservation tax credit programs, and tackles innovations and emerging challenges in the world of purchased and donated easements.
Track 6: Advocating for Farm and Ranch Land
As the U.S. continues to lose productive farmland and ranchland at alarming speed, the need to make the case for agriculture’s “factory floor” is more important than ever. We must step up efforts to build support among community leaders, policymakers, and agribusiness for policies that protect America’s working lands while creating economic opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. This track looks at tools and advocacy strategies that individuals, organizations, and communities can use to make a difference at all levels of government and corporate decision-making.
Speaker Information
Speakers per Session
We recommend having no more than three (3) speakers for any conference session. For discussion sessions, please indicate the lead session facilitator, their familiarity with the topic, and their facilitation experience. Please note that discussion sessions should not include any formal presentations.
Registration, Discounts, & Amenities
All speakers will receive 50% off a full conference registration. Upon acceptance of the session, speakers will receive a discount code to use when registering. Breakfast and lunch are included with a conference ticket. Amenities (travel, hotel, etc.) are the responsibility of the speaker.
Conference Session Hosts
If your conference session or facilitated discussion session is accepted, we will assign a “host” to connect with you and your fellow presenters in advance of the conference. Hosts will work with presenters and facilitators to finalize session descriptions and logistics and will organize a mandatory virtual “practice session” with session presenters and facilitators prior to the event.
Important Deadlines/Anticipated Timeline
Aug. 15, 2026: Proposal submissions due
Oct. 15, 2026: Applicants will be notified about the status of their proposal/s.
Nov. 30, 2026: Final session title, description, speaker bio(s), speaker photo(s) due
Jan. 15, 2027: Speaker registration deadline
March 19, 2027: Final slide decks due to AFT Conference Staff
