In this webinar, SHP Director Ann Armbrecht will speak with the managers of three certified organic farms leading the way in practicing methods that care for the health of the soil and biodiversity as a whole. We will talk about their goals and priorities, specific practices carried out on these farms, and the challenges they face. We will also talk about the importance of looking closely at farming practices in the botanical industry and what steps stakeholders can take to support shifting toward more regenerative farming practices.

Speakers: Danielle Kruse, Farm Manager for Trout Lake Farm, the source of much of the certified organic echinacea in the world, Christine Mason, farm manager of Standard Process, a multi-generational, family-owned and operated, nutritional supplement company for over 90 years, and Jacopo Gabriele Orlando, Impact and Sustainability Manager from ABOCA, an Italian company that cultivates 60 species of medicinal plants on over 1,700 hectares of land in Tuscany and Umbria, using organic farming methods.

As farm operations manager for Standard Process, Christine Mason is responsible for managing the company's certified organic farm. Since joining the company in 2001, she has grown the Standard Process farm into one of Wisconsin's largest organic vegetable farms. Christine holds a bachelors degree in technical agriculture from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and has been a professional agronomist for 25 years. She is well known as a leader in the Wisconsin organic farming community.