The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance and the Council for Healthy Food Systems and Small Producers Initiative will host the Southern Family Farmers and Food Systems Conference on August 7 and 8, with pre-conference workshops on August 5 and 6 at Texas State University and a keynote address by local food pioneer Gary Nabhan on August 7, plus hands-on training with soil health guru Ray Archuleta. Small-scale and regenerative farmers, ranchers, small food producers and food activists can learn new skills and make new connections so that local food economies can grow and thrive.

A new Texas bill, SB 691, passed on May 23 for consumers to get locally raised meat from small-scale farmers and ranchers. It will go into effect on September 1. Promoted by the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, it allows consumers to buy any size share of a live animal from a farmer, which can then be processed at a custom slaughterhouse.

Consumers were previously limited to purchasing a quarter share (in the case of a cow, hundreds of pounds of meat) to use a custom slaughterhouse. Inspected slaughterhouses facing long wait times or inaccessible in many parts of the state left small farmers and local consumers in a bind. The new law will allow everyone to legally use the same slaughterhouses already used by hunters and homesteaders for these flexible animal shares, increasing access to locally raised meat for consumers and providing economic opportunities for small farmers.

Full registration is $295 at SouthernFamilyFarmersConference.org. Scholarships are available. Location: 601 University Dr., San Marcos, with two offsite workshops. For more information, visit FarmAndRanchFreedom.org.