In early February, Wallace Center’s Juan Quinonez Zepeda and Susan Lightfoot Schempf attended the inaugural SOWTH conference in Atlanta. Hosted by Georgia Organics and chaired by Wallace Center Advisor Brennan Washington, the SOWTH conference welcomed farmers, ranchers, and food systems stakeholders from across the Southeast to connect, learn, and work together toward bolder collective impact. Widely known and recognized as the largest producer conference in the Southeast, SOWTH brings together a diverse group of producers that cross industries from horticulture, agriculture, animal production, aquaculture, and more.
Attending as a rancher and Wallace Center staff member, Juan reflected on his time at the conference with excitement and admiration. “As a first-time attendee, I didn’t know what to expect, but I was amazed by the hosts’ hospitality, the number of attendees and caliber of panel discussions.” The SOWTH conference featured over 50 educational sessions including tracks on prosperity for producers, production methods and practices, and community food strategies. The conference also included individual sessions for each state located in the Southeast to gather, network, and strategize. For Juan, he notes this was a rare opportunity for him to gather with other producers, agriculture non-profit and institution professionals, and leaders from Mississippi.
As for Juan’s conference highlight? The people he met.
“I left the conference feeling energized and refreshed. It was an honor to be in the room as they recognized pioneers in agriculture and civil rights Ira Wallace and Shirley Sherrod. I don’t think there were many dry eyes in the building during their speeches; I know mine weren’t!”
Susan agreed. “It was incredibly uplifting and motivating to be in community with farmers, ranchers, teachers, chefs, artists, and organizers of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. As I looked around the room at the determined faces of participants, I realized that we are indeed our greatest resource.”
Tapped by Brennan Washinton to serve on the planning committee, Juan is excited for the 2027 SOWTH conference to be in Mississippi, his home state. At the closing dinner, Juan and Eloris Speight, Alcorn State University Director of the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (SDFR) Policy Research Center, introduced Jackson, Mississippi as the next host location. On stage, Juan spoke about the importance of the SOWTH conference coming to Mississippi.
“Now more than ever we need to come together. In states like Mississippi there are many farmers and ranchers doing great work; work that often goes unseen. Mississippi seems to operate in silos and it’s about time to close those silos!”