Last weekend, Annelise spoke at the Young Agrarians snpintktn, Penticton, BC Mixer, a two-day (un)conference-style gathering focused on farmer connection, skills, and support. The event ran February 28 to March 1 at Okanagan College’s Penticton campus, with the weekend theme, “Resilience in Relationships.”
Annelise joined the “Failing forward & sharing lessons learned” session, a panel built to make farming more honest. Instead of only sharing wins, the panel made room for the hard parts: what didn’t work, what it cost (time, money, energy), and what they would do differently next time. 
In her talk, Annelise shared practical lessons from building a certified organic, pasture-based, direct-to-consumer farm. Some were learned the easy way through good planning and good mentors. Others were learned the hard way through mistakes, bottlenecks, and the kind of pressure that only shows up mid-season. Her focus stayed grounded in real operations: setting up systems that reduce daily friction, protecting the team from burnout, and making decisions that keep the farm viable for the long term.
The best part of events like this is what happens after the session ends. YA Mixers are designed for farmers to meet other farmers, trade notes, offer help, and find collaboration, from land access and tools to mentorship and market connections. 
Fresh Valley Farms left the weekend grateful for the YA community, and energized by the reminder that resilience is not solo work. It is relationships, shared skills, and people showing up for each other, one good conversation at a time.
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