DALLAS — Launching an event in the virtual space and then taking it to the in-person arena can be challenging and risky, but that’s exactly what Natural Resources Conservation Service State Urban Conservationist Wilma Tichelaar accomplished in 2023 with the Urban Conservation Forum in San Antonio. 

She and partners looked to expand the event in 2024, and with Dallas’s bustling urban agriculture landscape, the event blossomed. 

NRCS Texas has collaborated with several organizations through the first few years to grow this event from an idea to what graced the Briscoe Carpenter Livestock Center on Sept. 11. This year saw some returning partners, but also some new additions. 

“It’s kind of like a family reunion when you get everyone together but you’re going to different locations each time,” Tichelaar said. “So, you do see some of the familiar partners, but it’s always something new. It’s always evolving because you have the attendees coming with new things that they’re doing, and they want to know what resources are out there to support them and continue innovation.”

The third installment featured speakers from the state’s leading conservation and agriculture agencies, including NRCS Texas State Conservationist Kristy Oates and Association of Texas Soil and Water Conservation Districts President Kent Batman, breakout sessions covered topics to include financial resources, growing tips, successful business strategies and an urban farm tour.

Dallas’ reputation in the urban agriculture world is what prompted event organizers Clarence Bunch, PhD, a program manager for the College of Food and Natural Resources, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center at Prairie View A&M University, and Tamara Daniel, executive director for the Association of Texas Soil and Water Conservation Districts, to work with NRCS to hold the forum here.

“There’s a lot of great urban farming activity going on in and around Dallas,” Daniel said. “I thought it was an opportunity to be here at the Fair Park and at the State Fair and being able to feature the Big Tex Urban Farms. You hear that there’s a lot of great urban agriculture activity in the area. I think everything’s headed in a positive direction.”

The USDA selected Dallas in July 2023 as one of the 17 original cities to open an Urban Service Center, which created a new operating space, fully staffed with NRCS and Farm Service Agency personnel. This created more access to all the financial and technical assistance offered through those two agencies.

In the year since the announcement, existing partnerships have evolved, new ones have formed and that was on full display at Fair Park.

This year’s event was a collaboration from a host of organizations, including NRCS, Association of Texas Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Prairie View A&M Small Farm Institute and Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board.

With two great in-person events in the books, discussions are already underway on next year’s event. Tichelaar wants to continue finding new locations throughout Texas to educate new producers. Even though the event is called Urban Ag Forum, small-acre producers not located in an area commonly referred to as urban can also apply for many of the same programs and assistance.

“My vision for future urban ag forums is to hold them in different locations throughout the state where technical and financial resources are needed, where small-acre farmers might not know what resources are available,” Tichelaar said. “Through this event and collaborating with the local partners, we can facilitate these connections and really make a positive impact for urban agriculture as a whole.”