Keynote Speaker: Owen Weikert, Director of Corporate Sustainability, Cayuga Milk Ingredients
Owen’s responsibilities at Cayuga include environmental data collection, farm foot printing, analysis and modeling, R&D collaboration, and supporting sales and marketing efforts with Sustainability attributes in the member milk shed. He grew up on a sheep and cattle farm in Gettysburg, PA where his love for all things cows grew from a very early age. He attended West Virginia University majoring in animal science, and most recently completed a masters program in Sustainable Food Systems from Harvard University. His long term goal is simple- to showcase the power of dairy nutrition accompanied by its minimal nutritional impact to decommodify Cayuga milk products.
Anthony Colangelo, Senior Innovation and AI Lead, Farm Credit East
Anthony left a career on Wall Street to work with dairy farmers for the love of food and family. Anthony helped run a dairy financial consulting business for before transitioning to his current role as Senior Relationship Manager at Farm Credit East providing credit and financial services to Northeast Farmers and Agribusinesses. Anthony holds a BS in Finance and Marketing from Marist College and graduate of Cornell University’s LEAD New York Class 17. Currently Anthony serves as a board member for NYS Ag Society, Witter Ag Museum, and Genesee County Farmland Protection. Originally from Brooklyn, Anthony enjoys spending time with his growing family and sharing his journey from Wall Street to Main Street.
Eileen Donovan, Manager of Apprenticeship and Workforce Development at MACNY
Eileen started at MACNY in October 2019. She is responsible for promoting the benefits of Registered Apprenticeship across New York State as well as supervising the management of apprentices (currently 126) for employers (approximately 50) under MACNY sponsorship. Eileen has previous experience in non-profit resource development, retail, and sales management.
Erin Humphrey Konuma of Silver Tree Forest Farm
Erin is a farmer, musician and mother. Born and raised in Skaneateles, NY, she holds a B.A. in Japanese Studies and Religion from Wellesley College, where she was also trained in opera and vocal performance. After spending a year practicing meditation and living in Cambridge Zen Center, she relocated to Boulder, Colorado, where she began her career as a professional pianist, accordionist, jazz singer and composer. In 2009 Erin started a cut flower micro farm and discovered permaculture, eventually working as an edible landscape designer and permaculture teacher. After returning to her hometown in 2012, Erin, along with her husband, Peter Konuma, founded Auburn Permaculture Park, an edible forest garden in a public park in Auburn, NY. Since 2016 they have stewarded Silver Tree Forest Farm, a 6-acre
regenerative, organic market garden farm and edible plant nursery where they grow vegetables, flowers, herbs, useful plants and mushrooms. When she’s not farming, playing music or enjoying the joyful company of her son, Arturius, Erin practices Buddhist meditation as a Dharma Teacher with the Kwan Um School of Zen.
Tad Patterson, Youngstock Manager, Patterson Farms, Inc. 7th Generation Dairy Farmer
Tat is the seventh generation on his family’s dairy operation just outside Auburn. His family’s farm has been in operation since 1830 and currently houses 1900 adult dairy cows and 1450 heifers. Tad spends most of his time working with the cows and the team of people that take care of them every day. His main responsibilities are taking care of the calves
and heifers, as well as anything else that needs to get done
Julia Smith is the Director of Learning and Development at Upstate Niagara Cooperative, where she is leading the implementation of three registered apprenticeship programs: Dairy Specialist, Dairy Processing, and Electro-Mechanical. Her work focuses on building sustainable workforce pipelines that strengthen both people and operations. Julia spent nearly 20 years as an agriculture teacher at Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES, where she identified the need for expanded apprenticeship opportunities for Career and Technical Education (CTE) students. She later transitioned to Cayuga Milk Ingredients, where she helped develop workforce development and sustainability initiatives to support long-term organizational growth. Raised on a small dairy farm in New York’s North Country, Julia has dedicated her career to creating programs that remove barriers, unlock potential, and help individuals build meaningful, sustainable careers. She is passionate about aligning education, industry, and community to develop the next generation of skilled professionals.
Ed Staehr, Growing Hope Cayuga Vice President
Ed earned bachelor’s and master’s Degrees from Cornell University and worked at Cornell for over 30 years. At Cornell, he eventually held a faculty position responsible for overseeing a program that helps farm families with business, personal issues and farm business continuity to the next generation. In this position, he gained valuable experience working with elected officials in the New York State Senate and Assembly to support new initiatives. He was invited to research farm business apprenticeships and management transfer on farms ranging in size from 30 to 300 employees, as part of a sabbatical study at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. Ed and his wife Rebecca own and operate Staehr Family Farm, LLC where they grow corn silage, alfalfa and grass hay crop silage, soybeans, wheat and fall produce.
Curtis Veiock, Regional Director, Growing Hope Globally
Curtis is working with Growing Projects in Ohio, Pennsylvania and on the East Coast and helping some new groups to get started. His professional journey has predominantly unfolded on the livestock side, with a focus on dairy and beef cattle nutrition, as well as herd and farm management. Additionally, Curtis brings a background in controlled environment agriculture, where he’s cultivated specialty crops year-round in a greenhouse setting. Armed with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, specializing in Agricultural Systems Management from The Ohio State University, Curtis remains actively engaged in his local community. He is a proud member of the Ohio Farm Bureau, involved in the county agricultural society, and hold positions in the Farm Science Review/Farm Operations Alumni Society and as a deacon at Connecting Life Church in North Lima, Ohio.
Sara Wagner, 4-H Program Lead for Cayuga County Cornell Cooperative Extension
Sara has been the 4-H Program Lead since 2024 and a 4-H educator since 2022. She administrates the 4-H program across the county, superintends the Cayuga and Seneca 4-H Youth Fair and develops Animal Science programs. She has a M.S. in Food Science and Technology and a B.A. in Liberal Arts. She came to 4-H after a varied career in education and agriculture which included agricultural research, camp counseling, food safety for Wegmans, winemaking, and early childhood education. Outside of work she serves on the Geneva Public Library Board, is a member of a local laying chicken cooperative, and teaches her son to love bugs, birds, and digging in the dirt.
Kirsten Workman, CCA, Cornell PRO Dairy
Kirsten is passionate about the connection between agriculture and the environment. With more than 20 years of experience working with farmers in Washington state, Vermont, and New York, she leads extension programming and applied research focused on nutrient management and environmental sustainability for Cornell University’s PRO-DAIRY program and is a member of the Cornell Nutrient Management Spear Program team. She enjoys working with all facets of the dairy industry to demonstrate and evaluate conservation cropping systems that benefit farms and the environment. As a Certified Crop Adviser, she aims to identify practical and effective strategies that can be adopted by northeast producers that both increase environmental sustainability and improve farm profitability and management. She believes in the importance of sharing sustainable farming practices with the public and enjoys helping farmers spread the word about what they are doing right for the land, the water, the air, and their communities. Collaboration is one of her core values and as such, she has and continues to serve on a diverse set of coalitions, workgroups, and committees to devise solutions for water quality, soil health, climate resiliency, policy and regulatory decisions, and public education.
Alyssa Roorda, Agriculture Teacher and FFA Advisor
Alyssa is an Agriculture Teacher and FFA Advisor at Union Springs and Port Byron Central Schools. She is currently in her third year of teaching and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Science from Ithaca College. Alyssa teaches courses in agricultural science, food systems, and leadership while advising active FFA chapters that connects students with hands-on learning and community partnerships. She is a member of the Cayuga County 4-H Fair Board and Farm Bureau.
Doug Young, Dairy Farmer, Spruce Haven Farm
Photo Credit: The Citizen