New Vrindaban to Host 2017 ISKCON North America Farm Conference

By Madhava Smullen | Feb 09, 2017

New Vrindaban is set to host the second annual ISKCON North America Farm Conference from October 13^th to 15^th this year.

The GBC Ministry for Cow Protection and Agriculture, which organized conferences on simple living in four continents last year, is behind the event. The conference, themed “Back to the Basics,” will be facilitated by ECO-Vrindaban and ISKCON New Vrindaban.

Organizers include ISKCON Minister for cow protection and agriculture Kalakantha Das; ECO-Vrindaban board chairperson Sri Tulasi Manjari Dasi; volunteer coordinator Mukunda Das; ISKCON Alachua’s Save the Cow program co-director Kesihanta Das; and Gita-Nagari farm representative Keshi Mardana Das.

Representatives from thirty farming efforts all over the U.S., Canada and Mexico will be invited. The conference will feature presentations, demonstrations and hands-on workshops held onsite at different cow protection and agricultural facilities throughout New Vrindaban. Topics will include cow care, oxen training, planting, cover cropping, disease control, greenhouses, and organic pest control.

The main goal of the conference is to help facilitate a network of support amongst established and aspiring devotee farmers, gardners and cow protectors.

Engaging Oxen in New Vrindaban Priya & Manu

“We’re all so spread out, so if we start building relationships, it might just make farming a little bit easier,” says co-organizer Sri Tulasi Manjari. “For instance, one farmer might say, ‘I did this for my cow when it got mastisis,’ and another might share, ‘I use this soap to get rid of aphids.’ It creates a support network where we can just call or email someone who might know the answer to a problem, saving each farmer from having to learn everything from scratch.”

The conference also aims to inspire devotees who are not yet pursuing the simple life to make some effort towards it.

“We hope to raise awareness that farming is an important part of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions,” says Sri Tulasi. “And we’d like to encourage devotees in North America to take up some form of agriculture, whether it be growing flowers for their Deities, starting a local community garden, or working together to protect cows.”

The ‘Back to the Basics’ conference at New Vrindaban is just one of a worldwide series of Ministry for Cow Protection and Agriculture conferences this year, which will include gatherings in Nova Gokula, Brazil, New Vraja Dhama, Hungary, and more.

“ISKCON New Vrindaban and ECO-Vrindaban are pleased to host this conference in hopes to inspire as many devotees as possible to engage in farming,” Sri Tulasi beams.