IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND THURSDAY ONLY: at the page above, you can select the option to attend Thursday (hit yes) and then DO NOT select an option under “Which type of Convention ticket would you like to purchase?” This will allow you to register for free to attend Thursday’s programming only.
Join us for our 2025 pre-convention: a jam-packed afternoon full of exciting and inspirational speakers. Hear from a panel of Wyoming Producers who sell locally through the Wyoming Food Freedom Act. Then, hear from Carlyle Stewart, AgWell Director, and Renee Middleton of the Pick-Up Man Campaign as they provide insights into rural mental health in Wyoming and what we can do to help. Speakers from the Wind River Food Sovereignty Project will provide insights about their new endeavor: building a demonstration farm and community learning center on the Wind River Reservation to promote Food Sovereignty. Finally, to wrap up the afternoon, dive into cooperative structures and how this business structure can help your operation.
You can find more details for each session below:
Wyoming Food Freedom Act:
Join us for an engaging session exploring how homemade food laws differ across the West. We’ll begin with a short presentation on Wyoming’s Food Freedom Act—a law that allows the direct sale of most homemade and farm-raised foods without licenses or inspections.
Then we’ll host a panel of producers who use their state’s food laws in real life—whether that’s the broad food freedom rules in WY, Colorado’s more limited Cottage Food Act, or New Mexico’s hybrid Homemade Food and Food Freedom approach.
Come learn what’s allowed, what’s restricted, and how local food producers make it work.
RMFU AgWell Program
Many of us are aware of the statistics. Farmers and Ranchers are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. Often at the mercy of markets, weather, climate, economic and political changes, and various circumstances that are outside of our control. Producers and farm workers are uniquely aware of the challenges and stressors of production agriculture, but many find themselves in situations where they struggle to cope. We will learn more about what AgWell is doing to draw attention to these trends, and how if left unaddressed, they may prevent us from taking a more holistic approach to our health as farmers and ranchers. We will learn about stress management techniques, the “holistic person concept”, and the importance of embracing paradigm shifts and strategies to build greater resiliency within ourselves, communities, and on our operations.
Yellow Feather Pick-Up Man Campaign
In 2022, Cheyenne Frontier Days kicked off their Suicide Prevention Awareness campaign by creating a message to elevate the theme of the role of the rodeo Pick-up Man in the arena. The campaign encourages people to “reach out to a Pick-up Man or be a Pick-up Man for someone in need.” This tag line recognizes the role the pick-up man plays in the rodeo arena – a lifesaver. Amid the chaos of rodeo competition, every good cowboy knows how important it is to reach out for help. Every cowboy/cowgirl knows the pick-up man is there to help or give a hand and they do not hesitate to reach out for help.
Utilizing yellow feathers – yellow, a national sign of suicide prevention and awareness, we encourage everyone to wear yellow feathers to demonstrate an understanding of the need to decrease suicides in our community and everywhere. Yellow feathers help start the conversation of bringing awareness to suicide prevention and highlighting the need to reach out when needed. From cowboys to construction workers, teenagers to the elderly, we can all be a pick-up man.
Learn more about the Pick-Up Man Campaign here.
The Wind River Food Sovereignty Project
The Wind River Food Sovereignty Project started in 2018 as a community-led program dedicated to increasing access to fresh, healthy food on the Wind River Reservation. In an effort to address high rates of food insecurity and diet-related diseases, the project promotes community food production and supports Native food producers in improving community health. Youth education programs and workshops on food preservation, gardening, and harvesting. Reconnect community members with traditional foodways and regenerative growing practices. Join Co-Directors Kelly Pingree and Livy Lewis to learn about the project’s exciting new endeavor: building a demonstration farm and community learning center on the Wind River Reservation to promote Food Sovereignty.
You can learn more about the Wind River Food Sovereignty Project here.
Cooperatives as Business Models
Join RMFU Co-op Center for an engaging session on the power and potential of cooperatives! Co-ops are unique business models that are owned and governed by the people who use their services or work there. They keep profits and decision-making local, promote shared responsibility, and foster economic resilience—especially in rural and underserved communities. Whether you’re exploring a new venture or looking to strengthen your community, this session will introduce the core principles of cooperative development and how it can benefit you. Presenters include Trillium Cooperative, a Native-led, women-owned cooperative of consultants. Cheyenne Robinson, Davey Madison, and Nicole Borner.
