2025 MBPN Annual Conference
The 2015 Conference was held on Saturday, March 15 at AgroLiquid headquarters in St. Johns, which was also the site of our 2018 conference. Conveniently located in mid-Michigan about 20 miles north of Lansing, the facility includes a state-of-the-art conference center as well as an interactive museum devoted to agricultural history, innovation and exploration.
Conference Agenda
9:00 Welcome and Announcements (coffee & donuts)
9:10 Annual Membership Meeting – Tom Irrer, MBPN president
10:15 Ina Hanel-Gerdenich — Birth and Evolution of a 20th-century Icon – the Tower Silo
11:15 Deron Nelson, DVM — Building a Timber Frame Barn, Part 1
12:15 Lunch – Fun & networking, President’s Award, Annual Auction Benefit
1:30 2025 Barn of the Year Awards – Keith Anderson, Awards chair
2:15 Deron Nelson, DVM — Building and Assembling a Timber Frame Barn, Part 2
3:15 From Dairy Barn to Winetasting – Kathleen Adams, Stone House Vinyards owner
4:15 Wrap-up
Presenters
(L to R) Ina Hanel-Gerdenich, historic preservation consultant and architectural historian; Dr. Deron Nelson, large animal veterinarian and timber framer; Kathleen Adams, realtor and owner/operator of Stone House Vinyards.
Past Conferences
The 2024 conference focused on new uses for old barns. Several speakers told of the challenges –as well as the joys– of converting their barns into event spaces and wedding venues. Other adaptations involved dismantling and moving an old barn to a county fairgrounds and a municipality that was willed a farmstead and turned it into a museum complex. For recap, click here.