Annual Conference

AgroLiquid Conference Center in St. Johns will be the site of the 2025 MBPN Annual Meeting & Conference.

2025 MBPN Annual Conference

Saturday, March 15, 2025

AgroLiquid Conference Center, 3055 W. M-21, St. Johns, MI 48879
Click here to register

We are returning to AgroLiquid headquarters in St. Johns, which was the site of our 2018 conference. The AgroLiquid Conference Center is conveniently located in mid-Michigan about 20 miles north of Lansing and has up-to-date technology and amenities. It even has an interactive museum devoted to agricultural history, innovation and exploration.

Named the IQhub, the 9,500-square-foot ag education center at the conference facility is home to exhibits chronicling the advancement of agriculture from before the pilgrims set foot in the Americas all the way through the present day.

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.

Click here to register

Past Conference: Feb. 24, 2024

Adaptive Use: Creating Memories, Events and Museums

Barn lovers enjoyed a day of camaraderie and informative presentations at MSU’s Kellogg Center. (Photo by Steve Stier)

Last year’s 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.

See highlights from MBPN Annual Conferences in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020 and 2019.