Local Foods, Local Places (LFLP) attended the 16th Annual San Luis Valley Seed Exchange on April 18–19, 2026. This event combines education, regenerative agriculture, and local producers with community. The event is held at Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa in Moffat, CO. SLV residents traveled from across the Valley to attend, while others came in from far corners of Colorado and northern New Mexico.

It’s great to connect with producers and artisans from outside the Valley, many of whom travel from northern New Mexico to attend. We love to see communities come together to support food resilience and security.

Turning Sand into Soil

This year’s theme was Turning Sand into Soil. The east side of the San Luis Valley has more sand than soil, and it’s not a great medium for growing food. Each year, the speaker series is carefully curated to apply to the region and the theme.

Speakers, Vendors & the Swap Table

The two-day event is packed full of speakers presenting on topics relating to sustainability, gardening, regenerative ag, seed saving, and many other educational topics. The vendors provide locally sourced products, foods, and services. There is also a seed and plant swap table where individuals can bring items and swap them out for other items.

Seed Exchange Swag

This was the first year we hired a local artist how created this amazing graphic depicting plants and fungi that build soil in our region. We had swag made – stickers and t-shirts primarily. We also bought notebooks, pens and seed tins for folks to purchase to support the event.

LFLP at the Exchange

We offered information on the Community Food and Agriculture Action Plan, the CDA CFA Equipment Tax Credit, and the Local Roots Guide. During the Community Updates Hour, Jae talked about the SLV Community Food and Agriculture Assessment and recently completed Action Plan, the Equipment Tax Credit, and SOIL Sangre de Cristo’s 0% APR Loan program for food producers in the region.

Watch the Talks

Speaker and demo videos from the event are below, or you can watch the full playlist on YouTube.