The libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican, and the Maine Democrat teamed this spring to strip pesticide-industry legal immunity from the Farm Bill.
Friday–Saturday, September 18–19, 9am–4pm | Churchtown NY
It was announced last week that Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie and Maine Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree will join the Real Organic Project's annual gathering at Churchtown Dairy this weekend, an already stacked lineup of scientists, farmers, and policy experts assembled around one central question: can organic agriculture actually feed the country, or does protecting remaining wild land require the pesticides and industrial scale that feeds America?
The two lawmakers arrive with a shared value. Earlier this year, Massie and Pingree introduced the "No Immunity for Glyphosate Act" to undo a Trump executive order that sought to grant pesticide manufacturers immunity from lawsuits over the weedkiller. That fight extended into the 2026 Farm Bill itself, where three provisions would have shielded chemical companies like Bayer from pesticide-harm lawsuits and preempted state and local warning-label laws. Massie and Pingree pushed to strip those provisions out; the effort succeeded in April when the House passed the Luna Amendment removing them, with 207 Democrats and 73 Republicans voting in favor. Massie, who has broken with his own party on several issues, brings a distinctly libertarian critique of federal agriculture policy to a gathering.
Both representatives take part in Saturday's main-stage debate, "Eating the Earth: How Do We Feed Ourselves and Protect the Planet?" held in the round barn. Participants will weigh whether industrial farming with pesticides is necessary to preserve more untended land as wild habitat, or whether organic methods can produce enough toxin-free food while letting biodiversity thrive.
The two-day event opens with Farmer Friday, programming focused on earning a living through organic agriculture, open to the public for the first time this year rather than limited to farmers alone.
Saturday brings an in-depth interview with activist scientist Tyrone Hayes (known for his research on the herbicide Atrazine's effects on amphibian endocrine systems), six short TED-style talks, and breakout sessions on glyphosate, tillage, ethanol, and raw milk. Harvard historian of science Naomi Oreskes, known for her work on manufactured doubt around climate research, and Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout, whose career has centered on corporate monopoly power, also speak, alongside longtime organic farmers Eliot Coleman and Bob Quinn and Real Organic Project co-directors Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon.
Past conferences at the farm owned by Abby Rockefeller have paired policy debate with more grounded programming like farm tours of Rockefeller's Brown Swiss, Jersey, and Guernsey herds, and, one year, a blind taste test pitting soil-grown organic blueberries against hydroponic competitors. That example is emblematic of the tension between the Real Organic Project's own certification standard and the USDA's broader organic program, which the group argues has opened the door to fraudulent imports and hydroponic operations calling themselves organic.
Organic meals are included with registration.
Churchtown Dairy, Livingston, NY. Tickets at eventbrite.com.
