UNITY – A Vermont shepherdess who battled the federal government over her flock of imported sheep will be a keynote speaker at the third annual Local and Sustainable Food Conference on Saturday, April 5, at the Unity Centre for the Performing Arts.

Sponsored by Unity Barn Raisers, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, radio station WERU, the Good Life Center Forest Farm and the Unity College Garden Club, the all-day event will begin at 9:30 a.m. Registration begins an hour earlier.

The annual conference is dedicated to building local food economies. There also will be a local foods dinner to raise money for Food for Maine’s Future and area food pantries.

Afternoon keynote speaker Linda Faillace, is the author of “Mad Sheep: The True Story of the USDA’s War on the Family Farm.” The book tells the story of how armed federal agents seized her family’s flock of sheep imported from England because of fears over mad cow disease. The sheep had received the USDA’s seal of approval when they left England. Government scientists later determined that none of the sheep had the condition relating to mad cow disease.

Faillace’s book is described as “the account of one family’s struggle against a bullying and corrupt government agency that long ago abandoned the family farmer to serve the needs of corporate agriculture and the industrialization of our food supply.”

Faillace will begin her talk at 1:30 p.m.

Also scheduled to address the gathering that evening is Eustaquio Polo Rivera, vice president of the Major Council of the Curvarado River Basin in Choco, Colombia. Polo Rivera has been working to recuperate collectively titled lands occupied by oil palm companies connected to his country’s paramilitary structure. His talk will begin at 7:15 p.m.

The conference also will feature skill-based workshops, including how to build cold frames, backyard poultry production, container gardening and grass fed sheep. They will be followed by panel discussions on climate change and local agriculture, and fighting hunger through local foods.

There will be a bread and soup lunch at noon and participants are asked to bring their own dishes and utensils. A Mud Season Dinner will be offered at 6 p.m. featuring all local ingredients.

Registration is not required but space may be limited and preregistration will help plan seating. For information or to register call 692-2571, e-mail info@foodformainesfuture.org or visit foodformainesfuture.org.