Proponents of "community-supported agriculture" -- one of the latest marketing trends in small-scale farming -- will provide an opportunity for Northern Californians to learn more about the conceptat a Dec. 6 conference at UC Davis. Community-supported agriculture encourages urban customers who buy fresh, locally grown produce to learn more about where and how their food is grown. In exchange, farm operators are assured a guaranteed customer base. "Community-supported agriculture involves a community of people who buy shares at the beginning of the season, then share equally in the farm's output," says David Visher, program representative with the UC Davis-based UC Small Farm Center. "The farmer has working capital up front and an assured market for the farm's harvest." The conference will be held from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Memorial Union building at the center of the campus. An optional tour of a nearby farm that is practicing community-supported agriculture will follow the conference from 3:30 to 5 p.m.