IH, when you go to a conference, would you rather listen to the speakers, or talk with other farmers?

That might be a key question to answer.

Without looking at the program specifically, as I recall, there are some days which tend to favor program speakers, and some days where there are more "roundtables".  These roundtables are farmers talking to/with other farmers. If that is the kind of interaction you want to have, then maybe you want to evaluate each day's events with that in mind.

Just a thought.