Monday, April 22, 2013

Researcher and Farmer Innovation to Increase Nitrogen Cycling on Organic Farms Webinar

April 23.  Join eOrganic for a webinar on Researcher and Farmer Innovation to Increase Nitrogen Cycling on Organic Farms by Louise Jackson and Tim Bowles of the University of California at Davis. The webinar will cover the design and results of an OREI project to assess the variation in how farmers manage nitrogen differently in organic processing-tomato production in California, and to learn how their management affects N cycling, soil organic matter, microbial communities, plant root genes for nitrogen assimilation, and yield.  http://www.extension.org/pages/67391/

What’s It Worth? Setting Profitable Prices for Multiple Outlets

April 24. This webinar is part of a two-year long monthly series from Countryside Conservancy, aimed at specialty crop growers. In this webinar, Chris Blanchard of Rock Spring Farm helps participants navigate pricing strategies to meet their customers' needs and their farms' bottom lines. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6215202030463309056

Cover Crop Mixes: Getting the Cover Crop You Want

April 24. This webinar is presented by NRCS East National Technology Support Center, as part of their Understanding Organic and Sustainable Agriculture series.   http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs140/1109295883063/archive/1112371127916.html

Scouting for Vegetable and Fruit Pests on Organic Farms Webinar

April 25. Join eOrganic for a free webinar on Scouting for Vegetable and Fruit Pests on Organic Farms, by Helen Atthowe and Doug O'Brien. In this webinar crop consultant Doug O’Brien and organic farmer Helen Atthowe share their pest monitoring and decision making tips and short cuts. Learn how to look for insect, disease, and crop quality problems on organic vegetable and fruit farms. The webinar will also touch on some ideas about how to maintain records that will help you better understand pest problems and what to do about them. http://www.extension.org/pages/67843
  
Sustainable Food Trade Association Webinar: Animal Care

April 25. SFTA is providing an opportunity to know more about the details of the different certifications, language of animal care and most importantly an opportunity to connect with experts on the subject. The webinar will cover the NOP rules for animal production (meat, milk, eggs, slaughter), discuss animal welfare standards and certification programs, and discuss the meaning of grass and pasture-based certification, as well as definitions.  http://sftaanimalcare.eventbrite.com/#

Direct-to-Consumers Farm Legal Issues Webinar

April 25. Farmers are invited to attend a Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin webinar, hosted by Rachel Armstrong of Farm Commons, to learn about the legal aspects of running a farm that sells directly to consumers, whether through a CSA or farmstand, to a local school, or to restaurant and grocery store buyers. This webinar will make legal issues understandable and give farmers the tools to move confidently forward with their businesses. It will discuss setting up the business, crafting sales agreements, managing liability, and hiring employees.   http://datcp.wi.gov/Business/Buy_Local_Buy_Wisconsin/BLBW_Workshops/
  
Biodiesel Production & Waste Water Recapture from Swine Waste

April 26. North Central Regional Center for Rural Development offers an opportunity to discover new advances in the production of biodiesel from swine waste. This new technology allows for recaptured waste water, which is still rich in production material, to be further refined and used to increase final biodiesel output. http://web2.msue.msu.edu/events/event.cfm?folder=Agruraldev

Using a Drought Calculator to Assist Stocking Decisions

 April 24, 10am – 11am. Drought Webinar Using a Drought Calculator to Assist Stocking decisions. To register: http://tinyurl.com/c6t38k5 For more information: http://drought.unl.edu/ranchplan/Overview.aspx

Monitoring Your Woods: How to Identify & Report new Invasives
 

 Legal and Financial Clinics

 April 24th. Fairbury. Call the Farm Hotline at 800-464-0258 to sign up.

Creating Products from Farm Produce

April 23, 6 pm. Best Practices for Food Safety and Regulations for Value Added Food Production.  Are you considering adding value added products to your mix at the farmers market, your farm stand or CSA pick-up? As you make plans to add diversity to what you offer, join this webinar to learn the rules and regulations, as well as the best practices for food safety when creating value-added products from your farm produce.  Presenter Londa Nwadike, is the Food Safety Specialist for UVM Extension.  She works with value-added producers of all sizes on food safety and complying with state and federal regulations.  The presentation will touch specifically on Vermont state regulations, but the food safety best practices and information on federal regulations will be applicable across state line.  https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/launch/meeting.jnlp?sid=2009421&password=M.7EEAF71396EAD87C3F5B19BBDB734D

“The Future of Ecosystem-Based Agriculture,”
 
Wes Jackson. April 26th. 10:00am. Center for Great Plains Studies. 1155 Q St. Lincoln. Open to the Public. April 26 (Fri.) Contact: Wendy Katz, wkatz2@unl.edu


Upcoming

Wholesale and Retail Pastured-Poultry Markets

May 2. Livingston, Montana. This day-long workshop is the third in a series on pastured poultry being offered in Montana by NCAT, the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center, and Salish-Kootenai College. The keynote speaker will be Tom Delehanty, founder of Pollo Real in Socorro, New Mexico, the largest certified-organic, pastured-poultry operation in the United States. In addition, area farmer Mark Rehder will give a tour that includes a discussion of "chicken tractors." https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/427/donate.asp?formid=meet&c=1956988

Monday, April 15, 2013

Weekly Events & Opportunities


Local Meats Processing: Successes and Innovations
April 18. This Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network webinar is being hosted by the National Good Food Network. This webinar will profile processors around the United States and share lessons learned about their success, offering background on the challenges of small-scale meat and poultry processing – for both processors and producers. It will include representatives from several regional, collaborative efforts to improve access to local processing. The discussion will be based on a research report for USDA's Economic Research Service that will be released the day of the webinar.  https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/211399546

Supplementing the Organic Dairy Cow Diet: Results of Molasses and Flaxseed Feeding Trials Webinar
April 18. Join eOrganic for a webinar on molasses and flaxseed feeding trials in organic dairy cattle. In this webinar, Dr. Kathy Soder of the USDA Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit in University Park, Pennsylvania, will present results of recent research she and her team have conducted. http://www.extension.org/pages/67505/

New Generation Energy Webinar: Ask an Installer
April 19. Cornell Small Farms Program is presenting a four-part webinar series of farmer-led virtual tours and fun, informational tips for saving energy and converting to renewables on your farm or homestead. This final webinar in the series features Conor Kays from Alternative Power Solutions, who will talk about how to choose between geothermal, solar, or wind (or all three), how to size a system, current financial incentives and offsets, and services that installers will provide. http://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2013/03/18/new-generation-energy-sustainable-power-for-your-farm-or-homestead

Estimating Cover Crop Nitrogen and Choosing Organic Fertilizers for Your Farm - Webinar
April 17. Oregon State University Senior Instructor and Small Farms Extension agent Nick Andrews will guide participants through the Organic Fertilizer and Cover Crop Calculator, a free online tool which predicts the nitrogen released by cover crops, organic fertilizers, and compost, allowing farmers to easily compare the costs of different organic fertilizer programs. Andrews will explain the research behind the nitrogen mineralization models used in the calculator and demonstrate how this tool can be used to develop a cost-effective nutrient management program designed to address each farm’s specific crop nutrient requirements.  Visit their website for more information and to register. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7629827094414117632

Urban Agriculture Expo
April 20. Minneapolis, Minnesota. This event is for those who currently have an urban farming enterprise, are considering starting one, are supporters of urban farming, or are just curious to learn more. Educational seminars address three different topic categories: growing topics, business topics, and people topics. The growing topics will include water management, unique growing systems, and soils management. The business topics will include record keeping skills and tips, understanding your cost of production, and assessing which market option is right for you. Lastly, people topics will include updates in local food policies, the Urban Agriculture Alliance, and engaging communities around you. http://www.minnesotaagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=273&yr=2013

Raising guinea fowl
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April 15th at 6:00pm. There has been growing interest in raising guinea fowl. The reasons vary from income (from meat and/or eggs), guard duty, to insect control. Dr. Samuel Nahashon from Tennessee State University will discuss keeping small flocks of guinea fowl. Dr. Nahashon is a Research Associate Professor in Poultry Science at Tennessee State University and has worked extensively with guinea fowl. He also serves as technical advisor to the Guinea Fowl Breeders Association which is a non-profit group of people interested in learning about guinea fowl. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry



Introduction to Social Networking
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April 16th. 1pm. Does social networking intimidate you? If so, this webinar is for you! We will review the basic principles of social networking, mainly using the widely popular website Facebook as a frame of reference. You will learn social networking language, use, how to utilize privacy settings, and explore the potential impact you can make through this medium. Pre-registration is not required for this webinar but is strongly encouraged. Please do so at: http://events.anr.msu.edu/introtosn/

Beginning Beekeeping Field Day
Saturday, Apr 20.Ithaca. See http://entomology.unl.edu/ for registration information.

Financial Statements and Record-Keeping
April 15th at 10:00am. Building skills and confidence to help service members to access timely, accurate, and trustworthy information about creating financial statements and record-keeping. This presentation is part 1 in a 2 part series. The “Financial Ratios and SWOT Analysis” will be presented April 22, 2013. For details on part 2, visit: https://learn.extension.org/events/977