Sustainable Farming & Foods

Weekly Events & Opportunities

Sustainability Happy Hour

Join us for our next Sustainability Happy Hour, as we dive into some local fare at The Grey Plume! On Thursday, September 12th, the Grey Plume will open their doors an hour early at 4pm for us, to share a round of appetizers featuring various local, sustainable farm ingredients. The Head Chef and Owner, Clayton Chapman, will speak about his commitment to working with local producers and showcasing the abundance of our state's sustainable farms. We will have a chance to order from their well-rounded menu, which features a handful of local and sustainable food producers. Each individual can then order drinks of their choosing, from craft cocktails to local beers on tap to a wide array of wines. We hope you will join us, and continue the conversation of sustainable agriculture in Nebraska. https://www.facebook.com/events/214297575401200/ Please RSVP to Ali at a.clark0425@gmail.com

Linking Sustainability, Food, Health and the Environment

September 13th. 12:30 Central. This webinar will help: identify current efforts in research and extension that address how local and regional food systems impact public health, environmental sustainability and community well-being; identify and measure key indicators that determine whether there is positive change in the regional food system as a result of related projects or programs; identify key success factors, challenges and policy implications related to this issue; and improve research and extension integration across the region and help build stronger networks among land grant and related institutions. Speakers: Kate Clancy, West Virginia University School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University Anne Palmer, Johns Hopkins Health Policy Center Jennifer Wilkins, Cornell University Carolyn Dimitri, New York University Jurgen Schwarz, UMD Eastern Shore Louise Mitchell, Health Care Without Harm and Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment Anusuya Rangarajan, Cornell Small Farms Program Stephan Goetz, Northeast Regional. Please register for "Linking Sustainability, Food, Health and the Environment at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7035134243351101440

Effective Presentations: How to Develop and Deliver a Farmer-Friendly Talk

September 9th. 1pm Central. PowerPoint and lecture presentations for complex issues such as farm management, IPM, decision making, and other such topics are ineffective educational tools. They seldom result in behavior changes or the adoption of new practices. Why do most farmer educators use lecture delivery as their primary means of education? The likely answer is they do not understand some basic tenets of effective adult education. This talk will provide an overview of best practices and provide examples of how they have been incorporated into Extension programming for farmers. The webinar is free and open to the public. Attendees will be able to type in questions for the speaker. Advance registration is required. Register now at http://www.extension.org/pages/68924

Amazing Grazing: Livestock Watering and Electric Fencing

September 10. Abilene, Kansas. The Amazing Grazing program administered by Kansas Farmers Union and Kansas Graziers Association presents Mark Green, NRCS Specialist from Missouri, with a workshop on livestock water and electric fencing. The workshop will have an indoor portion and then go out for actual fence-building exercises. http://www.kansasfarmersunion.org/docs/grazing%20events13.pdf

Plate to Politics - Women's Leadership: Visibility - Webinar

September 10. Stay energized and take your leadership to the next level in 2013 with Women, Food and Agriculture Network’s Plate to Politics Webinar Series, designed to inspire and cultivate women leaders in the healthy food and farming movement. Registration is free, and open to all women with an idea or a passion for leadership in sustainable food systems and agriculture.  Melinda Hemmelgarn will present. Click here for more information. http://platetopolitics.org/womens-leadership-webinar-series-registration-2/?__hstc=220621255.f32ff00f64196b2d145def835d13caa6.1375092686942.1377512578561.1378172901916.5&__hssc=220621255.3.1378172901916

Harvesting Energy: Wind and Solar Power 

September 14. Fairfield, IA. See how the 2012 MOSES Organic Farmers of the Year, Francis and Susan Thicke, harvest alternative energy with a 40 kw wind turbine, a solar-powered pump system for livestock watering, and a geothermal heating and cooling system. MOSES is a partner of this event. Click here for more information.  http://practicalfarmers.org/events_detail.php?eid=571&__hstc=220621255.f32ff00f64196b2d145def835d13caa6.1375092686942.1377512578561.1378172901916.5&__hssc=220621255.3.1378172901916

Mastitis Management on Your Organic Dairy - Webinar

September 10. Mastitis, the medical term for inflammation of the udder, is the number one disease problem in dairy cattle throughout the world. In this webinar, veterinarian Guy Jodarski will talk about the "mastitis triangle" (people, environment, and equipment) as possible contributors to mastitis, practices to prevent mastitis, and tools to reduce somatic cell counts. Click here for more information.  http://www.extension.org/pages/68969/mastitis-management-on-your-organic-dairy?__hstc=220621255.f32ff00f64196b2d145def835d13caa6.1375092686942.1378172901916.1378686905473.6&__hssc=220621255.2.1378686905473#.UidPVjakqIg

Predator Management for Small and Backyard Poultry Flocks

September 9. At 6 PM. Controlling predators is a common problem with small and backyard poultry flocks. Thomas Barnes, PhD, will discuss predator identification and means to minimize their impact. Barnes is the Kentucky state Extension wildlife specialist and a professor in the Department of Forestry at the University of Kentucky.  https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry

Is Ethanol Ruining my Engine?

September 10th. 12pm Central. Andre Boehman, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan. Join Dr. Boehman as he discusses recent research on the effects of ethanol and ethanol blends on engine life. He is a world leader in automotive engineering, and has worked extensively with engines and biofuels. Boehman previously worked at the Energy Institute at Penn State. These online, hour-long presentations are free to the public, and feature important topics related to bioenergy. Attend the live webinars: Start connecting 5 minutes prior to the start time. You need a computer with Internet access and speakers. Click this link, or copy and paste this URL into your browser, to enter the meeting: https://meeting.psu.edu/bioenergy - sign in as a guest. For information about the NEWBio Webinar series, and links to archived recordings: http://www.newbio.psu.edu/Extension/Webinars.asp

Mobile Slaughter Units: Reports from the Field and Future Directions

September 10th. 12pm Central. Inspected mobile slaughter units for red meat species have been in operation, and evolving, for more than a decade. On this webinar, learn from pioneers about their experiences and ideas for the future. The speakers are Terrie BadHand and Pati Martinson, Taos County Economic Development Corporation Mobile Matanza (NM); Dan O’Brien, Wild Idea Buffalo (SD); and Mike Callicrate, Ranch Foods Direct (CO). This is a Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network webinar. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/nichemeat

Brush Treatments for Wildlife Considerations

September 10th. 1pm Central. If you are dealing with wildlife and have oak brush, juniper, even sagebrush vegetation on your property, learn about some treatment options that can be implemented to help draw more browsing and grazing wildlife. Presented by Russ Knight, Wildlife Biologist, USDA-NRCS in Grand Junction, Colo. To register go to: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1MFq-145qMKx3Gf02C6yJNWDGtj7QV0YXqKT3MXq4A3I/viewform

Incident Reporting in Pesticide Exposure to Honey Bees

September 10th. 7pm Central. The second of a five-part webinar series of presentations by the Environmental Protection Agency on pesticides effect to honey bees.
The webinar will focus on what incident reports are and how they are used in ecological risk assessments. Incidents are a critical line of evidence that the EPA uses to understand how chemicals may be acting under actual use conditions. The amount of information that is contained in incident reports can directly impact the extent to which the information can be used to support ecological risk assessment and influence regulatory decisions. Incident data are one of the areas in which the general public and particularly beekeepers can play an effective role in the risk assessment process. Preregistration is required: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/305631233
Presenter: Dr. Tom Steeger, Senior Science Advisor, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs' Environmental Fate and Effects Division

Know the Flow - My Money and Me (Part 1 of 4)

September 11th. 10:30am. My Money & Me Webinar Series. Presented by Mark B. Robinson, CIMA® AIFA® and Wanda J. Roberts. During this session participants will learn how to create a household assets, liabilities and net worth statement and cash flow statement. Going beyond the numbers, they will learn about the interrelationship between assets, liabilities, income and expenses and how each may affect their perceived and actual net worth. Participants will also learn the difference between consumption, saving and investing. Within this context, participants will learn about the three basic financial asset classes: stocks, bonds and cash; their risk and return attributes and potential contribution to income and net worth. Learning Targets - Identify and categorize various types of assets - Identify and categorize various types of liabilities - Know how to calculate personal net worth - Know how to create a personal assets, liabilities and net worth statement - Identify and categorize cash inflow (money in) and cash outflow (money out) - Know how to create a personal cash flow statement - Know the differences between consumption, saving, and investing - Know the three basic asset classes: stocks, bonds, cash, and their risk and return attributes. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/fsa

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) - Its Impact on Artisan Cheesemakers 

September 12.  11:00am Central. Presenter: Dennis D’Amico, Ph.D. University of Connecticut Assistant. Presentation Topics:  Help artisan cheesemakers understand the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), How to provide producer feedback, Scheduled implementation of the rules, and Anticipated impacts on operators and the industry
How to Join? Please join the webinar site by clicking on:  http://msuextensionconnect.org/aginuncertaintimes

Webinar: Utility Scale Wind Energy Development

Please join us on Thursday, September 12th at 1pm Central for a free webinar on Utility Scale Wind Energy Development. This presentation will provide an overview of best practices, case studies, and field research to address issues and opportunities related to utility scale wind energy projects. The presentation will cover three major topics:
Business/Project Development Utility Siting Issues and Concerns Methods for Resolving Conflict. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/landuse

SARE Farmer/Rancher Grant Writing

September 9th. 7pm Central. Log in under guest with your own name at univmissouri.adobeconnect.com/debikelly

Providing Fresh Produce Through the Fall

September 10. Sioux Center, Iowa. At this Practical Farmers of Iowa evening Field Day, learn how The Cornucopia plans for its fall CSA share through later plantings, high tunnel production, and crop storage. Also hear from some CSA members about how being a part of The Cornucopia has affected their eating habits as well as awareness of Iowa's agricultural landscape. http://practicalfarmers.org/events_detail.php?eid=570

Small-scale Micro-irrigation Design and Components Webinar

September 10. This free, one-hour webinar features Hamid Farahani, Ph.D., Water Management Engineer at the USDA NRCS East National Technology Support Center. Webinar participants will be introduced to the basics of micro-irrigation and its components, and they will learn about the critical design factors for a system, within the context of NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 441. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/small-scale-micro-irrigation-design-and-components

Fall 2013 Grassland Seminar Series

Monday, September 9th. 3:00 pm-4:00 pm. Virginia Jin, research soil scientist for the USDA-Agricultural Research Service will present “Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Managed Grasslands in Eastern Nebraska.” http://grassland.unl.edu/upcoming-seminars

"Conserving Nebraska's Biodiversity: Challenges and Opportunities on Private Lands."

SNR Research Seminar - Larkin Powell. Wednesday, September 11th. 3:30 pm-4:30 pm. Dr. Larkin Powell, Conservation Biologist and Animal Ecologist in the School of Natural Resources will present a seminar entitled "Conserving Nebraska's Biodiversity: Challenges and Opportunities on Private Lands." Website:  http://snr.unl.edu/aboutus/when/seminarseries.asp?seminarseriesid=22#seminar2

Climate Change and its Effect on Human Health 

Wednesday, September 11th. 5:30 pm-7:00 pm. As scientists and policymakers continue to grapple with the implications of global climate change, more attention is being placed on its potential health impacts. Dr. Wendy Ring will provide an overview of the impact of climate change on individual and community health. She will provide a data driven discussion of health problems associated with the climate, ranging from infectious diseases, to environmental quality, to mental health, and also discuss the policy implications of these challenges. Location: Room: 107 (Auditorium), HARDIN HALL on UNL's East Campus.