Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods

Sustainability Happy Hour

As the seasons transition from summer to fall, we welcome a new brewery to Omaha! Infusion Brewing Company opened at the beginning of the month and we're excited to see their operation. Join us on Thursday, October 17th, at 6pm for a tour of their brewery, talk about their plans to work with local producers, and to enjoy some of their brews. The tour costs $5, which includes samplings of their beers throughout the tour and a pint of your choosing at the conclusion of the tour. 

We hope you will join us, as we continue our conversations of sustainability with our local breweries! Sustainability Happy Hours are an event of theNebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society and are intended to provide an opportunity for our local producers to meet one another, and to engage with local businesses that support local.

For more information, check out our page: https://www.facebook.com/events/478481718917732/

NRCS EQIP Organic Initiative and Organic Dairy Farms Webinar

October 17. Join eOrganic for a webinar on NRCS programs for organic dairy farms with Oregon Tilth's Sarah Brown. The webinar is free and open to the public and advance registration is required. This webinar will provide information on the EQIP Organic Initiative and how organic dairy farmers can use this program on their operations. http://www.extension.org/pages/69087/nrcs-eqip-organic-initiative-and-organic-dairy-farms-webinar-by-eorganic

Food Hubs and Farm to School NGFN Webinar

October 17. Food hubs hold great promise for bridging the aggregation gap between farms and already-taxed school food service professionals. Join the National Good Food Network for some inspiring examples of successful food hub-assisted farm to school programs, presented in this one-hour webinar. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/747966202

Tractor Safety and Operation

Saturday October 12, 9:00 AM-12:00PM, Prairie Pines. We'll discuss basic tractor operation, implements, safety, and PTO mechanics during this class using our very own Ford. Tractor Safety and Operation. http://www.communitycrops.org/workshops

National Bioenergy Day

October 17. National Bioenergy Day will be an opportunity for elected officials, media, and other stakeholders to visit their local facilities to witness the firsthand the process by which wood and other organic materials generate energy. National Bioenergy Day participants will take the opportunity to demonstrate to visitors in person how bioenergy works--and its local economic and environmental benefits--so that legislators and other stakeholders understand the importance of supporting an energy source that provides power to their districts.http://www.biomasspowerassociation.com/docs/National%20Bioenergy%20Day.pdf

Fall 2013 Grassland Seminar Series

Monday, October 14th. 3:00 pm-4:00 pm. Jim MacDonald, associate professor, Dept. of Animal Science, UNL, will present “Sustainable Beef Production Depends on Sustainable Use of Crop Residues.” Free and open to the public. http://grassland.unl.edu/upcoming-seminars

Water Symposium - Changes: Climate, Water and Life on the Great Plains

Tuesday, October 15th. Showcasing the latest water-related research, programming, practices and policy for Nebraska and the Great Plains. Sponsored by the Nebraska Water Center, a part of the Daugherty Water for Food Institute. Details forthcoming. Contact: Lorrie Benson,402-472-7372, lbenson2@unl.edu

Fall 2013 Biotechnology / Life Sciences Seminar Series 

Dr. Bob Goldberg, University of California, Los Angeles. Wednesday, October 16th. 4:00 pm-5:00 pm. “Using Genomics to Dissect Seed Development,” will be presented by Dr. Bob Goldberg, University of California, Los Angeles. A reception will be held at 3:30 p.m. The event is open to the public. Open to the public. http://biotech.unl.edu/

Composting Workshop

Wednesday, October 16th. 6:30 pm-7:30 pm. Learn how to be successful with composting by attending a composting workshop sponsored by University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County and the City of Lincoln Recycling Office. Anderson Library, 3635 Touzalin Ave. Lincoln

Department of Agricultural Economics Seminar Series

Friday, October 18th. 3:00 pm-4:00 pm. Nathan Hendricks, Kansas State University. Contact: Kara Heideman, 472-2757,kheideman3@unl.edu

Sunday with a Scientist: Bats 

Sunday, October 20th. 1:30 pm-4:30 pm. Contact: Dana Ludvik, 402-472-3779, dludvik2@unl.edu

Federal Agency Ground-Based Burn Crews and the PFTC

Learn about the Prescribed Fire Training Center, training opportunities, and key lessons learned during trainings. The Prescribed Fire Training Center provides on-the-ground training for federal agency burn managers to gain experience with prescribed fire in the South. The speakers will focus on key facets of the training, lessons the burn managers learn throughout the three. October 17. 1:00 pm. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/federal-agency-ground-based-burn-crews-and-the-pftc

PINEMAP Professional Development Series: An Introduction to Soils: Getting Grounded

Are you a professional forester or resource manager interested in learning more about forest soils and the crucial role they play in our woodlands? If so, you won’t want to miss the upcoming PINEMAP Forest Soils Short Course! This three part webinar series will kick off a monthly schedule of content aimed at you, the professional forester! October 16. 3:30 pm. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/pinemap-professional-development-series-soils-crash-course

Opportunity

Cattle Load to Kearney

I have 5-6 yearlings (~400-500lbs) that I would like to take to Kearney sale barn in October (preferably 10/2 or 10/16). Just checking if there were any larger loads headed that way that had room for mine or smaller loads that we could group together to at least fill my/your stock trailer. I'd be coming from the Hebron, NE area in South Central/East Nebraska. jkyoachim@gmail.com

Natural Fertilizer

If anyone is interested, I have quite a bit of wood shavings (pine) with lots of chicken manure, which has aged for about 5 weeks. This would be perfect for raspberry bushes, blueberry bushes, or any acid loving plants. Contact me if interested... I'm not charging anything for the natural fertilizer. Dan Hromas, 402-217-2797

News

Hromas brings hens to area

YORK — Dan Hromas is raising happy hens he expects will lay healthy eggs. Hromas owns Prairie Pride Poultry, a business that provides farm-fresh eggs from free range Rhode Island Red hens that are treated humanely and raised on three acres of pasture. “When animals are less stressed, they produce a better product,” Hromas said. At present, Prairie Pride Poultry has about 600 chicks, ranging from two months to two weeks of age. They were purchased from the Central Hatchery in Madison and are housed in three 12x24 coops. Each coop contains nesting boxes, three windows, six vents and a set of sliding doors. They were manufactured by Mid America Structures in Peru. Read the rest, http://m.yorknewstimes.com/news/hromas-brings-hens-to-area/article_0f1636d6-3162-11e3-8719-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=jqm

Upcoming

Integrating Livestock into Dryland Organic Crop Rotations Webinar

October 22. Join eOrganic for a webinar on integrating livestock into organic crop rotations in the dryland Pacific Northwest. The webinar is free and open to the public and advance registration is required. This webinar will cover a variety of reasons to integrate livestock into crop rotations, and will be summarizing past research on the topic. It will be directed towards beginning growers interested in diversifying their income and crop rotations, towards educators and Extension workers, and towards a more general audience wanting to learn more about mixed crop-livestock systems. http://www.extension.org/pages/69040/integrating-livestock-into-dryland-organic-crop-rotations