Monday, April 7, 2014

Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods


Milking System Design and Analysis

April7th. 12pm. The milking system is the heart of any dairy operation, and requires a lot of consideration! Dr. Thomson will talk about the design and analysis of a milking system, including: some reasons a producer might consider changing the milking system frequency of evaluation and basic system design. He will also cover regular maintenance concerns and will discuss the National Mastitis Council's analysis fundamentals and goals. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/dairexnetwebinar/

Spotted Wing Drosophila Workshop

April 7.  Lawrence, Kansas. Fruit growers will want to be up-to-date on the Spotted Wing Drosophila. SWD infestations can quickly render entire crops of berries, cherries, grapes, and other tree fruit unmarketable. This pest is rapidly increasing its geographic distribution. Confirmed in Kansas in late 2013, SWD is likely to find local fruit farms very soon. Participants in this workshop will learn about the biology of this pest, its economic importance, how to monitor for populations on their farm, and management strategies for this pest. Workshop attendees will also receive a trap for monitoring on their farm.  Link: http://www.growinggrowers.org/workshops.html

Community Supported Agriculture- Reap the Benefits

Tuesday, April 8th, 6:30-8:30pm, Southeast Community College, Lincoln. Have you joined a Community Supported Agriculture farm, or have you thought about doing so? Come and find out what it means to be a CSA member. Discover the CSA benefits, what to expect from your weekly bounty from your local farmer, how to care for your vegetables from pick-up to your table, including storage and preparation. Register on-line through Southeast Community College - click Register Now and enter "Community" as the keyword to find the class. https://www.southeast.edu/continuing/

Managing for Soil Health on Dryland - A Farmer's Perspective

April 8. 1pm Central. Join the webinar to learn how a dryland farmer in Colorado uses cover crops and cover crop mixes to improve soil health and preserve moisture on his farm. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/managing-for-soil-health-on-dryland-a-farmers-perspective

Webinar: Putting the Pieces Together: Lessons Learned from a Reduced-Tillage Organic Cropping Systems Project

April 8. 1 p.m. Free. 
 The Reduced-tillage Organic Systems Experiment was initiated to identify integrated pest management strategies for managing weeds and early season insect pests while transitioning to an organic rotational no-till grain/silage system using a corn-soybean-wheat rotation. This webinar will draw upon the results from three years of research and illustrate practical issues involved with reducing tillage in an organic grain/silage system, such as cover crop termination using a roller-crimper, technical aspects of crop establishment in a rolled cover crop, the potential for volunteer cover crops in the rotation, and the importance of initial weed seedbanks for weed management during an organic transition, and the potential for using high residue inter-row cultivation to supplement weed control with cover crop mulches. Register here. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/432001529

Webinar: The Inside Scoop: Working with Lawyers

April 8. 4:30 p.m. The School for Organic Processing Entrepreneurs continues with this session presented by Jen Jambor-Delgado of Fare Grange Law. Learn about selecting and working with a lawyer for the many details of food entrepreneurship. Register here. http://www.organicprocessinginstitute.org/events/school-for-organic-processing-entrepreneurs-legal-issues-in-food-processing/

IOIA Webinar: NOP Processing Standards

April 8 and 10. Online. This webinar is a two-part series, each part three hours in duration. The course is designed as an essential session for the Processing Inspector or Reviewer. This course is comprised of three components: self-study, webinar, and evaluation. Link:http://www.ioia.net/schedule_web.html#April8

Cover Crop Workshop

April 8 or 9. Arcadia or Oakland, Iowa. This free workshop is hosted by Iowa Learning Farms as part of the Iowa Cover Crops Working Group. Topics range from using cover crop mixtures, selecting the right cover crop for your farm, using cover crops to enhance soil and water quality, cover crop effects on soil health and more. Speakers include local farmers who are using cover crops on their fields and experts from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Practical Farmers of Iowa. Link:http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/calendar/2014-04-09/spring-2014-cover-crop-workshop-oakland

Composting for poultry

April 10th. 7:30pm. Online. Whether large or small in size, poultry flocks can benefit from the use of composting as a tool to create a great soil amendment from a by-product of poultry keeping.  The discussion will cover the topics of composting litter, mortality, and butcher wastes, along with monitoring the process.  Proper compost pile building and pile diagnosis will also be discussed. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry

Farmer Veteran Event

April 10. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Northfield, Minn. Veterans can learn about careers in farming through this free event at the Organic Field School sponsored by the Farmer Veteran Coalition and Drake University Agricultural Law Center. Workshops cover: food safety, composting and soil building, strategic planning and farm business development, diversification, new Veteran Farmer Programs in the Farm Bill, and farm success. Lunch is provided. Includes farm tour and a free copy of “Wholesale Success: A Farmer’s Guide to Food Safety, Selling, Postharvest Handling, and Packing Produce.” Seating is limited. Register here. A similar event takes place April 12 in Milwaukee. See below. http://iowafarmerveteran.org/goe/

Legal and Financial Clinic

Thursday, April 10. North Platte. Call the Farm Hotline at 800-464-0258 to sign up.

Farming for Success in the 21st Century: Soil Building for Climate Resilience

April 11. Online. This is the final webinar in a three-part series geared to agricultural conservation professionals such as RCD, Extension and NRCS staff. This webinar will discuss the multiple benefits of keeping nutrients such as carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in balance as well as practical methods for increasing soil organic matter. One of the session presenters is Rex Dufour of the National Center for Appropriate Technology.  Link: http://calclimateag.org/calcan-events/

We can now solve the oldest environmental problem.

Wes Jackson, President of the Land Institute. Friday, April 11, 3:00 PM. Mike and Josie Harper Center Ballroom. Here is a link to driving directions to the Harper Center on Creighton’s Campus in Omaha: http://medschool.creighton.edu/medicine/oma/visit/directionsharpercenter/index.php  And parking: https://www.creighton.edu/harpercenter/parking/ 

Carbon Cycle Institute Presents: Scientific Overview of Agricultural Carbon Research & the Implications for Climate

April 11th. 1:30. In response to the rapid pace of global climate change, the work of the Marin Carbon Project and the Carbon Cycle Institute has focused on measuring the effects of rangeland management practices and their implications for carbon sequestration into permanent soil carbon pools. The potential for rangelands to function as carbon sinks alters the carbon impacts of the materials produced on these working landscapes-- and their subsequent footprint shows us that 'climate beneficial' material culture has the potential to mitigate the damaging effects of current human consumption practices. Through applied research, demonstration, and implementation the team has produced a body of research that will be explained and shared at this month's webinar.  

Dr Lynn Locatelli Low Stress Cattle Handling Workshop 

Rescheduled for April 12 in Salina, KS and Low Stress Ranch Tour at Olsburg, KS Set for May 3. Dr Lynn Locatelli of Cattlexpressions is a student of renowned animal handling expert Bud Williams. Dr Lynn began her veterinary career in Benkelman, Nebraska after graduating from UC Davis, and has 19 years of experience in both large animal veterinary practice and consultation. She educates many by private consultation and as a national and international speaker at veterinary seminars and cattleman’s conferences. For questions or folks with no email to register: Call Mary Howell at 785-562-8726




Opportunity

Reception

We are hosting a reception for the Senators and Lobbyists on Monday April 7th from 12:00 to 1:30 in room 1023.  We would like to involve local sustainable Ag people and give them a chance to talk with their Senators.  We are going to have local hemp burgers with hemp buns.  Also hemp humus wraps from Greatful Greens.  I would like to have some local cheese samples.  It would be a great opportunity to be heard on a local Ag level.  Contact Bill with more info,nefarmerbill@gmail.com

Fencing Equipment Available & Poultry Options

I just wanted to let folks know that we will have some premium hedge corner posts and line posts this spring.  They are a minimum 8 foot long with minimum 6” tops but can cut to your specs.  These are all Osage Orange posts that are guaranteed to outlast the hole that you put them in.  Over the years we have gotten lots of referrals for broilers and turkeys.  Unfortunately many requests came in too late to accommodate.  This year we have the help to ramp up our production enough to accommodate some of these requests.  The only requirement, on this end, is that we need to have the chicks and turkey poults ordered by July 1st.  So if you want to add broilers or turkeys to your CSA or your product line, just let us know and we will do our best to provide. Paul Rohrbaugh, Pawnee Pride Meats, Steinauer. pawneepridemeats@windstream.net

Organic Seed Production

Blue River Hybrids, an organic, non-GMO seed company located south of Ames, Iowa, needs to expand its production capabilities. We are currently looking for grain drying facilities near organic farms with irrigation in Nebraska. Would you be aware of any locations with grain drying capabilities? Cheri Johnson, cheri@blueriverorgseed.com



Upcoming

Community Gardens

April 16. 11:30. Lunch ‘n Learn Webinars. Using Participatory Design to Build & Enhance Community Gardens. Abbey Piner, MHS, Participatory designer + Permaculture designer. http://goo.gl/fQKN7

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