Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods

Farm Planning, Marketing and Management Online

July 7. Online. This online course from the University of Massachusetts is designed for students who foresee starting a farming operation in the future or who currently own/manage/work on one. The complexity of whole farm planning is covered in the course through agricultural business planning, organizational design, decision making, leadership and management (employees, systems and record keeping).http://sustfoodfarm.org/online-classes/farm-planning/

Managing for Soil Health when Raising Potatoes

July 8. Online. This free webinar is part of the Soil Health Webinar Series presented by NRCS. It will present a farmer's perspective on managing soil health. Colorado farmer Brendon Rockey will

discuss how using a systems approach has improved soil health and biological activity of his soils. Raising 30 varieties of potatoes, his farming system includes the use of green manures, multi-species cover crops, and compost balanced with inorganic materials. This webinar will provide participants an opportunity to hear how soil health can be improved and soil functions enhanced even when raising crops that require a lot of soil disturbance for harvest. http://conservationwebinars.net/

Estimated Hops Production Costs and Returns Webinar

July 10. Purdue Extension is offering opportunities to learn about opportunities and risks for farmers new to producing hops or considering getting started in it as the craft brewing industry continues to grow. This free, one-hour webinar focuses on the economics of hops.  https://extension.purdue.edu/Pages/article.aspx?intItemID=5450

Landowner Habitat Tour

Thursday, July 10. Tekamah. Prairie & Wetland Restoration in Eastern Nebraska. See NebraskaPF.com or call 308-850-8395

Waterwise Landscapes

12pm or 5:30pm on July 10th in Lincoln on the campus of UNL. Community Landscape Specialist Christina Hoyt has designed waterwise projects all across Nebraska. This presentation will be aimed at helping homeowners create and manage more efficient and resilient landscapes.  It is part of a brown bag series on all things green sponsored by the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, UNL Department of Agronomy/Horticulture, UNL Garden Friends and Friends of Maxwell Arboretum. The noon presentation will be repeated later that day at 5:30 p.m.  Event sponsors hope to bring together a community of on- and off-campus people who care about the environment. There will be time for discussion at each session and, when weather permits, time to walk through the campus landscape. Contact Justin Evertson  402-472-5045 jevertson1@unl.edu

Common Soil: Ask the Experts

July 12th. Benson Branch Library, Omaha. Questions about your garden? Are your tomatoes not growing right? Squash has a problem? Come ask the experts! https://www.facebook.com/events/405387456266600/

Grain Place Tour

July 12. 8 a.m. Marquette. This seminar is for anyone interested in organic farming, the organic food industry, and sustainable agriculture in general. Participants are guided by  farm manager Mike Herman on a tour of the farm, learning and sharing ideas about various organic growing practices. Grain Place Foods President Dave Vetter leads the tour through the plant, showing how all the various certified organic grains and seeds are processed and packaged. http://grainplacefoods.com/in-the-news/grain-place-news/latest-news/2014-farm-tour-summer-seminar/

Opportunity

Helper/Apprentice Sought

My awesome apprentice Jenn has given me notice that she intends to flee our fair state for the ski slopes and sugar maple forests of Vermont in a few short weeks.  Accordingly, I will have an opening for a part time helper in the near future. General veg and herb production, harvesting and prepping produce for a CSA and for restaurant accounts. Special opportunity to gain experience growing greens in a shade house, and - as far as I know - the only place in Nebraska where this person can get experience in commercial herb production and organic greenhouse production. 20 minutes southwest of Lincoln. Please email simple resume and contact information to:  gene@heartlandorganics.net.

Ducks for Sale

I have 6 khaki campbell hens that are about a year old that are laying consistently and 6 welsh harlequin hens and 1 drake from this year's hatch.  $12 ea, 4 or more $10 ea.  I will be coming to Lincoln Friday late afternoon and could bring them with me. Thanks, Robert. lnkrob@gmail.com

Heritage Chickens

I am looking for heritage chicken producers in Nebraska that might be willing to sell me live birds that I can butcher myself.  I am looking to buy young heritage birds but would be most interested in buying a mix of young and old birds. I live in Kearney and am either looking to process in Grand Island or near North Platte so if I can find a farmer in central Nebraska that would be optimal. Jed, yadidyamg@gmail.com

Kickstarter for Local Food Distribution and Delivery Service in Iowa and Nebraska

We're bringing local food from local farmers to chefs, restaurants, grocery stores, and more, but we need a better truck! We are at a critical turning point in our journey. We're currently renting a refrigerated reefer truck. But renting isn't practical. In order to continue this journey we need to get a better vehicle that will be able to serve more farmers, more restaurants and grocery stores and better our food system as a whole. The distribution problem hasn't been solved yet. And we're willing to put our energy, money and time into making it work. Farmers are calling us daily for help.  Complete details, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1183278462/bring-local-food-to-more-people-with-a-delivery-ve?ref=email

Upcoming

Targeted Grazing Online Workshop: Choosing the Animal

July 17. Online. The Targeted Grazing Committee of the Society for Range Management offers an opportunity to learn the principles of targeted grazing to manage landscape in webinars held the third Thursday of each month in 2014. Online presentations and discussion will be led by the experts in the topic of targeted grazing. This session is led by Dr. Karen Launchbaugh, University of Idaho.http://www.rangelands.org/targetedgrazing/index.shtml

Seed Savers Exchange Annual Conference

July 18-20. Decorah, Iowa. This annual gathering features speakers, workshops, a seed swap, and networking opportunities.http://www.seedsavers.org/Education/2014-Conference/

Omaha Gardens Tour

Saturday July 19th, 8am-3pm. Community Crops is excited to take you on a tour of some of Omaha's urban gardens! In collaboration with our friends from The Big Garden and Eastward Gardens we'll be stopping at four community gardens and learning from staff and gardeners about the sites. Crops will provide transportation to 12 attendees who register at the $20 level. Those wanting to provide their own transportation will receive a map and schedule to join us along the way. We plan to leave the Crops office at 8am July 19th and return to Lincoln around 3pm. Before leaving Omaha, we will stop at a great local restaurant for lunch! (Price of lunch not included in registration). Register Here, https://communitycrops.z2systems.com/np/clients/communitycrops/eventRegistration.jsp?event=61&