Monday, November 3, 2014

Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods

Shh... Sustainability Happy Hour at Infusion Brewery!

November 6. Omaha. Lets talk local! Join us for the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society's Sustainability Happy Hour, as we tour Infusion Brewing Company in Benson Omaha. We will enjoy a tour of the brewery with brewmaster Aaron and good conversation about what Infusion is doing to tie into our local food system! 
Shh.... is an event in the Nebraska area, centered around sustainability, local foods, local flavors and great conversation! We will have several Shh... events throughout the fall and winter, and we hope you will join us! Details and to rsvp here, https://www.facebook.com/events/372806636218813/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Internal Parasite Management in Pasture-Based Sheep and Goat Operations Webinar

November 3. Veterinary Extension within The Ohio State University's Department of Veterinary Preventative Medicine and the OEFFA have joined together to provide a series of webinars and workshops for veterinarians, Extension educators, and other professionals who work with certified organic livestock herds and flocks. This free webinar is presented by Wayne County OSU Extension Educator Rory Lewandowski. To register, go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6088907739364733953
The Power of Integrity.
November 4.  3:30 pm–4:30 pm.  UNL's Lied Center For Performing Arts. Jo Forstrom, 402-472-7081cba-jforstrom@unl.edu. Colonel Arthur Athens, USBC (retired), is the director of the U.S. Naval Academy’s Vice Admiral Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership and will be speaking on “The Power of Integrity.” Integrity is essential for living ethical lives of purpose and impact and building teams founded on trust and commitment. 

Are you getting paid to farm?

November 5. 12pm. Are you getting paid for your time? Karri Stroh will discuss the importance of record keeping and tell how she keeps everyone recording on their farm. https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/6638971415826730497

Heuermann Lectures: What Does Agricultural Communication Mean in the 21st Century?
 
November 6. 3:30 pm.  Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center. Moderator: Orion Samuelson, WGN-Chicago. Panelists Barb Glenn, National Association of State Directors of Agriculture; Kevin Murphy, Food Chain Communications; Marcy Tessman, Charleston-Orwig; Ronnie D. Green, UNL.

Building Farm to Institution Markets Webinar

November 6. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Renewing the Countryside, and Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota are presenting a one-hour webinar and survey to help Minnesota food producers grow. This webinar provides an introduction to farm to institution practices and benefits. It will focus on how the needs of the producer can be matched with the needs of the buyer, accessing the potential of this rapidly expanding market channel. http://www.iatp.org/event/building-farm-to-institution-markets 

Mechanical Farm Implements: Scale-Appropriate Technology for Specialty Crop Production

November 6. Onine. This free webinar from OEFFA will explore factors to consider in choosing equipment for a successful specialty crop farm, with presenter Jean-Paul Cortens of Roxbury Farm. Learn about the best equipment to use for tillage, weed control, mulching, planting, seeding, harvesting, and haymaking on a specialty crop farm. http://www.oeffa.org/

Starting a small-scale commercial poultry operation

November 6. Hosted by eXtension, join Andy Larson, University of Illinois extension educator in local food systems and small farms, will be discussing the things you should consider. https://learn.extension.org/events/1747#.VCmismddVq0

Growing Power National-International Urban and Small Farm Conference

November 6-9. Milwaukee, Wis.Get ready for an intensive conference that covers urban farming from top to bottom: aquaculture, composting and vermicomposting, planning strategies, education, youth programming, fund raising, food policy, food justice and much more! Check out the Growing Power website as more details become available. http://www.growingpower.org/

Planning and Design of Stream Crossings

November 6. Participation in the webinar will build an understanding of the process and procedures required to successfully plan and design a stream crossing structure to meet the USDA NRCS Practice Standard, Code No. 578 - Stream Crossing. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/planning-and-design-of-stream-crossings

Where Have All the Honey Bees Gone? Hope for the Future

Friday, November 7. Why do we have fewer honeybees these days?  What caused the decline?  What can we do to help?  These questions and more will be answered in this webinar presented by Dr. John Skinner, a Professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee. 
http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/fireant

Kansas Rural Center Farm & Food Conference and 35th Anniversary Celebration

November 7-8. Manhattan, Kansas. "Sustainable Agriculture: A Once and Future Vision," will celebrate KRC's 35th Anniversary and focus on the future of agriculture, food, and community in Kansas and the region. A full two-day slate of conference workshops will provide inspiring ideas, helpful information and valuable connections for attendees, ranging from practical farm management, diversification and transition strategies, to community and food advocacy training. Keynote speakers will include Bryan Welch and Fred Kirschenmann. http://kansasruralcenter.org/calendar/conference-2014/

Wise Traditions Annual Conference

November 7-10. Indianapolis, Indiana. "Focus on Food" is the theme for this 15th annual conference featuring numerous speakers and a showcase for delicious traditional food. The event is billed as America's premier nutrition conference, for anyone interested in health, nutrition and food, including young & old, parents & grandparents, health professionals & health seekers. Link:http://conferences.westonaprice.org/main-conference/

First Friday: Ecotourism coalition launch celebration

Join the Center for Great Plains Studies in celebrating the launch of the Great Plains Ectourism Coalition – a group of private landowners and public institutions committed to promoting environmental conservation and building thriving communities through nature-based tourism in the Great Plains. On display will be the 12 ecotourism posters developed for the coalition. Attendees will be able to purchase posters and postcard packs during the event. At 5:30 p.m., coalition organizers Rick Edwards (director for the Center) and Kat Shiffler (ecotourism consultant) will speak about the project. Refreshments will be provided. Details, https://www.facebook.com/events/303117623208540/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Common Soil: Harvesting Food and Medicine in the Dakota Tradition

November 8. Omaha. Jerome Kills Small (Professor emeritus) will describe the legends and uses of medicinal foods and plants that grow in the Missouri River Valley, on the Great Plains, and up in the Rocky Mountains. https://www.facebook.com/events/389172831231222/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

"Small Spaces, Big Potential": a Small Scale Farming Workshop

Saturday, November 8. Nebraska City. The workshop will feature presentations by local farmers and UNL Extension personnel. Breakout session topics and presenters will include: The Basics of Backyard Poultry and Rabbits, Aquaponics, Growing Hops, Raising Bees in Urban Areas, Operating a Pumpkin Patch Enterprise, and Xeric Gardening.  For questions or to pre-register contact the Nemaha County Extension Office (402-274-4755).



Opportunity

Vegetable Operations Manager Position near Omaha

Vegetable/small fruit farm and nursery in Papillion has a full-time permanent vegetable operations manager position available. Tasks may include crop selection/scheduling, prep/planting, greenhouse management, construction/maintenance, and sales. Vegetable production experience helpful. The land has been farmed with organic practices for 30 years. Currently selling at local markets and planning to expand. On-farm housing may be negotiable. Also hiring full/part-time general laborer; farm or construction experience helpful. Send resume and cover letter to Lucena@MeristemFarmAndNursery.com or call Tom at 402-306-4500.

Vegetable Transplant Supplier Needed

The Community Crops plant sale sells plant starts and perennials to many Lincoln gardeners, and we also supply plants to our community gardeners.  We have outgrown the amount of plants our current supplier can produce and would like to find additional suppliers for 2015 to grow a variety of herb and vegetable transplants on contract.  All plants need to be grown using organic methods, using 32s and delivered in early May.  Please contact me to discuss details at ingrid@communitycrops.org or 402-474-9802.
Thanks! Ingrid

FarmTable Delivery is hiring

We really need a driver ASAP. Qualifications include: - Experience driving an 18ft vehicle - Experience driving a diesel vehicle - Good driving record - Familiar with driving in Omaha, Des Moines, Lincoln a plus! - Detailed orientated - good time management skills - a people person. Right now, 10-15 hours a week. Will increase as company grows. Will Train! SEND RESUMES with REFERENCES to farmtabledelivery@gmail.com 

Farm for Sale in Western Nebraska

We have operated a pastured poultry (including processing) operation and a direct beef operation.  This would be an excellent opportunity for someone who would like to start a small scale sustainable agricultural business. We are having an auction on October 21st which will have all of our equipment for the pastured poultry operation (including processing equipment) and livestock equipment. The link for the auction is: http://www.helbergnussauction.com/selected_auction.php?Auction_ID=18
(check back often as we are still adding items). We also have our cattle herd for sale.  We will only sell them all to one buyer to keep the herd together.  The herd consists of approximately 40 cows and 3 bulls.  The herd is comprised of Angus and Angus/Lowline cross. If you have any questions, please call or email myself or my husband Dan. Dan's cell phone is 308-631-6849. Email iskathi@openabar2ranch.com 

BarnRaiser at Darby Springs Farm

As you may know, we have been slowly growing our farm, Darby Springs, over the past several years. We have launched a crowdfunding campaign with Barnraiser and are asking you to join us in building a creamery barn to create farmstead ice cream, featuring local flavors, and space to learn and grow as a food community. Click here to skip the rest and get right to it: https://www.barnraiser.us/projects/building-the-barn-at-darby-springs-farm. We already sell pastured meat, milk, and eggs, but want to grow to bring you farmstead ice cream and opportunities to experience all our farm has to offer. To do this the Barn will have: The Loft: event and classroom space; Community Kitchen: a certified kitchen for use by all; Farm Store: featuring our ice cream and homemade baked goods as well as other area farmers & artists; Creamery: where the wonderful desserts are made; Milking parlor. Click here to check out our video, get full project details and support our project if you can, or spread the word to your friends: https://www.barnraiser.us/projects/building-the-barn-at-darby-springs-farm



News

NSAS Named A Top Food Organization!

The James Beard Foundation and Food Tank, along with a prestigious advisory group of food system experts, developed the first annual “Good Food Org Guide.” This definitive Guide highlights nonprofit organizations that are doing exemplary work in the United States in the areas of food and agriculture, nutrition and health, hunger and obesity, and food justice. Only nonprofit, scholarly, and municipal initiatives have been selected in order to spotlight efforts that are focused on community building and engagement, advocacy, and service. 

The vision and objective of this annual publication is to focus attention on the dozens of nonprofit organizations (listed in alphabetical order, not ranked) who are working in fields, kitchens, classrooms, laboratories, businesses, town halls, and Congress to create a better food system. The list was determined by distinguished experts, including past recipients of the James Beard Leadership Award and food and agriculture leaders.

“We hope this guide will serve as a resource for chefs, farmers, students, advocates, and others to find the resources they need about the growing good food movement in the U.S.,” says Susan Ungaro, President of the James Beard Foundation.

Read the rest & the entire list @ 
http://foodtank.com/news/2014/10/food-tank-and-james-beard-foundation-2014-good-food-org-guide


Upcoming

Local Foods on the Great Plains

November 12th. Sponsored by the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society and the Center for Great Plains Studies. A panel of experts in the local food scene will talk about where the movement is going and what challenges the Great Plains faces as the movement continues to grow. Panel: William Powers, President, NSAS; Billene Nemec, Buy Fresh Buy Local ; Renee Cornett, Prairie Plate restaurant; Bob Bernt, Clear Creek Farm; Ruth Chantry, Common Good Farms. Speakers will be accompanied by several local food producers who will sample food items after the lecture. Samplers include: Common Good Farm, Darby Springs Farm, Clear Creek Farm, Branched Oak Farm. Panel at 3:30 p.m. at the Great Plains Art Museum at 1155 Q St. All lectures are free and open to the public. Immediately following the panel & reception there will be a BarnRaiser celebration at Ploughshare Brewing. Details can be found here

Forest Cultivated Mushrooms Webinar

November 10. The American Tree Farm System offers this one-hour webinar. Ken Mudge, associate professor at Cornell University, will explore the four stages that a prospective mushroom grower must consider for forest cultivation of shiitake mushrooms. Acquisition of substrate logs, inoculation, resting, fruiting, and harvesting of mushrooms will be covered in this webinar.https://www.treefarmsystem.org/content21232

Biodiversity and Natural Resource Assessment on Organic Farms

November 13. Online. This IOIA webinar training course will cover Natural Resource Assessment for Organic Farms. It is an intermediate-level webinar training course geared to prepare those who are currently organic inspectors or file reviewers to evaluate Natural Resource requirements as described in the NOP/COR. The course is also highly recommended for organic producers, consultants, educators, extension, and certification agency staff. IOIA Trainer Garry Lean will present the course.http://www.ioia.net/schedule_web.html#nov13

Women, Food & Agriculture Network Annual Conference

November 14-15. Fairfield, Iowa. Join Women, Food & Agriculture Network for its 2014 annual conference, "Women Doing Democracy: Building Grassroots Coalitions to Grow Healthy Food and Farming in Your Community." The conference includes field tours, intensives, keynote speaker Karen Washington, and concurrent breakout sessions on topics including air and water monitoring, coalition-building, livestock confinement activism, tenant-landlady relations, resources for female beginning farmers (including veterans), the new farm bill, food safety regulations, and more. http://wfan.org/2014-wfan-annual-conference/

Harvest Dinner

Buy Fresh Buy Local® Nebraska, your statewide program for building community through locally grown food, is hosting our annual Harvest Dinner on November 16.  This year’s Harvest Dinner & Farm Tour theme, “Celebrating Local Food from the Ground Up! Dinner will be presented by Chef Renee, wife of Jerry Cornett and owner of Prairie Plate, a farm-to-table restaurant, located on Lakehouse Farm.  Chef Renee will create an elite four-course dinner embracing seasonal products from the Lakehouse Farm and Buy Fresh Buy Local® Nebraska family farmers and ranchers from across the state. www.buylocalnebraska.org

The Livestock Conservancy National Conference

November 14 -15. Austin, Texas. Come join America's leading organization working to protect nearly 200 livestock and poultry breeds from extinction and enjoy programs on conservation, animal husbandry, food, marketing, and more. Enjoy heritage-breed meals as you network with other attendees and talk one-on-one with experts in livestock and sustainable agriculture. http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/what/internal/conference

Milling Small Grains and Aquaponics Production

November 15. Panora, Iowa. At this Practical Farmers of Iowa Field Day, father-son team Earl and Jeff Hafner will show attendees their certified organic stone mill where they mill rye, buckwheat, wheat, and corn.They will also lead a tour of their aquaponics production area. Early Morning Harvest is an addition to Earl and Jeff Hafner's diversified cow-calf, hog and certified organic corn and soybean operation. Early Morning Harvest produces vegetables in an aquaponics greenhouse, a diverse variety of garden-fresh vegetables, eggs from pastured poultry, and flours made from certified organic grains. http://practicalfarmers.org/news-events/events/

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