#2016HFC An All-Nebraska Evening!

2016 Healthy Farms Conference!

A highlight for many at the annual Healthy Farms Conference is the All-Nebraska Evening. Held on Friday evening of the conference, the Evening features Nebraska musicians, artisians & farmers. Details below! Register here, www.universe.com/2016HealthyFarmsConference

Beer + Wine + Cheese = Nebraska!

When: Friday, January 29th. 4:00pm

Where: Marcotte Room, located just next to the General Session Room

When: Will continue after Live Auction, Dinner & Entertainment in Room 213 (roughly 8:15pm)

Live Auction Fundraiser!

When: Friday, January 29th. 5:30pm

Where: General Session Room

Auctioneer: Shayne Fili

http://www.auctionsolutionsinc.com

Come Support the works of Sustainable Agriculture in Nebraska. Support NSAS!

All-Nebraska Meal!

When: Friday, January 29th. 6:30pm

Where: General Session Room

Featuring numerous local, sustainable and organic farmers our meal will be a highlight of the evening!

Featuring the Wildwoods Band!

When: Friday, January 29th. 7:00pm

Where: General Session Room

About: The Wildwoods, are an acoustic music group from Lincoln, Nebraska. Their music is rich in love, happiness & passion that will melt your heart & inspire your soul! www.thewildwoodsband.com  

Tickets for the evening are $40 and support the programs of the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society! NSAS is a non profit, farmer led, organization dedicated to sustainable and organic farming and foods!

6LocalChefs & NSAS Membership!!

Hello NSAS friends!

Here is an outstanding deal that will run until midnight tonight (January 23rd):

Buy your tickets to the Producers Choice Chef Award Dinner at www.chefaward2015@bpt.me 

and get a year's membership for $10!!!  (Regularly $45) 

All you have to do is:

1.  go to www.chefaward2015@bpt.me and buy your tickets for Sunday's event

2.  respond to this by email @, chefaward@gmail.com so we know you're coming and will have membership sign ups ready for you on Sunday night.  You can pay for your special membership at the registration table that evening.

The Producers Choice Chef Award Dinner is at 5:30 -9pm on Sunday night (January 25th) in Omaha at the Institute for Culinary Arts, 32nd and Sorenson Parkway.  

Six local chefs will be preparing delicious and locally sourced food for our fundraiser dinner.  

Isa Moscowitz from Modern Love Omaha 

Ben Maides from Avoli Osteria 

Colin and Jessica Duggan from Kitchen Table 

Glenn Wheeler from Spencer's for Steaks and Chops

Kevin Shinn from bread&cup

John Hamburger from Back Alley Bakery 

There will be great raffle items to win, too!!!

Go to the NSAS website for more information or check out the attached invite.

REMEMBER: THIS DEAL IS ONLY GOOD THROUGH MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!!!!

Eat well, be well,

Krista, NSAS Board President

p.s.  gift memberships available upon request.

Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods

Celebrating the Fabric of the Local Food Community

January 25th. Omaha. Institute for the Culinary Arts. Join emcees Jeremy Maskel from KETV, Omaha News Leader and Chef Paul Kulik from Le Bouillon as well local chefs nominated by NSAS producer members for their dedication to building our local food system. This year our producer members have nominated 6 chefs and restaurateurs for the Producers Choice Chef Award! Isa Moscowitz from Modern Love in Omaha. Ben Maides from Avoli in Omaha. Colin and Jessica Duggan from Kitchen Table in Omaha. Glenn Wheeler from Spencers for Steaks and Chops in Omaha. Kevin Shinn from Bread & Cup in Lincoln. John Hamburger from Back Alley Bakery in Hastings! Each ticket includes two drink passes for beer from Ploughshare Brewing or wine Glacial Till Vineyard.  There will be a raffle for great prizes and Edible Omaha will have their winter issue available.  Join us for an entertaining and delicious evening as we celebrate the fabric of our local food community! http://chefaward2015.bpt.me/

Farmland Leases Built to Last: Content and Legal Context

Monday, January, 19. 12:00 pm. Leasing farmland is so commonplace farmers may not think twice about the lease itself… until things go wrong. Don’t let misunderstandings with landowners hinder your farm. Prevent problems with a strong lease that addresses water usage, equipment access, payment strategies, dispute resolution procedures, long-term concerns, and termination processes, plus more. Negotiating tactics and various laws affecting farmland leases will be on the agenda. This webinar is funded by USDA Risk Management Agency. http://farmcommons.org/farmland-leases-built-last-content-and-legal-context

Marketing Your Products - Turning Samples into Sales

Tuesday, January 20 at 11:00 am. Providing product samples is a great way to help increase sales at your farmers market booth or farm stand.  However, it is also important to do it in a way that does not give away all your product (and therefore profits!) and that also will provide a safe product that meets regulatory requirements. In this webinar, you'll learn how to choose which products to sample, how to control costs in sampling, and generally how to make the most of sampling. Lorin Fahrmeier, whose family sells a large amount of produce and other products through their farm stand and at farmers markets will provide insight from her extensive personal experience on how to turn sampling into sales. Londa Nwadike will also present some practical ideas on how to do sampling safely and also meet regulatory requirements. Lorin is the Farm to Institution Program Coordinator for the University of Missouri Extension and Londa is the State Extension Food Safety Specialist for both the University of Missouri and Kansas State University.https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/womeninag

Rotational No-Till, Mulching and Conservation Tillage for Organic Vegetable Farms Webinar

Tuesday, January 20 at 1:00 pm. Join eOrganic for a webinar on no-till, high-residue mulching and conservation tillage on organic vegetable farms, by German farmer Jan-Hendrik Cropp. The webinar will take place on January 20, 2015 at 2PM Eastern Time, 1PM Central, 12PM Mountain, 11AM Pacific Time. The webinar is free and open to the public and advance registration is required. Register now at http://www.extension.org/pages/71822

Health concerns with backyard poultry flocks

Tuesday, January 20 at 2:00 pm. The summer of 2014 saw many cases of Salmonellosis traced back to backyard poultry flocks - see CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/live-poultry-05-14/index.html. Dr. Colin Basler of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will be speaking about health concerns related to maintaining a backyard poultry flock. This event was originally scheduled for January 13, but due to circumstances beyond our control, it had to be re-scheduled for January 20. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry

Food Safety Liability And Regulations For The Farm

Tuesday, January, 20. 12:00 pm. We’ve been hearing all about the upcoming regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act. But, as important as it is, farm liability for food safety goes beyond this new law. A food safety incident has potentially disastrous implications for any direct-to-consumer farmer. We’ll talk about how a food safety incident plays out, from lawsuits to recalls and contract breaches. Most importantly, we’ll talk about ways to protect farmers. This webinar is funded by USDA Risk Management Agency. http://farmcommons.org/food-safety-liability-and-regulations-farm

 Connecting Migratory Waterbirds and Working Lands in South-Central Nebraska

January 21. Online. Participants will learn about the importance of central Nebraska for migratory birds, the suitability of agricultural working lands for accommodating migratory birds, and partnership efforts to create habitat to achieve bird conservation goals. This webinar is sponsored by the USDA NRCS National Wildlife Team. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/connecting-migratory-waterbirds-and-working-lands-in-south-central-nebraska

Growing Hops for Market

January 22.  This session will provide an overview on the plant, variety selection, field management, setting up a Hopyard, harvesting, and selling Hop cones to home brewers and microbreweries.  Grant McCarty, University of Illinois Extension Small Farms/Local Foods Educator. https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=10817

36th Annual NPSAS Winter Conference

January 22-24. Aberdeen, South Dakota. "Feeding Our Neighbors by Nourishing Our Soil" is the conference theme. The agenda includes speakers Dr. Don Huber, Alan Guebert, and Cody Holmes, plus workshops on livestock, planting trees for food, gardening, canning, small-farm dairy production, bee keeping, recycling, cover crops, local foods and more. There will also be exhibitors, youth workshops, and organic/local foods. http://www.npsas.org/news-events/winter-conference.html

National Good Food Network Webinar: Facilitating value chain development without costly new infrastructure

January 22. Online. Join the National Good Food Network for this expanded webinar diving deep into the approaches people across the country are taking to improve the food system without costly new infrastructure. "Value Chain Coordinators" are people who work to connect the dots in a value chain. They ensure the right people, goods and resources connect with each other. Most often value chain coordinators work outside day-to-day business operations, a vantage point that offers a unique perspective on the optimal solutions in a regional market. Presenters include Ann Karlen, Fair Food; Todd Erling, Hudson Valley AgriBusiness Development Corp.; Steve Warshawer, La Montanita Coop; Lauren Gwin, Niche Meat Processors Assistance Network; and Debra Tropp, USDA. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6258438140577286401

Cover Crop Economics Decision Support Tool

January 22. Online. This webinar is presented by the USDA NRCS East National Technology Support Center. Participate for a demonstration of how a conservation planner can use an Excel-based tool to answer a producer's questions: What does cover cropping cost? What are the economic benefits? How do the costs and benefits change over time? http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/cover-crop-economics-decision-support-tool

Managing Bad Stink Bugs Using Good Stink Bugs

Thursday, January 22 at 1:00 pm. Join eOrganic for a webinar on managing stink bugs using the spined soldier bug, by Yong-Lak Park of West Virginia University. Brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB) have caused considerable economic damage in the Mid-Atlantic states, and biological control agents against BMSB are not readily available for growers yet. In this webinar, the efficacy and utilization of the spined soldier bug as a native biological control agent will be presented and discussed.  The webinar will take place on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 2PM Eastern Time (1PM Central, 12PM Mountain, 11AM Pacific Time). The webinar is free and open to the public, and advance registration is required. Attendees will be able to type in questions for the speaker. Register now at:http://www.extension.org/pages/71371

Applied Ecology Seminar

Global Climate Change, Drought & Breeding Phenology in a migrant songbird.  January 23.  2:00 pm.  UNL's Hardin Hall. Mary Bomberger Brown, research assistant professor, will present this free and public seminar.

Practical Farmers of Iowa Annual Conference

January 23-25. Ames, Iowa. The event attracts farmers of all sorts, sizes, systems, and enterprises. From pre-conference short courses that run the day before and morning of the conference to in-depth workshops, roundtables, breakfast meetings, and a rich array of sessions in several core tracks, those who attend are sure to come away with valuable working knowledge to improve their farms and enrich their lives. The 2015 Annual Conference will foster discussion on longer crop rotations, cover crops, pollinator habitat, weather resiliency, soil preservation, perennial crops, diverse crop mixes, and irrigation. It will also explore how to tackle low profit margins and volatile market prices, and how to chart a profitable future. Learn from discussions between beginning farmers navigating future farming careers, and experienced farmers helping them reach their destinations through farm succession, mentorship, and education. http://practicalfarmers.org/2015-annual-conference/

Opportunities

Hogs wanted

In Search of Bulk self feeder for Hogs. Please contact Andrew, hollisterrentals@gmail.com

Local Foods Survey

This survey is being conducted by graduate student, Megan McGuffey, from the University of Nebraska at Omaha who is working with the Local Foodshed Working Group. The goal of this survey is to help create a more accurate picture of how many farmers are participating in the Lincoln/Lancaster County local food market. We are asking you to help us to complete this survey so that we can better understand the complex, local food system that gets food to our plates. If you have any questions or concerns about the survey please contact Megan McGuffey at mmcguffey@unomaha.edu. Follow this link for the survey,  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1wuvRR4EFNcvPiazbZ4F6Av-PjeuvXrtFgT54SW4Pl2o/viewform?c=0&w=1

Research on Midwestern organic farmers at the Leopold Center

The Qualtrics questionnaire is being administered as part of study by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University so that we can better understand motivations of organic farmers in the Midwest to create social, environmental and economic value.  The results of this study will help create awareness of the role of Midwestern organic farmers as green/environmental entrepreneurs in promoting sustainable development.  Little is known about the link between organic farmer motivation and economic, social and environmental value.  This research is designed to be supportive of the global organic farming movement. The questionnaire, which can be accessed through the Qualtrics link below, will take 15 minutes or less to complete. Follow this link to the Survey: https://iastate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9vLLOPATgF7bV3L  Your answers will be strictly confidential.  Only summary results will be examined.  We will ensure that those who have returned the questionnaire are not contacted again. We have also attached a word copy of the questionnaire for your reference. We will send you a copy of the results if you are interested.  We would like to express our appreciation for your assistance with this study.  Feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions. Dr Priyanka Jayashankar (Leopold Center & College of Business, Iowa State University): priyanka@iastate.edu, 515-294-8110

Upcoming

Heritage and Ancient Wheat: Varietal Performance and Management Webinar

January 27. Join eOrganic for a webinar on Heritage and Ancient Wheat: Varietal Performance and Management with Steve Zwinger, North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center. Team members of the NIFA OREI-funded Value-added Grains for Local and Regional Food Systems project will present information derived from three years of experimentation at multiple sites on varietal performance, including yield potential, standability, disease tolerance, and grain quality, and growing practices, including planting rate and nitrogen fertility application. Farmer experience with and recommendations on growing these crops will also be featured. The webinar is free and open to the public. Advance registration is required. http://www.extension.org/pages/72265/heritage-and-ancient-wheat:-varietal-performance-and-management-webinar

Conservation Biological Control: Habitat Management to Control Pests

January 27. Online. Learn to enhance habitat for native beneficial insects that help control crop pests. This webianr will focus on the ecology of native beneficial insects and how to increase their numbers on your farm through simple conservation strategies. Lady beetles, syrphid flies, lacewings, and other beneficial insects prey upon crop pests, reducing or eliminating the need for pesticides. Learn how to recognize these insects and their habitat, and how to evaluate, design, and improve habitat for them. This webinar is presented by USDA NRCS Science and Technology. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/conservation-biological-control-habitat-management-to-control-pests

Conservation Planning for Diverse Vegetable Rotations: Tools and Issues

January 28. Online. Participants will learn the various steps for completing a conservation plan on a diverse vegetable rotation. Learn how diverse rotations are created and the challenges that vegetable producers face when using them. Steps in the conservation planning process will be reviewed and participants will learn how to use these steps to develop rotations with vegetable producers. Various tools and resources will be presented to assist the planner when working with vegetable producers on these rotations. This webinar is presented by the USDA NRCS East National Technology Support Center, with presenter Steve Boetger, Agronomist.http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/conservation-planning-for-diverse-vegetable-rotations-tools-and-issues

Small Farm Webinar Series: Potato Production

January 29. Online. The University of Illinois Extension presents a weekly educational series for the small farm community, providing practical knowledge on emerging topics which advance local food production in Illinois. Webinars will be held from 1:00 - 2:30 pm on Thursdays and are free. This presentation will discuss the basic concepts and production practices for potato production, along with variety selection. https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=10817

Water, Soil, & Toil: The Ways We Farm

Thursday, February 5. Lecture + Panel Discussion. Free and Open to the Public. Nebraska's Farmers & Ranchers make tough decisions every day in their farming and ranching practice. Recently proposed policy expansion and calls for increased consideration of animal welfare have pressured farmers, ranchers, and the organizations that represent them to take positions. Where are the farmers’ and ranchers’ voices? Event 1, What: Lecture + Panel Discussion, ”Water, Soil, Toil: The Ways We Farm”. When: Afternoon, Thursday, February 5. @ UNO’s Weitz Community Engagement Center, 6401 Dodge St. Omaha. Event 2, What: Keynote Address, NSAS Healthy Farms Conference. When: Morning, Friday, February 6. @ MCC’s Swanson Conference Center: 5300 N 30th St. Omaha. Details:http://nebsusag.org/conference.shtml. For EVENT 1 RSVP, comments, and questions, contact Adele Phillips: (402) 687-2103 x 1009, adelep@cfra.org.

Anticipation

Each Spring around this time of year, many farmers have the drive and the curiosity and the anticipation to get things rolling for yet another year. Is the grass high enough? Did we get enough snow this year? How well was the ground cover over the winter? These are but a few of the questions my wife and I ask ourselves

This year is different than some. We have had our cow grazing for about a week now. Mostly through the yard areas around the barn and the house. The grasses there tend to be a little taller and more established than those out in the pasture and the regular rotations. Our goal is to have the animals in full rotation by the end of March. Which that has to be some kind of record.

In January of this year, we had 4 days with temperatures above 70 degrees. The beginning of February brought our only noticeable snow storm. This storm left about 13 inches here at Darby Springs Farm near Ceresco. Within a week there was no snow left on the ground. We did get a cold spell about the middle of February but than the gradual warming took place. By March 1st it felt like May 1st. I don't think we had a day below freezing in March. Temps by the middle of March were pushing 90 degrees. Certainly something was up. Mother Nature was fooling us and was going to drop a monster storm that would kill any budding trees or plants. So far however the extended forecast shows that well into April, temps will remain warmer than usual. Good news is that we'll also have decent chances for precipitation which is the next part of the equation.

We use a mix of multi-species pasture stacking combined with a somewhat management intensive grazing program all inspired by holistic management principles to manage our pasture and wetland. We were fortunate enough to have taken the Farm Beginnings Nebraska program put on by NSAS and had Terry Gompert as our Holistic Management Educator. This laid the foundation for what our vision was for our farm.

The NSAS List Serv is a great resource to bounce ideas off of fellow farmers using sustainable and organic practices and principles. Last year we posed some grazing questions to the list and below are some of the answers.

• If dry take put them in sooner, or take out later, or if really dry, put in fewer at a time in a paddock.
• Perhaps an issue of hay supply. If you can feed hay for a week or two more, the new pasture will grow faster than the hay they consume.
• Use a sacrifice paddock.
• Get grazing as soon as possible so the grass doesn't "get away."
• Turn out when grass has three leaves
• A concern is grass tetany, http://beef.unl.edu/stories/201003030.shtml
• Suggest feeding a little hay to slow fresh grass traveling through and cattle not taking up enough nutrients.
• It all depends on everything. Your grass type, stocking rate, how heavy you'll work the grass over the summer, etc.
• Just keep dry hay or even straw available to them free choice and they should be fine. They are still grazing standing hay as well as fresh grass.
• Start them slow and ease into grass

We began grazing with our small herd around the end of April in 2011. So getting an extra month on the pasture will certainly allow us to catch up with the pasture. This year the cows and horses will be together in one paddock and following them will be our pastured poultry flock. We have debated moving every 12 hours, and will probably increase the size of our paddocks.

You can find more resources on pasture readiness, livestock, sustainable farming and more on the NSAS website. A majority of these resources are free to use. Another great resources is the NSAS Library. This is free for members of NSAS and there is a nominal fee for non-NSAS members. But why not join! There are numerous benefits, and even an exciting way to join right now during our 30 for 30! fundraising drive, which participation gets you a membership!