Agri/Eco-Tourism Workshop to Be Held in February

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Angela White at 402-471-7755,

or angela.white@nebraska.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Agri/Eco-Tourism Workshop to Be Held in February

LINCOLN, NEB. (December 20, 2013)—The Nebraska Tourism Commission is taking registrations for its annual Agri/Eco-Tourism Workshop. The event is designed for those who want to learn more about the agri/eco-tourism industry. It will be held February 3-5 at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center in Kearney. 

“While agritourism may be new to some, it has been practiced by Nebraskans who, for generations, have served up agricultural products and services with warm hospitality and down to earth charm. Today’s growing interest in agritoursim offers new and additional opportunities for landowners and rural communities. It allows visitors to experience agriculture first-hand and to be a part of nature, away from the pressures of city life,” commented Kathy McKillip

Conference attendees usually include farmers, ranchers, outfitters, vineyard operators, u-pick operators, managers of eco-tourism attractions, chamber/tourism directors and more. Workshop objectives include helping attendees learn how to get the most out of their land, utilize fresh marketing ideas, discover greater financial opportunities and network with potential partners.

Keynote Speaker Carol Patterson will be sharing her strategies about how you can reinvent your tourism organization and rediscover your passion. Carol Patterson has helped emerging tourism destinations for over two decades. Her work in product development provides innovative new travel products, some increase revenues 25 percent in one season. Carol's travel writing is regularly featured in the Red Deer Advocate and she is the author of several books including “The Business of Ecotourism”.

Lincoln, Nebraska advertising and public relations firm, Swanson Russell and Associates, will offer ideas on how to leverage low-cost and no-cost public relations opportunities. Other key topics will include inventorying your potential, building strong partnerships, exploring potential cross-marketing opportunities and calculating your return on investment.

To get more information about the 2014 Agri/Eco-Tourism Workshop or to register for the event, go to http://www.visitnebraska.com/industry. If you have any questions about the conference or would like information on sponsorships, call Karen Kollars at 308-249-3220.

Examples of some of the state’s private or non-profit Agri/Eco Tourism attractions and their reported 2012 attendance:

•             Kimmel Orchard and Vineyard 120,000

•             Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari 110,878

•             Roca Berry Farm 50,500

•             Arbor Day Farm 37,500

•             Bellevue Berry Farm and Pumpkin Ranch 20,000

•             SchillingBridge Winery & Microbrewery 18,500

·                Poppy’s Pumpkin Patch 10,000

·                Prairie Loft Center for Outdoor and Agricultural Learning  6,600

·               Wessel’s Living History Farm 6,000

The mission of the Nebraska Tourism Commission is to expand Nebraska’s dynamic and diverse travel industry making it more viable by creating awareness, attracting increased visitors which results in greater tourism revenue and economic gain throughout the state. To learn more, go to www.VisitNebraska.com. Order your free travel guide today at VisitNebraska.com. Then stay connected with Nebraska Tourism on our Visit Nebraska Facebook page, on Twitter, on Pinterest and on YouTube.

# # #

Angela White

Media / Public Relations Manager

Nebraska Tourism Commission

301 Centennial Mall South, 1^st Floor

PO Box 98907

Lincoln, NE 68509

402-471-7755

angela.white@nebraska.gov

www.VisitNebraska.com

“The mission of the Nebraska Tourism Commission is to expand Nebraska’s dynamic and diverse travel industry making it more viable by creating awareness, attracting increased visitors which results in greater tourism revenue and economic gain throughout the state.”

Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods

Water Listening Session

Tuesday, January 7th. 

 

1:00 pm-5:00 pm.

A stakeholder listening session will be held on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Great Plains Room of the Nebraska East Union on the UNL East Campus. This stakeholder listening session is organized by IANR and the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute. The goal is to listen to stakeholders and clientele in Nebraska and learn more about their priorities for research, education, and extension projects related to agricultural water quantity and agricultural water quality. A copy of stakeholder comments will be available after the listening session at: http://water.unl.edu/web/water/AFRIwater. 

 

Contact: 

Jill Brown, 

402-472-2871, 

jbrown14@unl.edu

Microsoft 2010 Excel Basics

January 7th. 12pm. Microsoft Excel is an extremely powerful tool when used correctly.  This is the first presentation of a series on Microsoft Excel and will cover the basics. With the basics under your belt, you will be able to create complex planning and tracking documents. Using examples such as expense reports and invoices, we will explore these basic features. https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c6lpphsdf3kkp0bpqt1i1pqhe60 This session will be held using Google+ Hangouts on Air.

Legal and Financial Clinic

Wednesday, January 8, 

Fairbury. Thursday, January 9th, North Platte. 

Call the Farm Hotline at 800-464-0258 to sign up

Will poplar bioenergy farms maintain soil and water quality?

January 8th. 12pm. To identify potential environmental impacts of poplar biofuel feedstock cropping system, Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest is monitoring a number of soil quality and environmental parameters. Studies include soil organic matter, biological activity, physical structure, and chemical balance as well as net carbon loss, soil erosion, greenhouse gas emissions, and nutrient leaching. In this webinar, researchers from the University of Idaho present approaches and initial findings from three sets of environmental impact measurements: nutrient leaching, greenhouse gas fluxes, and soil biology. Please register for this webinar at http://breeze.wsu.edu/e75cfwe3ukm/event/registration.html

Marketing for Profit: Tools for Success

January 8 or 9. 

Online. 

Farmers' Market Federation of New York is offering a series of free webinars for direct marketing farmers. Each webinar is offered twice. The topic for this session is "Keeping An Eye On Your Customers: Business Assessment," with Lindsay Ott Wilcox, Marketing Director, Clear Channel Radio. 

Link: http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/work-shop-programs/webinars/registration.html

Controlling internal parasites in small and backyard poultry flocks

January 9th. 6pm. Keeping happy chickens means keeping them healthy. Internal parasites can be a problem when chickens are allowed to roam. Dr. Donna Carver from North Carolina State University will discuss controlling internal parasites in backyard flocks. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry

Crafting A Consistent Marketing Message!

January 9th. 1pm. Getting the attention of customers is harder today than ever before.  Learning how to craft a marketing message that draws customers to your website where the information you provide benefits them personally.  Crafting the message involves understanding landing pages, call to action, and relating that to your marketing goals. Glenn Muske, North Dakota State University Small Business Specialist, and Connie Hancock, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Educator, will provide tips on how to Craft that Marketing Message. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/etc-cop

Great Plains Growers Conference & Trade Show

January 9-11. St. Joseph, Missouri. The Great Plains Growers Conference is made possible by six land grant universities and Extension services from the states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. This event includes a keynote address by conservation tillage pioneer Steve Groff. There will be pre-conference, all-day workshops on beekeeping, high tunnels, tree fruit, soils, and farm to school. Link:http://www.greatplainsgrowers.org/

Managing Layers on Pastures Webinar

January 9. 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 are held from 1:00 - 2:30 pm on Thursdays and are free. This first webinar in the three-month series is presented by Kyle Cecil, University of Illinois Extension Small Farms/Local Foods Educator. Link: https://webs.extension.uiuc.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=8854

Minnesota Organic Farming Conference

January 10-11. St. Cloud, MN. Lots of great food and fun with your fellow Minnesota organic enthusiasts. Large trade show, dozens of workshops, delicious organic meals, and plenty of networking opportunities! Find more details out here. http://www.mda.state.mn.us/food/organic/conference.aspx

No-Till Organic Crop Rotation Workshop

January 11. 1:30 – 4 p.m. Columbus. Randy Anderson, USDA-ARS, a weed ecologist, will discuss the goal of his research program to develop a continuous no-till cropping system for organic producers. He will present results on converting red clover fields to cropland without tillage and describe a no-till cultural system that suppresses weed growth in soybean more effectively than tillage-based management. Though this is focused on organic producers, any producer wanting to decrease input costs will find this information useful. Producers using no-till rotations can learn more about how synergistic crop sequences are improving land productivity, farm economics, soil health and resource-use-efficiency in the semiarid Great Plains. UNL will share an update on organic research results using crimper and flamer to manage weeds. Cost to attend is $15 at the door. For more information, contact Liz Sarno at esarno2@unl.edu or 402-309-0944

Opportunities  

Farmer hosts needed for Producers Choice Chef Award Dinner

We are looking for a few more farmers to host tables at the Producers Choice Chef Award Dinner January 19th.  Please read the following invite and respond to chefaward@gmail.com. Applications will be accepted on a first come / first serve basis.  If your application is accepted, you will receive a second email with payment instructions. Complete details about the event including purchasing tickets can be found at, http://nebsusag.org/chef.html 

 Thanks for all that you do!! 

Krista

Custom Grazing/Finishing Available

Hope this finds everyone well. We've been blessed with the opportunity to lease some additional ground and are looking to take in some cattle in 2014. We can take them in at anytime. We have  turnips, organic cornstalks, creek/timber ground and hay that are available now until the growing season. From there, we will have warm season pastures and annual forages for grazing/finishing. Depending on timing and a few other factors, we can take in, up to, an additional 30-60 AU's. Since we are building our herd, we will consider cash or cows as payment. Please feel free to call me on my cell if you'd like to discuss further, 402-309-4088. Thank You, Jon

Veggie Farm for Rent

Small house, shed, garage, 2.5? acres. West Burnham Street. Near Pioneers Park. Recently renovated house.  Perfect for starter veg farm. Call Jeff at 402-429-9507.

Looking for Equipment

Anyone have a single row transplanter for sale or rent, suitable for bare rooted raspberrries? Mike @ mdl1356@gmail.com

Upcoming

Webinar: Hosting On-Farm Events

January 13. On-farm events are a great way to build support in the community. And, they’re a lot of fun! But as the saying goes, it’s always fun until someone loses an eye. Make sure your farm isn’t left with the short end of the stick after a good-intentioned event goes bad. From zoning compliance to guest injuries and serving prepared food, we’ll work through a checklist of things a farm should address before hosting an event. Register and learn more here. http://www.farmcommons.org/webinars

Webinar: Late Blight of Tomato and Potato: Recent Occurrences and Management Experiences

January 14. This devastating disease has been occurring more often in the USA recently, especially on tomatoes. Beginning and experienced growers need to understand changes in the pathogen that account for this change and other facts about recent occurrences in order to manage late blight effectively. Another objective is to share information among researchers and growers about managing late blight with copper, biofungicides, and resistant varieties, and utility of the USABlight monitoring program and the Decision Support System. Learn more and register here. http://www.extension.org/pages/70122/late-blight-of-tomato-and-potato:-recent-occurrences-and-management-experiences-webinar#.UqoJE9JDvZE

Small Acreage Conference 

Saturday January 18. St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.  9:00 AM.  Fort Calhoun. “Acreage Survival Skills”  This is the theme of the conference which will include 

concurrent talks by local alternative agriculture entrepreneurs, 

 Cooperative Extension Specialists and state wide sustainable  Paul Rohrbaugh, former Executive Secretary of the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society and a renowned sustainable agriculture farmer in Nebraska will serve as the keynote speaker  Informational and vendor booths will also be a part of the Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m.  For information contact Sandy & Jerry Grove, 

wildflower@abbnebraska.com

2014 Healthy Farms Conference

February 14th & 15th. Kearney.  Deadline to reserve lodging is quickly approaching. $89.95/night good for single/ double/ triple/quadruple occupancy. To reserve a room call, 308.237.4400 and reserve a room under The Healthy Farms Conference reservations.    Reserve by January 14th. 

Farm Beginnings Nebraska Set to Begin January 4th!

The Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society (NSAS) will hosts its next Farm Beginnings Nebraska Program at the First National Bank in Syracuse January 4th. 

As part of a USDA Farmer and Rancher Grant, NSAS is facilitating the Farm Beginnings Nebraska Program. The Farm Beginnings Nebraska Program is an educational training and support program designed to help people who want to evaluate and plan their farm enterprise.

Farm Beginnings Nebraska participants engage in a mentor-ship experience and network with a variety of successful, innovative farmers; attend practical, high quality seminars, field days and conferences. The program is unique in that it is farmer led and coordinated. A majority of the presenters include farmers explaining firsthand the ins and outs of their farm and are followed up with tours. A major focus of the program is for those interested in utilizing sustainable and holistic management principles, including organic farming.

The Farm Beginnings Nebraska Program consists of a series of 10 sessions from January to April that cover a variety of topics including: holistic management, building networks, goal setting, whole farm planning, building your business plan, financing, marketing, business and farm management and financial management. While the class participants will learn firsthand from the farmers, they will also work on developing their own business plan as they progress through the course.

As part of the class tuition, participants will also have the opportunity to attend the Healthy Farms Conference at the Younes Conference Center in Kearney February 14th and 15th. The Healthy Farms Conference has been held annually for over 35 years and is the annual conference of NSAS. Sessions this year will include; hugelkulture, homeopathy for the farm, vegetable production, grass-fed beef, local foods policy council, cover crops, organic farming, bee keeping, young and beginning farm opportunities, farm transitioning, agri-tourism and more. Farm tours are also part of the Farm Beginnings Nebraska program. Both during the course and at the concluding we will visit around 10-15 farms highlighted by a twilight tour and potluck. Tuition for the is $500, but you may qualify for a partial scholarship. Your tuition includes; Farm Beginnings notebooks and handouts Joel Salatin's, Holy Cow and Hog Heaven book Meals at each session, and an NSAS membership.  For details and to sign-up http://nebsusag.org/farmbeginningsnebraska.html

Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods

Introduction to Enterprise Analysis

December 16th. 11:30am Central. Take a look at how to isolate your income and expense records to analyze the different enterprises you operate. Learn how to determine which enterprises are making or losing money. https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2009421&password=M.6F6B15E4CB7C3A84CB5ABB5B38FE2C

Critical Economic Decisions when Raising Heifers

December 16th. 12pm Central. Jason Karszes will discuss some key items every dairy farmer should consider in heifer raising. He will cover the costs involved, factors that influence those costs, the economic impact of the replacement program on the dairy farm's performance, and several other factors to consider in a replacement program. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/dairexnetwebinar/

Farm Rental Rates: Setting Them and Paying Them

December 16th. 12:30pm Central. Learn about the different ways to set rental rates for your own property or to evaluate the rates that are offered to you as a tenant. We can’t get into the details of each negotiation but we can at least learn about the basic methods that can be used when setting rates or paying them. https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2009421&password=M.80D1A5C43B7CD5980466E241ED810F

Landlord/Tenant Lease Workshop

December 16,  Norfolk. December 17, Oshkosh. See http://bit.ly/1bJwrqn for more info.

Health Concerns for the Overweight Horse

December 17. 6pm Central. This webcast will discuss health concerns for both under and overweight horses, with an emphasis on the overweight horse. Most horse owners understand the potential issues with horses being too thin, but may not be aware of the issues associated with the other extreme. Following this session, horse owners will be able to assess if their horse is over or underweight, and have strategies to manage their overweight horses. http://www.myhorseuniversity.com/resources/webcasts/overweighthorse

Community Supported Agriculture Legal Issues Webinar

December 17. Farm Commons is hosting a series of eight webinars over the Winter of 2013-2014 that will help farmers resolve the most common legal concerns. This evening webinar will discuss the unique employment law, insurance, zoning, and volunteer worker legal issues encountered through CSA. Farmers will learn how address these concerns. http://farmcommons.org/webinars/

Connecting Sustainable Farmers to Emerging Health Care Markets – A Farmer-Focused Presentation

December 17th. 1:30pm. Hospitals and hospital systems represent a sizable potential market for sustainable farmers, and interest in increasing purchases of local, sustainably produced food among hospitals and hospital systems is growing. However, limited hospital resources and the complexity of food purchase contracts and agreements at many hospitals have prevented farmers from accessing this market in any significant way to date. To assess the current and potential health care food markets for North Central region sustainable farmers, IATP compiled and analyzed purchasing data from three participating health system collaborators for all food and beverage purchases, including those that meet sustainability criteria outlined in the Green Guide for Health Care. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/249036730

Legal & Financial Clinic

December 17th, Valentine. December 18th, Norfolk. December 19th, Lexington. Call the Farm Hotline at 800-464-0258 to sign up.

Marketing for Profit: Tools for Success

December 17 or 18. Online. Farmers' Market Federation of New York is offering a series of free webinars for direct marketing farmers. Each webinar is offered twice. The topic for this session is "You Are What They Think You Are! Selling the Product," with Dave Bellso, President of DesignWorks Advertising. http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/work-shop-programs/webinars/registration.html

Do Cover Crops Help Your “Bottom-Line”?

Wednesday, December 18th. Nebraska City. See more meeting and contact info at bit.ly/1fJc4ze.

Solar Webinar

December 18. The Farm Energy Working Group at the University of Northern Iowa is presenting a free webinar on solar power in Iowa.http://www.uni.edu/ceee/energy/farm-energy-working-group/farm-energy-working-group

Sweet Onions--Cultural Practices and Brand Marketing

December 18th. 1pm Central.  Penn State and Cornell University have teamed up to present a series of webinars on critical production issues. This series provides timely updates in commercial and small fruit production for commercial growers, extension educators, and industry representatives in Pennsylvania, New York, and surrounding states. $10 per webinar or $35 for entire series; includes access to handouts and webinar recordings. In the first session, extension educators Christy Hoepting (Cornell) and Lee Stivers (Penn State) will cover variety selection, planting, soil and water management, harvesting and curing of sweet Spanish onions. We will also explore aspects of branding sweet onions as a marketing tool. http://extension.psu.edu/vegetable-fruit/winter-webinars 

Molecular Mechanisms of Disease - Works in Progress Seminar Series

December 19th. 4pm. Amita Daverey (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Postdoctoral Associate w/Sri Kidambi lab) and Bao Hu (Chemistry Postdoctoral Associate w/Steve DiMagno lab) will present. Whittier Building in Lincoln on the UNL City Campus. Room: 136. Open to public. Contact: Melanie Simpson, 402-472-9309, msimpson2@unl.edu

Upcoming

Great Plains Growers Conference & Trade Show

January 9-11. St. Joseph, Missouri. The Great Plains Growers Conference is made possible by six land grant universities and Extension services from the states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. This event includes a keynote address by conservation tillage pioneer Steve Groff. There will be pre-conference, all-day workshops on beekeeping, high tunnels, tree fruit, soils, and farm to school.http://www.greatplainsgrowers.org/

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!! 

Eat Local for the Holidays! -- It's Easy!

Thanksgiving is the easiest and best time of year to "eat local," for the simple reason that the Native Americans and the Pilgrims were "locavores" back when "fresh and local" were not marketing terms, but just the way it was. This means that most of what you find on a traditional Thanksgiving menu has its roots in local, seasonal foods.

A New "Tradition"

Yet too often we feel obliged to follow more recent traditions. We fill a Thanksgiving menu with an industrially raised turkey that's been injected with saline to make it seem juicy, or Jell-O salad with canned fruit cocktail, or green bean casserole with canned mushroom soup, or sweet potatoes from a can, baked with butter and brown sugar with marshmallows on top. That's what my Grandma made anyway.

True Thanksgiving Tradition

There's nothing wrong with family traditions, but it's easy and fun to give those old favorites new life with fresh, locally raised foods. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to choose from autumn's bountiful cornucopia of locally grown foods from salad greens to root vegetables.
And there's even more to be thankful for, because local foods, when grown without synthetic chemicals, enhance our personal health, the health of our farmers, their farms, and our communities. And the virtuous circle expands as local organic foods benefit the soil, air, and water upon which life depends.

Giving Thanks for Healthy Food

There is just no better way to express gratitude for good food, local farmers, and their active stewardship of the land than to buy one or more local items for the big meal on the day we join together and give thanks.
And it's easy--just tweak your favorite family recipes to create locally produced variations on Thanksgiving classics. Here are a few ideas:

• Cole slaw can become a light Brussels sprouts salad
• Mashed potatoes go glam as local potatoes roasted with leeks, parsnips, and rutabaga
• Sweet potato gratin can be transformed into a sophisticated cardoon gratin
• Classic raw celery and carrots become a classy celery root remoulade (recipe below)
• Dinner rolls from a can become buttery sage biscuits
• Pecan pie turns into local hickory nut or black walnut pound cake

And we all know pumpkin pie is better with local pumpkins, so get yourself a few from a local farmer.
You'll have the tastiest Thanksgiving ever, and you'll help keep local, sustainable farms thriving now, and for many Thanksgivings to come. Thank you!

Celery Root in Mustard Sauce (Remoulade)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound celery root (about 2 medium-sized roots)

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the lemon juice, mustard, cream, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
2. Quarter the celery root and peel it. Grate coarsely. Immediately add the celery root to the mustard sauce and toss to coat. Season to taste. Serve as a first course or side salad.

Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods

Importance of Pollinator Habitat and How It Fits in a Grassland Ecosystem

December. 9 – Pete Berthelsen, Director of Habitat Partnerships, Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever, “Importance of Pollinator Habitat and How It Fits in a Grassland Ecosystem” All of the seminars in the series (listed at http://grassland.unl.edu/upcoming-seminars) are at the East Union, 3:00-4:00. 

Farm Rental Rates: Setting Them and Paying Them

December 9th. 11:30am Central. Join Mark Cannella, Farm Business Management Specialist from the University of Vermont, to learn about the different  ways to set rental rates for your own property or to evaluate the rates that are offered to you as a tenant. He can't get into the details of each negotiation but you can learn about the basic methods that can be used when setting or paying rates. https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2009421&password=M.DE76094666D2C142E5B997E24AAE5A

Farmers & Ranchers College - Positioning Your Business for Ag's Next Decade 

December 9th. Featuring Dr. David Kohl. 1 :00 pm. Location, Bruning Opera House. 

Contact:

 Brandy VanDeWalle, 402-759-3712, 

brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu

Landlord/Tenant Lease Workshops

December 9, 10, 11 & 12. Imperial, Hastings, Syracuse, David City, McCook, Auburn, Kearney, Sidney, York, Fairbury, North Platte, Gering, Oshkosh & Wilbur. See http://bit.ly/1bJwrqn for more info.

Wood and Biomass Pellets for Regional and Global Energy

December 10 at 12pm central. Presenter:  David DeVallance, University of West Virginia. Wood pellets have been a growing component of the bioenergy industry in the Northeast United States, and continue to expand as local and international markets develop. Join Dr. Devallance as he discusses the process of wood pellet production, pellet properties and their management, as well as current markets - opportunities and barriers. Attend the live webinars at https://meeting.psu.edu/bioenergy - sign in as a guest.

Farm Succession Series: LLC / Lease Workshop

December 10th. Syracuse. Call the Farm Hotline at 800-464-0258 to sign up.

Acres U.S.A. Conference & Trade Show: Ecological Farming for the Real World

December 10-14. Springfield, Illinois. This event begins December 10 with an Eco-Ag University offering two days of intensive workshops on topics including restoration agriculture, crop nutrition, mob grazing, and biological farming. The main conference December 12-14 features presentations by some of the world's leading authorities and practitioners of ecological agriculture, an eco-consultants' hall, and a trade show.http://www.acresusa.com/magazines/magazine.htm

Farminar: Building Relationships, Building Customers

December 10, 7:00pm – 8:30pm. O nline. Relationship-building can be a powerful marketing tool. Hear from two farms of different scales about how they focus on building relationships with customers to be successful.  Go to www.practicalfarmers.org/farminar,

Agricultural Working Lands and Wildlife: Ducks Unlimited's Winter Wheat Initiative in the Northern Great Plains

December 10. Online. This webinar is sponsored by the USDA NRCS National Wildlife Team located at the Central National Technology Support Center. Participants will learn about an opportunity to restore ecosystem function on agricultural working lands in the Northern Great Plains through the planting of fall cereals which provide safe nesting areas for birds and agronomic benefits to producers.  http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/ducks-unlimited-winter-wheat-initiative-northern-great-plains

Connecting Beginning Farmers to New Markets: Start-up Advice & Resources for Gaining Access to Farmers Markets

December 11th. 2pm Central. The Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition Program presents a webinar panel presentation, "Connecting Beginning Farmers to New Markets:  Start-up Advice & Resources for Gaining Access to Farmers Markets" http://connect.ag.vt.edu/access2farmersmarket/

Alternative Energy Revolving Loan Program (AERLP) Webinar

December 11. Online. The Farm Energy Working Group at the University of Northern Iowa presents this free webinar that will explain Iowa's Alternative Energy Revolving Loan Program (AERLP). The program is managed by the Iowa Energy Center to support solar, biomass, small hydro, and wind turbine projects.  http://www.uni.edu/ceee/energy/farm-energy-working-group/farm-energy-working-group

Economics of Organic Dairy Farming by eOrganic

Join eOrganic for a webinar on the economics of organic dairy farming with Dr. Bob Parsons on Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 2 PM Eastern Time (1 PM Central, 12  PM Mountain, 11 AM 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/70086 

Legal and Financial Clinic

December 12th. North Platte. Call the Farm Hotline at 800-464-0258 to sign up.

NGFN Webinar: Food Banks as Regional "Good Food" Partners

December 12. Food banks across the country have trucks and warehouse space, including cold storage, and have been solving the logistics problem for decades. Several food banks across the country are acutely aware of the benefits of fresh, local food to their consumers, and their community, and are leveraging their resources to support local/regional food systems in innovative ways. Join the National Good Food Network in their monthly webinar for presentations from FoodLinkNY and the Sacramento Food Bank. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/260022530

Economics of Organic Dairy Farming Webinar

December 12. Join eOrganic for a webinar on the economics of organic dairy farming with Dr. Bob Parsons. University of Vermont agricultural economist Bob Parsons has been collecting financial data from many of Vermont's 210 certified organic dairy farms for almost 10 years as the longest running economic analysis of organic dairy operations in the U.S. In this webinar, Dr. Parsons will share his findings and provide a look at the economic benefits and challenges to running organic dairy farms. The webinar is free and open to the public and advance registration is required.  http://www.extension.org/pages/70086/

Panhandle Agricultural Summit

December 12 - 13. Gering. See bit.ly/1jBWiDF for more info. 

Capturing Valuable Nutrients from Manure: Part 2

December 13. 1:30. This month we will continue our 3 -part series of webcasts on nutrient capture from manure. The focus of part two will be on experiences with nutrient capture in Michigan, capture of phosphorus from liquid dairy manure in Washington State and Maryland, and nitrogen capture in Washington State and Wisconsin. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/lpelc

Farmer Veteran Coalition Conference

December 14. Des Moines, Iowa. The conference features expert agriculture attorneys, accountants, agribusiness professionals, educators, USDA personnel and other veteran service providers as well as a keynote address from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. Veteran farmers and professionals working with veteran farmers are encouraged to attend. Registration is free but seating is limited; learn more here, http://www.iowafarmerveteran.org/

Sunday with a Scientist: Gene Silencing in Plants

Sunday, December 15th. 1:30 pm-4:30 pm. Morrill Hall at UNL in Lincoln. Contact: Dana Ludvik, 402-472-3779, dludvik2@unl.edu

Opportunity

CropWatch Survey

The annual CropWatch Survey is up and information will be collected through Sunday, Dec. 15. This should allow time to get the results to you to include in annual reports and plans for 2014. Please consider including an invitation to participate and this link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3HXKRV2) in communications with your clients.  I’ll be sending a note to the CropWatch subscriber list and have posted a link to the survey on the front page of CropWatch.  (I can send the code if you’d like to include it on your site too.) This could be nicely paired with your recommendation to use the many resources in CropWatch, including those listed in the Crops and Related Topics areas, to plan for 2014.  Thanks for your assistance and cooperation!

Upcoming

Community Supported Agriculture Legal Issues Webinar

December 17. Farm Commons is hosting a series of eight webinars over the Winter of 2013-2014 that will help farmers resolve the most common legal concerns. This evening webinar will discuss the unique employment law, insurance, zoning, and volunteer worker legal issues encountered through CSA. Farmers will learn how address these concerns. http://farmcommons.org/webinars/

Connecting Sustainable Farmers to Emerging Health Care Markets – A Farmer-Focused Presentation

December 17th. 1:30pm. Hospitals and hospital systems represent a sizable potential market for sustainable farmers, and interest in increasing purchases of local, sustainably produced food among hospitals and hospital systems is growing. However, limited hospital resources and the complexity of food purchase contracts and agreements at many hospitals have prevented farmers from accessing this market in any significant way to date. To assess the current and potential health care food markets for North Central region sustainable farmers, IATP compiled and analyzed purchasing data from three participating health system collaborators for all food and beverage purchases, including those that meet sustainability criteria outlined in the Green Guide for Health Care. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/249036730