Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods!

Clear Creek Organic Farms Farmers Night Out!

July 13th. Clear Creek, Spaulding. A farm tour which may include the pastured poultry, pastured pork, dairy processing facility, the certified kitchen and the future meat processing facility.  Also a tour and demonstration of the garden and equipment.  Followed by a meal of products produced by us, including ice cream. Come early and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  Tanking, canoeing , fishing, and swimming in/on the Cedar River available. Primitive campsites with a shower/bathroom also available. https://www.facebook.com/events/717960358326445/

Quail Acres & TD Niche Farmers Night Out!

July 17th. Quail Acres. Organic, sustainable, local, high quality nutritious market produce, free range laying hens, pastured poultry, honey bees, small fruit and nut production. 

TD Niche. Began his niche pork business in 2007 specifically to produce consistently delicious pork for both restaurants and individuals. This is accomplished by using breeds of pork with outstanding meat quality.  The product is further enhanced by raising hogs in an outdoor, fresh air environment, giving them ample room to exercise, root, and socialize. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/738284802960697/

Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Agriculture

Wednesday, July 15 at 2:00 pm CDT. Join the newly formed Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Agriculture Learning Network for an introductory eXtension webinar, in which we will provide an overview of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in agriculture, along with a preview of future directions, and information on how you can get involved in this exciting area of opportunity for agriculture. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/learnuasag

Rain Barrels

July 15th. Learn how to make your own rain barrel and install it at home, to use captured rain water in your garden and lessen your dependency on tap water. Not only does this help prevent water from going into our sewer system, it reduces our water costs as gardeners and provides our plants with mineral-rich water that is beneficial to their growth. $5 and open to the public. https://www.facebook.com/events/1615184882062323/

Small Business Ownership - Good, Bad or Ugly?

July 16th. Ever considered having a partner or investor in your business?  Have you thought about pooling your resources with other similar companies to form a cooperative? Join Jim Crandall, Cooperative Development Business Specialist with UNL Nebraska Cooperative Development Center, as he explores these and other business options during the Third Thursday Training at noon (CT) on July 16th. http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07eb5bx5zub973607a&llr=ihfxmucab

Fruit & Vegetable Market News Organic Reporting Webinar

July 16. Online. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) invites you to a live, interactive webinar on our Fruit & Vegetable Market News Organic Reporting. The webinar will provide an introduction to Fruit & Vegetable Market News and how it works, and it will explain how you can put Market News Organic reports to work for you. The free, one-hour webinar will be presented by Kimberly Mercer, Assistant to the Director, AMS’ Fruit and Vegetable Market News Division, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern. Registration is required as space is limited. For more information

Cover Crops in Corn in July: Will They Make It to the Fall?

July 16. Orange City, Iowa. This year, farmers Jon Kiel, Kirk Den Herder, and Denny Vande Brake are trying something different: seeding various cover crop species into their corn when the corn is six to eight inches tall. http://practicalfarmers.org/news-events/events/field-days/

Fruit & Vegetable Market News Organic Reporting Webinar

July 16. Online. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) invites you to a live, interactive webinar on our Fruit & Vegetable Market News Organic Reporting. The webinar will provide an introduction to Fruit & Vegetable Market News and how it works, and it will explain how you can put Market News Organic reports to work for you. The free, one-hour webinar will be presented by Kimberly Mercer, Assistant to the Director, AMS’ Fruit and Vegetable Market News Division, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern. Registration is required as space is limited. Register here. 

CCOF Organic Labeling Webinar

July 16. Online. Join the CCOF Foundation for a webinar on developing product labels for processors that comply with organic standards. This webinar will give you new insight into the most common mistakes companies make with their organic labels and will provide a step-by-step process for developing labels that comply with the USDA National Organic Program standards. After this webinar, you will understand the relevance of product composition and percentage calculations to your product claim, the correct use of CCOF and USDA "Organic" seals, ingredient listing, and the steps in the CCOF label approval process. http://www.ccof.org/ccof-organic-labeling-webinar

Agronomic and Environmental Uses of Biochar - Part 1

Friday, July 17 at 1:30 pm CDT. Biochar is a charcoal-like material generated during the pyrolysis of biomass. The high carbon (C) content of biochar and its recalcitrant nature has led to much interest in using biochar to sequester C from the atmosphere by incorporating it into soils. Additional benefits to incorporating biochar into soils include reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases; improving soil physical and chemical properties; increased water retention; increased crop yields; and increased soil retention of nutrients, heavy metals, pesticides, and microbial pathogens. In this 2-part webcast, we will provide a general overview of the history of biochar use, how biochar is produced, and give examples of how biochar is being used for agronomic and environmental purposes.http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/lpelc

Little Sprouts Farm Animals

July 18th. Meet our chickens and some special guests at the garden! Farming includes more than plants! Little Sprouts is a weekly garden program for our young gardeners to learn and explore at City Sprouts. Open to the public, we encourage weekly participation but welcome one-time visitors as well! Free. https://www.facebook.com/events/436823206491333/

Opportunities

Adjustable Hay Straw Bale Stacker

I have an adjustable hay/straw stacker, good for square bales or loose straw; available to the first respectable offer.  Slider works and the fourteen spears are intact.  Must be able to pick up.  Feel free to contact me with any questions; pictures available upon request.  Thanks! Dan Hromas, 4022172797

Farm Hand Position Available

I am writing to announce an open position for a part time farm hand. This position involves approximately 30 hours a week in exchange for room and board. Additional paid work is available now and then. This individual would have their own living quarters separate from the main house. This position would be great for a single person, maybe a recent retiree who still has plenty of gusto for farm chores and gardening help. This position will be physically demanding and involve outdoor work in all weather conditions, so please keep that in mind. We will require a background check and references. This position will require some fixit know how. If you know anyone who may be interested in this position, please have them contact me at:  serenasaurus09@yahoo.com. Serena Bourne

Dual Purpose, Grass-fed Shorthorn/Devon Herd for sale

We're looking to sell some/all of our wonderful Shorthorn/Devon herd. They have not been given any antibiotics, hormones, vaccinations or grain in the 4+ years we have owned them. We do not baby these cows and they do very well. They are dual purpose. Which means they work very well in our grass-fed beef operation but they also produce a lot of milk. I was told that the older cows had been milked at least once by the previous owners but we haven't actually milked any. We're more interested in developing our beef herd so some of the younger ones will have more of a beef influence.  We have 15 cows/heifers total that are available. Two of those have a strong Longhorn influence, though. About half are going to be in the 7-9 year old range. From there it goes to 5 year-olds and on down. We've been culling about 2-3 cows a year and adding 2-3 replacement heifers. We can be flexible on the timing. They are almost done calving so you can buy them as pairs or we can wait until the calves can be weaned and the cows are re-bred. My intent is to base the pricing on the Huss Livestock Market in Kearney. Ultimately, the pricing will depend on how many you want and how/when you want them (bred cows or pairs). The cattle are located in south-central/eastern Nebraska, in Thayer County, near Reynolds. Delivery is possible. Jon Yoachim, 402-309-4088, jkyoachim@gmail.com

Farm for Sale

We are near Lincoln (40 miles) and the same to Omaha. Sold a lot of fruit and vegetables off the farm plus raw milk, beef and chickens. Fruit Trees, Berries, Vegetables, Herbs, flowers. It's time for us to retire. 3+ bedroom, new kitchen and 2 new full bath. Multiple outbuildings 130 yr old historic farmstead. No chemicals for almost 7 years. On blacktop $265,000. Jean Slocum, reply to:gramafarmer@gmail.com 

Farm Family Placement Opportunity

'We are a family of four (with two kids), we are looking for any possibility that can lead us to live in the country (no more than one hour and a half driving from the farm to the city of Lincoln). We are specially looking for a farm/ house with a piece of land that is organic oriented .  Please do not hesitate to contact us for any queries (Cell phone; 402-4059195). rllasaca@gmail.com. Thanks. Troy Van Horn".

For Sale by Owner

Tekamah. (40+/- Acre farm with house & buildings). 

We have decided that we must downsize and are going to sell the farm. Please share with anyone you may know who is 

interested.  Northwest of Tekamah, Nebraska. Includes 5 

bedroom/3.5 bath raised ranch with walk-out basement house, Has two kitchens, oversized shower and whirlpool tub in 

master bath, plus walk-in closet. Property has been farmed organically for over 9 years, includes Morton machine shed, 

Butler livestock building and other small buildings. This farm has been ran to be self sufficient for several years. Farm 

does have underground wiring and a battery shed for solar power, solar panels do not go with farm, but all the 

underground wiring and permanent solar infrastructure stays. 

Call Rebecka Fleischman at 402-687-4149 for more information. 

More pictures available upon request. Schedule your tour today.

Looking for Mentorship in Shelton/Grand Island/Kearney Area.

My family and I are returning to Shelton, NE in order to re-establish her family's farm. It is 160 acres but hasn't been used in nearly 30 years. We are going to be establishing a Joel Salatin Polyface Farm type farm. Where we will raise a multi specie critical and threatened heritage breed livestock as determined by the Livestock Conservancy Organization. All livestock will be pastured raised. We are also going to establish seasonal vegetable gardens. Looking for mentorship opportunities in the Shelton/Grand Island/Kearney area that would be willing to help us learn the does and don'ts of pasture based all natural farming. Michael Peña, Michael.A.Pena@uscg.mil

2014 Farm Bill - Conservation Compliance Changes | NRCS

The 2014 Farm Bill re-established the applicability of the Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation provisions to crop insurance subsidies, but the Farm Bill did not change how these were implemented in conservation programs. USDA is seeking comments on an Interim Final Rule, which would make official this change to conservation compliance provisions. Submit comments on regulations.gov.

Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) provisions aim to reduce soil loss on erosion-prone lands and to protect wetlands for the multiple benefits they provide. HELC and WC provisions apply to all land that is considered highly erodible or a wetland, and that is owned or farmed by persons voluntarily participating in USDA programs, unless USDA determines an exemption applies. 

Producers, and any affiliated individuals or entities who participate in most programs administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Risk Management Agency (RMA) are required to comply with these provisions. Farmers seeking federal crop insurance premium subsidies for the 2016 reinsurance year must comply by June 1 by filing form AD-1026. The 2016 reinsurance year runs from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/programs/farmbill/?cid=stelprdb1257899

Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Survey 

The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is working with the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI) to better understand experiences with crop insurance and with a new crop insurance product called Whole-Farm Revenue Protection. Whole-Farm Revenue Protection is a pilot crop insurance policy available for the 2015 crop insurance year. The policy provides crop insurance coverage based on a farm’s 5-year revenue history, and it enables a farm to insure more than one crop with one policy. The link to the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/rafiwfrpsurvey. Questions about this survey can be directed to James Robinson at 919-542-1396 ext. 209 or james@rafiusa.org.

Upcoming

Common Good Farm "Farmers Night Out!"

July 22nd. 6pm. Raymond. As we tour, we'll share a broader over-view of our farm: our long-running CSA, organic eggs from pasture-based flocks, spring plant sale, farmer's market, pastured pork, grass-fed beef, on-farm activities like workshops & tours, and wholesale. As we continue with a potluck meal, we'll talk about the broad range of outlets & tasks on & for a diversified family farm & open the conversation up about the sustainability of the farmer's life & do our best to share in light of some of the practical, driving questions that many new farmers growing diversified crops want to ask or talk about. We can also share about resources, soil, cover crops, pest management...as the group has a need. Common Good Farm is a certified organic & certified Biodynamic®/Demeter family farm near Raymond growing good food since 1996. Facebook.com/CommonGoodFarmNebraska

Prairie Plate Restaurant "Farmers Night Out!"

July 26th. Waverly. Lakehouse Farm and the co-located Prairie Plate Restaurant are hosting a Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society (NSAS) Farmer's Night Out on Sunday, July 26, from 6:00-8:00pm. Join us for a potluck dinner, as well as farm and restaurant/kitchen tour (or just hanging out if you prefer!) Bring a dish to share and a chair. We plan on dining lakeside, but if weather doesn't cooperate we will move into the restaurant. Plates/silverware/water/iced tea provided. Gathering and restaurant tour at 6 followed by the pot-luck. Farm tour at about 7. Anyone with an interest in local food is welcome (farmers, consumers, chefs….) https://www.facebook.com/events/1715057155388513/

Agroforestry Academy

July 20-24. Columbia, Missouri. This week-long training includes integrated classroom workshops, multiple on-farm visits, and content integration into practical on-farm agroforestry planning and design. Advanced training will be provided on the main temperate-zone agroforestry practices integrated with options for bioenergy, marketing, financial, social dimensions, and environmental services. The cornerstone of the academy will be an applied planning and design exercise. Limited scholarships are available to military veterans. http://www.centerforagroforestry.org/

Miracle Orchard Workshop

July 25-26. Maysville, Missouri. This is Open Source Ecology's first immersion workshop on regenerative agriculture. The workshop is a two-day intensive, hands-on course that features the innovative work of Stefan Sobkowiak of the Miracle Orchard. The Miracle Orchard is an orchard model that involves a diverse array of species – instead of a single crop – to promote natural pest control, natural fertility, biodiversity improvement, and economic feasibility. http://opensourceecology.org/open-source-ecology-miracle-orchard-workshop/

Enterprise Budgeting Webinar

Wednesday, July 22 at 11:00 am CDT. Enterprise budgets are an organized listing of the expected income and costs of a product or service.  This webinar will take a look at parts of an enterprise budget, how to development an enterprise budget and how to analyze the projected profitability of that enterprise. For more information: http://www.extension.umd.edu/womeninag/webinars. To register:http://www.eventbrite.com/e/wednesday-webinars-registration-11452674257

Food Safety Modernization Act-Produce & Preventive Rule Webinar

Thursday, July 23 at 11:00 am CDT. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)  is the most sweeping reform of our food safety laws in more than 70 years. The purpose of the law is to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to proactively preventing it. The law affects both the producers and processors of food.  On July 23, legal specialists Sarah Everhart and Ashley Newhall of the Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) will cover the Produce & Preventive Rule portions of the law.  The webinar is open to all and is free.  The webinar is brought to you by the Agricultural Law Education Initiative.  The webinar will be recorded for those unable to attend. http://www.eventbrite.com/e/food-safety-modernization-act-produce-preventive-rule-webinar-tickets-17429576332