Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods!

Farmers Night Out! Visits Omaha!

August 27th. We'll meet at the No More Empty Cups location at 1502 South 10th Street in Omaha. Join us on Thursday as we visit No More Empty Pots &  Truck Farm Omaha.  TFO is dedicated to educating area youth about healthy eating, sustainable agriculture and the benefits of growing one's own food. @TruckFarmOmaha. No More Empty Pots began for the purpose of connecting individuals and groups to promote local, sustainable, businesses that improve self-sufficiency and regional food security through advocacy and action. @NoMoreMTPots. Directions & questions to susan.whitfield@nomoreemptypots.org 

Entomology Seminar on pressing issues in insect movement ecology

August 25th.  4:00 pm–5:00 pm. UNL's  Nebraska East Campus Union, Lincoln. “How to pick an especially large elephant in the room and ask it a few pertinent questions: Pressing issues in insect movement ecology” presented by Dr. Thomas Sappington, Research Entomologist, Corn Insects & Crop Genetics Research, USDA-ARS, Ames IA.

Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House

 August 26.  8:30 am–3:30 pm.  Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, 45089 Gudmundsen Rd, Whitman NE. Join us for the annual open house festivities, complete with speakers and presentations. Contact,  Jerry Volesky, 308-696-6710,jerry.volesky@unl.edu. http://newsroom.unl.edu/announce/beef/4433/25192

Environmental Benefits of Organic Agriculture: Soil

August 27. Online. This one-hour webinar is presented by USDA NRCS Science and Technology. It is the third in a four-part series exploring the environmental benefits of organic agriculture. This session will present scientific research examining the benefits of organic farming practices to soil. The webinar begins at 1 pm Eastern. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/environmental-benefits-of-organic-agriculture-soil

Putting the "Culture" in AgriCulture

August 29. Harlan, Iowa. This Practical Farmers of Iowa field day at Rosmann Family Farms and Farm Sweet Farm will focus on whole-farm organic production, marketing and integrating into local food systems. In the morning, highlights include the Rosmanns' farrow-to-finish swine operation and Maria's retail store. During lunch, help celebrate Practical Farmers of Iowa's 30th anniversary, which will include special guest speakers. Following lunch, the discussion will include organic crop rotations, grazing and the other livestock enterprises. To conclude, Ellen and Daniel will speak about their new restaurant and their local foods delivery service. https://www.facebook.com/TFTRVA

Community CROPS 2015 Farm Walk

August 29th. 4pm. Prairie Pines is used by participants in the Growing Farmers Program to start their farm business by growing and selling fruits and vegetables. Eight beginning farmers are growing a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs on the five-acre site. Community Crops manages the farm, which produces vegetables for our CSA (vegetable subscription program). Everyone is welcome, whether you want to experience a working sustainable vegetable farm, or are interested in having a plot of your own next year. Bring your friends. Kids are very welcome (but please no pets), and we'll have plenty of fun activities for everyone to explore the farm. www.communitycrops.org/farmwalk

2015 Dig Deeper Farm Tour

August 29th. It's that time of year when Open Harvest and Community Crops come together for a day dedicated to local food and the farmers behind it. Discover what's growing in your hometown: fresh delicious produce, world-class cheese, free-range eggs & grassfed meat. Both events are free and you are encouraged to bring the entire family. This years tour consists of seven unique experiences for an exciting day filled with local food demonstrations, farm exploration and activities for people of all ages. Spend your time at one farm or a few - how you spend the day is entirely up to you! Our hope is that when the day is over you have a better understanding of what it takes to create the viable local food system that we all enjoy. http://www.openharvest.coop/events/2015/8/29/dig-deeper-farm-tour

Opportunities

Survey seeks opinions of women livestock farmers

USDA Small Business Innovation Research grant to study the tool- and equipment-related needs of women livestock farmers. To assist Green Heron in designing better tools and equipment, women who raise or care for livestock of any kind are invited to complete a brief survey.   The survey will be open through September, and respondents who complete it will be entered into a drawing for a $100 Green Heron Tools gift certificate. Begun by two small-scale farmers with backgrounds in nursing and public health, Green Heron is the first company in the world to focus on scientifically designing agricultural tools and equipment that work well for women. For more information please visit www.greenherontools.com. Complete the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/greenherontools_women_livestock_farmers.

Pastured Feeder Pigs for Sale

Eleven pastured feeder pigs. 5 male, 6 Female. Unaltered. These pigs are two-three months old and between 40-50 lbs. They have been born and raised on pasture. They are weaned. We supplement the pasture with brewers grains from two local breweries and with expired produce from Whole Foods. Pigs located in Fort Calhoun. bgodfrey@oppd.com.  See more at: http://www.bestfarmbuys.com/classifieds/detail.php?classified_id=190339&category=Hogs#sthash.2Thc4BcL.dpufhttp://www.bestfarmbuys.com/classifieds/detail.php?classified_id=190339&category=Hogs#sthash.2Thc4BcL.dpuf

OneCert Inc is hiring

OneCert Inc.is an Accredited Organic Certification Agency based in Lincoln, Nebraska. We have an open position for a full-time Administrative Specialist. Inquiries can be sent to jobs@onecert.com. Thanks! Margaret Milligan, Certification Specialist, OneCert Inc. (402) 420-6080, Email: margaret@onecert.com

Soybeans

I'm looking to buy conventional soybeans with out Herbicides pesticides spray. In need of 10 Bushel   Rich, richvernon7@yahoo.com, 402-443-6762

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. 

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

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

Meat quality issues with small and backyard poultry flocks

Monday, August 31 at 2:00 pm CDT. With many of the fast-growing strains of meat chickens, meat quality has become an issue. This includes green muscle, woody muscle, and white striping. These conditions appear to be related to wing flapping, a situation that can occur when flocks are scared while free-ranged. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry

Revisiting Organic Agriculture Webinar Series: Weed Management

September 1. Online. The American Society of Agronomy is offering a monthly webinar series examining several issues associated with organic production and management. Cost for each individual webinar is $25 for members and certified professionals and $40 for non-members. Each webinar will be worth 1.0 CEU in Nutrient Management, Pest Management or Crop Management for CCAs/CPAgs depending on the topic. http://agronomy.peachnewmedia.com/store/seminar/seminar.php?seminar=43905

Webinar: Pollinator Planting in Organic Pastures

September 2. 2 p.m. Hosted by Oregon Tilth and NRCS, learn about pollinator plantings in pasture from Mace Vaghan, Pollinator Program Director at Xerces Society. http://tilth.org/event/pollinator-plantings-in-organic-pastures/

2015 All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series: Bees, Wasps and Hornets - They're all Different

Friday, September 4 at 1:00 pm CDT. Is it a wasp, a bee, or a hornet?  Why do I care?  Moderated by David Koon  and Lucy Edwards, Regional Extension Agents, Alabama Cooperative Extension System. http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/fireant

MeadowLark Hearth Annual Seed Festival

September 6-7. Scottsbluff. Meadowlark Hearth is throwing their Annual Seed Fest. A venerable celebration of the sacred seed. A packed Sunday and Monday full of fall harvest fun for seed enthusiastic friends and family. There’ll be seed, camping, dancing, campfires, stars, friends and beautiful W. Nebraskan skies. 

http://meadowlarkhearth.org/