Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods!

Building a Legally Sound Intern and Volunteer Program for Farm Work

January 19. Online. By now, most farmers are aware that doing farm work with interns and volunteers can be legally complicated, and many farms have faced steep fines for doing it wrong. Get ahead of the curve and learn ways to build a legally compliant intern or volunteer program for your farm in this free webinar from Farm Commons. https://farmcommons.org/building-legally-sound-intern-and-volunteer-program-farm-work

What a Small Grain Crop Can Afford You: Diverse Covers for Grazing

January 19th. Mark Peterson has been raising cereal rye for seed the past few years in southwestern Iowa. Harvesting his main seed crop in July gives Mark the opportunity to plant a diverse cover crop mix for the remainder of the growing season. Later in the year, his neighbor’s cattle are allowed to graze the mix. Mark will discuss how he and his neighbor decide on fencing, water and rent as part of the arrangement. Colten Catterton of Green Cover Seed works with Mark and other farmers on selecting cover crop species based on specific goals. He’ll address how he and Mark selected the Petersons’ cover crop mix, and what things to consider when choosing a mix for grazing purposes.  https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/farminar

Consumer Trends

January 19th. 

Join UVM Extension Community & Economic Development Specialist Mary Peabody to examine some of the major drivers in food purchase decisions, and then consider specific strategies for positioning your products in a rapidly changing marketplace. The founding director of the Women's Agricultural Network, Mary is passionate about working with small-scale farmers and small business owners on issues related to business planning, marketing and feasibility. 

https://learn.extension.org/events/2420

Hyperketonemia Treatment at the Individual Cow and Herd Level

Tuesday, January 19 at 12:00 pm CST. Presented by: Dr. Jessica McArt, Cornell University. In this webinar, Dr. McArt will briefly review the physiology of hyperketonemia development as well as β-hydroxybutyrate concentration cut points to use in treatment decision making. Dr. McArt will discuss common treatments, including: medication, method of action, dose, duration, effect. Herd-level testing and treatment strategies will be presented as well as action recommendations following herd prevalence estimation. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/dairexnetwebinar/

HR 4 Ag & Main Street

January 19.  1:00 pm–4:00 pm.  Lifelong Learning Center, Norfolk. Contact,  Jessica G. Jones, 402-335-3669, jjones12@unl.edu. The HR 4 Ag & Main Street workshop is a three-hour face-to-face session created by Nebraska Extension and designed for farmers/ranchers and other agriculture and main street business owners. The goal of the program is to provide education on human resource management and human risk mitigation strategies to increase your farm, ranch, or other business’ resiliency and stability. Topics to be covered include: recruiting and retaining the best employees, pay and benefits, motivating and engaging employees, communication, building and leading your team, managing conflict, and more.

Additional Public Info: To register call: Northeast Research & Extension Center (402-379-4000)

Crowdfunding for the Food + City Community

January 20th. Learn the five most important lessons for successful crowdfunding for your food innovation business. Join Barnraiser crowdfunding expert, Gina Giarmo, as she shares fast, easy and effective tips and stories from the front line of food makers, producers, and businesses. Details!

Organic Agriculture Research Symposium 2016 Live Broadcast

Wednesday, January 20 at 11:00 am CST. The plenary and key workshop sessions will be broadcast as webinars. Plenary speakers will be André Leu, President of Organic International / IFOAM and Mathieu Ngouajio, USDA/NIFA National Program Leader in Cropping Systems. Also livestreamed will be workshops on soil health, long-term and strategic research, and innovative educational systems. Location: Register in advance athttps://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5589622818350441474

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Workshop

January 20-21. Online. The USDA Southeast Regional Climate Hub hosts this workshop on Agricultural Solutions: adapting to and mitigating climate change on farms and forests in the southeastern United States. The workshop will focus on adaptive strategies that make working lands more resilient to an increasingly variable climate, while at the same time mitigating greenhouse emissions. State and federal programs that support these efforts will be highlighted, along with tools for improving resilience and communication methods. http://www.ncsu-feop.org/GHG/

"The Power of the Web: Free Internet Legal Research"

Wednesday, January 20 at 11:00 am CST. Join us in our continuing webinar series sponsored by the Agricultural & Food Law Consortium. Our January webinar, entitled, The Power of the Web: Free Internet Legal Research, focuses on getting the most out of free legal materials on the internet. This program is designed to be useful to attorneys and non-attorneys seeking to learn more about free legal research materials. For additional information about the program, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center website here. No pre-registration is required and this webinar is offered free of charge, but limited to the first 100 registrants. https://uaag.adobeconnect.com/research/

Grazing Strategies for Riparian and Wet Meadow Improvement in the Sagebrush Steppe

January 20. Online. This webinar is presented by USDA NRCS West National Technology Support Center. Participants will understand the effects of grazing riparian and wet meadow areas during each season and how to manage grazing to initiate improvement of ecological functions. This webinar will review key principles of grazing management in riparian and meadow areas, describe common grazing strategies and typical vegetation response, and showcase examples from around the sage steppe. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/grazing-strategies-for-riparian-and-wet-meadow-improvement-in-the-sagebrush-steppe

NGFN Webinar: Group GAP

January 20. Online. GroupGAP is a new service (available Spring 2016) from USDA to audit farmers to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). Small farmers are feeling the pressure to get third-party certified as more buyers are requiring GAP certification, and as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) puts them under new regulatory oversight. In this free National Good Food Network webinar, hear the experience of a few of the trailblazers--groups who have already received GroupGAP certification. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6529838299388868097

Best Management Practices for On-Farm Climate Change Resilience – Social, Ecological & Economic Implications

January 20. 2-3 p.m. Online. The USDA Northeast Climate Hub hosts this webinar in which participants are made aware of the social, ecological and economic drivers and implications of certain management practices that may reduce farm-scale risks producers in the northeast face due to climate change. http://www.climatewebinars.net/webinars/best-management-practices-for-on-farm-climate-change-resilience-in-the-northeast

NPSAS Winter Conference

January 21-23. Aberdeen, South Dakota. The 37th winter conference of the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society is titled "Growing for the Future." Keynote speakers are Organic Valley Veterinarian Dr. Paul Detloff and Founder and Executive Director of Food & Water Watch Wenonah Hauter. The schedule includes half-day workshops and a variety of conference sessions on soil, production, livestock, and business topics. http://npsas.org/component/eventbooking/?task=view_event&event_id=69&Itemid=355

Soils and Soil Fertility for Small Farms

January 21 - Soils and Soil Fertility for Small Farms, Mike Roegge, University of Illinois Extension Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator. https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=13379

Financing Farmland Roundtable – Discover and Reveal Creative Options for Purchasing Land

January 21. Online. This roundtable session, hosted by Farm Commons, builds off information covered in their recorded tutorial on financing and participants are asked to have watched it before participating. This session is appropriate for farmers seeking farmland and don’t necessarily want to go through a traditional bank. This session is also appropriate for farmers who have used unconventional or creative land purchasing options to share pitfalls or success stories with others. https://farmcommons.org/financing-farmland-roundtable-discover-and-reveal-creative-options-purchasing-land

IOIA Webinar: Maple Syrup Inspection

January 21. Online. This International Organic Inspectors Association webinar will prepare inspectors and certifiers to understand the requirements of the standards being used in Canada and the United States for organic maple syrup (and birch syrup) production. It will provide tools for use by inspectors in the woods and sugar camps, as well as in more industrial maple syrup-processing situations. IOIA Maple Syrup Inspection Webinar is an advanced 300-level course. This webinar will be presented in one, three-hour session. http://www.ioia.net/schedule_web.html#jan21

Agronomy & Horticulture Seminar

 January 22. 3:30 pm. UNL's East Campus,  Keim Hall. Tamra Jackson-Ziems, associate professor, Extension Plant Pathologist, UNL Plant Pathology, UNL Agronomy and Horticulture, will present “Important and Emerging Disease Concerns of Corn.” Dr. Jackson-Ziems is responsible for statewide extension programming and research on established and emerging diseases of corn and sorghum. Join us in person or online athttps://connect.unl.edu/fridayseminarseries.

Skype for Business

January 22. 10:30 am–11:30 am. UNL's City Campus in Lincoln, Architecture Hall Room: 107. Contact, Ranelle Maltas, 402-472-0585, ranelle@unl.edu. Learn to use instant messaging, video chat/conference and share your screen. Register online athttps://training.unl.edu

2016 Healthy Farms Conference

Register today and save!

If you have not registered for the conference yet, early bird registration ends January 20th. Early registration helps in the planning and coordinating of the conference, and helps us conduct a successful conference. Save time and money by registering today! Complete details about the conference can be found at our website,http://nebsusag.org/conference.shtml

Additionally, you can read about all of the breakout sessions, exhibitors, sponsors and other conference going ons at our blog, http://healthyfarmsnebraska.blogspot.com/

FFA/4-H Students;

We have a limited number of scholarships available for FFA & 4-H students. Email for details.

Youth Program;

Thanks to one of our #2016HFC sponsors, youth 10 and under are free to attend the conference.  Email William for details. 

Lodging;

The Lied Lodge is equipped with both guest rooms & suites, as well as an Olympic size in door pool, and a separate children's pool. 

Lodging is available by calling 800-546-5433 & 

requesting a guest room under "The Healthy Farms Conference" reservations. Lied Lodge & Conference Center, 2700 Sylvan Rd. Nebraska City. To ensure rooms to suit your needs, reservations should be made as soon as possible.

Roundtable Discussions; 

We still have space for a few roundtable discussions. These are informal conversations about topics related to sustainable and organic farming and foods.  They typically are an overflow of potential breakout topics and covers the scope of experiences from the farm. We will once again be hosting the roundtable discussions on Saturday morning of the conference.   Have a topic? Email William @ healthyfarms@gmail.com!

Opportunities

Miking Goats

I have a customer looking for a couple young does for milking. If anyone has any leads, please let me know. Lanette A Stec, Erstwhile Farm, LLC, 402-897-4065, erstwhilefarm@gmail.com

Bred Dairy Goats for Sale

Eight bred dairy goats for Sale. All due March, 2016. All from good dairy stock & in good health. Sharon Oamek, 402-690-9252, sharon@honeycreekcreamery.com. Omaha/Council Bluffs area. 

Feeder Goats, Lambs, Hogs

Please email me if you know of a reasonable source for feeder goat kids, lambs or heritage feeder hogs. Thanks. Andrew, hollisterrentals@gmail.com

Oats & Barley

Looking for 600 bu. of feed-grade oats or barley available?  First choice is certified organic, but not required. Thx, Randy Wattermann, West Point, wattermann@skyww.net

Cass County Farming / Agriculture Waste and Recycling Survey

Cass County seeking input from farmers on Waste & Recycling Survey. Details here,https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q25L9NT

Cropland

I have 150 irrigated acres in Western Douglas County that I will be available for cash rent spring of 2016. Jeaniffr Snide, G&J Snide Farms LLC,  Jeaniffr5@aol.com

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.

Upcoming

The Art of Seed Preservation

January 26. Online. This free, hour-long webinar presented by Bill McDorman and Belle Starr will present where and how to store your saved seeds. Get your seed questions answered in an open forum for questions. https://urbanfarm.leadpages.co/sso-free-webinar-01-26-16/

Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans and the Planning Process

January 26. Online. USDA-NRCS leads this webinar devoted to nutrient management planning. Participants gain an understanding of the elements included in a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) and the processes to follow when developing a CNMP as outlined in the USDA-NRCS National Planning Procedures Handbook. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/webinars/comprehensive-nutrient-management-plans-and-the-planning-process

Webinar: Roundtable for Interns and Volunteers

January 28. Farm Commons hosts this open webinar where farmers can explore and share opportunities for creating a vibrant and legal internship program. This session is appropriate for farmers already conducting or planning to facilitate intern and volunteer work on their farm. Time will be spent on troubleshooting and brainstorming solutions for common issues that arise including how to offer in-kind wages and develop credible curricula. Participants are asked to have attended “Building a Legally Sound Intern and Volunteer Program for Farm Work” tutorial before joining.https://farmcommons.org/roundtable-interns-and-volunteers

Small Farms Winter Webinar Series: Farm Pond Ecology

January 28. Online. The University of Illinois Extension presents a weekly educational series for the small farm community. Webinars will be held from noon -1:00 pm on Thursdays and are free. This session, Farm Pond Ecology: Managing for Desirable Plants and Fish, features David Shiley, University of Illinois Extension Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator. https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=13379