Organic Confluences Summit
May 23. Washington, DC. This conference will bring together scientific experts, farmers, policy makers, and organic stakeholders to review the most up-to-date research on the environmental benefits of organic farming practices and assess the availability and efficacy of existing public sector programs designed to incentivize the adoption of environmentally friendly organic farming techniques. The first half of the day will be devoted to reviewing the most current and compelling research on the positive impacts that organic farming techniques contribute to soil health, water quality, biodiversity conservation and climate change. The second half of the day will include speakers from federal and state agencies that administer agricultural conservation programs. Roundtable sessions will be used to assess the efficacy and utilization of existing programs and identify areas for improvement and expansion. https://www.organic-center.org/programs/ organic-confluences/
Taxes For Beginning Farmers
May 23rd 5:30pm - 7:30pm. 210 O St, Lincoln. The tax deadline may have passed but it's never too early to start planning for next year. Join Community Crops at a workshop with the goal to help you navigate the world of farm taxes. Instructors Ashley Steffensmeier and Mike Arens from HBE Certified Public Accountants will lead the class through examples using the Schedule F and help answer questions around farm depreciation, profit and loss, self-employment taxes and more! This class will help you understand what expenses you should be tracking throughout the year for tax deductions and help you estimate how your farming activities will affect your tax liability. Register for the class here
Webinar: Greenhouse Basics
May 24, 1:30pm – 2:30pm. Greenhouses, regardless of their shape or size, allow us to get a head start on our favorite plants and be outside whilst the weather is bleak. Learn from Extension Horticulture Educator, Kim Ellson, about how to get the most out of your greenhouse this season. http://web.extension.illinois.edu/hmrs/4seasons/
Newest Research on the Value of Habitat for Pest Management
May 25.Online.In this free, one-hour webinar presented by the USDA NRCS East National Technology Support Center, learn about the value of on-farm habitat for enhancing conservation biological control and the current scientific research that supports this natural pest control. The webinar will emphasize the most current scientific research on enhancing native beneficial insects and why maintaining habitat is so critical to these insects. Learn how adding diversity into agricultural cropland can provide the basic requirements to support these insects and how other farm management practices may have an impact.
Why Value-Added Products Fail
Wednesday, May 25 at 11:00 am CDT.Value-Added products can increase your enterprise profit picture, but only if it's a marketable product that fits your resources and farm mission. This presentation explores what works and what doesn't when developing and marketing value-added farm products. And, helps you answer the question, 'Just because I can produce a value-added product; should I?For more information and to register for the online webinar: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/wednesday- webinars-registration- 11452674257
Introducing the NRCS National Organic Farming Handbook
May 26.Online.In the Understanding Organic Agriculture series, this webinar is presented by USDA NRCS Science and Technology. This webinar will explore the new Organic Farming Handbook, including a description of organic farming principles and relevant USDA organic regulations. The presentation will describe considerations and resources for planning conservation practices on organic operations such as cover crops, nutrient management, crop rotations, and livestock management.
Opportunities
Boar for Sale
One" tried" old style spot boar. Pre-breeding shots. Just over 1 year old. Lanette A Stec, Erstwhile Farm, LLC. Columbus. 402-897-4065
Omaha area gardens sought for milkweed/monarch research project
I am studying monarch caterpillar survivability in conservation areas compared to residential gardens. I am asking for help in locating people with gardens that could be part of my study. I would need to visit a garden once every four days throughout the summer. An ideal garden should have at least ten milkweed plants from two species. We will have small quantities of milkweed (swamp milkweed & common milkweed) that we can provide to help bring the garden’s total milkweed to the number needed. My name is Emily, and I am a master’s student at UNO. Please contact me ategeest@unomaha.edu for more information. Thank you!
New Farm Storage Facility Loan
The Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) Program administered by the FSA has expanded to include some new eligible commodities. The new commodities eligible for facility loans include floriculture, hops, rye, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, meat and poultry (unprocessed), eggs, and aquaculture (excluding systems that maintain live animals through uptake and discharge of water). Commodities already eligible for the loans include corn, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats, peanuts, wheat, barley, minor oilseeds harvested as whole grain, pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas and dry peas), hay, honey, renewable biomass, and fruits, nuts and vegetables for cold storage facilities. Loan applications should be filed in the administra-tive FSA office that maintains the farm’s records. For more information about Farm Storage Facility Loans, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport, or contact your local FSA office. To find your local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.
Organic Custom Grazing
I have 150 acres of grass that is certified Organic. I'd potentially be interested in custom grazing pairs/cows/yearlings. I also have an additional 250 acres of grass that can be certified. I've been custom grazing 50 pairs the last few years on non-certified ground. Please let me know if you're interested or know of someone who might be. Jon Yoachim, 402-309-4088
Dryland Farming Opportunity
I have + or - 6 acres that I am transitioning to organic status. It has not had any pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers applied to it for five years. It is currently in alfalfa that has reached the end of its productivity. It does not have access to irrigation. Anyone out there want to farm it organically on a sharecrop or cash rent basis? I also have 10 acres of prairie grass (never sprayed with anything) that will need to be harvested - usually sometime between June 25 and July 10. Will do that on a sharecrop or cash basis as well. I do not have the necessary large farming equipment, but have access to some on a rental basis. Interested? Please email me at gene@heartlandorganics.net. Gene Gage, Heartland Organics
Fund a Truck, Fund Local Foods!
Nebraska Food Cooperative is asking for your help to raise capital for loan repayment and truck repairs. Our delivery trucks put on a lot of miles to deliver fresh food across our state. We had to replace one of our vehicles and make extensive repairs on another. As a grassroots community to help small farms and build local economies, we are asking for your contribution so that the money tied up in these expenses can be freed to go toward running the co-op and making our network stronger. We believe in the value of the co-op, and we believe in you, our community of co-op members! Read more, and support NFC today!
Upcoming
The Lean Farm: Tips and Tricks for Organizing Your Farm
May 31. Online. In this free evening webinar presented by NOFA Massachusetts, learn organization strategies from Ben Hartman, an experienced farmer who has improved his farm management based on Lean principals, originally designed by the Japanese auto industry. Lean allows him to cut waste, increase profit, and make his farm more environmentally sustainable. http://www.nofamass.org/events/webinar- lean-farm-tips-and-tricks- organizing-your-farm
Webinar: The Lean Farm: Tips and Tricks for Organizing Your Farm
May 31, 6pm – 7pm. Sometimes less is more. Learn organization strategies from Ben Hartman, an experienced farmer who has improved his farm management based on Lean principals, originally designed by the Japanese auto industry. Lean allows him to cut waste, increase profit and make his farm more environmentally sustainable.www.nofamass.org/events/webinar-lean-farm-tips-and- tricks-organizing-your-farm
Webinar on Organic Recordkeeping for Growers
June 2. Online. Join CCOF and the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) for a webinar on recordkeeping for organic growers. Learn processes to make on-farm organic recordkeeping easier, as well as a framework to assist you in developing a recordkeeping system for your operation that maintains the records needed for organic certification. This webinar is ideal for growers looking to improve their recordkeeping infrastructure, growers new to organic certification, or growers interested becoming certified organic. NCAT's Thea Rittenhouse will review the recordkeeping requirements for organic certification. https://www.ccof.org/webinar-organic- recordkeeping-growers
All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series: Spotted Wing Drosophila
June 3.Online.The 2016 All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series is sponsored by eXtension Communities of Practice and by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Clemson Cooperative Extension, and the University of Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture. In this free webinar at 2 p.m. Eastern, learn practical tips of detection and management of Spotted Wing Drosophila, an invasive insect pest of both large and small fruit crops. The webinar presenter is Dr. Hannah Burrack, Associate Professor of Entomology & Extension Specialist at North Carolina State University.
