Community CROPS Whole Farm Workshops
February 8th. Community Crops is offering a series of workshops this winter to help already established farmers explore new potential markets for their products. You can find the complete series schedule on our website: http://www.communitycrops.org/wholefarm Our first class will take place on February 8th where Justin Jones from Lone Tree Foods will share with growers how they can get started and succeed in wholesale markets. Topics will include crop planning, post harvest considerations and marketing techniques. Learn how growers of any size can work in the Lone Tree Foods model and what it takes to get started. The class is just $20 and scholarships are available! You can register here.
Sales 1: Availability, Invoicing and Dispute Resolution with Food Buyers
February 9. Online. In this free Farm Commons webinar, learn how to build a strong relationship with your buyers to ensure that they become life-long customers and advocates of your farm. Attend to learn how you can use the documents and ordering system you likely already use to develop clear communication with your buyers. Learn how to make sure you get paid, and what to do if things go wrong. https://farmcommons.org/sales-1-availability- invoicing-and-dispute- resolution-food-buyers
HR 4 Ag & Main Street
February 9. 1:00 pm–4:00 pm. Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff. 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. To register call: Panhandle Research & Extension Center (308-632-1230)
Seed School Online
February 9 - March 29. Online. This course from Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance is comprised of seven weekly webinars with primary instructor Bill McDorman of 1.5 hours each. Lessons will be held on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. MST.https://rockymountainseeds.org/attend/ seed-school-online
The Science Supporting Changes in Soil Health
February 9. Online. This NRCS webinar is presented by the Soil Health Division. It is a free, one-hour webinar. This webinar will explore the science that supports the critical role soil health plays in efficient crop production systems; variations in production caused by short-term stresses; and the large economic impact of degraded soils across the country in terms of yield and efficiency of input use. The presenter is Jerry L. Hatfield, Ph.D., USDA Agricultural Research Service. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/
MidAtlantic Women in Agriculture Webinar- Essentials of Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools
Wednesday, February 10 at 11:00 am CST. The Essentials of Google Analytics & Webmaster Tools - Maintaining and running a presence online means more than keeping up with content. Knowing the analytics of your website is important. If you’re putting time into something it is likely you want to be able to measure the impact of your work. Furthermore, who is linking to you, how are people getting to your website, what content is doing well and what content do people click away from after only 2 seconds? Google has free tools to answer all these questions and more. http://www.eventbrite.com/e/wednesday-webinars- registration-11452674257
Dairy Nutrient Recovery Technologies within an Anaerobic Digestion Bio-Refinery
February 10. Online. Join Washington State University for the first in a series of five free webinars where Washington State University researchers and their collaborators share their findings as they strive to quantify the climate, air, water, nutrient, and economic impacts of integrating emerging, next-generation technologies within anaerobic digestion systems on U.S. dairies. Webinars begin at 10 a.m. PST.
Wild Bee Monitoring, Identification, and Outreach in Organic Farming Systems Webinar
February 10. Online. Join eOrganic for this free webinar at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Te webinar will deliver basic wild bee identification and monitoring tools for organic farmers, and discuss how these tools can be implemented as part of the Organic Systems Plan. This webinar is applicable to organic farmers and the general public who would like to start monitoring bees, and researchers interested in developing outreach programs.
Communicating with Administrators and Clients about Targeted Grazing
February 11. Online. This is the concluding webinar in the monthly series presented by the Targeted Grazing Committee of the Society for Range Management. This session, "Communicating with administrators and clients about targeted grazing—How can you make sure your message is heard?" is facilitated by Dr. Karen Launchbaugh, University of Idaho. https://targetedgrazing.wordpress.com/training/
Small Farms Winter Webinar Series: Managing Horse Pastures on Small Farms and Acreages
February 11. Online. The University of Illinois Extension presents a weekly educational series for the small farm community. Webinars are held from noon -1:00 pm on Thursdays and are free. This session is by Jamie Washburn, University of Illinois Extension Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator. https://web.extension.illinois.edu/ registration/?RegistrationID= 13379
Soil Water Sensors for Agriculture – Applications and Usefulness
February 11. Online. The NRCS West National Technology Support Center presents this free, one-hour webinar. This presentation will cover the types of sensors available and explanations, with examples, of how sensor type, calibration, installation and telemetry options affect the usefulness and representativeness of sensors in given soils.This webinar will provide guidance for using the four main sensor technologies: neutron thermalization, resistance blocks, capacitance sensing (frequency domain sensing), and travel time sensing (time domain reflectometry and time domain transmission modes).http://conservationwebinars.net/
Grazing Systems and Forage Quality of Grasses for Organic Dairy Production Webinar
February 11. Online. Join eOrganic for a free webinar about grass forage species in grazing systems on certified organic dairy farms at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. In this webinar, Dr. Brad Heins, Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota, will describe a multi-year grazing project, funded by the USDA Organic Research and Extension Initiative, aimed at enhancing in-field and landscape-level species diversity of grasses across the grazing season.http://articles.extension.org/pages/73357/grazing-systems- and-forage-quality-of-grasses- for-organic-dairy-production- webinar-by-eorganic
Farm to School Opportunities
You are warmly invited to join the Center for Rural Affairs, in partnership with UNL, at farm to school trainings being held across our great state. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the farmer and school connection, and to spend face-to-face time with school food service staff. Workshops & Lunch are free. Please register via email or phone sarahs@cfra.org or 402-783-1183 . February 13: Hemingford Public School, March 19: Wayne Public School. April 2: North Platte Public School. April 9: Litchfield Public School
Small Ruminant Webinar: EBVs for Dummies
February 11. Online. Each year, the University of Maryland Extension Small Ruminant Program conducts a winter webinar series. Participation is limited to the first 100 people who log on. The 2016 Winter Webinar Series will cover six different topics on consecutive Thursday evenings. Speakers will be from several different states and institutions. In this second session, Susan Schoenian, University of Maryland Extension, speaks on EBVs for Dummies. http://www.sheepandgoat.com/#!webinars/cu81
Opportunities
GM Position at Open Harvest
Open Harvest Co-op Grocery has been serving Lincoln, NE as a leader in the organic and natural foods market for 40 years. We are seeking a General Manager to steer us through the increasingly competitive market and lead the success and continued growth of our store. We are looking for a candidate that embraces Cooperative Principles, is passionate about local food and economies, and has a strong work ethic and personal integrity. If you have questions, please email Brande Payne, Board Chair at openharvestboard@gmail.com. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Upcoming
Effectively Engaging Producers in Conservation Conversations
February 16. Online. This free, one-hour webinar is presented by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - Science and Technology National Technology Support Centers. Participate to learn what social scientists are discovering about how farmers are thinking about conservation practices and practical strategies for engaging them. Emphasis of this webinar will include findings on farmer uncertainty about conservation practices, farmer identities as feedback loops to adaptation, using social norms to leverage practices that address off field/off farm nutrient losses at the watershed level, and how the language of conservation can influence social learning and behavior change. The presenter is Dr. Lois Wright Morton of Iowa State University. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/ webinars/effectively-engaging- producers-in-conservation- conversations
Pricing Your Products
February 16th. Women in Ag Learning Network Direct Marketing Webinar Series. Is it time for a pricing reboot? Do you know whether your prices are making you money or sending you to the poorhouse? When is it okay to sell something below cost? When do you make the tough decision to stop producing something? In this webinar, UVM Extension's Mary Peabody will guide you through a refresher on the things you need to know to set smart prices. Yes, you probably learned this once or twice, but when is that last time you spent some time really thinking through your pricing strategies?https://learn.extension.org/events/2421
A Novel Nutritional Approach to Rearing Organic Pastured Broiler Chickens, Part 2
February 16. Online. Join eOrganic for a webinar on pastured poultry by Michael Lilburn and Larry Phelan of the Ohio State University at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. This webinar will include updated findings from the NIFA OREI project "A whole farm approach incorporating pasture raised organic poultry and a novel cereal grain (Naked Oats) into an organic rotation." It includes results from experiments in which pastured organic broilers have been fed diets containing 75% naked oats.http://articles.extension.org/pages/73437/a-novel- nutritional-approach-to- rearing-organic-pastured- broiler-chickens-part-2
NGFN Webinar: Group GAP
February 18. This National Good Food Network webinar is on Group GAP, in which a food hub, support organization, or central business entity collaborates with producers to establish site-specific best practices for complying with a food safety standard. In this free, one-hour webinar, hear the experience of a few of the trailblazers--groups who have already received GroupGAP certification.
Small Ruminant Webinar: Mineral and vitamin nutrition
February 18. The third installment in the University of Maryland Extension Small Ruminant Program's winter webinar series is by Dr. Dan Morrical, Iowa State University. Pre-registration is not required for these weekly, evening webinars, but participation is limited to the first 100 people who log on.
Cover Crops for Ag Professionals Webinar Series
February 4, 11, and 18. This free, three-part webinar series from the American Society of Agronomy is sponsored by North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), with additional support provided by Practical Farmers of Iowa. Cover crops In the Midwest Corn Belt may be used to accomplish several goals, including erosion control, limiting nutrient movement off-site, enhancing nutrient cycling, and breaking pest cycles, among others. Precipitation amounts, temperature and growing degree days, and soils differ greatly throughout the 12 state region. In this series, researchers, CCAs, and producers will present principles and applications of how cover crops have been incorporated into some agricultural management systems across the Midwest.
