Connecting Health Insurance and Ag Viability
Tuesday, October 10 at 9:00 am CDT. Health, access to care and health insurance affect the vitality of agricultural enterprises and farm and ranch families, according to results from a national research project funded by the USDA. Designed for Extension, tax, loan, health and other agricultural advisors, this webinar will provide an overview of the research findings and introduce some practical tools educators and advisors can use to help farmers and ranchers make informed decisions for their businesses and households.https://www.hirednag.net/webinars
Interseeding, Precision Planting and Management of Cover Crops in a Corn and Soybean Rotation
October 10.This free, one-hour webinar is presented by the USDA NRCS Soil Health Division. At the conclusion of this webinar participants will be able to develop a prescription for interseeding cover crops, understand the potential benefits of the practice, and describe situations where it will have the most potential for success.
Urban Soil Quality
Wednesday, October 11 at 11:00 am CDT. What are the contamination risks to be aware of when growing in urban soil? How should you test for soil contaminants? How do you interpret the test results? What treatment and management options exist? Which of those are practical? If you're interested in the answers to any of these questions, tune in to this webinar.
Building a Cold Frame
October 11. Omaha. This hands-on class will teach you to build a cold frame and how to use it for season extension in your garden. Instructors: Rebecca Reagan and Shannon Gennardo. More Info.
Creative Animal Tour: Sustainable living & a tiny house
October 12. 5:00 pm. UNL's Hardin Hall. Contact, Elyse Watson, elyse.watson@unl.edu. The School of Natural Resources is hosting the Creative Animal Foundation U.S. Tour. The event is free and open to the public. Guests can meet Stephanie Arne, host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, and wildlife artist Tim Davison as they bring their sustainability message to the university and the Lincoln community. creativeanimal.org
#CommunityFood: Investing in the Future
October 12. Online. This "Investing in the Future" webinar from the National Good Food Netword, the second of a four-part #CommunityFood series based on the findings of the report, will feature two organizations doing extraordinary work with youth. Dig into the nuts and bolts of how these organizations are teaching and inspiring the people they work with, uncover the best practices and lessons learned along the way, and share helpful resources.https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/ 1809487562180323586
Postharvest Handling
October 12.The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative has developed a series of food safety webinars designed to help Native American farmers, ranchers, and food producers to begin to understand the importance of food safety and what is necessary to reach compliance under the FSMA. This webinar will discuss standard operating procedures and the importance of maintaining strict controls on biological, chemical, and physical food-safety risks on the farm and in the packing and shipping areas of the business. It will discuss general packing-area maintenance and principles of sanitary design and controls.
Opportunities
Diversified Crop Survey
NCAT, as part of a USDA NIFA grant, is conducting along with our partners is conducting a survey concerning how crop insurance is used by and could be improved for for organic, diversified, and specialty crop growers. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ncatcropinsurance
Help Wanted
Grain Place Foods, an organic grain handling facility located in Marquette, NE is looking for a qualified person to fill our Compliance position. The ideal candidate will have experience in topics such as FSMA, HAACP/HARPC, USDA organic standards, GMP or some other related compliance background. Generous benefits offered include medical, dental, life, IRA and more. Please drop off or send resumes and salary requirements to: Grain Place Foods, 1904 N Hwy 14, Marquette, NE 68854. 402-854-3195 phone
Health Insurance in Agriculture Survey
How does health insurance affect farmers and ranchers? Help influence rural health policy in upcoming survey. Farmers and ranchers: How does health insurance affect you? Help influence rural health policy by participating in an upcoming USDA funded survey. Your responses will help researchers understand how health-insurance policy affects farmers’ and ranchers’ decisions to invest, expand, and grow their enterprises. Selected participants received a letter about the survey in February. If you would like to participate follow this link: https://survey.uvm.edu/index.php/132344?lang=en
Resource Available
Rural Food Business Toolkit - this resource was designed by the Center for Rural Affairs alongside a USDA Rural Development project in northeast Nebraska which provided in person instruction and support. The toolkit provides resources to growers, processors and food business owners to help them succeed. It can be found and downloaded here: http://www.cfra.org/rural-food-business-toolkit.
Upcoming
Organic Seed Production Part 6: Seed Contracting, Economics and Policy
Tuesday, October 17 at 1:00 pm CDT. Register for the 2017 Organic Seed Production Webinar Series at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/ 2788257417038326785. For the second year in a row, the Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) and the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture (MESA) are presenting a series of six webinars on organic seed production. The webinars cover everything from planting to harvest, to the economics of seed production. The series is part of an organic seed internship program organized by OSA and MESA, but the free webinars are open to everyone. Advance registration is required--registering just once will allow you to attend all the webinars.
Community-based Pollinator Conservation in Cities
October 18. Online. This free, one-hour webinar is part of The Ohio State University's Bee Lab series. No registration is required. https://u.osu.edu/beelab/courses/
Value Added Producer Grant Program Webinar
October 18. Online. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and USDA Rural Development are teaming up to host a two-hour webinar on the current cycle of the Value Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG), to help farmers and ranchers learn more about the program and whether it is a good fit for their value-addd enterprise dreams. No pre-registration required. https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/#/?meeting= m1fj1734cy34&campaign= ncig7iyyfr72
Composting and Compost Use Webinar Series: Equipment
Friday, October 20 at 1:00 pm CDT. Location: https://extension.zoom.us/j/258134834. Please join us for the fifth webinar in our Composting and Compost Use series. In this webinar, the presenter will provide an introduction (including description, pros and cons, and cost) to equipment useful for processing and handling feedstocks, building piles, monitoring piles, turning and aerating piles, watering piles, screening and bagging compost, and more. There is no charge for this webinar, but registration is required.
Mother Earth News Fair
October 21-22.Topeka, Kansas.This sustainable-lifestyle event offers more than 150 workshops over the course of the weekend. Keynote speakers include Dan Chiras, Joel Salatin, and Howard Garrett. Also look for regional and national vendors and demonstrations.
