Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods!

Bee Lab Webinar: Setting up Your Extracting Line – What's Needed

May 17. Online. The Ohio State University Bee Lab's monthly webinars are free, and no registration is required. This session features Jim Tew, Extension Specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service. https://u.osu.edu/beelab/courses/

Market News Organic Reporting Webinar

May 18. Online. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) invites you to a live, interactive webinar on Organic Reporting within multiple Market News divisions. Learn about how Specialty Crops, Dairy, Livestock, Poultry & Seed, and Cotton & Tobacco Market News programs provide you with free access to market information about organic products. https://www.ams.usda.gov/event/specialty-crops-market-news-organic-reporting

Fascination of Plants Day

May 18.  4:00 pm–6:00 pm. UNL's City Campus, at the Beadle Center. The Beadle Center Atrium is located at 1901 Vine Street. Contact, Rebecca Roston, 402-472-2936, rroston@unl.edu. Fascination of Plants Day is to get as many people as possible around the world fascinated by plants and enthused about the importance of plant science for agriculture, in sustainability producing food, as well as for horticulture, forestry, and all of the non-food products such as paper, timber, chemicals, energy, and pharmaceuticals. The role of plants in environmental conservation is our key message. https://go.unl.edu/plantsday

Understanding the GMO Debate

Thursday, May 18 at 1:00 pm CDT. Registration is currently open, and seats are limited. Participants will gain access to course materials on May 11th after registering and paying the $10 fee at: https://extension.catalog.instructure.com/courses/ext-gmo

Let’s dive into the GMO Debate, a world full of conflicting viewpoints, misinformation, scare tactics, overwhelming scientific facts, and where even our dog’s opinion matters. The objective of this course is to bring an informative and neutral discussion to the main GMO topics: Traditional Plant Breeding versus GMOs, Food Safety, Pesticide Use in Agriculture, GMO Impacts on the Environment, and the Most Current Scientific Review of GMOs. Participants will gain practical knowledge on the GMO topic, which will aid in education and conversations with clientele. The course will include materials provided in the online course as well as live weekly discussions using the Zoom.us webinar tool.

Opportunities

Survey Assistance

My name is Steph I am putting together a survey for ranchers across the nation. It will explore some of ranchers' grassland management practices and some of the ideas that go behind them. Having said that, before I send it out, I need to make sure that my concepts make sense and are truly measuring what I set out to measure. I would guess that it takes 10-15 minutes to fill out (and reads better from a computer than a phone). I very much appreciate your help and if you want more detail into what I am doing, please give me a call (402-926-6732)! Steph Kennedy

https://ssp.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cwfLgrZJ8GrhijX

Internship Opportunity

If you know of someone looking for an internship opportunity involving both produce and livestock. please have them call me or text me on my cell phone 308-754-8370.  This internship would involve experiences on a few local farms approximately 50% of hours would be paid and 50% considered educational. Andrew Hollister, Hollister Farms 

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

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Federal Funding & Financing for Farmers

May 23. Online. Learn more about the USDA loan, grant, cost-share, conservation, and insurance programs that are available to sustainable farmers in this free, one-hour webinar from Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT). NSAC's Ferd Hoefner will discuss the many programs offered by the USDA that help farmers succeed. https://www.anymeeting.com/AccountManager/RegEv.aspx?PIID=ED50DC8988493D

Online Introduction to Holistic Management® Whole Farm/Ranch Planning

May 23 – June 27. Online. In this online course from HMI, participants will learn how to effectively manage a farm or ranch through the principles and practices of Holistic Management —a nationally recognized whole farm/ranch planning process. Learn not only how to manage your farm/ranch for the triple bottom line (social, environmental, and financial sustainability) and more effectively manage resources, but also how to help others with that process.This course is seven weeks long, and participants should plan on about two to four hours each week to participate in the webinars and complete the assignments. Scholarships are available. https://holisticmanagement.org/training-programs/onlineintro/

Poultry Exemptions Revisited

May 25. Online. In this free, one-hour Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network webinar, USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) staff will be on hand to respond to some of the more challenging questions regarding the federal poultry processing exemptions (Public Law 90-492). NMPAN has gathered questions from producers ahead of time regarding issues such as where you can market your poultry, can you cut-up and further process your poultry, what category do producers or groups of producers fall under, what kind of records should be kept, are there any facility requirements expected, and more. http://articles.extension.org/pages/33477/nmpan-webinars

Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods

YFN @ Paradise in Progress Farm

July 22nd. 6pm. Fort Calhoun. Join the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society as our Nebraska Young Farmer Night series visits Fort Calhoun and Paradise in Progress Farms owned by Ben & Michelle Godfrey. PIP Farms, on the outskirts of Fort Calhoun, NE, raises primarily free-range pastured pigs using rotational grazing and permaculture design principles to maximize land use and efficiency while minimizing effort and expense. Our goal is to produce the finest pork from the happiest, healthiest pigs with the least work while having the most fun. We partner with several local businesses to supplement the pigs’ diet with redirected landfill-bound pre-consumer food-waste with the triple goal of improving herd nutrition, soil tilth and the sustainability of the greater Omaha area. For details, directions and to rsvp please visit, https://www.facebook.com/events/1437621603192424/?notif_t=plan_user_joined

Tune-Up Your Farm Market Booth To Boost Sales Webinar

Tuesday, July 22 at 11:00 am. Link: https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/womeninag. Mid-Summer is a great time to change up your farm market booth displays to draw in more customers. Join University of Vermont Extension Community Economic Development Specialist Mary Peabody for practical tips on low-cost ways to create eye-catching displays that encourage sales. This 30-minute webinar starts at noon Eastern Time.

Energy Analysis: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?

July 24. Online. This free webinar is part of a series of energy webinars presented by the USDA NRCS East National Technology Support Center. http://www.conservationwebinars.net

Choosing Appropriate Technology to Run Your Good Food Business

July 24. This free National Good Food Network webinar will give you the tools to perform an accurate analysis of your business technology needs. Although the presentation will focus on food hubs (arguably one of the more complicated Good Food businesses, as a "middle man" interacting with all pieces of the food system), the same theories apply to all businesses. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/813255322

Midwest Conference for Farmer Veterans

July 25-26. Des Moines, Iowa. Join other veterans for networking and learning about unique opportunities, programs, and jobs available to military veterans and service members who are farming, aspiring to farm, or seeking agricultural related careers. Day One of the conference will feature tours of diverse working farms and provide a chance to interact with other farmers and veterans. Day Two will focus on educational presentations and workshops led by agricultural experts, agency personnel, and veteran service providers. The conference is hosted by the Farmer Veteran Coalition of Iowa and Drake University. Support also is provided by the USDA and Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/calendar/2014-07-25/midwest-conference-farmer-veterans

Nebraska Moth Night

Saturday, July 26th. 7:00 pm-9:00 pm. Join us for the third annual Nebraska Moth Night at Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, part of National Moth Week. There will be interactive, family-friendly displays and activities before night falls and various stations to attract moths after dark. Faculty members and students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln entomology department will be on hand to help identify moths and make sure that everyone who attends experiences the fun of mothing! A donation of $5/family is suggested. For more information, contact Andy Matz, theandymatz@gmail.com, University of Nebraska Insect Science Club.

Opportunity

Sweet Corn Opportunity

An Omaha bakery is looking to bake a bread using sweet corn as an ingredient.  For more information please contact Erik @johnsonhillfarm@yahoo.com

Seedlings Needed

We recently lost about 150 (total) cabbage and cauliflower seedlings that were planted for fall harvest. User error I am sure. I am asking around to see if anyone has some extra cauliflower, cabbage or even broccoli seedlings they are interested in getting rid of at a fair price. We have broccoli, kale and kohlrabi in already. If you have any other ideas, I would welcome suggestions. We grow in Waverly and Omaha, so anything in either vicinity would be helpful. Alton, altonemitchell@gmail.com

Human Resource Needs of Small Farms

Fellow NSAS Members, I am working with a couple other Extension Educators on developing educational materials/programs to help small to medium sized farmers/ranchers manage their human resource risks. We are seeking to better understand the human resource education needs of Nebraska’s growing small and medium scale agricultural businesses in order to develop programming and materials to meet these needs. To do this we are conducting an online survey to determine what human resource topics are important to Nebraska’s farmers/ranchers and to learn what delivery methods (in person, online, etc.) are preferred. We would greatly appreciate it if you took a few minutes to complete the online survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AgHRMangSurvey.  The survey should take approximately 10 – 15 minutes to complete, you must be at least 19 years old to participate, and participation is entirely voluntary. If you have any questions regarding this questionnaire please feel free to contact me Jessica, (jjones12@unl.edu or 402-335-3669).

Exchange student interested in sustainability

My name is Andrea Lundberg, and I work with a  non-profit called the Aspect Foundation. As part of the State Department’s public diplomacy mission, we place exchange students with host families. I’m the local coordinator for the Lincoln/Omaha area. I was hoping you might know of a family who might be interested in hosting a young lady from Belgium, Nora. Nora is very active with an organization called Projet Comenius, which works on fair trade and sustainability initiatives. Hosts provide three meals a day and transportation to the local high school. Please feel free to call me at 402-499-9031 or email me with any questions! Below is a lInk to Nora’s profile:

http://services.aspectfoundation.org/st/index.php/st_search/profile/UY4-BEL-507-F

Heritage Chickens

I am looking for heritage chicken producers in Nebraska that might be willing to sell me live birds that I can butcher myself.  I am looking to buy young heritage birds but would be most interested in buying a mix of young and old birds. I live in Kearney and am either looking to process in Grand Island or near North Platte so if I can find a farmer in central Nebraska that would be optimal. Jed, yadidyamg@gmail.com

Kickstarter for Local Food Distribution and Delivery Service in Iowa and Nebraska

We're bringing local food from local farmers to chefs, restaurants, grocery stores, and more, but we need a better truck! We are at a critical turning point in our journey. We're currently renting a refrigerated reefer truck. But renting isn't practical. In order to continue this journey we need to get a better vehicle that will be able to serve more farmers, more restaurants and grocery stores and better our food system as a whole. The distribution problem hasn't been solved yet. And we're willing to put our energy, money and time into making it work. Farmers are calling us daily for help.  Complete details, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1183278462/bring-local-food-to-more-people-with-a-delivery-ve?ref=email

Upcoming

Grassfed Rising: Polishing the Soil-Grass-Consumer Connection

July 30 - August 1. Columbia, Missouri. The Grassfed Exchange presents this event to help producers grow in knowledge of the grassfed industry and in finishing cattle specifically. The conference includes one day of pasture walk tours at the ranches of Greg Judy and Luke Linnenbringer and two days full of presentations to help attendees improve their skills and operations. Speakers include Don Huber, Fred Provenza, Paul Brown, and others. http://www.grassfedexchange.com/

Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Agriculture

Young Farmer Night w/ Prairie Pride Poultry

Join Prairie Pride Poultry Tuesday evening, June 10th, to share in a potluck dinner on the farm and to discuss the importance of locally sourced food and what it means to the community. Get a chance to meet the flock and talk with Dan Hromas about how he got started. We'll begin at 6pm with a potluck, so please bring a food dish to share! Details and to rsvp, https://www.facebook.com/events/667160040020429/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

RESCHEDULED Young Farmer Night @ Big Muddy Urban Farm

June 12th. NYFN at Big Muddy will start as a potluck-style meal, hosted at our farm plot on 33rd and California Street. We will then do a walking tour between our other farm plots in the Gifford Park Neighborhood! Bring a dish to pass, and some walking shoes, and get ready to visit the farm! We'll also have on hand representatives from the National Young Farmers Coalition as we kickoff a Nebraska Chapter of the coalition. At 6pm we'll begin with a potluck so please bring a food dish to share. Details and to rsvp, https://www.facebook.com/events/453272314819612/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Sustainability Happy Hour

Saturday June 14th at 1:30pm we will hold our first Sustainability Happy Hour of 2014 at Blue Blood Brewing Company.  Blue Blood is located at 500 West South Street in Lincoln.  Blue Blood Brewing Company was founded on the premise of a great friendship and love of great beer. Its founders work hard, and that hard work is translated into the beer that they brew. Although the road to the Brewery opening had some detours, this Lincoln, Nebraska Brewery has proudly been producing beers since December 2011.  Founding brewer Brian will give us a tour at 2:00pm.  So we have a head count please rsvp to shh.nsas@gmail.com.  The Sustainability Happy Hours are open to all, and are family friendly. We'll also hear from Monk Bob of Modern Monks brewing who partners with Blue Blood and their canning facility. Look for an event page on the NSAS Facebook page soon!

Lighting for small and backyard layer flocks

Monday, June 9 at 5:00 pm. To keep hens laying through the winter, light control is essential. Dr. Michael Darre of the University of Connecticut will be discussing on the role of light and how to manage it in small and backyard layer flocks. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry

Making Appealing Apples

Tuesday, June 10 at 12:00 pm. This presentation is part of the "How to Breed New Plant Varieties: Imagining and Engineering Crops" series and describes the breeding of apples. Dr. Kate Evans from Washington State University will present a webinar on the breeding of apples describing apple breeding techniques new and old and also current practice in her program at WSU. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/165997833

Webinar: Introduction to Soil Health and the Soil Food Web featuring Elaine Ingham of Rodale

Tuesday, June 10. 7pm. See See http://bit.ly/1kAP5s9 for more information.  Contact Charles Shapiro at 402 584 3803 for information on cost-share scholarships available for qualified Nebraska farmers.

Sea Grant Fisheries Extension Network Webinar Series, No 3: The Sea Grant Network Responds to Tourism Opportunities in Fishing and Aquaculture

Tuesday, June 10 at 12:00 pm. Tourism can provide financial return for those in commercial fishing and aquaculture, and can also play a role in connecting seafood consumers with seafood producers.  The result can be an economic engine that also pays benefits in educating our citizens about the many important issues in seafood production, processing, transport and marketing.  The Sea Grant network of seafood extension professionals has been engaged in this issue for many years, with programs tailored to the local assets, constraints and needs.  This webinar will highlight some of these activities from around the network, and will serve to connect extension agents and others together, so that we can learn from one another and facilitate connections for future collaborations. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/marine/

Managing for Soil Health in the Piedmont Area of the Southeast – A Farmer’s Perspective

June 10. Online. This webinar is part of an ongoing series of soil health webinars presented by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Curtis Furr, a farmer and Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor in Stanly County, North Carolina, has been battling the impacts of "tillage addiction" for the past 20 years. Curtis has experimented with different seeding methods, including aerial, broadcast, and drilling, along with the use of a culti-packer in the spring to roll the cover crop down as he's spraying. In this webinar, Curtis will share these experiences along with challenges he's overcome when planting corn and cotton into cover crop mixes with over five tons of biomass.http://www.conservationwebinars.net/

Green Cover Field Day

The first meeting is being sponsored and hosted by Scott Gonnerman at his farm near Waco, NE (6 miles North, 1 mile East of Waco, NE) on June 11th from 9am-4:30pm. More information can be found here, 

Landowner Habitat Tour

Wednesday, June 11. Alexandria. Bobwhite Quail habitat needs workshop & habitat management. See NebraskaPF.com or call 308-850-8395

Nebraska Chapter Soil & Water Conservation Society (SWCS) Annual Meeting

June 12 – 14. Gothenburg. See http://incolor.inetnebr.com/dougg/swcs/ for more info.

Legal and Financial Clinic

Thursday, June 12. North Platte. Call the Farm Hotline at 800-464-0258 to sign up.

Pollinator Habitat Workshop

June 13. Lecompton, Kansas. If you are interested in pollinator habitat and conservation in a rural setting, please plan to attend the Kansas Rural Center's Pollinator Habitat Workshop. Jennifer Hopwood, Midwest Pollinator Conservation Specialist from The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, will lead the program. The afternoon portion of the workshop will include a tour of pollinator habitat plots installed by Jim Weaver, Douglas County Conservation District, on his property in northwestern Douglas County. The workshop is free and open to the public. http://kansasruralcenter.org/registration-open-for-kansas-rural-center-pollinator-habitat-workshop/

Legal and Financial Clinic

Friday, June 13. Fairbury. Call the Farm Hotline at 800-464-0258 to sign up.

Opportunity

NSAS Elections

It is election time! Please follow this link to a survey with candidates for the NSAS Board of Directors. With each candidate there is a short bio. NSAS Members please vote for the one candidate you feel would best serve NSAS, its members and supporters and sustainable agriculture as a whole. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6W89KSG   Voting will close on June 13th. 

FOR SALE

Gothic Style High Tunnel, 20’ X 11’ -5/8 X 48’, erected in 2008 on leased land located at 4000 W ”F” Street in Lincoln, NE.  Perfect for market farmer interested in extending the growing season to increase production. Price and terms negotiable; special consideration given to “Beginning Farmers.” Jim Caruso, Caruso-Rozzano Farms, 402.429.1141

Farm Help Needed

We are looking for part-time or occasional help on our organic farm near Omaha. Mowing weeds and general maintenance that requires some muscle. Also someone to help with vegetable planting, weeding, harvest. Experience preferred. We are located at the east edge of Papillion. Meristem Farm and Nursery, LLC. Tom Lundahl (402) 306-4500. Lucena Morse (402) 297-2324. Tom@MeristemFarmAndNursery.com, Lucena@MeristemFarmAndNursery.com. www.MeristemFarmAndNursery.com

Heritage Chickens

I am looking for heritage chicken producers in Nebraska that might be willing to sell me live birds that I can butcher myself.  I am looking to buy young heritage birds but would be most interested in buying a mix of young and old birds. I live in Kearney and am either looking to process in Grand Island or near North Platte so if I can find a farmer in central Nebraska that would be optimal. Jed, yadidyamg@gmail.com

Upcoming

Dry Bean Breeding isn't a Dry Topic

Tuesday, June 17 at 12:00 pm. This presentation is part of the "How to Breed New Plant Varieties: Imagining and Engineering Crops" series and describes the breeding of dry beans. Presented by Dr. James Kelly, Michigan State University. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/942418833

Holistic Biological Monitoring: Boots on the Ground:

June 20. 1-day workshop, 8:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m. Location : To be determined.  All workshop fees include lunch and refreshments. For further information about the workshops contact Bob Shields at 308-379-1361 or Bob.Shields01@gmail.com

Weekly Events & Opportunities in Sustainable Farming & Foods

On-Farm Food Safety and Conservation Webinar

May 14. Online. This webinar is part of the Organic series of webinars presented by USDA NRCS East and West National Technology Support Centers in partnership with Oregon Tilth. The presenter is Jo Ann Baumgartner, Director of Wild Farm Alliance. This webinar will cover how pathogens get on the farm, the prevalence in animals, and environmental factors that influence pathogen reduction. A multi-barrier approach will be discussed where conservation practices and food safety Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) are used to minimize food safety concerns. http://www.conservationwebinars.net/documents/planned-conservation-webinars

Cuckoo for Cucurbit Vine Crop Breeding

May 13. 12pm. This presentation is part of the "How to Breed New Plant Varieties: Imagining and Engineering Crops" series and describes the breeding of cucurbit vine crops. Presented by Dr. Michael Mazourek, Cornell University.  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/229661944

National Value Added Agriculture Conference

May 13-15. Baltimore, Maryland. Held in conjunction with the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development's What Works Conference Series, the conference theme is "Enhancing Food Security and Rural Viability through Innovative Food System Practices and Opportunities." The event celebrates the 10th anniversary of the MarketMaker program, and it offers a unique opportunity to discuss timely subjects in rural development and food security. http://www.agmrc.org/national-value-added-agriculture-conference/

Humane Trapping: A Balancing Act

May 15. 12pm. Humane Trapping: A Balancing Act will discuss various aspects of humane trapping including: Definitions: Live trap vs cage/box trap, Euthanasia vs humane-killing, Equipment vs technique, Snares vs cable-restraints, Proper use of cage/box traps, Proper use of lethal traps. Stephen M. Vantassel is Program Coordinator of wildlife damage management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is a Master NWCOA Instructor, Certified Wildlife Control Professional (CWCP), and runs the Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management (ICWDM.org). He founded and operated Wildlife Removal Service, Inc. before coming to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has written dozens of articles and several books on wildlife control and animal welfare topics.  This webinar is open to the public. Everyone is welcome. No registration is required. Just show up at the link below. If you can't make it, the webinar will be recorded with a link to the video posted here when it is available (typically 2 to 3 days after the event).  https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/wildlifedmg

Targeted Grazing Online Workshop: Plant Ecology & Response to Grazing

May 15. Online. This event is part of the "Grazing with a Goal" series of online targeted grazing workshops presented monthly by the Targeted Grazing Committee of the Society for Range Management. This session is presented by Dr. John Hendrickson, ARS, Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory. http://www.rangelands.org/targetedgrazing/index.shtml

Legal and Financial Clinic

Thursday, May 15. Lexington. Call the Farm Hotline at 800-464-0258 to sign up.

Composting for poultry 

May 15th. 7:30pm. Whether large or small in size, poultry flocks can benefit from the use of composting as a tool to create a great soil amendment from a by-product of poultry keeping.  The discussion will cover the topics of composting litter, mortality, and butcher wastes, along with monitoring the process.  Proper compost pile building and pile diagnosis will also be discussed.  https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry

Rangeland Drought Impact Webinar

Thursday, May 15. Learn about the importance of monitoring rangelands during and after drought, using photo points, and submitting drought impacts to the NDMC’s Drought Impact Reporter. Webinars will be recorded and may be viewed after the original broadcast. For more info and to register, see http://bit.ly/1nsgig7

Birdsfoot Trefoil as a Forage on Organic Dairy Farms Webinar

May 15. Join eOrganic for a free webinar on Birdsfoot Trefoil as a forage on organic dairy farms with Dr. Jennifer MacAdam, Utah State University. In this webinar, Dr. MacAdam will describe a multiple-year research project, funded by the USDA Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), that is partnering with established organic dairy producers in the Mountain West to determine the impact of supplementing and/or replacing grass pasture with birdsfoot trefoil (BFT) on milk production and milk quality. Advance registration is required. http://www.extension.org/pages/70506/birdsfoot-trefoil-as-a-forage-on-organic-dairy-farms-webinar-by-eorganic#.U20PM3ahy24

From Recipe to Reality

Friday, May 16. Lincoln. A one-day seminar for all individuals interested in exploring the idea of starting a food manufacturing business. Seehttp://fpc.unl.edu/small_business for more info.

Sarah Wagner: YARD/ZONE

Sunday, May 18th. 2:30 pm-4:30 pm. The opening reception for Yard/Zone, an exhibition of stitched sculptural forms by Sarah Wagner of Detroit, will be Sunday, May 18. The exhibit will run from May 19-September 5, 2014 at the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery. The artist will speak about her work at 2:30 pm in room 11 of the Home Economics Building and will be present at a reception in her honor following her talk hosed by the Friends of the Textiles Gallery. Sarah Wagner is a sculptor and installation artist whose work concentrates attention on the dynamic relationships between the built and the increasingly unnatural world. The invisible forces at play in our world, such as radiation, and her love of ecology have inspired her to explore exhibition venues as unnatural environments within which to create models for parallel worlds. She is represented by the Patricia Sweetow Gallery in San Francisco. BFA, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Resident, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture; MFA, California College of the Arts.  For more information, call (402) 472-2911 or visit http://textilegallery.unl.edu. Additional Public Info: Free and open to the public.

Opportunity

Compost for Community Gardens

My name is Jordan Hasselbalch and I am an AmeriCorps Member working for Community CROPS. Part of my role at CROPS is to source materials for the 11 community gardens that we manage. Last month we had our gardener orientations in preparation for the coming season. I introduced myself to the 270 some odd gardeners as the guy that would make available their requests for wood mulch, pallets, t-posts, city-compost, etc. The gardeners have made it clear to me what they would most like me to deliver, composted manure. I am happy to oblige them but I am going to need the help of some folks around the Lincoln area that have livestock and preferably equipment to help us load. Some of you have helped us in the past in this capacity and we thank you. Not wanting to be presumptuous of overwhelm any one operation I make this ask to all of you good people of the NSAS community. jordan@communitycrops.org

Ostry Organic Family Farm Work Week: 2nd Week in May

Just a reminder that their farm work week has started and will continue thru next week. As of today Mike's recovery has left him not seeing well enough to do his work.

His doctor & family are optimistic that he will see well enough, hopefully in 6 months to a year. Please contact the Ostry's @ 402-543-2110with your offer of help.

They appreciate your support and can tell you what needs to be done when you call about the work week.

Seeking Manure

The Clyde Malone Community Center, located in Lincoln, Nebraska is seeking a donation of livestock manure, preferably older than a year and fed non-GMO.  The Malone Center is an African-American Community Center that provides educational, cultural, and advocacy programs. The center hosts a Day-Care Program for low-income families in the community during the summer, and the children have voiced their desire to get dirty and learn in the garden!  We would like to fill one pick up truck bed full of manure for the garden project. We are willing to load and transport. The closer to Lincoln, the better.  You may reach me by e-mail: danny.martin303@gmail.com or by phone/text: (402)512-0066.  Thanks, Danny Martin

Solar Power for Habitat for Humanity Families

Nebraskans for Solar & Habitat for Humanity of Omaha are crowdfunding on Indiegogo to install solar hot water systems on five new or rehabilitated houses: www.tinyurl.com/Omahasolar. If we reach our goal, five Omaha families will be able to reduce their monthly energy costs by harnessing power from the sun for the next 20 to 25 years! The money they save can be spent on food, healthcare, education, and other needs, benefiting their families and communities for a very long time.

Upcoming

Get the Dirt on Potato Breeding

May 20th. 12pm. This presentation is part of the "How to Breed New Plant Varieties: Imagining and Engineering Crops" series and describes the breeding of potato. Presented by Dr. Walter De Jong, Cornell University. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/417130497

Silvopasture Development: Trees into Pasture

May 21. Online. Silvopasture is an agroforestry practice that sustainably produces timber, livestock, and forage on the same land. This one-hour webinar (held twice in a single day) will discuss considerations of site quality, species selection, establishment, and subsequent management of trees. http://silvopasture.ning.com/profiles/blogs/silvopasture-development-trees-into-pasture