Weekly Events & Opportunities

Local Meats Processing: Successes and Innovations

April 18. This Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network webinar is being hosted by the National Good Food Network. This webinar will profile processors around the United States and share lessons learned about their success, offering background on the challenges of small-scale meat and poultry processing – for both processors and producers. It will include representatives from several regional, collaborative efforts to improve access to local processing. The discussion will be based on a research report for USDA's Economic Research Service that will be released the day of the webinar.  https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/211399546

Supplementing the Organic Dairy Cow Diet: Results of Molasses and Flaxseed Feeding Trials Webinar

April 18. Join eOrganic for a webinar on molasses and flaxseed feeding trials in organic dairy cattle. In this webinar, Dr. Kathy Soder of the USDA Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit in University Park, Pennsylvania, will present results of recent research she and her team have conducted. http://www.extension.org/pages/67505/

New Generation Energy Webinar: Ask an Installer

April 19. Cornell Small Farms Program is presenting a four-part webinar series of farmer-led virtual tours and fun, informational tips for saving energy and converting to renewables on your farm or homestead. This final webinar in the series features Conor Kays from Alternative Power Solutions, who will talk about how to choose between geothermal, solar, or wind (or all three), how to size a system, current financial incentives and offsets, and services that installers will provide. http://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2013/03/18/new-generation-energy-sustainable-power-for-your-farm-or-homestead

Estimating Cover Crop Nitrogen and Choosing Organic Fertilizers for Your Farm - Webinar

April 17. Oregon State University Senior Instructor and Small Farms Extension agent Nick Andrews will guide participants through the Organic Fertilizer and Cover Crop Calculator, a free online tool which predicts the nitrogen released by cover crops, organic fertilizers, and compost, allowing farmers to easily compare the costs of different organic fertilizer programs. Andrews will explain the research behind the nitrogen mineralization models used in the calculator and demonstrate how this tool can be used to develop a cost-effective nutrient management program designed to address each farm’s specific crop nutrient requirements.  Visit their website for more information and to register. https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7629827094414117632

Urban Agriculture Expo

April 20. Minneapolis, Minnesota. This event is for those who currently have an urban farming enterprise, are considering starting one, are supporters of urban farming, or are just curious to learn more. Educational seminars address three different topic categories: growing topics, business topics, and people topics. The growing topics will include water management, unique growing systems, and soils management. The business topics will include record keeping skills and tips, understanding your cost of production, and assessing which market option is right for you. Lastly, people topics will include updates in local food policies, the Urban Agriculture Alliance, and engaging communities around you. http://www.minnesotaagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=273&yr=2013

Raising guinea fowl

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

April 15th at 6:00pm. There has been growing interest in raising guinea fowl. The reasons vary from income (from meat and/or eggs), guard duty, to insect control. Dr. Samuel Nahashon from Tennessee State University will discuss keeping small flocks of guinea fowl. Dr. Nahashon is a Research Associate Professor in Poultry Science at Tennessee State University and has worked extensively with guinea fowl. He also serves as technical advisor to the Guinea Fowl Breeders Association which is a non-profit group of people interested in learning about guinea fowl. https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/poultry

Introduction to Social Networking

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

April 16th. 1pm. Does social networking intimidate you? If so, this webinar is for you! We will review the basic principles of social networking, mainly using the widely popular website Facebook as a frame of reference. You will learn social networking language, use, how to utilize privacy settings, and explore the potential impact you can make through this medium. Pre-registration is not required for this webinar but is strongly encouraged. Please do so at: http://events.anr.msu.edu/introtosn/

Beginning Beekeeping Field Day

Saturday, Apr 20.Ithaca. See http://entomology.unl.edu/ for registration information.

Financial Statements and Record-Keeping

April 15th at 10:00am. Building skills and confidence to help service members to access timely, accurate, and trustworthy information about creating financial statements and record-keeping. This presentation is part 1 in a 2 part series. The “Financial Ratios and SWOT Analysis” will be presented April 22, 2013. For details on part 2, visit: https://learn.extension.org/events/977

Weekly Events & Opportunities

Production Planning and Plant Propagation

March 18. Belton, Missouri. This evening workshop is part of the Growing Growers Market Farming workshop series. Workshops focus on practices and a scale of production suitable for a market farmer. Participants typically include apprentices, new or experienced growers and others who are interested in the particular topic or who are considering trying to farm. http://www.growinggrowers.com/growing-growers-workshops

Cover Crop Innovations Webinar

March 18. Penn State Extension is hosting a series of webinars during the winter of 2013 to focus on cover crop innovations. This webinar focuses on optimizing weed suppression and nutrient use efficiency in cover crop-based no-till organic corn. University of Maryland and USDA-ARS researchers discuss optimizing cover crop mixture composition and manure application to achieve weed suppression and adequate, efficient nitrogen delivery in a cover crop-based no-till corn system. http://extension.psu.edu/cover-crops/webinars/2013-webinar-series

Biomass Crop Production Workshop

March 19. Iowa City, Iowa. This workshop from Iowa State University Extension will provide information about miscanthus and other perennial bioenergy crops for energy generation in Iowa. Farmers, energy producers, land managers and anyone interested in biomass production are welcome to attend and learn more. http://www.aep.iastate.edu/biomass/

Agricultural Energy Webinar Series: Optimizing Irrigation Efficiency

 

March 19. Delivery of irrigation water through farm irrigation systems from ground or surface water sources to the field requires the addition of energy. The amount of energy that must be added is affected by the type of irrigation delivery system, system pressure, elevation difference between the field and the water source, inches of water applied, and the land area being irrigated. This presentation by Scott Sanford, Outreach Specialist from the Rural Energy Program, University of Wisconsin, will cover some of the things that can be done to an existing system to reduce energy costs. http://bse.wisc.edu/Farm_Energy_Webinar.htm

Livestream: Joel Salatin's Secrets to Beyond-Organic Farming

March 20-22. Verge Permaculture is offering the opportunity to participate in three days of live, online workshops with Joel Salatin. March 20 Salatin will present "You Can Farm – The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Start and Succeed in a Farming Enterprise." March 21 will be "Pastured Poultry Profits – Net $25,000 in 6 Months on 20 Acres" and March 22 Salatin will conduct "Salad Bar Beef." Participants can register for just one day, or all three. http://vergepermaculture.ca/blog/events/joel-salatin-live-stream-event/

Small Farms Webinar: Weed Control in Pastures

March 21. This webinar will offer management strategies to minimize weeds and include a discussion of pesticide selection and safety. The webinar is part of a Small Farm Webinar series offered weekly by University of Illinois Extension. https://webs.extension.uiuc.edu/registration/default.cfm?RegistrationID=7543

Advanced Irrigation Methods for Market Growers

March 23. Kansas City, Missouri. This workshop is part of the Growing Growers Market Farming Workshops series. Workshops focus on practices and a scale of production suitable for a market farmer. Participants typically include apprentices, new or experienced growers, and others who are interested in the particular topic or who are considering trying to farm. http://www.growinggrowers.com/growing-growers-workshops

Tree Care Workshop

March 19. Grand Island. Hort Pro. http://nfs.unl.edu/tree-care-workshops

Cover Crop Decision-Making Tools

 

March 19th. 7-8:30 p.m. Just getting started with cover crops or want to hone your cover crop selections? Learn more about two online tools, the SmartMix (cover crop) Calculator­­, developed by Green Cover Seedof Bladen, Neb., and the Cover Crop Selector Tool developed by theIowa Cover Crop Working Group in Ames,Iowa. Both resources are available online forfarmers and landowners to improve their cover crop decision-making. http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/farminar

Stockmanship School

March 22. Dave and Meg Schmidt will be hosting a two-day stockmanship school taught by Richard McConnell and Tina Williams (www.handnhandlivestocksolutions.com) on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23. Tina Williams is the daughterof the late stockmanship expert Bud Williams (www.stockmanship.com). The event will be held in southwestIowa (Audubon Co. area) with the exact venue to be determined by the levelof interest. The cost is $300/person ($250 for additional membersof the same family or farm operation). Meals are not included. Please contact Meg Schmidt (meg@troublesomecreekcattle.com or 712.254.0751) for additional details.

 

Seed Savers Exchange Spring Kick-Off 

 

March 23. Startoff your gardening season by attending these workshops: Seed Starting, Planning Your Garden for Seed Saving, Heirloom Gardening. Learn more and Register here! (Note: There is a 25 participant limit for each workshop). Seed Savers Exchange, 3094 North Winn Rd, Decorah,Iowa . (563) 382-5990

Upcoming

Webinar on Organic Farming Systems Research at the University of Nebraska

March 26. Join eOrganic for a free, one-hour webinar that will present summaries of organic systems research at the University of Nebraska. The webinar will include 10-minute summaries by researchers of projects that emphasize production issues, grain quality, and agrosystem impacts. http://www.extension.org/pages/67368/

Introduction to Aquaponics Training

March 30. Minneapolis, Minnesota. This workshop will teach you how to create a closed-loop aquaponic system. Participants will be taught about the basics of fish and plant health; design implementation; maintenance of an aquaponic system; Minnesota regulations for aquaponic farming; and a tour of the Urban Farm Project's aquaponic system with over 10,000 fish. http://www.w-e-i.org/introduction-aquaponics-training

Farmers Expressing Themselves?

An organic farmer, during a recent presentation, talked about the influences and systems to some of what he sees within agriculture in the United States.

He gave the story of picking up a bag of potato chips and looking at the ingredients listed on the back of the bag. The list of ingredients was as artificial as they sounded. At the end his comparison was that the list was an example of corporations "expressing themselves." His story was in regards to the lack of labeling in regards to GMO's. And he was exactly right. Just as a leader in a state can threaten to "kick your butt," and get away with, so are products not labeled with GMO's, are corporations expressing themselves.

Right now, many farmers are in the midst of preparations and planning for the upcoming season. Many are having the ability to get things started early due to the unseasonable warm weather. On April 1st we hit 95 degrees around Ceresco. Sunny, windy, balmy, red flag warnings, all in the middle of March in Nebraska. Certainly Mother Nature is expressing herself.

Consumers express themselves on a daily basis. The nature and the scope of what one eats and drinks each day is a reflection on who they are and what they are. In deed, the foods and drinks we eat certainly from a biological standpoint influence our bodies makeup. Choosing to spend your dollars local is an expression of ones values. Buying from a local farm or artisian is expressing trust and appreciation in the way that farmer grows, raises and produces their prodcuts.

So what about farmers? Farmers express themselves in various ways throughout any given day. Growing your own food is an expression of values. Growing food for your local community is an expression of trust and of social responsibility to be a part of that community, and an active and positive participant. Various farming methods express a farmers core beliefs in caring for the land and being a steward of the animals and foods produced. How do your farming practices express your beliefs and values?

Anticipation

Each Spring around this time of year, many farmers have the drive and the curiosity and the anticipation to get things rolling for yet another year. Is the grass high enough? Did we get enough snow this year? How well was the ground cover over the winter? These are but a few of the questions my wife and I ask ourselves

This year is different than some. We have had our cow grazing for about a week now. Mostly through the yard areas around the barn and the house. The grasses there tend to be a little taller and more established than those out in the pasture and the regular rotations. Our goal is to have the animals in full rotation by the end of March. Which that has to be some kind of record.

In January of this year, we had 4 days with temperatures above 70 degrees. The beginning of February brought our only noticeable snow storm. This storm left about 13 inches here at Darby Springs Farm near Ceresco. Within a week there was no snow left on the ground. We did get a cold spell about the middle of February but than the gradual warming took place. By March 1st it felt like May 1st. I don't think we had a day below freezing in March. Temps by the middle of March were pushing 90 degrees. Certainly something was up. Mother Nature was fooling us and was going to drop a monster storm that would kill any budding trees or plants. So far however the extended forecast shows that well into April, temps will remain warmer than usual. Good news is that we'll also have decent chances for precipitation which is the next part of the equation.

We use a mix of multi-species pasture stacking combined with a somewhat management intensive grazing program all inspired by holistic management principles to manage our pasture and wetland. We were fortunate enough to have taken the Farm Beginnings Nebraska program put on by NSAS and had Terry Gompert as our Holistic Management Educator. This laid the foundation for what our vision was for our farm.

The NSAS List Serv is a great resource to bounce ideas off of fellow farmers using sustainable and organic practices and principles. Last year we posed some grazing questions to the list and below are some of the answers.

• If dry take put them in sooner, or take out later, or if really dry, put in fewer at a time in a paddock.
• Perhaps an issue of hay supply. If you can feed hay for a week or two more, the new pasture will grow faster than the hay they consume.
• Use a sacrifice paddock.
• Get grazing as soon as possible so the grass doesn't "get away."
• Turn out when grass has three leaves
• A concern is grass tetany, http://beef.unl.edu/stories/201003030.shtml
• Suggest feeding a little hay to slow fresh grass traveling through and cattle not taking up enough nutrients.
• It all depends on everything. Your grass type, stocking rate, how heavy you'll work the grass over the summer, etc.
• Just keep dry hay or even straw available to them free choice and they should be fine. They are still grazing standing hay as well as fresh grass.
• Start them slow and ease into grass

We began grazing with our small herd around the end of April in 2011. So getting an extra month on the pasture will certainly allow us to catch up with the pasture. This year the cows and horses will be together in one paddock and following them will be our pastured poultry flock. We have debated moving every 12 hours, and will probably increase the size of our paddocks.

You can find more resources on pasture readiness, livestock, sustainable farming and more on the NSAS website. A majority of these resources are free to use. Another great resources is the NSAS Library. This is free for members of NSAS and there is a nominal fee for non-NSAS members. But why not join! There are numerous benefits, and even an exciting way to join right now during our 30 for 30! fundraising drive, which participation gets you a membership!

“If you’re not tasting the food!”

“If you’re not tasting the food, what are the customer experiencing!!” My wife and I recently have been watching Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares reruns on Hulu. While the language is sometimes off the charts, what Ramsey does with kitchens, cooks and foods is incredible. (We especially love his Christmas special where with his kids, they raise heritage turkeys in their backyard and then butcher them for Thanksgiving. Talk about food grown where you live, and also talk about quite the education for children!)

This particular episode dealt with a chef, who by his own admission was arrogant. He absolutely refused to taste his own food prior to sending it to the “pass,” and eventually the customer. And the food was routinely sent back. Undercooked, over seasoned, and trying to be to creative with the dish resulted in numerous foods coming back and being tossed.

“If you’re not tasting the food, what are the customers experiencing!!” When I first heard that quote I was taken aback. It was so simple, but yet quite intriguing. On our own farm, Darby Springs Farm, we grow our own beef, chicken, eggs, fruits and veggies. We utilize sustainable and organic farming principles and incorporate holistic management into the farm plan. Our farm is located in the saline wetland of the Tall-grass prairie. In order to properly steward this unique ecosystem we must utilize these principles and management techniques, not only to maintain this environment, but to improve it.

Likewise to nourish our bodies and our minds, a majority of the foods we eat come from our farm. And what foods we cannot or do not grow we purchase from neighbors also utilizing similar principles. This is important to note, as we direct market many of our products or sell via local outlets such as farmers markets and area grocery stores. If we were not tasting, experiencing, embracing the foods that nourish and replenish the mind and body, how do we know the customer would be as well. How do we ensure the safety of the food and the customer if we ourselves do not taste the food we grow?

I believe you can go to one of the over 90 farmers markets in Nebraska, talk with one of the farmers there and ask them what they do with the food they are selling to you. One of my favorite farmers recently relayed what he did with butter he made from his farm. “Will, I simply cut up a lot of our veggies. Maybe 5 to 6 different types and probably about 10 pounds worth. I melt some of this butter here in a frying pan. I put the veggies in the pan and sauté them, and add a little salt and pepper. Add some of these potatoes, and I have a meal. Works great for the kids (10+ of ‘em’!)”

“If you’re not tasting the food, what are the customers experiencing!!”