The Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference is the largest educational conference and trade show in the southeastern United States that unites growers, vendors and suppliers.
For more information or to register, visit the conference website, or contact Katie Oxford by email or phone (706-407-2264).
January 6 is the deadline for applications to the USDA Food & Nutrition Service’s Farm to School grant program.
On an annual basis, USDA awards competitive Farm to School grants that support planning, developing, and implementing farm to school programs. USDA’s Farm to School grants are an important way to help state, regional, and local organizations as they initiate, expand, and institutionalize farm to school efforts.
For more information, visit the program website, or email Jean Bingham.
For more than a quarter of a century, the National No-Tillage Conference has been providing the practical tips and information to run a more successful no-till operation.
The conference features 4 days of nonstop learning from leading no-tillers, agronomists, researchers and other no-till experts sharing innovative ideas that can help get the most out of no-till farming systems.
It offers a mix of General Sessions, expert-led No-Till Classrooms, and collaborative No-Till Roundtables. Plus, pesticide recertification and Certified Crop Advisor credits are available to qualifying attendees.
Just as important is the opportunity to profit from unlimited hallway networking with innovative and forward-thinking minds in no-till.
For more information or to register, visit the conference website, or contact No-Till Farmer by email or phone (866-839-8455).
Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) awards competitive grants of up to $3,000 to working, independent farmers located in the 50 United States and five major U.S. territories who raise beef cattle, bison, broiler chickens, dairy cows, ducks, geese, goats, laying hens, pigs, sheep and/or turkeys.
Applications must be submitted online by 11:59pm CT on January 10, 2023, to be considered for this round of funding. Grants will be awarded in March 2023.
For more information or to apply, visit the grant webpage, or contact FACT by email or phone (773-525-4952).
Join the 2023 Great Plains Growers Conference January 13-14 in St. Joseph, MO. This 2-day conference attracts vegetable, fruit, cut flower and other specialty crop growers from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska each year, including a variety of full and part time farm market and diversified horticulture producers.
Concurrent educational program tracks are offered throughout the conference addressing the following topics:
- Business Management/Marketing
- Tree Fruits
- Small Fruits
- Organic Farming
- Conventional Vegetable Production
- Greenhouse, High Tunnel & Hydroponic Production
- Vegetable Integrated Pest Management
For more information or to register, visit the conference website, or contact Buchanan County Extension by email or phone (816-279-1691).
Oklahoma State University Extension’s Master Irrigator Program kicks off its third year in January 2023 to educate producers on water conservation and irrigation practices.
The Master Irrigator Program will take place 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Tuesday over the course of four weeks. The dates for 2023 are Jan. 17, 24, 31 and Feb. 7. Registration is $100 per person. Participants will also have the option of attending in-field events for hands-on learning next fall.
Curriculum for the 2023 program includes Ogallala hydrology, soil/water relationship, soil moisture sensors, economic value of Ogallala water, irrigation scheduling models, the Oklahoma Mesonet, irrigated forage production, irrigation equipment, well energy efficiency, drip irrigation, VFDs, center pivots, soil health and nutrient management.
Master Irrigators offers a platform for sharing peer-to-peer knowledge with producers while discussing irrigation techniques they have used, problems they have faced and management techniques they are curious about, said Jason Warren, OSU Extension specialist for soil and water conservation.
The Oklahoma Water Resources Center works with several state and federal agencies to provide funding and opportunities to producers following the program. They can receive up to $2,000 to purchase irrigation technology, such as soil moisture sensors or irrigation schedulers. Program graduates are also eligible for benefits to improve their irrigation systems.
Program participants can receive additional points on their Environmental Quality Incentives Program applications for financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service. They can also request free irrigation audits to measure how much energy and water an irrigation system uses in daily operations as well as locate leaks in pipelines and assess the uniformity of irrigation application.
For more information or to register, visit the program webpage, or contact Sumit Sharma by email or phone (580-349-5441).
High Plains Journal’s Soil Health U & Trade show will return to an in-person format for the first time since the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The two-day event will be held Jan. 18-19 at the Tony’s Pizza Event Center in Salina, Kansas. Soil Health U is designed to provide attendees with a roadmap to better soil health and increase productivity and profitability. This event includes a diverse line-up of keynote speakers, educational breakout sessions, engaging panels and a tradeshow of soil health-adjacent exhibitors.
The keynote speakers are Jerry Hatfield, Ph.D., retired United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service laboratory director, and Jay Fuhrer, a conservationist employed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Bismarck, North Dakota. Hatfield’s keynote, “What is the real value of soil carbon: Path toward increasing productivity and profitability,” will focus on increasing soil carbon for more efficient utilization of water and nutrients to increase profitability. Fuhrer’s keynote, “Rebuilding and maintaining soil life in the soil,” will delve into the increasing the longevity of soil, the damage landscape simplification can inflict and how to revitalize the soil to meet its potential for years to come.
Some of the breakout speakers include Macauley Kincaid, a farmer and soil health enthusiast from Missouri; Roy Pfaltzgraff of Pfaltzgraff Farms in Haxtun, Colorado; Trisha Jackson, Ph.D., director of regenerative agriculture at PrairieFood; Brian Alexander, host of the Ranching Reboot podcast; Cassidy Million, Ph.D., director of ag science at Heliae Agriculture; Kari Bigham, teaching assistant professor at Kansas State University; and Dr. Chris Grotegut, DVM, farmer, rancher and veterinarian. The topics covered in the educational sessions will include: cover crops, livestock, carbon, grazing, profitability and water management. There will also be opportunities for Certified Crop Adviser credits.
The Soil Health U & Trade Show event will also include Soil Health U awards, which will be presented on day one of the event. The awards include Regenerative Woman of the Year and Young Producer of the Year. Individuals that have made valuable contributions to regenerative agriculture can be nominated by visiting www.soilhealthu.net/award-nominations/ and filling out an online form. If selected, the recipients will be notified in advance and will receive two free registrations to attend the event, a one-year subscription to High Plains Journal, editorial coverage in the publication and recognition during the awards ceremony at Soil Health U.
This event also provides ample time to network with speakers, attendees and exhibitors at the trade show during the trade show hours and the Tailgate Social that closes out day one of the event.
For more information or to register, visit the event website, or contact Jen Hoeferlin by email or phone (314-446-4905).
The American Pastured Poultry Producers Association’s seventh annual Pastured Poultry Conference runs January 19-21 in Dallas, Texas.
For more information or to register, visit the event webpage, or contact the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association by email or phone (888-662-7772).
This producer-initiated organic vegetable production conference is designed for advanced growers and attracts participants from throughout the Midwest and beyond. Participants who register by January 6 will receive a conference packet with handouts and swag through the mail BEFORE the conference. Those who register after January 6 may receive the packet before or AFTER the conference. All sessions will be over Zoom.
For more information or to register, visit the conference webpage, or contact Dane County Extension by email or phone (608-224-3700).
The Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (TOFGA) 2023 conference includes three days of in-depth workshops and learning sessions, plus multiple off-site intensives and farm tours. Additional highlights include a farm-to-table banquet with keynote speaker, social and networking opportunities, and an excellent trade show featuring new and innovative material as well as mainstay agricultural tools, inputs, and services.
TOFGA is a statewide non-profit organization focused on education and advocacy for Texas farmers, ranchers, and gardeners who practice organic and sustainable methods.
For more information or to register, visit the conference webpage, or contact the Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association by email or phone (512-656-2456).
