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.
January 6 is the extended deadline to apply for funding from the USDA Regional Food Business Centers Program.
The USDA Regional Food Business Centers will support a more resilient, diverse, and competitive food system. These Regional Food Centers will support producers by providing localized assistance to access local and regional supply chains, including linking producers to wholesalers and distributors. They will provide technical assistance needed to access new markets, access to federal, state, and local resources, and will assist small- and mid-sized producers in overcoming barriers to market access, with a focus on underserved farmers, ranchers, and food businesses. No match is required.
USDA Regional Food Business Centers will have three main responsibilities:
– Coordination – The Regional Food Centers will act as regional hubs coordinating across geographic areas with USDA, other federal, state, and tribal agencies with relevant resources, regional commissions, stakeholders, and the other Regional Food Centers. They will engage with stakeholders and partners to develop and implement strategic and funding plans for serving the region through technical assistance and capacity building. They will conduct outreach to underserved communities and businesses.
– Technical Assistance – The Regional Food Centers will provide direct business technical assistance to small- and mid-sized food and farm businesses (producers, processors, aggregators, distributors, and other businesses within the food supply chain) and food value and supply chain coordination. Each Regional Food Center will identify priority areas for technical assistance (e.g., aggregation/distribution, specialty crop processing for institutions) for the region it plans to serve.
– Capacity Building – The Regional Food Centers will provide financial assistance through business builder subawards up to $100,000 to support projects focused on regional needs and businesses that are working towards expansion and other investment. These subawards may support staff time, business planning activities, software implementation, the purchase of special purpose equipment, such as food safety, processing and packaging equipment, and value chain coordination, and other expenses associated as outlined in the RFA.
For more information or to apply, visit the program webpage, or email the Regional Food Centers staff.
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).
This free webinar for beginning farmers covers innovative marketing techniques. It is produced by a group of partners including NCAT.
The overall five-part webinar series is designed for beginning farmers and will provide education around small scale production and marketing. Topics will include innovative marketing techniques, crop product systems, food safety practices, grains and specialty crops, and producing and marketing cut flowers.
One-time registration is required; participants may attend whichever sessions they are interested in.
For more information or to register, visit the webinar webpage, or contact Kelly McAdam by email or phone (603-527-5475).
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).
Growing With Integrity: Better Soil, Better Life is a two-day conference featuring Nicole Masters and Jay Young, presented by the Oklahoma Grazing Land Coalition. Topics include Listening to the Land, Transitional Tips for Soil Health, and How to Save Thousands in Input Cost!
Registration costs $200, and includes lunch both days, as well as handouts.
For more information or to register, visit the event registration page, or contact Sara Bullis by email or phone (405-853-5005).
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).
Discovering Resilience is a legal workshop designed to teach farmers and ranchers how to implement their own legal action plan and find legal answers with confidence. Plus, you’ll have a group of fellow producers to keep you on track.
Join to learn the 10 best practices of farm legal risk management over 5 weeks.
January 17: Farm Law as Your Creative Power
January 24: Organize Your Farm Business for Legal Success
January 31: Growing a Legally Resilient Workforce
February 7: Access Farmland with Legal Confidence
February 14: Diversify Farm Enterprises Without Adding Legal Risk
Each week contains video learning, activities, and reading selections. Classes meet on Tuesdays listed above with the instructor to learn more about the law and develop practical skills.
For more information or to register, visit the workshop webpage, or contact Farm Commons by email or phone (218-302-4030).
