The National Association of Conservation Districts’ Annual Meeting is the premier event for leaders in conservation, from district officials and agency representatives to industry professionals. Each year, the meeting draws over 1,000 conservation leaders from across the United States and its territories.
Meeting attendees have the opportunity to:
– Network with landowners, partnering organizations, companies and government agencies
– Discover emerging technologies, services and programs through the Innovation Fair
– Engage in professional development
– Participate in forums discussing natural resource issues
– Develop strategies for education and outreach
– Influence conservation policy
For more information or to register, visit the event webpage, or contact the National Association of Conservation Districts by email or phone (202-547-6223).
The Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund is a small grant program that provides direct assistance to veterans who are in their beginning years of farming or ranching. The Fellowship Fund does not give money directly to the veteran, but rather to third-party vendors for items the veteran has identified will make a crucial difference in the launch of their farm business. Awards range from $1,000 to $5,000.
The application for the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund opens once per year at which time eligible veterans are given four weeks to submit a fully completed application.
Once the application period ends, an advisory panel of agricultural industry professionals convenes to review submissions. The application review process can take up to two months with awardees usually being notified in the spring.
Fellowship recipients have six months to use their award.
Upon notification of their award, Fellowship recipients may begin seeking out third-party vendors to make their purchase. All third-party vendors must be approved by the Fellowship Fund manager prior to purchase.
After an approved third-party vendor has been selected, the Fellowship Fund manager makes the payment on the farmer veteran’s behalf.
The application, which consists of both short answer and essay questions, is comprised of five main focus areas: military service, educational background, prior farming experience, business and financial planning, and short-term and long-term goals.
Applicants are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Farm training/experience and/or transferable skills
- Personal investment in their farm business
- Strength of funding request and ability to show how an award will help grow their farm business
- Vision and goals for the future of their business
- Community involvement
Required Documents
- A business plan
- Proof of service
For more information or to apply, visit the fellowship website, or contact the Farmer Veteran Coalition by email or phone (530-756-1395).
SoilCon 2023 is a free, virtual conference that brings research, extension, and production together to move soil health principles into practice. The Washington State Soil Health Initiative (WaSHI), with support from Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (WSARE), organizes the conference.
For more information or to register, visit the conference website, or email the Washington State Soil Health Initiative.
Meaningful conversations between women farmers, rural business leaders and landowners have been a goal of the Women Managing the Farm Conference since the event began in 2005, and the 2023 meeting is no exception. From ag advocacy at large and small scales to the impact of military aggression on global food security to mental health, the 2023 Women Managing the Conference offers women the chance to explore how to grow their operations, their communities and themselves.
This annual conference provides a supportive setting in which women can develop the skills, resources and knowledge needed for success in a competitive agricultural environment. Conference sessions are designed to keep women up to date on the latest advancements in agriculture and thriving within their rural communities.
During the two-day conference, attendees will also select from presentations covering many topics, including a K-State calving school, farm finances, relationships and health, agricultural and estate law, crop production and marketing, management and more. Attendees also choose networking sessions tailored to the different roles women hold, such as agricultural partners and helpers, independent producers, absentee landowners, ag industry career women and business managers.
Early registration runs through January 15, 2023, at $175, with scholarships available for those who apply before that deadline. New this year is a student rate of $60 for any high school or college students. After that date, registration is $200. Additional pre-conference sessions are available for $25, including beginning QuickBooks, advanced QuickBooks, interactive farm safety and an introduction to UAV/drone technology.
For more information or to register, visit the conference webpage, or contact Rhonda Lund by email or phone (785-532-4016).
Join Dr. Kristie Wendelberger, Climate Smart Project Director, in this free webinar as she discusses Rodale’s newest, multi-disciplinary, large-scale project intended to help Southern Piedmont farmers transition to Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices.
Designing and implementing a new large-scale system of agriculture such as CSA takes an interdisciplinary approach that includes farmer adoption, understanding economic and social barriers to adoption, market and consumer buy-in, new technology to help ease the work and burden on the farmers, and the science to back up these changes.
This $25 million project is funded through the USDA Climate Smart Commodities grant program and in partnership with Emory University, Clemson University, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, University of Georgia, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University, University of Wisconsin, Soil Health Institute, Georgia Organics, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, and Virginia Association of Biological Farming.
For more information or to register, visit the event webpage, or contact the Rodale Institute by email or phone (610-683-1400).
What are the benefits of pollinator friendly solar sites? How does it impact grazing?
Join the American Solar Grazing Association’s February webinar with Minnesota Native Landscapes and their research partners on pollinator habitats at solar sites.
Pollinator habitats continue to be an important issue for solar site development, both for their potential ecological benefits and because of their inclusion in legislation regulating dual use and solar siting. How pollinator habitats interact with grazing and vegetation management is a hot topic for the solar grazing world.
MNL’s Jake Janski will provide an overview of the last 7 years of Minnesota’s pollinator friendly solar boom, and MNL’s partners from Argonne National Laboratory and Monarch Joint Venture will discuss the results of their respective solar pollinator research projects.
Jake will break down MNL’s pollinator friendly solar operations and cover everything from seed mix design and establishing vegetation to the introduction of grazing as a multi-benefit pollinator habitat management tool.
Following Jake’s overview, Lee Walston and Heidi Hartmann from Argonne National Laboratory will present field data from their research into the ecological opportunities of solar-pollinator habitats.
Then Laura Lukens from Monarch Joint Venture will present the results from a 2021 pilot study that investigated the benefits of pollinator-friendly solar in Minnesota.
The presentations will be followed by a Q&A.
The webinar is free, but registration is required.
For more information or to register, visit the event webpage, or email the American Solar Grazing Association.
After a two-year pandemic hiatus, Georgia Organics will once again its conference for farmers, community advocates, equity activists, and climate leaders. Over three packed days, attendees will build and reinvigorate the connections that lead to impactful collaborations for Georgia’s food system.
For more information or to register, visit the conference webpage, or contact Georgia Organics by email or phone (678-702-0400).
February 16 is the application deadline for the USDA NIFA Food Safety Outreach Competitive Grants Program.
The Food Safety Outreach Program will complement and expand the national infrastructure of the National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Competitive Grants Program. The Food Safety Outreach Program will build upon that national infrastructure, with a sustained focus on delivery of customized training to members of the target audiences.
Awardees will develop and implement food safety training, education, extension, outreach and technical assistance projects that address the needs of owners and operators of small to mid-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially-disadvantaged farmers, small processors, or small fresh fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers. Grant applications will be solicited directly from those in local communities to include those from community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, food hubs, farm cooperatives, extension, and other local groups.
For more information or to apply, visit the program webpage, or contact Jodi Williams by email or phone (202-424-9722).
Join this free Step into Spring workshop to learn about preparing your garden, landscape, and lawn for the busiest growing season of the year, spring! Presented by Educators Julia Laughlin (Horticulture), Taylor Conner (FCS and Registered Dietitian), and Joshua Campbell (Natural Resources and Urban Agriculture)
For more information or to register, visit the registration page, or contact LaDonna Hines by email or phone (405-713-1125).
The Mother Earth News Fair offers an array of workshops and lectures designed to get you further down the path to independence and self-reliance. Whether you want to learn how to grow and raise your own food, build your own root cellar, or create a green dream home, come out and learn everything you need to know — and then some!
Each MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR features:
- Workshops from the leading authorities on organic gardening, food preservation, homesteading and livestock, green building, and natural health
- Regional and national exhibitors featuring sustainable products and services
- Off-Stage demos with topics ranging from hands-on seed saving to building mud houses to heritage breed livestock
- Inspirational keynotes, food, and kids’ programming.
For more information or to register, visit the Mother Earth News Fair – Texas website, or contact the Fair organizers by email or phone (1-800-234-3368).
