8 minute read
Community Calendar
CROp ROTATIONS ON A LARGE-SCALE ORGANIC FARM
July 21 | 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Madison, S.D. Join 2013 MOSES Farmer of the Year Charlie Johnson and his family for their annual field day and bus tour in South Dakota! Learn how the importance of good crop rotations in an organic system and grazing contribute to resilient, healthy soil. Oat trials in their fourth year, conducted by SDSU on the Johnson Farm, will also be one of the bus tour stops. Lunch will also be provided. Learn more and register at marbleseed.org or call 715-778-5775.
RODALE INSTITUTE ANNUAL ORGANIC FIELD DAY
July 22 | 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Kutztown, Penn. Learn the latest results of farming trials and visit nearly 20 demonstration stations. Participants will have the opportunity to interact one-on-one with Rodale Institute experts and learn about a wide variety of research and demonstration projects, all focused on organic agriculture. Learn more and register at rodaleinstitute.org/visit/organic-field-day.
July 23 | Free | Wesley, Iowa Join Sara and Bob Pearson as they discuss corn and small grains and equipment used in their organic system while implementing conservation programs. Hosted by Practical Farmers of Iowa. Call 515-232-5661 or email info@practicalfarmers.org to learn more.
GREAT RIVER GRAZIERS AND kICkApOO GRAZING INITIATIVE pASTURE WALk
July 26 | 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Viroqua, Wis. This pasture walk visits Tom Coleman in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Topics will include rotational grazing of dairy heifers, clipping mature vegetation, and corral design. Learn more at www. kickapoograzinginitiative.com/events.html.
OGRAIN FIELD DAY: HUGHES FARMS
July 27 | 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Janesville, Wis. This field day will highlight the diversity and innovations at the Hughes Farms in Janesville, Wisconsin. Farming over 5000 acres in a parallel operation consisting of both conventional and organic practices, the Hughes have succeeded in developing diverse rotations and markets. This field day, in partnership with Marbleseed, will discuss and showcase the various innovations on the farm related to the diversity of crops included in the crop rotation. Register: forms.gle/LbXQKEZzjJRF7hK1A
WOMEN’S CONSERVATION SUMMER CAMp –
MANAGING WOODLANDS
July 28 | 12 – 1 p.m. | Online This summer, the last Thursday of the month, Wisconsin Women in Conservation (WIWIC) is hosting Zoom meetings for women landowners, farmers, and operators to discuss different conservation practices that can be implemented on your land. Go to wiwic.org for more info.
COVER CROpS & VEGETABLE pRODUCTION ON AN INCUBATOR FARM
July 31 | 2 - 5 p.m. | Lino Lakes, Minn. Visit Kilimo Minnesota, a three-to-five-year training program that is uniquely situated to give emerging farmers an opportunity to learn vegetable growing techniques and business skills in a new climate, country, and culture. Field day attendees will learn and connect with emerging farmers, walk through their many ¼- acre to 1-acre plots of vegetables, and learn about different cultural crops grown alongside the Minnesota crops. This field day is supported by funds from NCR SARE. Learn more and register at marbleseed.org or call 715-778-5775.
WEED CONTROL STRATEGIES IN ORGANIC CORN AND SOYBEANS
August 2 | Free | Harlan, Iowa Join Ron and Maria Rosmann and family, and Eric Madsen as they discuss organic weed control strategies using the Buffalo Ridge-Tillage brand of cultivators and planters. Hosted by Practical Farmers of Iowa. Call 515-232-5661 or email info@ practicalfarmers.org to learn more.
OGRAIN FIELD DAY: WILSON FAMILY DAIRY FARM
August 3 | 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Cuba City, Wis. A field day hosted by the Wilson Family Farm, who milk 400 cows on 2,900 organic acres. Farming organically since 1996, the Wilson’s emphasize soil health, and the connection between soil health, plant health, and healthy people and animals. This field day will discuss and demonstrate the integration of rolled-crimped rye into their soybean crop (which the Wilson’s have done for over a decade), soil health gains on the farm, and the integration cereal grains into a dairy rotation as both quality feed for the herd and off-farm sales. Co-hosted with Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative. Register: forms.gle/ yrTMouCcFZ3hYMFc8
GITIGAANING FARM & MANOOMIN TOUR
August 20 | 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Cloquet, Minn. Join us for a tour of two incredible agricultural sites of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa! Visit Perch Lake to learn about manoomin (wild rice) and the importance of treaties in tribal food sovereignty, including the management, production, and marketing aspects of manoomin. Gitigaaning, which means “the place of the gardens’’ in the Ojibwe language, is a 36-acre farm with a growing dome, orchard, berry patch, pollinator plantings, and four acres open to the growers of the Bimaaji’idiwin Producer Training Program. This field day is supported by NIFA, USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.and NCR SARE. Learn more and register at marbleseed.org or call 715-778-5775.
COVER CROpS AND GRAZING IN AN ORGANIC SYSTEM
August 20 | Free | McGregor, Iowa Join Scott and Shannon Koether as they discuss establishing and grazing legume covers and small grains in an organic system. Hosted by Practical Farmers of Iowa. Call 515-232-5661 or email info@practicalfarmers.org to learn more.
August 20 | 3 - 7 p.m. | Solon, Iowa Organized by SILT. See how bees live, enjoy recipes and talk around food from the farm, purchase products, get a farm tour. Call 319-800-8108 to learn more.
VARIETY SHOWCASE AT GARVER FEED MILL
August 21 | 5 - 8 p.m. | Madison, Wis. This consumer-facing event will bring together a network of breeders, farmers, chefs, bakers, and beverage manufacturers, to discuss and demonstrate the benefits of participatory breeding, where researchers, growers, and end-users all play an essential role in guiding the development of new crop varieties. Co-hosted by the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative, Culinary Breeding Network, and the Artisan Grain Collaborative, this year’s iteration of Farm to Flavor will have a special emphasis on culinary grains including wheat, rye, oats, barley, and corn. Come learn, taste, and engage! This is a ticketed event – registration details to come at https://ograin.cals.wisc. edu/ograin-events/2022-ograin-field-days/.
OGRAIN FIELD DAY: OTTER CREEk ORGANIC FARM
August 24 | 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Spring Green, Wis. This field day will be hosted by the Zimmer Family at Otter Creek Organic Farm, located in southwestern Wisconsin. The farm is adopting an innovative rotations of hybrid rye, cover crops, and corn. This field day will highlight several tours, including compost/fertilizer delivery systems, approaches to soil and plant testing, and the plan and economics behind Otter Creek’s cropping system approach. The day will also highlight the work of Rye Revival, promoting the benefits of cereal rye as a cash and cover crop. Register: forms.gle/RNigo4ecVM4paCQC9
WOMEN’S CONSERVATION SUMMER CAMp –
TOOLS TO MANAGE YOUR LAND LEGACY
August 25 | 12 – 1 p.m. | Online This summer, the last Thursday of the month, Wisconsin Women in Conservation (WIWIC) is hosting Zoom meetings for women landowners, farmers, and operators to discuss different conservation practices that can be implemented on your land. Go to wiwic.org for more info.
FIRST GENERATION FARM START-Up
August 27 | 12 - 3 p.m. | Alexandria, Minn. This field day will highlight the journey of Naima’s Farm from the beginning to current transition. Naima and her husband will share the challenges they both experienced regarding land access for an immigrant farmer and share more about their expanding farm business. This field day is supported by NIFA, USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. Learn more and register at marbleseed.org or call 715-778-5775.
BUS TOUR OF THE REGENERATIVE TREE-RANGE pOULTRY SYSTEM
August 27 | Free | Northfield, Minn. Join Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquín and Wil Crombie for a tour of this unique poultry system, and discussion encouraging beginning farmers and diversity, equity and inclusion. Hosted by Practical Farmers of Iowa. Call 515-232-5661 or email info@ practicalfarmers.org to learn more. August 30 | 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Arlington, Wis. This field day at the UW Arlington Agricultural Research Station will highlight organic research conducted at the University of Wisconsin, including optimizing equipment and production practices for organic no-till production, interseeding cover crops into corn and soybeans the impact of organic management on soil health, and weed management for organic hemp production. Register: forms.gle/8ubio8yAXv3C3mYN8.
WISCONSIN WOMEN IN CONSERVATION FIELD DAY
– NORTHWEST REGION
September 10 | 1 – 4 p.m. | Amery, Wis. Join us at Blackbrook Farm with one of WIWIC’s conservation coaches Ayla Dodge, as she walks us through conservation programs she has implemented on her farm. Registration limited. Hosted by Marbleseed. More details at wiwic.org.
MIDWEST MECHANICAL WEED CONTROL FIELD DAY
September 14 | $ | Benton Harbor, Mich. Helped organized by the Land Connection. Save the date for this important field day featuring the latest in weed control equipment and techniques for your organic farm. Call 217840-2128 to learn more.
AGROFORESTRY FIELD DAY - CARNEY FAMILY FARMS
September 14 | 2 - 4 p.m. | Maxwell, Iowa Organized by SILT. Meet Bruce Carney and hear more about how he built his agroforestry system one piece at a time. Learn too about a new calculator to help determine profitability factoring in permanent conservation tax incentives. Call 319-800-8108 to learn more.
URBAN GROWERS COLLECTIVE FARM TOURS
September 17 | 1 - 4 p.m. | Chicago, Ill. Join the MOSES 2022 Changemaker Award recipients as we tour two of their farms. Urban Growers Collective is a Black- and women-led non-profit farm in Chicago, Illinois working to build a more just and equitable local food system. Come see their well-established South Chicago Farm, and a newer farm project close by called Green Era Urban Farm and Renewable Energy Campus that will support local compost development. This field day is supported by NIFA, USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. Learn more and register at marbleseed.org or call 715-778-5775.
SMALL FARM SUMMER OpEN HOUSE - RED FERN FARM
September 20 | 1 - 6 p.m. | Wapello, Iowa Organized by SILT. What are chestnuts good for? Learn about cooking them, paw paws and more at this open house featuring a cooking demo, farm tour, music and a Landowners Roundtable to learn what it means to permanently protect your land for table food farming. Call 319-800-8108 to learn more. HOW TO EARN $30,000 pROFIT pER ACRE WITH
A REGENERATIVE FARM
September 21 | 5 p.m. | Online Learn the three secrets to having a successful regenerative farm. Guest presenter is Jeff Siewicki of Vital Mission Farm in South Carolina. Hosted by FACT. Register atfoodanimalconcernstrust. org/webinar-archive/how-to-earn-30000-profit-per-acrewith-a-regenerative-farm
