Published Dec 22, 2021

Practical Farmers of Iowa Offering Free Farminar Web Series, Starts Jan. 4
By Tamsyn Jones
Topics span silvopasture, cover crops, estate planning and more

Contacts:

Maggie Norton | Farmer Outreach Coordinator | Practical Farmers of Iowa | (515) 232-5661 | maggie_n@practicalfarmers.org

AMES, Iowa (Dec. 22, 2021) — Practical Farmers of Iowa’s 2022 winter webinar series, referred to as “farminars,” will start on Tuesday, Jan. 4, with a presentation by Virginia-based farmer and consultant Eliza Greenman on how to integrate livestock, agroforestry and horticulture.

The event is one of 11 farminars offered through March 29 on issues relevant to beginning and experienced row crop, livestock and horticulture farmers, as well as landowners.

All farminars run weekly on Tuesdays from 7-8:30 p.m. CST, are free to attend and anyone with an internet connection is invited to participate. Each presentation focuses on a unique production or business management topic, and is led by a farmer or subject-matter expert. Attendees are able to ask questions in real-time using a chat box while during the presentations.

To participate: Go to practicalfarmers.org/farminars, click the “Register to Join” button, follow the prompts and click the URL to join. A schedule of all upcoming farminars – plus recordings of archived farminars – is also available at that link.

Other topics in the 2022 series will explore organic no-till in row crops; on-farm research on cover crops, manure and nitrogen; organic seed production; day-neutral organic strawberries; integrating prairie strips into farm fields; grass-fed beef marketing; estate planning; online direct marketing; and working lands conservation programs.

The 2022 series will also feature a Spanish-language farminar on March 15 exploring ways to manage weeds and pollinators with mesotunnel production of crops like cucumbers, melons and squash. For full event and speaker details, visit practicalfarmers.org/farminars.

Farminars in the 2022 series include:

  • 4: “Fruit & Fodder” – Eliza Greenman
  • 18: “High-Producing Organic No-Till” – Brett Israel
  • 1: “On-Farm Research Explores Cover Crops, Manure, Nitrogen & Returns” – Woody Van Arkel & Cameron Ogilvie
  • 8: “Mysteries Revealed: Organic Seed Production and How Growers Can Play a Part” – Adrienne Shelton
  • 15: “Organic Day-Neutral Strawberry Production in the Upper Midwest” – Aaron Wills
  • 22: “Prairie Strips & Conservation Programs” – Paul Mugge & Tim Youngquist
  • March 1: “Grass-Fed Beef Marketing at Grand View Beef” – Amanda Severson
  • March 8: “Estate and Succession Planning” – Beverly Jones
  • March 15: (Presented in Spanish only) “Optimización de polinización y manejo de malezas bajo mesotuneles” / “Pollination & Weed Management Optimization Under Mesotunnels” – Sharon Badilla-Arias
  • March 22: “Online Marketing for Pastured Products” – Hannah Bernhardt
  • March 29: “Working Lands Conservation Programs: Resources & Strategies for Success” – Kalee Olson & Kayla Bergman

Note: A complete list of presenters, organized alphabetically by community, is included below.

Practical Farmers’ 2022 winter farminars are made possible with funding from the Cedar Tree Foundation; Center for Rural Affairs; Ceres Trust; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture; and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

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About Practical Farmers:

Practical Farmers of Iowa works to equip farmers to build resilient farms and communities. Our values include: welcoming everyone; farmers leading the exchange of experience and knowledge; curiosity, creativity, collaboration and community; resilient farms now and for future generations; and stewardship of land and resources. To learn more, visit http://practicalfarmers.org.

Farminar Presenters by Community

 Ames, Iowa – Presenting March 15

  • Sharon Badilla-Arias es una estudiante de maestría en el laboratorio del Mark Gleason en la Universidad Estatal de Iowa en el Departamento de Microbiología y Patología Vegetal.

Sharon Badilla-Arias is a master’s student in the Plant Pathology and Microbiology Department at ISU studying in Mark Gleason’s lab.

 Clarion, Iowa – Presenting March 1

  • Amanda Severson and Knute Severson own and operate Grand View Beef, raising 100% grass-fed Hereford beef from birth to harvest on their century family farm in Clarion, Iowa.

 Drayton, Ontario – Presenting Jan. 18

  • Brett Israel is the third active generation in 3Gen Organics, a certified organic mixed farming operation near Drayton, Ontario.

 Dresden, Ontario – Presenting Feb. 1

  • Laurent (Woody) Van Arkel farms just south of Dresden, Ontario.

 Finlayson, Minnesota – Presenting March 22

  • Hannah Bernhardt and her husband, Jason, tend the 160 acres of Medicine Creek Farm in northeastern Minnesota.

 Guelph, Ontario – Presenting Feb. 1

  • Cameron Ogilvie is the knowledge mobilization coordinator for Soils at Guelph, a University of Guelph initiative to advance soil management by bridging gaps between farmers, researchers and the public.

 Hamilton, Virginia – Presenting on Jan. 4

  • Eliza Greenman is a fruit explorer and horticultural historian based in Virginia who designs and implements agroforestry plans that integrate livestock (and humans) into tree crop systems and orchards.

 Kiron, Iowa – Presenting Feb. 22

  • Tim Youngquist is the farmer liaison with Iowa State University’s STRIPS project, which studies the impacts of strategically integrating prairie strips into farm fields. He grew up on a century farm near Kiron, Iowa, that has been in his family since 1871, and where he still farms today.

 Nevada, Iowa – Presenting March 29

  • Kayla Bergman is a senior policy associate with the Center for Rural Affairs based in its Nevada, Iowa, office.

 Northfield, Minnesota – Presenting Feb. 15

  • Aaron Willis and his partner, Molly, own and operate Little Hill Berry Farm near Northfield, Minnesota, where they grow organic strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, along with pumpkins and native prairie strips.

 Omaha, Nebraska – Presenting March 29

  • Kalee Olson is a policy associate with the Center for Rural Affairs. She currently resides on the family farm in rural Nebraska where she was born and raised.

 Sutherland, Iowa – Presenting Feb. 22

  • Paul Mugge and his wife, Karen, raise corn, soybeans and small grains, and dedicate a portion of the farm to pollinator and wildlife habitat. 

 Tarkio, Missouri – Presenting March 8

  • Beverly K. Jones, of Jones Law Office, is a solo attorney based in Tarkio, Missouri, who is licensed in both Missouri and Iowa.

 Thetford, Vermont – Presenting Feb. 8

  • Adrienne Shelton is a senior product specialist with Vitalis Organic Seeds.