NCR-SARE, in cooperation with the Nebraska Great Plains Resource Conservation & Development Council (RC&D) and Iowa Golden Hills Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D), conducted public listening sessions at three locations in east-central NE and southwest IA to discuss increasing the sustainability of their agriculture.

The NCR-SARE listening sessions serve as an opportunity to bring together people with differing viewpoints within a community of place to share their perspectives of sustainability and agriculture. Reports resulting from the listening sessions serve as a respected...

The 11th Annual Kansas Winter Grazing Conference is scheduled for January 15, 2011, 9am-4pm in Junction City, Kansas. Topics for the day are Mob Grazing, Focusing on Animal Performance, and Multi-Species grazing with Cattle and Sheep.

Featured speaker is Greg Judy of Clark, Missouri who uses Holistic High Density Planned Grazing to graze cows, cow/calf pairs, bred heifers, horses, and stockers. He and his wife Jan own a 250 head grass genetic cow herd, 300 head hair sheep flock, goat herd, and graze Tamworth pigs. They have also started direct marketing grass-fed beef, lamb and pork. Greg is author...

Visit Madison, Wisconsin for the 2011 Midwest Value Added Ag. Conference, Cultivating Farm Profitability, January 27-28, 2011 at the Sheraton Madison Hotel.

This is the first year the conference will be held in Madison and River Country RC&D Council is expecting an eclectic mix of small-scale farmers and urban agricultural enthusiasts as well as the region’s top educators and farm service organizations.

The program will feature Joel F. Salatin. Salatin is an American farmer, lecturer, and author whose books include You Can Farm and Salad Bar Beef. Salatin raises livestock using holistic...

The January 2011 Wisconsin Local Food Summit is being held at The Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, WI, January 13-14, 2011. http://osthoff.com/

Breakout sessions will be conducted on a wide range of topics of interest to those who are concerned about local food issues followed by a facilitated summit session that will strive to determine through consensus the 3 highest priority topics currently for local food system development in Wisconsin. Due in part to support from the Program Innovation Fund, WLFN now has resources available to form statewide working groups around these topics. As always,...

An NCR-SARE webinar "Grass-fed Beef" will be presented by Terry Gompert, Extension Educator in Knox County.

It is scheduled for Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. CDT.

To participate in the Adobe Connect "Sustainable Agriculture” Webinar Series, you will need to have a computer with internet access and a phone. At the meeting time, simply click on the following link or copy and paste it into your browser to enter the meeting: http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/unl Contact Gary Lesoing at (402) 274-4755 or glesoing2@unlnotes.unl.edu with questions.

Source: University of Wisconsin

Agronomy professor and department chair William F. Tracy has been named interim dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

“Chancellor Martin and I are delighted with Bill’s willingness to serve and are confident that the college will maintain and grow its forward momentum and success under Bill’s leadership,” says Provost Paul M. DeLuca Jr. “We’re fortunate to have someone with Bill’s background, skills and judgment to step in at this most critical juncture.”

Tracy will assume the post on Jan. 2, when...

The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is pleased to announce the appointment of Rob Hedberg as its new director. Hedberg has served as interim director of the program since January 2009, and brings a wealth of personal, professional and educational experience in agriculture to the job.

Since 2005, Hedberg has worked at USDA-NIFA (National Institute of Food and Agriculture) focusing on science policy, legislative and inter-governmental affairs. In these roles, he worked closely with Congress and other federal agencies on issues related to agricultural science and led...

The MOSES Organic Farming Conference is the largest organic farming conference in the U.S. Organized by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES),
and held annually in La Crosse, WI, the conference is an extraordinary, farmer-centered event.

With over 60 informative workshops, 140+ exhibitors, locally-sourced organic food, live entertainment and inspirational keynote speakers, the conference is celebrated as the foremost educational and networking event in the organic farming community. Sponsored, in part, by SARE. To register and view more information, visit http://www.mosesorganic.org/conference.html...

The South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service will host the Western Corn Belt Conference for Organic Farmers on Dec. 6-7.

The conference, for organic producers and traditional agriculture producers considering a transition to organic farming, begins on Dec. 6 at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel, 3200 W. Maple St., Sioux Falls. Registration is $30 for those who sign up on or before Nov. 15; the registration fee is $40 after Nov. 15. One-day registration options after the early sign-up period ends are set at $30 for the first day only and $15 for the second day.

To register for the conference, send...

What: “Rural Farming to Urban Gardening” -- an evening of enlightened conversation and photography exhibition on food and farming.
When: Tuesday, November 30; program & facilitated discussion 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; (self-guided photo exhibition 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.)
Where: W.K. Kellogg Foundation, One Michigan Ave. East, in downtown Battle Creek
RSVP: 269.969.2678

Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 6 p.m., for “Rural Farming to Urban Gardening,” a nourishing evening of conversation on food and farming, accompanied by a photography exhibition on Black Farmers (self-guided photo exhibition 3 p.m. – 6...