~The Scranton Journal
No matter the farm enterprise, wintertime allows farmers a chance to reflect on the previous year and consider adjustments to improve their operation the following year. In order to support farmers’ efforts to continually improve, Practical Farmers of Iowa offers a free webinar series – called “farminars” – featuring practical knowledge on a range of topics for row crop, livestock and fruit and vegetable producers.
Every Tuesday until Dec. 20, each farminar focuses on a unique production or business management topic. All presentations are led by an experienced farmer or subject-matter expert, and attendees are able to ask questions in real time using a chatbox while they listen and watch a slideshow. Farminars start at 7 pm on Tuesday evenings and last 90 minutes.
To participate: Go to practicalfarmers.org/farminars, click the “Join in” button and sign in as a “Guest.” A schedule for all upcoming farminars and an archive to view more than one hundred past farminars are also available at this link.
On Dec. 6, the program is “Graze and Bale: Cover Crops as Forage” by James Holz and Bill Frederick, Greene County farmers.
In addition to providing a variety of environmental benefits, cover crops on a crop-livestock farm offer economic returns when used as a forage source. Holz of Grand Junction and Frederick of Jefferson have a combined 12 years of experience growing cover crops and operate Iowa Cover Crop, a custom cover crop application business. Holz will share his experiences with chopping and baling covers, while Frederick will discuss cover crop grazing strategies.
Practical Farmers of Iowa’s 2016 fall farminars are made possible with funding from Ceres Trust, Farm Service Agency, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Water Quality Initiative, McKnight Foundation and Natural Resources Conservation Service.
