Events

If you are a livestock producer, you need to see this! Extreme to exceptional drought is something we don’t experience on a regular basis and most of us don’t plan for it. Jim Gerrish, grazing consultant, from Mackay, Idaho will join Muskingum Soil and Water Conservation District on Monday September 30, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. for a Live Zoom meeting. Jim will be sharing management information that will help us deal with the drought now and into the future. Jim’s extensive experience with grazing management and drought conditions will give us a variety of ideas to be able to manage through this drought and the future impacts. He is concerned about the sustainability of family farms and speaks at producer-oriented workshops, seminars and field days He consults on grazing across the United States and Canada. Jim spent 22 years at the University of Missouri Forage Systems Research Center. He helped write the Missouri Grazing Manual. He has written a monthly column in The Stockman Grass-Farmer and has authored three books. The titles of the books are Management-Intensive Grazing: The Grassroots of Grass Farming, Kick the Hay Habit: A Practical Guide to Year-Around Grazing, and most recently Keeping It Green, A Handbook for Creating & Managing Irrigated Pasture. The current weather conditions have put additional stress on our operations. It is good to get information from someone who has been there and done that. Jim Gerrish is one of those people! There are two ways to attend the event – virtually by Zoom or join us for a watch party/dinner and discussion at Rolling Plains Global Methodist Church (3350 Moxahala Park Rd., Zanesville, OH 43701). This program is sponsored by the Muskingum SWCD and the Southern Ohio Grazing Council. You can register for this Zoom meeting by using the link below.

Join FairShare CSA Coalition and UW-Madison Extension for a webinar panel of certified, recently transitioned, and non-certified farmers as they discuss their decision-making process for organic certification. Kat Becker of Cattail Organics, Brad Wissmueller of Little Society Farm, and Martice Scales of Full Circle Healing Farm will talk about their experiences and the key factors that shaped their decisions about organic certification, including market opportunities, recordkeeping, and feasibility. Learn more about the organic transition process, as well as financial and technical assistance available to transitioning farmers through the Midwest Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). A live question-and-answer session will also give you the chance to ask your most pressing questions about organic certification.

What are the similarities and differences across farms operated by producers of different races? This talk—part of the 2024 CFAES DEI Speaker Series—examines whether farm financial performance differs among farms operated by White, Black, and Native American producers. Black and Native American farmers, in particular, have struggled to hold on to farmland over the last century. The talk will explore the historical context in which these farms operate and highlight observed racial differences in performance for farms that engage in beef cattle production, an industry in which a large share of Black and Native American producers specialize. The findings will be placed in the broader context of other work examining socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. About the speaker: Dr. LaPorchia Collins is a research agricultural economist in the Market and Trade Economics Division for the USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS). At ERS, she examines issues affecting the U.S. livestock, dairy, and poultry industries. Her research covers topics related to food security, inequality, and the environment. Prior to joining ERS, Dr. Collins served as a Professor of Practice and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Economics at Tulane University. Her research has been published in high-impact, applied economic and interdisciplinary journals such as The American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy, Empirical Economics, and Applied Geography, among others. She earned her doctoral degree in agricultural, environmental, and development economics from The Ohio State University and bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from Southern University and A&M College.