Calendar: Small Farms Winter Webinar series

The program Practical Agroforestry for Illinois Small Farms will kick off the University of Illinois Extension 2022 Small Farms Winter Webinar Series at noon Jan. 20. This webinar will focus on agroforestry practices that are perfectly suited for small, diversified farms across Illinois.

Other workshops in the Small Farms Winter Webinar Series include:

• Jan. 27, Regenerative Agriculture: Techniques Towards Sustainable Vegetable Production

• Feb. 3, Vining Through Pumpkin Production

• Feb. 10, Overview of the 2022 Illinois Home to Market Law

• Feb. 17, Pawpaws: Our Native “Tropical” Fruit

• Feb. 24, High Tunnel Winter Greens Research from Dixon Springs

• March 3, Introduction to Vermicomposting

• March 10, Mushroom Production

• March 17, Getting Started with Backyard Swine

• March 24, Growing Great Grapes

• Register at tinyurl.com/2p9e9rjz.

Art of fiber fabric landscaping

OTTAWA, Ill. — Youths ages 10 to 19 will learn the art of fiber fabric landscaping from 9 to 11 a.m. Jan. 22 at the La Salle County Extension office, 1689 N 31st Rd, Ottawa.

After a brief review of fiber art landscaping, participants will create a unique fabric landscaping art piece.

Cost is $5 and includes fabric and other supplies needed to create a fabric landscaped piece of art.

The completed project can be entered at the next La Salle County 4-H Show in Visual Arts - Fabric.

Dubois County Annual Meeting

JASPER, Ind. — The Purdue Extension Dubois County Annual Meeting will be 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. EST Jan. 15 at the CTIM Theater, VUJC Campus, 850 College Ave.

Dubois County educators will review the year’s programming and discuss plans for the future.

Guest speaker will be Ashley Adair, Extension Organic Agriculture Specialist. She will discuss organic food labels and what they actually mean for the consumer.

Breakfast from Azura will be provided. Register at tinyurl.com/3fuucawz.

Fort Wayne Farm Show

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Fort Wayne Farm Show will be Jan. 18-20 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, 4000 Parnell Ave., Fort Wayne. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST Jan. 18; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 19; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 20.

Attendees can expect to enjoy the innovations and wares of over 1,000 booths, as well as ample opportunities to attend seminars to learn more about current topics in agriculture from partners and trusted experts, Purdue Extension and Northeastern Indiana Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

For more information, visit www.tradexpos.com.

Mental health first aid

Learn how to help someone experiencing mental health or substance abuse issues at the online program Mental Health First Aid for the Agriculture Community from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 19.

Give someone in your community a hand by learning how to recognize and respond when someone might need help. Participants will gain skills to identify signs of mental health issues, learn how to communicate with someone experiencing them, and receive resources to connect someone with help.

This statewide training is for ag producers, agribusiness personnel, stakeholders, and anyone who wants to support the agriculture community

Certified livestock manager training

University of Illinois Extension is hosting 10 in-person Certified Livestock Manager Training workshops throughout the state.

In-person training dates:

• Jan. 18, 9 a.m., Effingham County Extension office, 1209 N. Wenthe Drive, Effingham

• Jan. 19, 9 a.m., St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, 330 N. Buhrman, Nashville

• Jan. 20, 9 a.m., Clinton County Extension office, 1163 N. Fourth St., Breese

• Feb. 1, 9 a.m., Illinois Department of Ag Building Auditorium, 801 E. Sangamon Ave., Springfield

• Feb. 2, 9 a.m., Pike County Farm Bureau Building, 1301 E. Washington, Pittsfield

• Feb. 3, 9 a.m., Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau, 1000 N. Main St., Monmouth

• Feb. 15, 9 a.m., Livingston County Extension office, 1412 S. Locust St., Pontiac

• Feb. 16, 9 a.m., DeKalb County Farm Bureau Building, 1350 W. Prairie Drive, Sycamore

• Feb. 17, 9 a.m., Stephenson County Farm Bureau Building, 210 W. Spring St., Freeport

• Feb. 23, noon, Illinois Pork Expo, Bank of Springfield Center, 1 Convention Center Plaza, Springfield

The workshop fee is $40, and $30 for each additional participant. Register at go.illinois.edu/CLMT.

You also can access online training at go.illinois.edu/CLMT. Online CLM training is open year-round and follows the same format as in-person workshops. There are nine modules (10- to 20-minute videos), and you can work through these modules at your own pace. If you have more than 1,000 animal units, you can take the test online at the end of the training.

The online training fee is $40 and Illinois Department of Agriculture certification fee is $30. Once you create an account, you will have access to the training videos and also enrichment videos for three months.

2022 Crop Management Conference

Make the most informed decisions you can for your farm by getting the latest research updates to improve productivity and output from crop science experts at University of Illinois. Crop producers, consultants, and industry professionals are invited to the 2022 Crop Management Conference series.

Topics Include insect management in corn and soybeans, managing high-priced fertilizer in 2022, maintaining and enhancing the USDA soybean germplasm collection, and Group 15 herbicides.

Conference locations are:

• Jan. 19, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., DoubleTree by Hilton, 222 Potomac Blvd., Mt. Vernon

• Feb. 2, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Grand Ballroom, Western Illinois University, University Circle, Macomb

• Feb. 8, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., i-Hotel, 1900 First St., Champaign

• Feb. 15, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., DeKalb County Farm Bureau Building, 1350 W. Prairie Drive, Sycamore

Cost is $100 per person and lunch is included.

A new online conference with additional sessions is available from Feb.1 through March 14. Participants who attend in person also have access to online sessions.

Learn more or register at go.illinois.edu/CMC2022.

Grow Your Farm series

FERDINAND, Ind. — The Grow Your Farm series for the next generation of farm producers and farm managers will be from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST Fridays, Jan. 21, Jan. 28, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18 and Feb. 25.

Topics will include:

• Strategic thinking for farms

• Pesticides, diversification

• Marketing and more

• Corn and soybean production, sustainability

• Legal do’s and don’ts

• Farmer panel on resiliency and growth

In-person locations include:

• Ferdinand Library, 112 E 16th St., Ferdinand, Ind.

• Hancock County Extension Office, 802 Apple St., Greenfield, Ind.

• Kokomo-Howard County Public Library South, 1755 E. Center St., Kokomo, Ind.

• Noble County Extension office, 2090 N State Road 9, Albion, Ind.

• Pinney-Purdue Agricultural Center, 11402 S. County Line Road, Wanatah, Ind,

• Putnam County Extension office, 12 Central Square, Greencastle, Ind.

The series also will be offered online.

Cost is $100. Register at cvent.me/l7RdwB.