USDA Webinar: Building Resilience in Agriculture and Food Systems through Strategic Partnerships

February 17, 2021 1:00- 4:30 pm: USDA Webinar: Building Resilience in Agriculture and Food Systems through Strategic Partnerships.

You’re invited to USDA’s forum Building Resilience in Agricultural & Food Systems through Innovative and Strategic Partnerships on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 from 1:00-4:30 p.m. EST. Presenters include leaders from USDA, ag industry and community organizations followed by open Q&A discussion. This forum discussion will highlight how innovative and strategic partnerships between federal, state, local and private partners support the building of resilience in agricultural and food systems, with a focus on food systems and disaster recovery. Held in conjunction with USDA’s Ag Outlook Forum, this Microsoft Teams Live Event is hosted by USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE) and Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Mission Area. The event takes place in conjunction with the Agricultural Outlook Forum, the USDA’s largest annual gathering, bringing together more than 1,500 sector leaders to connect and discuss current and key emerging issues in agriculture.

Click here to register. For more information, contact OPPE’s Alex Cordova at alex.cordova@usda.gov or FPAC’s Jessica Carlton at Jessica.carlton@usda.gov.
 

A three-part webinar series on plant growth regulators, pests, and diseases on ornamental plants in greenhouses. Presentations are for commercial greenhouse growers (wholesale and retail) producing ornamental spring bedding plants, specialty annuals and herbaceous perennials. One pesticide recertification credit has been approved for each one-hour webinar for all New England states. All webinars will take place from 12 to 1 PM EST.

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, Effective Use of Plant Growth Regulators, George Grant, GGSPRO Technical Specialist

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, Research Update on Managing Greenhouse Insect and Mite Pests, Dr. Raymond Cloyd, Kansas State University

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, Diseases of Spring Annuals and Herbaceous Perennials, Margery Daughtrey, Cornell University

For more information and to register, click here.

2021 FSMA PRODUCE SAFETY ALLIANCE REMOTE GROWER TRAINING COURSE
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training Course has been designed to provide a foundation of Good Agricultural Practices knowledge that includes emphasis on co-management of food safety and environmental management goals, while outlining the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. The PSA Grower Training Course is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement outlined in § 112.22(c) that requires ‘At least one supervisor or responsible party for your farm must have successfully completed food safety training at least equivalent to that received under standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration.’ This course will be taught remotely on a Zoom platform as per the remote delivery guidelines established by PSA.

Course registration fee (includes all course materials and certificate): $50

Please register by December 28 by clicking here or by visiting http://cahnrconference.uconn.edu/.

For more information, please visit Produce Safety Grower Course_UConn or contact Indu Upadhyaya at 860-786-8191 or indu.upadhyaya@uconn.edu.

FREE WEBINAR: Navigating the PPP Loan Forgiveness Process, Jan 20 12-1:30 pm

For small business owners experiencing confusion with the PPP loan forgiveness process, SCORE is offering a free webinar on January 20, 2021, at 12:00-1:30 p.m. EST with small business consultant and SCORE Mentor Josette A. Hill. Topics will include deadlines, eligible expenses, independent contractors, application forms, covered period, calculating payroll cost, and much more.

Workshop presenter Josette A. Hill is the Founder of J.A.H. Financial Services, in Portland, CT. She is an accomplished Income Tax Professional, Coach, SCORE Mentor and highly sought-after Small Business Consultant. 

Pre-registration is required, sign up here. . 

February 24-25, 2021: Free Harvest New England Virtual Agricultural Marketing Conference and Trade Show

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR HARVEST NEW ENGLAND

The 8th biennial Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference and Trade Show which draws hundreds of farmers and farm industry members to idea-laden workshops and hear motivational speakers from across the region, will be held virtually for the first time. Mark your calendars now for February 24 and 25, 2021, and join your regional agriculturists for two half days of workshops!
 
This year’s conference theme is Diversifying for Agri-Businesses: Strategies for Weathering the Storms. Kicking off the educational workshops on Wednesday, February 24 at 8:45 a.m. is conference keynote speaker and seventh generation farmer and author, Forrest Pritchard from Berryville, Virginia. His talk, entitled Lessons from 2020, Opportunities for 2021, will examine what the past year taught us not only about our operations, our markets and marketing, but most importantly, ourselves, and how farmers can use these lessons to sustainably pivot into 2021 and beyond.
 
Five additional workshops will follow on Wednesday and Thursday. These workshops will include farmers and experts from across the region, with a focus on product and market diversification. Information about all of the workshop, including workshop descriptions and speaker biographies, can be found at www.harvestnewengland.org.
 
Harvest New England is also developing a New England Farmers’ Market Managers Seminar to be held in conjunction with the conference. More details will be announced soon.
 
Registration is now open, and in 2021, the conference will be offered at no cost to attendees. Harvest New England recognizes that this year has been unprecedented for producers in many ways, and feels strongly that now more than ever, it’s important to provide agricultural businesses throughout the Northeast with the tools to remain viable, cultivate innovators, and foster the next generation of farmers.

Farm Credit East Webinar: Permanent Foreign Labor Options for Seasonal Businesses, Dec 15

Farm Credit East is pleased to cosponsor Harris Beach’s webinar on permanent foreign labor options on December 15 at 9:00AM. This webinar is the third in a series that navigates the complex maze of labor options. This 90-minute session will cover permanent labor certification, defining job requirements, the prevailing wage process and more. Click here to register.