Sept. 20, 2021: CT NOFA No-Till Field Day at Assawaga Farm, Free in Putnam CT, 3:00- 6:00 PM
Includes farm tour, regenerative ag methods training, refreshments.
Assawaga Farm is located at 626 Providence Pike in Putnam CT. Register for this free event here.
Sept. 11, 2021, 10:00 am-12 PM CT NOFA Online Learning: Year Round Greenhouse Production, $25- $35
Hosted by NOFA New Jersey, this virtual webinar is all about producing food year-round, in a greenhouse.
A century ago New Jersey greenhouses produced vegetables all winter long, with manure hotbeds, forcing of blanched shoots, and other techniques. Today gardeners and farmers are re-learning how to produce food all winter with little or no heating required. This workshop will cover insulated bioshelters, winter vegetables in unheated greenhouses, growing subtropical and warm-temperate fruits like pomegranates, citrus, and more. Eric Toensmeier will be teaching this virtual class. Get ready for Winter with NOFA-NJ! Saturday, September 11 from 10 AM-Noon.
Click here to register.
Sept 9, 2021, 6-7:15 PM. Cost $15: CT NOFA Online Learning: Loving and Cooking with your CSA, from Cherry Grove Farm
NOFA-NJ, The Suppers Program, and Jammin’ Crepes are working together to offer a Cooking class which celebrates the NJ Organic CSA and seven NJ farms who have a CSA program. Every second Thursday of the month, Tony Kennette will introduce you to another NJ Organic farm, and Kim Rizk of Jammin’ Crepes will cook from the farms CSA box. The charge for this event is $15 for one class or $60 for the whole series.
Click here to register.
Connecticut Virtual Farmer Veteran Meet and Green, June 30
Register at https://ctrcd.org/agriculture/farmup/
Virtual Farm Field Day July 15, 2021, 6 PM Establishing a Chestnut Agroforestry, by CT Resource Conservation and Development
Thinking about diversifying your farm? Considering how to incorporate tree crops using agroforestry?
Tree crops such as chestnut and hazelnut in CT are becoming a source of additional farm income and an opportunity to diversify crops and use spaces that aren’t suited to tillage or other activity.
Come learn about establishing chestnut agroforestry from farmers, agricultural, and NRCS service providers. We’ll walk though the process of assessing the property for potential tree crops and agroforestry uses. Look at the steps to establish and maintain the perennial tree crop planting at Adamah Farm which recently planted chestnuts as part of an initial phase of farm expansion. We’ll go through the process in this webinar, hear about lessons learned, and how the newly planted trees are part of the farm’s bigger plan. Hear how farms in Connecticut can get started in improving farm diversity and expand into agroforestry.
This event is FREE. However, donations are welcome in order to support the continued work of the CT Soil Health Initiative.
Click here to register.
Tour Des Farms 2021 registration opens June 1, 2021
2021 TOUR DES FARMS STARTS JUNE 1
Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development’s (CT RC&D) annual Tour des Farms (bicycle, motorcycle or car) ride is returning statewide! On Tuesday, June 1, registration will open for participants to access eight regional routes to farms all around the state.
As a program, Tour des Farms aims to move around Connecticut, ensuring diverse regional agriculture promotion. In 2019, CT RC&D held an in-person ride in Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, and for the ride’s reemergence in 2018, participants biked farms throughout the Litchfield Hills.
Adapting to social distancing guidelines, Tour des Farms pivoted for 2020. As part of the new approach to their annual ride, CT RC&D now hosts a summer-long statewide Tour des Farms event for riders to enjoy at their own pace and schedule. The event includes eight regional routes, each featuring 6-10 farms throughout the state. That’s over 75 farms getting direct support from their communities!
Registration opens June 1 at https://ctrcd.org/tourdesfarms/ and will close on October 1. A $20 registration fee includes access to 8 regional routes and the accompanying Ride with GPS Event Maps with printable cue sheets, a customizable riding bib, a TDF Farm Passport, and the chance to win exciting prizes for completed and returned TDF Passports. Riders are also welcome to offer an additional donation, as 50% of the profit generated for the event will be going toward purchasing farm products which will be donated directly to food security initiatives in the state.
May-June, 2021, 6:30 to 7:30 pm Webinar Series: Connecticut Farmland Trust staff and guest experts will be offering a weekly series to share knowledge and learn from mid-May through mid-June. This series will help land stewards gain what they need about farmland preservation and also elevate how we think about land trusts. You can meet guests who will answer the questions, How does farmland preservation work? and What else can a land trust do in addition to protecting land?
Sessions will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on their specified date. There is no cost to attend, but donations to support the work are welcome.
May 13: Farmland Conservation 101, featuring CFT’s Executive Director Elisabeth Moore
May 20: Meet n Greet Farmers Who Preserved Their Land, featuring three CT farmers
May 27: Understanding Soils: A Key to Stewardship, Land Health, and Climate Resiliency, featuring Conservation Scientist Kip Kolesinskas
June 10: Public Act 490 Overview and Q & A, featuring Joan Nichols, Connecticut Farm Bureau Association’s Executive Director
June 17: How Land Trusts Can Support Food Access, featuring Connie Manes, Executive Director to Kent Land Trust
When you register for the event you can submit questions ahead of time, or submit a question during the talk. Each webinar has a different Zoom link.
To sign up for one of these webinars, visit Connecticut Farmland Trust’s events page: http://ctfarmland.org/site/events/. If you want to register for all five of the “Ask an Expert” webinars at once, email outreach@ctfarmland.org with the subject line “All Webinar Registration” and you will be sent your personal Zoom links and codes.
April 15, 2021 UConn Extension Exploring Beef x Dairy Crossbreeding from 1:00 to 2:00 pm.
With volatility in milk prices and increased availability of sexed semen, many dairy farmers are able to satisfy their need for replacement heifers with fewer purebred matings. Crossbreeding lower-performing dairy cows to beef bulls offers an opportunity for dairy producers to diversify markets and increase revenues. However, much has yet to be learned about genetic selection of beef bulls for crossbreeding, feeding protocols for crossbred calves, and other management strategies that ensure a high-quality, profitable meat product. Join UConn Extension Livestock Specialist Joe Emenheiser on Thursday, April 15th from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.as he presents general information on beef x dairy crossbreeding and provides insight into research that is developing at UConn and with its regional partners.
Register today by emailing MacKenzie White at mackenzie.white@uconn.edu to request the WebEx link.
April 8, 2021 Meat Slaughter/Processing Webinar 6-7:30 PM
On Thursday, April 8 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Connecticut Department of Agriculture (DoAg) will present a webinar to address meat slaughter and meat processing. Presenters include Dr. Lynda Lilyestrom, George Slobodjian, Joshua Rupert, John Froelich, and David Brown. The three main presentations, each lasting about 20 minutes, will cover a range of topics such as grants of inspection, custom slaughter and retail butcher exemptions, and COVID-19 funding and loan guarantee programs to improve or establish slaughter and processing capacity. The third presentation will be followed a Q&A session. Interested parties should register for the meeting using the meeting link and password below.
Meeting link: https://ctdoag.webex.com/ctdoag/j.php? MTID=m4cc93983f26e76bdbcbe39ae1774982b
Meeting number: 132 530 9056
March 31, 6-8 PM: By Zoom Connecticut Farm Bureau Association PA 490,”Connecticut’s Current Use Tax Law for Farmland, Forestland, Open Space Land and Maritime Heritage Land”
Joan Nichols, CFBA Executive Director, will present a comprehensive overview of the law, tips for applying for and maintaining the classification, and information on transferring PA 490 land.
Registration is free to all standard CFBA members and $40 for non-standard CFBA members. Join CFBA, or upgrade your membership, and the registration fee will be waived. All registrants will receive a copy of the 2020 CFBA PA 490 Guide. To register, visit www.cfba.org or call 860-768-1100.