All posts in Events

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.

Farm Credit East Webinar Nov. 17: H-2A: Getting the Agricultural Workers You Need Legally

Farm Credit East is pleased to cosponsor Harris Beach’s webinar on getting legal ag workers with H-2A on November 17 at 9:00AM. This 90-minute webinar is the second in a series that cover a handful of topics including the 2021 H-2A process, H-2B employer compliance and what constitutes “agricultural” employment. Qualification for H-2A and H-2B, navigating the DOL’s “Single Employer Test” in H-2A and addressing dairy farms and H-2A will also be covered. Click here to register.

Women, Food & Agriculture Network Annual Conference (Virtual) November 6-7

WFAN will host their virtual 2020 conference on the web platform, Whova. Conference participants will gather in a space designed to foster connection and community. We are excited to offer seventeen different workshops, affinity groups, a movie night, yoga sessions, and more! Join them in this time of both reflection and action planning together.

Member Rate: $40 (full access) Non-Member Rate: $50 (full access)

Nov. 4- Dec. 16: Northeast Greenhouse Conference & Expo 2020 Virtual Webinar Series!

Northeast Greenhouse Conference and Expo is pleased to announce that they will offer a webinar series this fall, sponsored by New England Floriculture Inc., in order to deliver content relevant to Pesticide Applicator Certification continuing education credits. Although they jad to postpone the Northeast Greenhouse Conference and Expo to 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, they hope that these webinars will provide important education (and CE credit) for the greenhouse community in 2020. They are currently applying for CE credit from each New England State and New York. 

Registration for the webinars is open! You have the option of paying only $100 for all 6 webinars (per attendee) or $25 each to select just a few. The webinars will be offered weekly from November 4 – December 16 at noon, Eastern Time. Please note that in order to get CE credit, an attendee must have an email address and log in to the webinar as an individual. More information about credits and logistics will be provided as it becomes available at the Pesticide Applicator Credits page.

Click here to learn more or register.

CT NOFA Online Workshop: Site Analysis for Water Management

September 17 at 6 PM, Online workshop for $20 to $25

During this in-depth advanced workshop focused on water management for landscape professionals, Trevor takes us on-site visits across New England, solving issues of erosion, runoff, and on-site water capture.

Click here to register or learn more.

UConn Extension is surveying agricultural producers to determine the impacts of COVID-19 on your agricultural business and what educational programs you need from UConn Extension and our partners as a result of COVID-19.

Click here for survey.

Take advantage of free voluntary guidance to ensure that your produce is grown, harvested and packaged safely. UCONN Extension is offering on-farm informal food safety reviews. This non-regulatory review of produce growing, harvest and packaging will focus on reducing food safety risks. This one-on-one personalized educational review process provides advice, practical suggestions and implementation guidance. Participants in the program are recommended but not required to attend a Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training course prior to beginning the review. UCONN is also offering a second type of produce safety review that is less intensive and identifies policies and procedures to improve produce safety. Lastly UCONN will provide resources and support to farms writing food safety plans. To schedule a review or other kind of food safety visit, please contact indu.upadhyaya@uconn.edu or 860-786-8191.