Upcoming Events
June 2013
The ServSafe® Certification and Home Study Course dates are June 10, & 17th from 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and the exam is June 24th from 9:00 until 12 noon.
Equipment demonstrations and educational sessions for sports field managers, including natural and artificial turf.
Your customers love the color perennial flowering plants add to their landscapes. Learning about herbaceous perennials will help you choose the right plants to thrive in the site, group them attractively, and provide four seasons of interest in your jobs. In this full-day class, Penn State horticulture professor Dr. David Sanford will cover popular perennials for landscape jobs. He will concentrate on rugged plants that are reliable performers, have few pest problems and are available in the trade. We will meet in the auditorium for the morning session to see pictures of the plants and discuss their habits and culture. Plan to spend approximately half of the class time outdoors looking at perennials in the demonstration beds surrounding the Berks County Agricultural Center. Come prepared for the weather. Add some new perennials to the palate that you offer your customers.
On the tour, you will have an opportunity to examine corn and soybean weed control trials including competitive products comparisons.
This workshop, presented by Martha Zepp, offers tips for improving the quality of the fresh foods that you preserve in your home freezer. Methods of preventing toughness, spoilage, freezer burn, and evaporation will be addressed. Learn how to blanch vegetables, to choose packaging materials, to individually quick freeze (tray freezing), to use a freezer thermometer, to vacuum seal, and much, much more. Learn options for freezing sweetened, artificially sweetened, and unsweetened fruits to produce a quality product that can be used by itself or used in desserts. Freezing fruit is an easy alternative to home canning and you don’t have to heat the kitchen.
For everything tomato, join experienced Master Gardeners and learn their secrets for this tasty summer favorite.
Penn State Extension and the Penn State Southeast Agricultural Research and Education Center (SEAREC) will be hosting an agronomic field day for farmers, industry representatives, and other agricultural professionals. The 2013 field day will strive to provide both industry and the farming community with current production agriculture related topics and concerns. You will also have the opportunity to visit with our sponsors from the chemical industry, the seed industry, local equipment dealers, ag lenders, and other crop production professionals. PA Certified Crop Advisor and Nutrient Management credits available.
Perennial plants fill in garden spaces with color, interesting textures and a display that changes throughout the year. There are so many to choose from it can be a little daunting to decide which ones to invest in! Knowing more about perennials will help you know which plants might thrive in your garden, when they bloom, how many seasons of interest they provide, and how to group them to compliment the design of your garden. Whether you are just starting to discover wonderful cultivars or you want to fill in around your existing favorites, please consider joining us for a day of learning about a great group of plants!
Dinner/discussion meeting will feature Sam Learner and Bob English, Roach Ag Marketing, Ltd. and Bill Kirk, CEO and co-founder of Weather Trends International
This workshop, presented by Martha Zepp, offers tips for improving the quality of the fresh foods that you preserve in your home freezer. Methods of preventing toughness, spoilage, freezer burn, and evaporation will be addressed. Learn how to blanch vegetables, to choose packaging materials, to individually quick freeze (tray freezing), to use a freezer thermometer, to vacuum seal, and much, much more. Learn options for freezing sweetened, artificially sweetened, and unsweetened fruits to produce a quality product that can be used by itself or used in desserts. Freezing fruit is an easy alternative to home canning and you don’t have to heat the kitchen.
July 2013
Class Dates: July 11 and 18, 2013; Exam: July 18, 2013, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM; Registration Deadline: July 5, 2013
The Summer Turf & Ornamentals School is an all-day program designed for the landscape professional. A wide variety of ornamental plant and turf topics will be discussed. Recertification credits will be available for all but one session. The first half of the day is outdoors; the second half is indoors. Join us for a fun and educational day!
The Summer Turf & Ornamentals School is an all-day program designed for the landscape professional.
The purpose of this class is to prepare for the Pennsylvania certified pesticide applicator exams in Core and Categories 06 (Ornamental and Shade Tree), 07 (Lawn and Turf), and 23 (Parks and Schools Pest Control). Students should attend three or four days of training, depending on the license(s) they wish to obtain. Core training is held on July 16 and 18, and is required for all licenses. See the section on the Summary page of the registration website titled "What Days of Training Should I Attend?" to determine when you will need to attend class. Testing is conducted by the PA Department of Agriculture after completion of the class and requires additional fees. Class Dates: July 16, 18, 19, 23, 2013 (9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.) Optional Exam Date: July 25, 2013 (9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)
Herbal Highlights: Oregano, Sweet Marjoram, Basil
Herbal Highlights: Oregano, Sweet Marjoram, Basil
Hitting, grabbing, pushing, and biting: how do children learn to play nicely? Children can learn to solve their own problems, but they need adults to teach them how to do it.
This hands-on workshop, presented by Martha Zepp, is designed for beginning canners who want supervised experience in using a pressure canner for the first time. You will learn the basics of using a pressure canner using current USDA canning guidelines. Learn how a pressure canner works, the foods that need to be pressure canned, canning safety, and what to look for when buying a pressure canner. Each participant will pressure can two pints of green beans—supplies will be included in the class fee. Enrollment is limited to 7 so register early!
Wholesale nursery growers and garden center employees, spend a morning at Root’s Nurseries learning how to identify ornamental plant pests and problems, along with various management strategies.
This hands-on workshop, presented by Martha Zepp, is designed for beginning canners who want supervised experience in using a pressure canner for the first time. You will learn the basics of using a pressure canner using current USDA canning guidelines. Learn how a pressure canner works, the foods that need to be pressure canned, canning safety, and what to look for when buying a pressure canner. Each participant will pressure can two pints of green beans—supplies will be included in the class fee. Enrollment is limited to 7 so register early!
The annual Flower Trial Field Day is your opportunity to see firsthand over 1,100 of the newest annual flowers that will be offered to garden center and landscape clients next spring. Guided tours by our flower evaluators are featured events. There will also be a series of seminars on what's coming next in new flowers, disease management, and pesticide safety. Pesticide credits will be available for licensed applicators from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey.
This is the one day every year that Landisville throws open its doors to the general public. While we always have a featured speaker and many concurrent educational sessions, the farm with its numerous research trials and the Penn State Flower Trials are the real stars of this event. Come for a fun day full of information you can use in your own garden!
Update meeting for vegetable producers. Topics include Soil and Plant Disease Management.
August 2013
Class Date for Certification and Recertification: August 5, 2013; Exam for Certification Only: August 12, 2013 at 9:00 AM; Registration Deadline: July 31, 2013
This workshop includes beef quality assurance training and your choice of a feedlot session or a cow/calf session.
Tomatoes and fruits can be safely processed in a boiling water bath. Learn the latest canning recommendations including acidifying tomatoes and the use of salt. Discover how to can fruit with or without sugar. This workshop, presented by Martha Zepp, will cover the basics of canning tomatoes, tomato sauces and tomato juice. These basics also apply to other high acid foods, such as pickles and fruits.
Herbal Highlights will Focus on the Lemon Herbs: Lemon verbena, Lemon thyme, Lemon basil
Herbal Highlights will Focus on the Lemon Herbs: Lemon verbena, Lemon thyme, Lemon basil
Pest identification and management for turf and landscape professionals.
Class Dates: August 20 and 27, 2013; Registration Deadline: August 16, 2013
How toos of production for new and aspiring organic vegetable farmers.
A unique opportunity for participants to follow the same soybean stand during the growing season—from shortly after emergence to canopy closure.
This program will look at what works well at circle times, circle time activities, and how to use circle time to solve group problems.
Tomatoes and fruits can be safely processed in a boiling water bath. Learn the latest canning recommendations including acidifying tomatoes and the use of salt. Discover how to can fruit with or without sugar. This workshop, presented by Martha Zepp, will cover the basics of canning tomatoes, tomato sauces and tomato juice. These basics also apply to other high acid foods, such as pickles and fruits.
Tomato Tasting, Contests & Recipes, Tomato Salsa & Preserving Demonstrations
Class Date: August 28, 2013; Registration Deadline: August 23, 2013
September 2013
Garlic Tasting Party Plus how to grow this delicious herb! Taste 10-20 different varieties!
Class Date: September 5, 2013; Exam: September 12, 2013, 9:00-11:00 AM; Registration Deadline: August 29, 2013
This over-night event is a bus tour of 12 premiere retail farm marketers with plenty of ideas, education, food and fun for all. This year we are exploring what northern New Jersey and Connecticut have to offer. These farms and markets are major providers of fruits, berries, vegetables, prepared foods and agri-tourism.
Instruction covers fundamentals of HACCP with application in meat and poultry processing operations. The course provides participants with hands-on experience in developing a HACCP plan. Taught by instructors certified by the International HACCP Alliance with extensive experience in food safety training. Meets USDA requirements for HACCP training for fresh and further-processed meat and poultry processors. The dates and times for this event are September 10, 2013 - 10:00 AM-5:00 PM; September 11, 2013 - 8:00 AM-5:00 PM; and, September 12, 2013 - 8:00 AM-12:00 PM
Is your local organization struggling to stay productive? Is membership falling? Are you challenged to find or manage resources? Does the group feel like it is going in too many directions, or maybe no direction at all? Six Steps to a Highly Effective Organization works with a leadership team from your organization to identify and develop concrete steps to increase effectiveness. Six monthly workshops will focus on how your organization operates: leadership, structure and committee roles, decision-making and resource management and much more.
ONE-DAY WORKSHOP FOR THE HOME GARDENER - Topics include: Raising Monarchs - Get the Digs on Dirt - A Day in the Fall, Setting the Stage for the Birds - Description of Plants in Murder and Mayhem - Gardening for EVERY BODY - Native Alternatives to Invasive Garden Plants - Insects - Cast a Leaf - The Healing Garden - What's Happening in My Garden? - Vegetable Gardening from November to January
Class Dates: September 16 & 23, 2013; Exam: September 30, 2013, 5:00-7:00 PM; Registration Deadline: September 9, 2013
Making the Most of Summer Vegetables
Join us for this end-of-season landscape update. Review the past season’s pest problems and pick up a few timely core and category pesticide credits.
Join us for this end-of-season landscape update. Review the past season’s pest problems and pick up a few timely core and category pesticide credits.
Join us for this end-of-season landscape update. Review the past season’s pest problems and pick up a few timely core and category pesticide credits.
This meeting focuses on weed management in industrial and right-of-way settings. Industry and University specialists present the latest weed management information. Core and Category pesticide credits have been requested.
Join us for this end-of-season landscape update. Review the past season’s pest problems and pick up a few timely core and category pesticide credits.
This series of participatory discussions and study sessions will help you create a farm plan for your new vegetable business. Let’s make sure all the pieces of your farm business fit together. A good business plan is not enough if you don’t have the weed management plan to make sure you can grow what you planned to grow! You will start with your profit goals and focus in on the markets and production techniques that will help you meet your goals. A series of homework activities will lead you step by step through the process. Discussion the following week will give you feedback from your peers and ag professionals to help you refine your vision.
October 2013
Class Dates: October 8 and 15, 2013; Registration Deadline: October 4, 2013
Class Date: October 9, 2013; Registration Deadline: October 4, 2013
Going green saves green. Designing and maintaining a corporate or industrial site can be an expensive undertaking. This workshop will showcase sustainable landscape practices that can reduce costs, support a healthier, more productive workforce, and protect water quality.
Take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity to learn about local agriculture in Lehigh County. This annual event has been conducted in Lehigh County for over 40 years. There is no charge to go to any of these sites. Bring your family, dress casually and enjoy the day talking with local farmers and learning how your food is produced.
Class Date for Certification and Recertification: October 21, 2013; Exam for Certification Only: October 28, 2013 at 9:00 AM; Registration Deadline: October 16, 2013
Class Date: October 31, 2013; Exam: November 7, 2013, 9:00-11:00 AM; Registration Deadline: October 25, 2013
November 2013
A program to build & sustain the Alletta Schadler Scholarship Fund & to provide awareness of existing extension programs.
A program to build & sustain the Alletta Schadler Scholarship Fund & to provide awareness of existing extension programs.
Class Dates: November 19, 2013, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, and December 3, 2013, 9:00 AM-11:00 AM; Exam: December 3, 2013, 11:00 AM-1:00 PM; Registration Deadline: November 12, 2013
December 2013
Class Date for Certification and Recertification: December 2, 2013; Exam for Certification Only: December 9, 2013 at 9:00 AM; Registration Deadline: November 27, 2013
February 2014
This conference covers a wide range of topics to help crop production professionals improve their understanding of and ability to manage grain and forage crops.
