Upcoming Events

Learn how soils work. Gain soil test interpretation skills. Learn management practices to address issues identified in your soil test and build soil health. Who Should Attend: New and aspiring farmers who wish to delve into the relationship between soil properties and crop productivity and new farmers who wish to develop a plan to optimize their soil management. February 8, 15, 29, 2012

Penn State Extension’s Food for Profit workshop takes you step-by-step through the information necessary to start and run a small food-product business, especially directed to individuals who will be making and packing their products for resale (through grocery stores, farm markets, or restaurants). The Food for Profit workshop consists of seven hours that provide an overview of how to start and successfully operate a small food-product business.

2 Category Credits (Private, 01, or 18): "Soybean Weed Management" and 2 Core Credits: "Formulations and Adjuvants"

2 Category Credits (Private, 01, or 18): : "Soybean Insect Management" and 2 Core Credits: "Pesticides and the Environment"

This course addresses production management issues that are typical for traditional crop and livestock producers. The course has an intense focus on production planning. Successful completion of this course meets the production training requirements for Farm Service Agency borrowers.

Objectives: To give prospective and beginning small-scale meat and egg producers a general understanding of what it takes to have poultry. Who should attend? New poultry owners, aspiring poultry owners, or those interested in exploring a new venture. Also, those interested in producing food for your family or for income from your property.

This course is designed to help participants answer the question “Is starting an agricultural business right for me?”

Objectives of this program are: to help producers develop comprehensive grazing plans for their own farms; and to promote pasture management as a tool for achieving high-forage quality and yields, and profitable milk and animal production. Who should attend? Dairy and livestock producers who are developing or considering a grazing system.

The Pasture Management Short Course will help you manage your pastures for optimum production. You will learn about all aspects of pasture management and acquire the knowledge to develop a sustainable grazing plan for your farm.

The Strawberry / Bramble School 2012 covers everything you wanted to know about strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry production in one intensive day. The school features growers who will share their experiences in plasticulture and day-neutral strawberry production.

Learn how you can accept mobile payments and make it easier for customers to pay for your local food. This webinar will provide information on the tools available to accept mobile payments for farm markets, farmers markets, roadside stands, and agritourism businesses. The webinar will share information about current tools and applications available to allow you to accept payment via smart devices. We will also share highlights about future trends in the payment industry.

This eight-part webinar course is designed to create a foundation of beekeeping knowledge in order to confidently help beginners manage honeybees.

Penn State Cooperative Extension is conducting a virtual Beginner Beekeeping Class starting in March 2012. The webinar course is designed to create a foundation of beekeeping knowledge in order to confidently help beginners manage honeybees. The Beekeeping for Beginners is a two month course that will include the following: 1. An eight part live webinar series (all sessions will be recorded and available until December 31, 2012) 2. Virtual Beekeeping Field Day 3. Accessibility to instructors through: -Virtual office hours -Discussion forums

This workshop offers a combination of educational presentations, panel discussions with successful food entrepreneurs, and a highly-interactive learning environment, to address the new practices that are required, as well as voluntary ways to proactively address the business risks that come with selling food to the public.

This program is for small scale meat and egg producers. The course will give the participant a general understanding of what it takes to have poultry.

Whether your intent is to produce food for your family or seek some income from your property, this series of seminars has something to offer.

Living On A Few Acres is an introduction to small-scale agricultural production for those considering starting a business in farming. Penn State Extension experts provide instruction in fruit, vegetable and meat production.

Living On A Few Acres is an introduction to small-scale agricultural production for those considering starting a business in farming. Penn State Extension experts provide instruction in fruit, vegetable and meat production.

This workshop gives participants the information they need to start a small food-based business, including finding the contacts and resources needed to make their business dream a reality.

Living On A Few Acres is an introduction to small-scale agricultural production for those considering starting a farming business. Penn State Extension educators provide instruction in fruit, vegetable and meat production.

Get connected with the food industry’s new online mobile web app. Make it easy for the increasing number of mobile users to find your farm, farmers’ market, winery, retail store, restaurant or other food business. Benefit from the latest technology available to you free through the growing national MarketMaker network.

Presented by Dr. Michael W. Hamm, C.S. Mott Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University.

You need this seminar if you are... Fighting Invasive Exotics, Licensed Pesticide Applicator, Supervisor of IVM Programs. This seminar will provide excellent insight and useable information for Vegetation Managers in Roadside, Public Utility, DOTs, Municipalities, Native Species Land Reclamation, and Non-Agriculture Industrial sites.

Anyone can say anything about a business or product at any time. Social media provides more outlets for sharing that message. This webinar will provide tips and best practices for developing and maintaining a reputation in the social media world. It’s important to respond to positive and negative feedback, but responses need to be carefully considered. Learn more in this webinar.

You need this seminar if you maintain landscapes professionally, train your grounds crews, are a tree board member. This seminar provides a biological background to woody plant wound response, and teaches practical pruning methods for structurally reliable results.

This course is designed to help participants answer the question “Is starting an agricultural business right for me?”

This course is designed to help participants answer the question “Is starting an agricultural business right for me?”

SAVE THE DATE!

How toos of production for new and aspiring organic vegetable farmers.

Keeping track of one or more Twitter or Facebook accounts can be tedious. Thankfully, there are several tools that can be used to monitor what’s being said about any topic or to post information for multiple accounts. This session will describe computer-based tools such as HootSuite and TweetDeck as well as mobile apps that can be used to manage a company’s social media presence.

Do you want to farm, but don’t have the land, capital or equipment resources to get started? Wondering what direction to go? This full day program will bring in experts, as well as new and experienced farmers to help you break the barriers to farm entry.

Sheep Shearing School teaches the basics of harvesting wool with electric shears. You will become competent in catching, moving and throwing sheep, shearing and preparing the fleece for market.

This day-long course is designed for retail farm and farmers' market employees, and provides basic knowledge in the science of produce and the art of produce marketing.

Come learn to identify potato pests - weeds, insects, and diseases, options for managing them. A potato variety trial will also be featured.