Are you interested in keeping honeybees, or just learning more about them? Or are you a beginning beekeeper who would like to deepen your understanding of honeybees? In this virtual workshop held on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, master beekeeper Ed Levi provided an introduction to beekeeping. Ed served as the Arkansas State Apiary Specialist for over 25 years and has taught beekeepers around the world while also managing his own honeybee hives.

The College of the Melissae teaches toward intuitive style and asks you to explore communication with the bee. When we handle bees through listening, scent and timing, minimize intrusion and encourage excellent forage environment, we are doing something that is largely outside the current Western methodologies.

Climate change has impacted and will continue to impact indigenous peoples, their lifeways and culture, and the natural world upon which they rely, in unpredictable and potentially devastating ways. Many climate adaptation planning tools fail to address the unique needs, values and cultures of indigenous communities. This Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu, which was developed by a diverse group of collaborators representing tribal, academic, intertribal and government entities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, provides a framework to integrate indigenous and traditional knowledge, culture, language and history into the climate adaptation planning process. Developed as part of the Climate Change Response Framework, the Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu is designed to work with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) Adaptation Workbook, and as a stand-alone resource. The Menu is an extensive collection of climate change adaptation actions for natural resource management, organized into tiers of general and more specific ideas. It also includes a companion Guiding Principles document, which describes detailed considerations for working with tribal communities. While this first version of the Menu was created based on Ojibwe and Menominee perspectives, languages, concepts and values, it was intentionally designed to be adaptable to other indigenous communities, allowing for the incorporation of their language, knowledge and culture. Primarily developed for the use of indigenous communities, tribal natural resource agencies and their non-indigenous partners, this Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu may be useful in bridging communication barriers for non-tribal persons or organizations interested in indigenous approaches to climate adaptation and the needs and values of tribal communities.

With interest growing nationwide in farming practices that can protect natural resources and reduce the impacts of climate change, this is a key time for producers to explore CSP. This guide is a resource for farmers who want to learn more about CSP or who are thinking about enrolling in the program.

Many Midwest grain growers are familiar with producing commodity grains – indeed, corn and soybeans delivered to grain elevators make up the majority of crop acreage in the Midwest. For farmers that are interested in producing food-grade grains, higher value grain crops intended for direct human consumption as food, there are a unique set of opportunities, challenges, and considerations that must be met to grow and sell a crop successfully. This guide is intended for farmers interested in adding food-grade grains to their rotations, whether they are new to farming, or interested in incorporating these grains into an existing commodity grain, diversified vegetable, or livestock operation.

Midwest GRIT (Grains Resource & Immersive Training) is a program focused on strengthening diverse small and mid-size Midwest food-grade grain farmers. A program of Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI), in partnership with the Artisan Grain Collaborative (AGC), and The Organic Grain Resource and Information Network (OGRAIN), Midwest GRIT supports farmers through three key areas: education, peer-to-peer learning and relationship development, and resource sharing.

MAEAP is an innovative, proactive program that helps farms of all sizes and all commodities voluntarily prevent or minimize agricultural pollution risks.

Agricultural workers and farmers are exposed to asbestos in farm equipment and building materials. Vermiculite, a mineral that’s safe in its pure form, can also pose a risk if asbestos contaminated the vermiculite mine. Asbestos has been found in vermiculite soil mixes and conditioners.

This publication focuses on equipment and tools for intensive crop production on a small-scale commercial farm. It details equipment and hand tools for soil preparation, planting, weed management, and harvesting. The use of appropriate equipment and tools, both in terms of size and practicality, can increase production efficiency and profits while minimizing disturbance to soil and to plant health. Lists of further resources and tool and equipment suppliers are included.

In response to a growing rural mental health crisis, National Farmers Union (NFU), Farm Credit, the American and Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) announced a free online training program to help farmers, their families and neighbors identify and cope with stress.

Midwest Women’s Herbal provides herbal education and opportunities for transformation. Immersed in the Wise Woman Tradition, grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, and children gather in a co-created village. Through earth-centered healing and nourishment we ally with the plants that grow around us. From the ground up we connect to weave ourselves, our families, and our communities into the dynamic spiral of health.

This guide is designed to help food and farm businesses, food hubs, and USDA GroupGAP administrators develop a basic Quality Management Systems to identify and meet customer requirements, and to create systems for continuous improvement.

The Food Safety Outreach Program will complement and expand the national infrastructure of the National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Competitive Grants Program. The Food Safety Outreach Program will build upon that national infrastructure, with a sustained focus on delivery of customized training to members of the target audiences. Awardees will develop and implement food safety training, education, extension, outreach and technical assistance projects that address the needs of owners and operators of small to mid-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially-disadvantaged farmers, small processors, or small fresh fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers. Grant applications will be solicited directly from those in local communities to include those from community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, food hubs, farm cooperatives, extension, and other local groups.

National Food Safety Month is highlighting cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting standards with five weeks of education around the theme of Know Safe & Show Safe. The way restaurants are cleaned and kept safe hasn’t changed, but it’s become more important to show your guests you are keeping their safety to the highest standard. Starting August 30th, check-in at FoodSafetyFocus.com where the National Restaurant Association and ServSafe will provide educational materials like posters, activity sheets, blog posts, and webinars.

An On-Farm Readiness Review (OFRR) is a non-regulatory, free assessment of a farm’s readiness for inspection under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. This is a chance for you to have a one-on-one conversation and farm walk-around with Produce Safety Rule experts to evaluate pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest conditions and practices; assess what you are doing well; and identify areas for improvement in food safety practices on your farm. It is very important that routine farm processes and operations (such as washing, packing, and harvesting activities) are happening during the OFRR so reviewers can make accurate recommendations for produce safety improvements specific to your farm.

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which became law in 2011, has been the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. federal food safety laws in seven decades. For businesses conducting food processing and handling, a key component is the Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule (PCR), which requires them to evaluate possible food safety hazards, take action to prevent or reduce those hazards, and create monitoring systems to ensure the actions they take are effective. It can be challenging for small- and medium-sized farms, which are often multi-faceted businesses that store, process, distribute and market foods, to determine if and how the PCR applies to them.

The Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety at the University of Vermont and the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School are pleased to share legal educational factsheets as an output of their joint project, the Extension Legal Services Initiative. This initiative identified, researched, and developed educational resources related to key legal questions associated with the FSMA Produce Safety Rule.

Food safety certification is no easy undertaking. While there are many reasons to go the certification route, a central reason is market access. Whether you already have a buyer asking for it, hope to gain a new buyer through it, or just want to get ahead of the curve, food safety certification is a useful tool in moving your produce from farm to table. There is a lot more to using this tool than just passing an audit. Once your certification is in hand, how do you communicate it to existing or potential buyers? What types of buyers ask for it? While many guides reference food safety certification, they typically only describe how to get certified, not what happens after.

It’s important to remember cleaning and sanitizing are two different things. Cleaning is the physical removal of dirt and filth, whereas sanitizing is the treatment of a surface to reduce the microbes living on a surface. What does the FSMA Produce Safety Rule require in regards to cleaning and sanitizing?

A new tool for connecting land with grazers is available that encompasses MN and surrounding states to make crossing state lines easier called the Midwest Grazing Exchange.

The PSA team fast-tracked an Online PSA Grower Training course option and a Temporary Remote Delivery course option.

Management of livestock is essential for a healthy herd. Some medications can be avoided with close observation and understanding of a herd health plan, which is the main objective of the management over medication concept.

This publication provides an overview of organic strawberry production methods. It also covers integrated pest management (IPM) and weed-control techniques that can reduce pesticide use in strawberry production. It includes discussions of weeds, pests, diseases, greenhouse production, plasticulture, fertility, economics, and marketing. It also provides further resources.

This course is for organic certification reviewers and describes how effective reviews of the Organic System Plan (OSP) and inspection report support organic compliance. This course guides certification reviewers through OSP requirements and critical control points, OSP assessment, inspection report review, and applying skills using case scenarios. This course helps reviewers gain confidence in completing effective and efficient reviews that lead to appropriate and defensible certification decisions.

The Organic System Plan (OSP) is a document that serves as the basis for communication between an organic business, the certifier and the inspector. It is the foundation of the organic certification process. This course teaches requirements related to OSPs in the USDA organic regulations, examines the different functions of the OSP, discusses critical organic control points, and provides OSP evaluation and design considerations for certifiers.

This guide includes everything farmers and ranchers need to know about the program to determine if it is a good fit for their operation. Note that the application deadline has been extended until May 4, 2021.

Still need help understanding parts of FDA’s new proposed water rule? Check out this website for a collection of all of the water rule resources created by the Michigan On-Farm Produce Safety Team and the University of Minnesota Food Safety Program.

Did you know that Michigan produce growers enjoy more on-farm produce safety support than growers in other states? The Michigan On-Farm Produce Safety Team provides FREE educational programs and farm visits through a collaboration between the Michigan Produce Safety Technician Program and members of Michigan State University Extension.

This handbook, created by The Xerces Society, dives into soil biology. It provides a connection between healthy soils and healthy invertebrates found in temperate agricultural soils. Farming with Soil Life starts with a review of soil basics, including the functions, classifications and properties (physical, biological and chemical) of soil. It provides detailed methods on how to observe soil life through pitfall traps, funnel surveys and slake tests, and also includes information on soil testing. The publication also addresses how common production practices can support or deter soil life, and includes a listing of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) practices farmers can use to support soil organisms. A unique contribution of the handbook is the inclusion of 73 profiles of invertebrates found in soils, including microfauna (protozoans) and numerous mesofauna species like mites, earthworms, slugs, millipedes, earwigs, cicadas, flies, beetles, ants, bees, and many more.

This publication takes a brief look at conservation tillage as it may be applied to organic cropping systems. A number of the most promising strategies and technologies are described, and abstracts of recent research are provided. The focus is on annual cropping systems. Both agronomic and vegetable cropping systems are discussed.

Now more than ever, it is abundantly clear that healthy soils play an essential role in productive agricultural systems. Soils are foundational to the food we eat and fundamental to life on earth. Focusing on sustainable soil management has shown to increase farm and ranch profitability, improve crop yield and provide other critical services related to water, air and climate. SARE’s newest book, the fourth edition of Building Soils for Better Crops, provides rich detail on ecologically sound practices for developing and maintaining healthy soils. It is a must-read for farmers, educators and students alike.

Apprenticeship training programs that support mentors with professional development opportunities are in an excellent position to introduce new tools and resources to their mentors. Mentors will benefit from new resources and skills to address the many and nuanced aspects of running an agricultural business while providing a quality educational experience for their trainees.

A simple way to think about sustainable agriculture is that it involves producing enough food and fiber to satisfy today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. Farmers and ranchers who value sustainability embrace three common goals while running productive operations. To achieve these sustainability goals, a farmer typically views their operation as an integrated system, meaning they recognize how all of its parts are related to one another. For example, we may talk about “farming with nature” or promoting biodiversity in order to take advantage of ecological processes that improve crop and livestock production. Having a systems perspective can also mean thinking beyond the farm gate when making important management decisions. For instance, raising livestock in a pasture-based system has a positive impact on local water quality and can lead to sales opportunities among consumers who value grass-fed products.

A Guide to Federal Programs for Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry, Entrepreneurship, Conservation, Food Systems and Community Development

The Brainard Lab at Michigan State University has launched a Physical Weed Control Forum for farmers, researchers, and tool/equipment manufacturers. Topics in this forum include small and large scale weed control techniques and can apply to mixed vegetable, flower, and field crop systems. The forum is a resource for farmers to view and share each other’s system, tool, and equipment experiences and best practices for physical weed control. It is searchable by topic and easy to navigate. Feel free to browse around and respond to existing conversations, to start a new thread, ask for advice or troubleshooting on a tool or problem you have, share your successes, post videos or copy links to existing social media posts of physical weed control.

This new open access book develops a framework for advancing agroecology in transformations towards more just and sustainable food systems focusing on power, politics and governance. It explores the potential of agroecology as a sustainable and socially just alternative to today’s dominant food regime.

Land Reuse and Redevelopment: Creating Healthy Communities is a free textbook and community resource providing guidance on reusing land safely. Each section of the book is written by land reuse stakeholders highlighting how ATSDR’s 5-step Land Reuse Strategy is implemented in best practices. It also highlights how safe land reuse can contribute to community resilience, partnerships, and sustainability.

This guide is one of five packets on how to buy publicly owned land and create land based projects in Detroit. Download these resources at http://www.DetroitMi.gov/Land or pick up at 2 Woodward Ave.

Water testing is an important part of ensuring food safety. The results from these water tests can be confusing. This guidance document addresses how to read and understand water testing results and what to do about them.

Smart Water Use on Your Farm or Ranch spotlights innovative, SARE-funded research into a range of conservation options including soil management, such as using compost, conservation tillage and cover crops; plant management, featuring crop rotation, water-conserving plants and rangeland drought mitigation; and water management strategies such as low-volume irrigation and water recycling.