By Liza Ayres, NFU Intern
Curious about resources available to get your new farm up and running? Want to gain business skills and exchange stories with fellow beginning farmers, all from the comfort of your own home? Join National Farmers Union for Growing for the Future, a FREE, interactive, virtual conference December 3-6!
This four-day event focuses on the biggest issues beginning farmers and ranchers face through pre-recorded webinars, live farmer-to-farmer Q&A sessions, a discussion platform, and an online resource center. Once registered, participants have access to all of the presentations, as well as bonus materials provided by our organizational partners. Additionally, registrants will be entered into drawings for free giveaways.
The conference will cover a variety of topics, including conservation, drought management, technology, food safety, and farm to market networks. This year’s conference theme is cooperatives, so you can also expect to hear about that style of business organization. Here is a peek into our program:
• Margaret Bau, who has developed and delivered training to almost every co-op developer in the country in her role as a Cooperative Development Specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, will speak about cooperatives as a tool to support farming goals.
• To address supply chain sustainability programs, Lexi Clark of Field to Market will join us for a live conversation. Hugh Aljoe of the Noble Research Institute will discuss drought management techniques to ensure success during climate hardships.
• Offering a wealth of knowledge on first generation farms, NFU’s Vice President Patty Edelburg will provide a personal testimony of the challenges and opportunities of starting her dairy farm. Gary Matteson from Farm Credit will offer basic financial skills and record-keeping tips for beginning farmers and ranchers.
• Cesar Rodriguez from Quality Certification Services will speak about produce safety rules, and Michael O’Gorman will focus on addressing the friction between yield and productivity for a successful operation.
But that’s not all – the conference will feature a number of other agricultural experts and educators, and will provide opportunities for participants to interact with one another. This is a valuable opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in agriculture, so register today!
Click here for more information and to register.
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I’m quite interested in the virtual conference!
Being obligated to a time clock off the farm during part of the conference hours, I’d be interested in knowing if the materials will be available on-line after the conference for any length of time.
Appreciatively,
All of the materials will be available online through February, so you should have plenty of time to review them at your leisure!