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Webinars, Coffee Chats to help farmers

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Carolyn Ihde

 By Ted Pennekamp

 

Whether you’re interested in dairy production, livestock production, or farm management, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension’s Farm Ready Research webinar series has the most up-to-date information for you.

Beginning in December 2020 and continuing through April 2021, Extension experts will host webinars throughout the week on topics ranging from determining cost of production to preventing on-farm injuries to navigating your farm business. Visit go.wisc.edu/FarmReadyResearch to see the full list of topics and to register for sessions.

“Each series was created by work groups within program areas of the Extension Agriculture Institute. There are five program areas within the Ag Institute: Dairy, Livestock, Crops and Soils, Farm Management, and Horticulture,” said Agriculture Educator for Crawford and Richland counties, Carolyn Ihde. 

There is no charge to participate in the sessions, but pre-registration is required to allow access to the session. Extension recognizes that producers are receiving information for a lot of meetings this winter; the Farm Ready Research webinar website go.wisc.edu/FarmReadyResearch is the place to find all information about UW-Madison Extension Agriculture programs.

The series are focused on delivering timely, researched-based information to farmers to increase farmers’ knowledge of topics, tools, and research to assist them in making more informed decisions. Farmers may register for as few or as many webinars as they would like. Anyone may register for these sessions to learn more about agriculture in Wisconsin.

“With so many webinars replacing in-person meetings, Extension created a ‘one-stop shop’ for information and registration for agriculture programs,” said Trisha Wagner, Extension Farm Management Program Manager. “A producer might be looking for one specific topic on this website but end up finding other webinars of interest to attend.”

“Honestly, we have no idea of the number of farmers to expect. This type of programming is new to Extension and we are hopeful that we can reach a large number of farmers or others interested in agriculture,” said Ihde. 

Ihde noted that if anyone needs assistance with registration or viewing, they should feel free to contact her.

“I work mainly with the Livestock Program area as that is my outreach designation,” said Ihde. “As part of the Livestock Program area, I worked extensively on the Wisconsin Beef Special Edition Series. The series will replace the in-person Cow/Calf Days and Feeders workshops that normally occur in the fall and winter months. I will be presenting the new Extension Livestock webpage and decision tools, along with my colleagues from the Livestock Program work group, on Dec. 8 (Beef: Using the Estimating Hay Needs and Heifer Enterprise Budget Decision Tools).”

Ihde said she will also be co-hosting the other beef webinars during the rest of the series. “I encourage all Crawford and Richland County producers to give me a ‘shout-out’ in the ‘chat’ box during the Zoom’s so I can personally connect with you,” said Ihde.

“The Small Ruminant work group, which I am also a member of, is creating webinars for this winter and spring as well,” Ihde noted. “I will be co-hosting the Jan. 20 session, Basic Lambing Skills for the Beginning Shepherd; and the April 21 session, Designing Your Sheep and Goat Grazing System. Most of the sessions have recently been added to the registration webpage, https://extension.wisc.edu/agriculture/farm-ready-research/, but a few more are being developed.”

Heart of the Farm 

Coffee Chats

In addition to the Farm Ready Research webinar series, Ihde would also like farmers or other interested individuals to be aware of the “Coffee Chats” Heart of the Farm Program for Women in Agriculture hosted by UW-Madison Extension.

“The ‘Coffee Chats’ were created to build a sense of community among women in agriculture,” said Ihde. “Women serve an important role in many farming operations. It is not uncommon for women to be employed outside of the farm while still contributing directly to daily farm operations. Also, many women continue to be or are moving into the role of ‘farmer’. As women continue to be influential in the business of farming, the Coffee Chats are bringing educational topics to support Wisconsin’s women farmers.” 

The dates and topics for the series are as follows:  

Dec. 14, 2020, Putting the ‘Me’ in Merry: Self Care Tips for the Holiday Season

Jan. 11, 2021, Tax Preparation Issues and Concerns

Feb. 8, 2021, How to Read and Understand Your Milk Check

March 8, 2021, Developing Your Farm Product Brand.

There is no charge for attending the Coffee Chat series but people must register at: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItceirrzkvEtfMSLLljrhhSJFMy....

Once registered, participants will receive an email confirmation containing information about joining the meeting. Registered participants will only need the meeting website link or phone number to participate in the meeting.

For more information on the Coffee Chats series or the Heart of the Farm Program, please go to the HOF Website: https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/heartofthefarm, call your local UW-Madison Division of Extension County office, or contact Jenny Vanderlin, jenny.vanderlin@wisc.edu, 608-263-7795.

Carolyn Ihde can be contacted at (608) 326-0223, (608) 647-6148, or at cihde@wisc.edu.

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