Beginning Farmer and Rancher Workshop Scheduled for April

March 18, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. — Six beginning farmer and rancher workshops are scheduled across Nebraska.

The workshops are funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Grant Program and are offered by the Center for Rural Affairs, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society.

Three of the workshops will focus on the concepts of mob grazing and/or marketing grass-fed beef, while the other three will focus on the beginning farmer and vegetable/fruit production.

The mob grazing and/or marketing grass-fed beef workshop will feature established farmers and ranchers that use one or both of these concepts. They will speak about their operations and answer questions. An attorney from Legal Aid of Nebraska will discuss pasture leases right before lunch. Following lunch there will be a session on beginning business planning, where participants will learn about basic business principles, such as net worth, cash flow, income profit and loss statements and how these can be important business tools in a mob grazing and grass-fed beef operation.

At the vegetable/fruit production workshops, established produce growers will discuss their operations and the various production and marketing strategies they use on their farms. Beginning business planning principles also will be discussed and explained for use in a vegetable/fruit farm.

The free workshops include refreshments, lunch and some resources as part of the workshops.

Please pre-register at least three days before each event, by calling Gary Lesoing, UNL Extension in Nemaha County, at 402-274-4755. 

Workshop dates, times, locations and focus are:

April 3 – 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Holiday Inn Express, 920 S. 20th St., Norfolk, mob grazing and grass-fed beef

April 4 – 9 a.m.-3 p.m., UNL Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1071 County Road G, Ithaca, mob grazing and grass-fed beef

April 8 – 10 a.m.-3 p.m., UNL Extension in Lancaster County, 444 Cherrycreek Rd., Suite A, Lincoln, vegetable/fruit production

April 9 – 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Ramada Inn, 301 S. Second Ave., Kearney, mob grazing and grass-fed beef

April 12 – 10 a.m.-3 p.m., UNL Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1071 County Road G, Ithaca, vegetable/fruit production

April 16 – 10 a.m.-3 p.m., UNL Extension in Douglas Sarpy Counties, 8015 W. Center Rd., Omaha, vegetable/fruit production.