People who are exploring new farm businesses will benefit from participating in the MSU Extension 2020 Beginning Farmer Webinar Series.

From January to April, MSU Extension will offer 13 online Wednesday evening programs that provide valuable start-up information on general and more specific farming topics.

Each webinar is on a different topic. The series topics are listed here.

¯ Jan. 15: New Farm Start-up;

¯ Jan. 22: Wash-pack Facilities;

¯ Jan. 29: Michigan Cottage Food;

¯ Feb. 5: Growing Hemp in Michigan;

¯ Feb.12: CSA’s in Michigan;

¯ Feb. 19: Safe Use of Animal-based Soil Amendments;

¯ Feb. 26: Agroforestry: Silvo-pasture Options;

¯ March 4: Selling to Food Hubs;

¯ March 11: Farm Labor;

¯ March 18: No-till Vegetable Production on Small Scale;

¯ March 25: Pricing Products for Different Markets;

¯ April 1: Hosting On-farm Educational Events;

¯ April 8: Measuring Soil Health;

A fee of $5 per webinar is required, or you can register for the entire series for $32.50. Webinar recordings will be provided to all registered participants. Participate from the comfort and convenience of your own home or office.

Registration, a brochure containing details on each individual program, and online or mailed payment options can be found at https://events.anr.msu.edu/begfrmr2020/. If you experience any problems with registration, please contact MSUE at the number and email listed below. You may register for all or some of the courses at any time, even if the session has already taken place. In that case, you will get a link to the recorded program.

Each one-hour, Wednesday night webinar begins at 7 p.m. A high-speed internet connection is required. You will receive webinar connection information after you register.

Several archived recordings of MSU Extension Beginning Farmer Webinars on a variety of topics from previous years are available for viewing at http://msue.anr.msu.edu/program/info/beginning_farmer_webinar_series.

Contact the Alger County MSU Extension office at 906-387-2530 or isleibj@msu.edu for more information.