Events and Activities : Local Farmer Workshops in Eastern Iowa - January to March

Business Management and Decision Making on the Farm, January 21st, 2012
1 - 4 pm Linn County ISU Extension Office 
3279 7th Ave Suite 140 Marion, IA

Trying to decide when to purchase a piece of equipment or simply decide the proper product
mix to match your income goals? Craig Chase, a Farm & Ag Management Field Specialist,
will show you how to use enterprise budgets to make pricing, product mix, and production
changes, use partial budgets to make investment decisions like machinery and land and how
to use whole-farm records to evaluate how your business is doing and make educated
business decisions.(download flyer & registration form here)

Legal Strategies of Land Acquisition and Transfer for Beginning Farmers, Feb. 4th, 2012
Iowa City, IA - Johnson Co ISU Extension - 1 - 4 pm

Are you a beginning farmer trying to find land to start a new farming business or just expand a existing business? Come and listen to Matt Russell from the Drake Ag Law Center. The workshop will cover different forms of purchasing, leasing, and renting land. Land transfers and financing opportunities will be discussed as well. 
(download flyer & registration form here)

Creating a Food Safety Plan for Your Farm, February 11th, 2012
Grinnell, IA - Location to be Determined - 9 am - 3 pm

Come and learn about a farm’s food safety plan and how to begin creating one for your new farm. Food safety plans are important when creating a product that will be sold as food to customers. Many institutions and other food buyers require certification of Good Agricultural Practices and creating a food safety plan for your farm is the first step towards completing a GAP audit. Whether you are going to get audited or not a food safety plan is still important to have in place. At this workshop, part of the day will be in the classroom and the other part will be at a local farm where participants will be able to do a mock audit of a farms packaging facility and record keeping procedures. Contact Jason Grimm if you are a beginning farmer to learn more about funds to help cover your workshop registration.(download flyer & registration form here)

Capturing and Organizing Data for Organic Certification, GAPs Compliance, and Other Endeavors, March 17th, 2012 
Marion Public Library - Marion, IA - Noon - 4 pm

Paperwork can be the bane of the certified-organic, GAPs-audited, and financially-aware farmer. Learn how to capture information, get on top of your paperwork, and wow your inspector, auditor, and banker. Rock Spring Farm’s Chris Blanchard will provide an overview of the basic techniques he and his crew use to gather information and keep it organized for easy access with a minimum of effort.(download flyer & registration form here)