Friday, September 16, 2022

Fwd: Alabama IPM/ Sustainable AG Newsletter Volume 13, Issue 16



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Volume 13, Issue 16
September 16, 2022

  News
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Operation Grow Updates for Military Veterans
 

Operation Grow for Military Veterans Registration

The Operation Grow project, as part of the Alabama Beginning Farmer program, provides special emphasis on the training needs of military veterans interested in agriculture. Alabama Beginning Farmer is led by the Alabama Extension commercial horticulture team. To register for Operation Grow, please follow this sign-up link here. Read more.

Where to Start: A Basic Program Resource Guide for Beginning Farmers

Alabama has a booming fruit and vegetable production industry which generates more than $160 million in revenue and provides employment to thousands of residents. The growth in the industry is also representative of the growth in local food movement and organic farming in the South. If you are a beginning farmer with ambition to grow food crops for clientele you know, you've come to the right place.  Read more here.

Commercial Horticulture and Beginning Farmer News
 

Managing a Pumpkin Crop

Pumpkins can be a great crop for home production as well as commercial production. The following information outlines several items needed to manage a pumpkin crop throughout the growing season. Read more.

Alabama Greenhouse Vegetable Handbook

More and more people are interested in utilizing greenhouses for hydroponic vegetable production. Greenhouses can produce vegetables almost anywhere, regardless of soil type. Growing vegetables in greenhouses can allow for near year-round output of high-quality products. The hydroponic production systems used in these facilities are dramatically more efficient with water and fertilizer.  Read more here.

Commercial Horticulture Webinars for Any Farming Topic

Need help with strawberry disease or pumpkin production? Find any topic that is helpful to you with the monthly webinar series organized by the Alabama Extension Commercial Horticulture Team for statewide audience. Each webinar has different speakers and titles Read more here.

Data Fuels Sustainable Agriculture Practices

Data is much more than a collection of numbers and information. It is what fuels modern-day, sustainable agriculture practices. Farmers in Alabama and across the nation collect different forms of data to make management decisions in their operations. These data points allow them to be both economically and environmentally sound. Read more.

Precision Agriculture: A Suite of Sustainable Technologies

 Farmers are some of the most tech-savvy people in the world. Often, they are early adopters of emerging technologies that create a more efficient, profitable and sustainable industry. Some of these technologies—and the data they collect—are crucial parts of the management approach known as precision agriculture.  Read more.

Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association 2023 Conference

Our location for the 2023 AFVGA Annual Conference and Tradeshow is fantastic! The Lodge at Gulf States Park is where you want to be on February 9&10. Can't wait to see new and old friends in Gulf Shores! Let us know you are coming here: https://fb.me/e/6w94MZmGV

 

 

Digital Resources for Farmers

New 2022 schedule. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System Beginning Farmer program offers special training events for all farmers. This program, with the help of the commercial horticulture team, has several educational activities and digital resources available to everyone from the comfort of home. The 2022 resources are now available. Find links to materials and videos below. Read more here.

 

 

Beginning Farmer Videos

 For experienced or beginning farmers, this YouTube playlist has all the information you may need. From pesticides to strawberry varieties, this page is a great resource for many topics. Read more here.

 

Home and Market Gardens

Indian Meal Moth: A Pesky Pantry Pest

Fall is one of the most important seasons to inspect your home for pesky pantry pests. An Alabama Cooperative Extension System entomologist urges everyone to be on the lookout for the common Indian meal moth.  Read more.

 

Multimedia Updates
Multimedia

New Farming Basics Podcast Episodes

Get to know your hosts in the fifth episode of the Farming Basics Podcast. Olivia Fuller and cohost, Jacob Kelley discuss their backgrounds, how they arrived at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and why they love to do what they do in the world of agriculture.
View the instagram account for more information.

 

New Version for Farming Basics App 

In 2019, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System brought the world of farming to the palm of a farmer's hand with an app. The Farming Basics app opened a gateway of information for small and beginning farmers. Fast forward to 2022—this app has gotten a facelift, providing even more information to farmers. More information.

 

Farming Basics Online Course

The Alabama Farming Basics Online curriculum is part of the USDA-NIFA funded project that was initiated by Auburn University in 2015. The self-paced online training course provides basic and advanced information about horticultural crop production, organic farming practices, integrated pest management (for weeds, insects, and diseases), marketing, and food safety that is suitable for new and/or experienced producers.  More information.

 

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Current Events and Recordings
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Commercial Horticulture Webinar Series

January - November 2022

Every month a new live webinar on topics from pest management to hemp updates. Watch videos on the Facebook playlist.

Pesticide Applicator University

November 1-2, 2022

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System at Auburn University, along with the Alabama Green Industry Training Center and the Alabama Pesticide Safety Education Program, host a biennial training conference called the Pesticide Applicators University (PAU). To register click this link.

Fruit and Vegetable Field Day

October 7, 2022

This meeting will take place at the Wiregrass Research and Extension Center in Headland, AL. Registration will start at 9:30 AM. The meeting will take place from 10:00-12:00 PM, with lunch provided. Register ahead by calling the Wiregrass Extension Center at (334) 693-2010

 

Strawberry production meeting

November 10, 2022

Meeting will focus on strawberry production issues. Topics will include weed control and soil fumigation, disease management, variety selection, and budgeting.
Read more information here.

 

Green Industry Training Center Events

2022

See the latest workshops and classes through the Green Industry Training Center.   To register click this link.

 

AFVGA Annual Conference

February 9-10, 2023

The Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (AFVGA) Annual Conference and Trade Show, formerly held each fall, is Feb. 9-10, 2023, in Gulf Shores.

Private Pesticide Applicator Training/Testing

January 2 - October 4, 2022

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System will be teaching several private pesticide applicator training classes. These classes are designed for the farmers who need to take the private pesticide applicator test in order to purchase restricted use products. However, we will be discussing chemical safety and sprayer calibration at this class, so anyone who sprays pesticides on a large scale will benefit from this training, even if a restricted pesticide license is not needed.
Read more information here.

 

 

Sunbelt AG Expo

October 18-20, 2022

The Expo's unique site has a 100-acre exhibit area adjoining a 600-acre working research farm. In the exhibit area, which includes both outdoor and indoor exhibits visitors will find every imaginable product or service a farm could ever need. Read more information here.

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Fwd: AFA Newsroom



-by-
From: Alabama Forestry Association 

AFA NEWSROOM V17N35, September 8, 2022

AFA Annual Meeting - September 11-13

Three More Days!

Orange Beach here we come! The AFA staff is excited to welcome you back to the beach for this year's 2022 AFA Annual Meeting. We have a fantastic lineup of speakers, sponsors, & exhibitors.  Click the link below to learn more.

2022 AFA Annual Meeting

Don't forget to register for the next installment of AFA's Public Policy Series - Issues Affecting Timberland Ownership. You can register to attend as an add-on to the AFA Annual Meeting or attend independently. Check out the 2022 AFA Public Policy Series website for more information!

Drone Used To Prepare Land For Longleaf Pines

A drone has been preparing a Covington County field in River Falls with herbicide spray to prepare a site to be replanted with Longleaf pine trees.


Consultant Forester Andrew Loflin of Loflin Forest Management said the process usually consists of three steps: spray, burn, and plant.

Read More

AFA Connect-Woods To Goods Week

September 15,2022

In 1960, President Eisenhower proclaimed the third week in October "National Forest Products Week". In the years since, every president has continued the tradition. In 2020, Governor Kay Ivey proclaimed the third week of October "Woods to Goods Week". This week is used to promote the Alabama forest products industry's professionals, resources, companies, products, and environmental and economic impact. The 2021 Woods to Goods Week celebration was a huge success. We are excited to continue this tradition in 2022! Join us and learn about how you can be involved in this year's celebration of Alabama's forest industry.

Register Here

This Deal is Going South: Timberland Transaction Activity Q3 Update

After a bounce back year in 2021, 2022 is shaping up as another strong year for timberland transactions. Year-to-date, over 1.9 million acres of timberland deals have closed (see figure below). The ten year median value of timberland deal flow is approximately two and a half million acres per year. However, for a normal year of activity we might expect a range of anywhere from about two to two and a half million acres. This would put us just below the lower end of the range with another four months to go in 2022.

Read More

AFA Newsroom Special Feature:

AFA Political Endorsements

Interested in who AFA has endorsed so far? Visit our AFA ForestPac Endorsement Pages, linked below, as more endorsements will be added soon

AFA ForestPAC Endorsement Page

Anti-Forestry Insanity: The Opinion Piece That Keeps On Giving

There's an old adage about the paralyzing effects of cognitive dissonance: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.


As anti-forestry extremists double down on their rejection of reason while embracing what can best be described as a form of anti-scientific "insanity," they continue to put America's forests, wildlife, rural communities and natural resources at risk.

Read More

See Inside the World's Largest Wood Airport Terminal

Airports radiate a specific sense of possibility. As portals to adventures and new experiences, they're jumping-off points, physical representations of the question, "What's next?" Though there are plenty of incredibly designed airports that exemplify this feeling, a new terminal at the Zurich Airport in Switzerland may soon do it best. Set to replace an aging Dock A, the new one—designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in collaboration with aviation architects from HOK—not only questions travelers' future, but also that of all aviation hub design.

Read More

Wood Pellets Can Help Alleviate Energy Pressures Amid War, Uncertainty

As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, the ongoing war in Ukraine has pinched trade flows of the increasingly valuable supply of industrial wood pellets from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, which have been used to co-fire power generation plants throughout Western Europe over the last decade. Demand has put upward price pressure on pellets originating in the US South, as the future of fossil energy supplies in Europe remain uncertain.


The WSJ notes that "U.S. export volume, which has climbed steadily over the past decade, is running ahead of last year, when a record of more than 7.4 million metric tons of U.S. wood pellets were sold abroad, according to the Foreign Agricultural Service. The average price before insurance and shipping costs has risen to nearly $170 a metric ton, from around $140 last year."

Read More
First Annual Workforce Development Forum - September 10, 2022
Join our ForestryWorks partners for the first annual Workforce Development Forum down in Orange Beach, AL in conjunction with the AFA Annual Meeting! Topics include: apprenticeship programs, non-traditional workforce solutions, career promotion opportunities, customized training tools and much more! Have questions -contact Stephanie Fuller at sfuller@alaforestry.org
Learn More

Next Stage In The New Timber Age

Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is becoming a more familiar feature of timber-based construction. Peter Wilson, architect and founding director of the Mass Timber Academy explains more.


Like glulam, LVL is formed from layers of wood in which the grain in every layer runs in the same di-rection. Unlike glulam, however, LVL's layers are only 3mm thick and are produced by putting a long blade against a rotating log to peel a continuous veneer that is subsequently glued and pressed into boards or beams. There are two advantages to this over CLT or glulam – the resulting LVL products have significantly greater strength than their two mass timber siblings, plus they make far more effi-cient use of the raw timber.

Read More

The Alabama Tree Farm Committee is preparing to hold its annual Silent Auction in conjunction with the 2022 AFA Annual Meeting, September 11-13, 2022. The Silent Auction has always been Tree Farm's largest fundraiser, with proceeds going to promote Alabama's Tree Farm program and serve Tree Farmers throughout the state. Last year's auction and raffle raised almost $7,000.00 for our state program. The committee is seeking donations of items or funds for the purchase of bid items.

Take A Look

Lumber Prices Decline To A New 2022 Low As Goldman Warns Housing Market Has Further Room To Fall

Lumber prices fell to a new 2022 low on Tuesday as higher mortgage rates continue to weigh on a slowing housing market.


The essential building commodity fell as much as 4% on Tuesday to $465 per thousand board feet, decisively below the low seen in early August of $470. 


While the decline in lumber may be seen by some as a positive sign that inflation is continuing to cool, it is also indicative of a housing market slowdown that may last longer than expected.

Read More

A Little Birdie Told Us That You Should Sign Up For The Sunburn Classic!

We Will See You On The Course.

Register Here

In the weeks leading up to and during our Alabama Woods to Goods Week 2022 celebration, we will be sharing stories about why forestry is "more than an industry" to people throughout the state of Alabama. Let us know what forestry means to you by clicking the link below.

Learn More
Online CE Available For PLM & CFE
Foresters and loggers, a reminder that AFA offers online continuing education. Now is a great time to go ahead and handle continuing education hours. 

Click below for a list of classes.
AFA Online Ed
Calendar of Events

September 10 - FWTI Workforce Development Forum


September 11 - 2022 Public Policy Series - Issues Affecting Timberland Ownership (CE Only)


September 11 - 13 - 2022 AFA Annual Meeting


September 12 - 11th Annual Sunburn Classic - Golf Only


September 15 - AFA Connect - Learning about Woods to Goods Week (1 CFE/PLM)


September 17 - Clay County Forestry Workshop (5 PLM/CFE)


September 23 - Alabama Women Owning Woodlands Workshop & Brunch - Russell County


September 23- Beard Equipment - PLM Workshop (5 PLM; 4 CFE)


September 23- Talladega Forestry & PLM Workshop (5 PLM/CFE)


September 29 - Water Quality Workshop for Loggers and Foresters -Troy - (5 PLM, 5 CFE)


October8 - Fall Project Learning Tree Workshop with Birmingham Zoo (5 CFE/PLM)


October 18 - Why Do Leaves Change Colors in the Fall? Project Learning Tree Workshop (5 CFE, PLM)


October 27-28 - 2022 ANRC Alabama Landowners Conference


October 29 - 2022 Alabama Loggers Council Annual Meeting & Logger of the Year Award Luncheon(5 PLM)