Last week, a team of Purdue Extension educators hosted another successful Rooted and Resilient: Homesteading Conference in Kendallville that brought in over 40 participants. Three HLA Extension specialists shared their expertise at the conference in sessions that connected practical gardening topics with sustainable practices. Miranda Purcell presented “Backyard Berries & Grapes: Small Fruits, Big Rewards,”[Read More…]
On November 6th, Ashley Adair co-hosted Marbleseed’s first Organic University event outside the state of Wisconsin with Tay Fatke (Marbleseed) and Leon Atwell (OFARM) in Danville, IN. The event caters to both specialty crop and grain farmers interested in organic transition and management. Tay and Jenn Whaley (OnMark Certification Services) kicked off the event with[Read More…]
Ashley Adair (HLA) and James Wolff (ANR Allen County) led a Diversified Farming and Food Systems Focus Group meeting at Teter Organic Farm in Noblesville, IN on Friday, 10/24. The group shared programming updates, discussed approaches to supporting the new extension pod pilot program, and received training on delivering the Grass to Garden (G2G) program[Read More…]
Ashley Adair guest hosted the Organic Agronomy Training Service’s podcast, Organic Advisor Call Series for the episode “Organic Fertilizer – How Much?” on Tuesday, October 14. Ashley led a conversation with James Schroepfer, agronomist with Crop Fertility Services (Cokato, MN), discussing how organic crop advisors can approach fertility recommendations based on soil tests and a[Read More…]
The Purdue Student Farm hosted the Purdue Extension Diversified Farming and Food Systems focus group for a tour and Q&A during the annual ANR Retreat. Chris Adair led the group and provided insight on small farm production practices and the farm’s approach to marketing and sales. Participants learned about a wide scope of subjects, including:[Read More…]
Erin Percevault, HLA faculty and staff, and Purdue Extension educators are partnering with Watch Us Farm to support planning and design efforts for their future campus in Zionsville, Indiana. The organization, which helps adults with disabilities find meaningful employment, was recently featured in the Indianapolis Business Journal (https://www.ibj.com/articles/zionsville-organization-helps-adults-with-disabilities-find-work – subscription required), highlighting their impactful mission[Read More…]
The Indiana Diverse Farm Tour of Living Prairie Farms in Wolcott on August 27 was organized by Ashley Adair and Liz Maynard in collaboration with ANR Educators Summer Brinkman and Marty Huseman, with assistance from Emily DeaKyne. The event featured discussion of organic popcorn, small grains, sunflowers, and soybean production, and presentations by Purdue and[Read More…]
Last week, Ashley Adair hosted two field days affiliated with the Indiana Organic Network. On August 5th, Ashley, Bryan Overstreet (CCSI), Lois Mann (CCSI) and county ANR educators Jeff Burbrink, Kathryn Jennings, Brieanna Slonaker, and John Woodmansee hosted the Northern Indiana Organic Forage Field Day in Middlebury, IN at Low Valley Farm. Ninety organic dairy[Read More…]