Plastics in the Great Lakes: An Update on the Science and Discussions on Future Cleanup Efforts
2022-03-18 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago)
Dr. Sherri Mason, a professor of chemistry and leading researcher on plastic pollution, continues to conduct groundbreaking research on the prevalence of plastics and micro-plastics in the Great Lakes. She will join the GLLC for this web session on plastic pollution, its impact on the Great Lakes ecosystem and human health, and strategies to clean up the lakes. Mason serves as director of sustainability at Penn State Behrend.
Info here.

Healthy Soil Healthy Food Healthy People
2022-03-19 13:00 - 14:00
Join the Village of Egg Harbor and Rodale Institute Organic Consultants for a program focused on orchard growing and regenerative organic farming practices for Door County’s largest exports: cherries and apples. They will also touch on other local crops.
Info here.

Northern Hardwood Timber Marking
2022-03-20 - 2022-03-24
Immerse yourself in a weeklong, intensive forest marking camp. Through a combination of field trips, field activities, and mentored marking you will gain the knowledge and field skills needed to mark timber for multiple objectives. Specifically, you will come away with the skills needed to mark for financial/quality, wildlife, restoration, and ecological objectives.
Upon completion of this training you will be able to:

Demonstrate basic log grading and scaling, tree grading, and log and tree species identification.
Discuss silvicultural techniques to create old growth forest conditions.
Exhibit the ability to select crop trees and high risk trees.
Demonstrate the ability to mark a northern hardwood forest to meet landowner goals.

Info here.

Black Gold – Maximizing Manure Nutrient Utilization - Manure Mondays
2022-03-21 13:00 - 14:00
Boost the value of manure by maximizing nutrient availability and minimizing environmental losses with liquid and solid manures safely.
Info here.

Tree/Shrub Site Prep and Planting Methods
2022-03-21 13:00 - 14:00
On Monday, March 21st, the Tech Talk topics will be tree/shrub site preparation (CPS 490) and tree/shrub planting methods. Join this Tech Talk session for a discussion of planning considerations for site preparation and matching the site preparation techniques to the site conditions. Different types of tree stock and planting methods will be discussed along with planning considerations for successful tree/shrub establishment. Available web soil survey reports will be demonstrated and other resources for practice planning will be provided.
Info here.

2022 Manure Applicator 101 Training
2022-03-21 13:00 - 16:00
Designed for employees of both for-hire manure applicators and farmers applying their own manure, this 3-hour training covers the basics of manure spill response, setbacks and regulations, neighbor relations and equipment/manure gas safety.
Info here.

Seed Saving and Harvesting/Storage - Green Thumb Gardening
2022-03-21 18:00 - 20:00
The Green Thumb Gardening class series will give you the practical knowledge to keep your home garden thriving! Dane County Extension educators and local horticulture experts will provide in depth and accessible information for everyone from the novice to the experienced gardener.
Info here.

Improve your Soil & Reduce your Inputs
2022-03-22 10:00 - 14:00
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Location: Manitowoc, WI

Join the Manitowoc County Forage Council at the Farm WI Discovery Center.
10:00 Welcome and Introductions
Soil Health: How to measure it, Why it’s important, & How it ties to profitability with the Manitowoc County Soil and Water Conservation Department
Balancing Phosphorus Trade-Offs & Timing with Chelsea Zegler Ag Water Quality Outreach Specialist from Discovery Farms/Agriculture Water Quality Program
Interseeding: The Good, The Bad, The Money with Greg Gries from Libertyland Farms & Steve Hoffman from InDepth Agronomy
Saving $ with Cover Crops: How to Know Your Nitrogen Credits
Local Farmer Panel: Ah-ha! Moments: What’s working with Cover Crops, No-Till, and Soil Health on Manitowoc County Farms
Info here.

Roadsides as Habitat for Monarchs
2022-03-22 13:00 - 14:00
Roadsides contain potentially thousands of acres of monarch habitat with millions of stems of milkweed hosts, but they also present risks. Emilie will discuss her research over the past five years investigating costs and benefits of roadside habitat.
Info here.

Agrivoltaics / Dual Use Solar
2022-03-23 - 2022-03-24
The widespread adoption and development of solar across a nearly full range of landscapes, topographies and geographies has triggered multiple “dual use” innovations. Among the most promising of these is agrivoltaics: the co-location of solar with natural resource practices broadly characterized as agriculture. The inclusion of crops, pollinating, sheep grazing and other elements can amplify the economics and utility of any solar project – whether sited in rural areas where large solar arrays proliferate or even in more constrained, urban development settings.
This symposium will present a comprehensive survey of agrivoltaic concepts as they are applied in two related – but, distinct – scenarios: 1) Ag features where solar is the primary land use, and 2) solar arrays where Ag is the primary land use (think farms, ranches, etc.).
Info here.

Enterprise Budgeting and Economic Decision Support Tools for Grazing
2022-03-23 - 2022-03-24
The environmental benefits of Management Intensive Rotational Grazing (MIRG) are well known. Farms under MIRG management experience less soil erosion and nutrient loss than row crops or continuous grazing management. However, there is a stigma that grazing is less economical than cropping. In this workshop, we will show how you can demonstrate that grazing can pay by using enterprise budgets. We will use Excel spreadsheets to compare the economics of several grazing enterprises with raising row crops and conventional beef. This training will focus heavily on grass-fed beef production, as well as grazing dairy heifers. We will also touch on how this enterprise budget approach can be used to sell other conservation management systems, particularly no-till. Participants will be introduced to a variety of pre-made enterprise budgets that will be useful to farmer and conservationist alike.
An enterprise budget focuses on a particular enterprise on the farm (cow/calf, vegetables, finished steers, honey production, dairy, chickens, etc.). It’s not a whole farm financial analysis which takes into account debt ratios, retirement, health insurance, sending children off to secondary education, taking care of aging parents, etc. You may have one or ten different enterprise budgets on a farm that looks at the profitability of each enterprise but you would only have ONE whole farm financial analysis (budget).
3 CEUs will be offered each day.
If you do not receive a confirmation email upon submission of your registration or if have any questions, please email Penny at Penny@wisconsinlandwater.org
Info here.

Irrigation Water Management Training - NRCS Irrigation Assessments in Wisconsin
2022-03-23 08:00 - 10:00
To introduce NRCS and NRCS partner employees how to develop a robust irrigation system conceptual design by matching irrigation water demand to irrigation water supply. This is fundamental for designing any irrigation system (CPS 430, CPS 441, CPS 442, CPS 533) or for writing an irrigation water management plan (CPS 449). These concepts are applicable for any pumping system. This class focuses on assessing an existing irrigation system to identify any resources concerns resulting in a conceptual plan for an irrigation system.
Info here.

Managing PFAS at the Source
2022-03-23 09:30 - 13:30
Comprehensive webinar about managing PFAS at the source. Reducing “downstream” PFAS treatment of drinking water by treatment and management of PFAS at “upstream” sources.
Will discuss:

PFAS impacts on water resources in the US
Reducing the impacts of “downstream” PFAS treatment of drinking water by treatment and management of PFAS at “upstream” sources
New PFAS treatement technologies
Capital investment and O & M costs for “traditional” PFAS treatment options
PFAS source reduction initiatives for addressing PFOS/PFAS in Municipal Wastewater
Pretreatment perspectives
Newly approved PFAS sampling protocols and laboratory methods

Info here.

Agriculture as a Climate Solution: Just Add Trees
2022-03-23 12:00 - 13:30
Savanna Institute’s Keefe Keeley and Barbara Decré introduce Wisconsin Academy guests to agroforestry, a natural climate solution that has the potential to transform Wisconsin’s agricultural landscape into a carbon sink. Landowners who use agroforestry integrate trees with other crops and livestock on their land–such as windbreaks, riparian buffers, and alley cropping. Join to learn more about how Wisconsin farmers and landowners are using agroforestry to sequester carbon on their land–and how you can too.
Info here.

Who’s Going to Take Over the Farm Operations?
2022-03-23 16:30 - 17:30
This session will review key skills needed to manage the operation and identify strategies for teaching others to take over – eventually.
Info here.

Wisconsin Manure Applicator 101 Training
2022-03-29 12:30 - 15:30
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension is hosting Manure Applicator Training – Level 1 / Manure 101. Designed for employees of both for-hire manure applicators and farmers applying their own manure, this 3-hour training covers the basics of manure spill response, setbacks and regulations, neighbor relations and equipment/manure gas safety.
Register here.
Locations and Dates

Abbotsford City Hall: 3/29, 12:30 PM

Barron County Government Center: 3/8, 9:30 AM
Birnamwood: 3/16, 1:00 PM
Chilton: 3/1, 1:00PM, 6:00 PM
Chippewa Falls: 3/21, 1:00 PM
Darlington: 3/3, 8:00 AM

Green Bay: 3/7, 6:00 PM
Luxemburg: 3/7, 12:30 PM; 3/10, 12:30 PM
Zoom (online): Date TBD

Managing Water on Your Property with Melinda Myers
2022-04-05 10:00 - 11:00
Reduce maintenance and improve the health and beauty of your lawn and landscape by implementing stormwater-friendly strategies. We’ll cover steps to help capture rainwater by improving the soil, utilizing rain barrels and planting rain gardens. Adding trees, growing more native plants, and improving the health of your lawn also help keep water on your property and out of storm sewers. All these strategies put rainwater to work for your plants while helping reduce the risk of basement flooding and overflow of storm sewers.
Info here.

ARS Weed Science: Past, Present, and Future
2022-04-05 13:00 - 14:00
Steve Duke, Principal Scientist at the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi, Steve Young, National Program Leader – Weeds and Invasive Pests, WSSA Representatives and ARS Administrators
USDA – ARS and the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) are co-hosting 10 webinars on weed science and research
Info here.

Regenerative Agriculture and Organic: Intersections and Differences
2022-04-05 14:00 - 15:00
Join us as we discuss the similarities and differences between regenerative and organic agriculture.
This webinar will cover the basic principles and practices of organic and regenerative agriculture, highlighting intersections and differences between the two. Also discussed will be motivations for producers to follow one or both production principles and resource challenges these producers may experience.
Info here.

Re-purposing existing structures for poultry production
2022-04-05 14:00 - 15:00
Many people want to convert an existing structure to a poultry coop. There are many things that must be taken into consideration when doing so, especially ventilation. Morgan Hayes from the University of Kentucky will discuss some of the issues that may arise and how to address them.
Info here.

Producing Vegetables in Perennial Dutch White Clover
2022-04-05 15:00 - 16:00
Lincoln Fishman of Sawyer Farm in Worthington, MA will talk through his no-till systems featuring details on planting into standing clover. Lincoln started with undersown clover a decade ago and has moved toward his current system as a way to both reduce tillage and address his long-term sustainability goals. He approaches his work with an open mind about plant competition, a willingness to experiment, and readiness to make changes based on the priorities for his farm.
Info here.

44th Annual Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention
2022-04-06 - 2022-04-08
Many times we discuss ways to manage or lessen some of the damage we have done to our lakes and rivers. Whether it be trying to control invasive species, restoring shoreland, or limiting the capture of certain fish species, we’re often playing “catch-up.” While all of those restorations and mitigation strategies are necessary, it is also important to protect our waterways that are still healthy! That’s the theme surrounding this year’s Wisconsin Lakes & Rivers Convention: Protecting What We Love for the Future. The hands-on workshops and engaging presentations during this year’s event will be centered around this theme of protecting our water resources. Our look “to the future” means we will also be focusing on success stories and recommendations of resilience, adaptation, and action in a changing climate. We will also be intentional about highlighting efforts and ideas that support diversity, equity, and inclusion in water resource protection and management. Mark your calendars and join this unique group of citizen scientists, businesses, and lake, river, and wetland professionals.
Info here.

Melanie Croft-White & Prabha Rupasinghe
2022-04-06 09:30 - 10:30
The goal of this research was to determine how fish community composition, diversity and abundance differs in Phragmites, Typha and Schoenoplectus vegetation. We found that although there were no differences in species richness or abundance there were differences in the fish species composition between the three vegetation types, with more Cyprinids found in the Schoenoplectus and more Centrarchids found in Phragmites.
Info here.

How to Review a Nutrient Management Plan and 590 Checklist
2022-04-06 10:00 - 11:30
This webinar will dive into reviewing nutrient management plans and their accompanying 590 checklist. 1.5 Nutrient Management CEUs will be offered. Andrea Topper from DATCP will be the presenter.
Info here.

Harmful Algal Blooms Webinar
2022-04-06 11:00 - 12:00
Join the Algal Bloom Action Team as we kick off our 2022 Harmful Algal Blooms Webinar Series! This month we examine how climate change is impacting marine and freshwater ecosystems with Dr. Christopher Gobler from Stony Brook University and learn about the history and current harmful algal bloom projects at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Info here.

Evaluating Salt-free "Softeners"
2022-04-06 12:00 - 13:00
The problem of hardwater scale is often addressed with salt-based water softeners that remove scale-forming calcium and magnesium ions and replace them with sodium ions. This ion-exchange technology, while the current norm in much of the United States, is not the only way to prevent hard-water scale. Salt-free options, more common in Europe, are readily available, comparable in cost, and effective. Environmental Engineering students from Purdue University will share the results of their lab analyses of two EMF anti-scale devices.
Info here.

Applications of high-frequency movement data for exploring and modeling fishing behavior
2022-04-06 12:00 - 13:00
The existence of high-frequency space-time data on human activities and movements is permitting the exploration and prediction of behavior in unprecedented ways. Cellphone data, for example, has been used to understand the differential abilities of income groups to respond to COVID-19 emergency declarations, to better predict traffic patterns, and to understand global mobility patterns. In the fishery context, I will discuss how researchers in the NatuRE Policy lab at UC Davis and collaborators have used satellite tracking data of vessels that report GPS coordinates throughout their voyage to investigate the explore-exploit tradeoff, to identify behavioral typologies of fishing vessels, and to revisit methodologies developed to explore space-time behavior of fishers to better understand their potential strengths and weaknesses for policy analysis.
Info here.

Herbaceous forest vegetation management
2022-04-06 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. Kyle Cunningham (UArk) will provide a general overview of native and invasive nonnative herbaceous species of concern in the southeastern U.S.
Both native and nonnative herbaceous plant species can be detrimental to forest stands in the southeastern U.S. when they disrupt the ecological balance. Often, nonnative invasive plants can grow unchecked and displace native species in small forest openings, forest road right-of-ways, and along roadsides. Opportunistic native herbaceous plants can become a nuisance in recently disturbed or logged sites, Unchecked herbaceous species can erode forest productivity, hindering forest use and management activities, degrading diversity and wildlife habit. In this webinar, Dr. Kyle Cunningham will provide information on accurate identification, ecological impacts, management strategies and more.
Info here.

Drip Irrigation Systems for School Gardens
2022-04-06 13:00 - 14:00
Drip Irrigation Systems can save time, conserve water, and enhance ease and health of your school garden plants. Join us to discuss how to set up and manage a simple drip irrigation system. We will share the components needed to create a system, steps to calculate/order materials, basic skills to build/repair your system, and tips for year-round management within a school garden context. The webinar will be mixed presentation of lecture, sharing of video clips, and ample time for Q and A.
Info here.

Well Care 101 - What You Need to Know to Protect Your Family
2022-04-06 13:00 - 14:00
In a survey of over 1,700 well owners, 67% believed their well water was safe without any evidence to support it. You can protect your health and your family’s by learning the basics of well care. In this free 90-minute webinar training hosted by The Private Well Class, you’ll learn:

how to determine if you water is safe for drinking,
simple best practices for well maintenance, and
solutions to the most common well problems.

Info here.
