Educational Opportunities

Take the 2025 National Food Hub Survey!

The Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, in partnership with the University of Michigan Program Evaluation Group is excited to launch the 2025 National Food Hub Survey! This is the sixth national survey to seek data on the economic growth, activities, opportunities and challenges of food hubs and similar businesses across the United States. You don’t have to call yourself a food hub to participate. If your business or organization aggregates food products from multiple producers and distributes them locally/regionally, we want to hear from you. Take the survey!

MSUE Grant Writing for Farm and Food Entrepreneurs Self-Paced | Online

This course is designed for food and farm business owners in Michigan to better understand the grant writing process, as well as provide information about grant writing opportunities for specialty food businesses. Learn more and register here.

Finding financial Success in Uncertain Times Self-Paced | Online

The D2L course “Finding Financial Success in Uncertain Times” is designed to help producers identify the uncertainties that exist within the farm business and how to achieve financial success through planning for and reacting to that uncertainty. The course provides a roadmap for the journey ahead and helpful information will be available at several stops along the way. Learn more and register here.

Biosecurity Protocols for Dairy Cattle & Livestock | Online

The Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship's Director of Managed Grazing Innovation Center (MGIC) and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Jessica Duran, has created this 25 minute educational presentation on the spread of diseases and biosecurity measures for dairy cattle. The information presented in this recording can also be applied to other livestock and farm types. Watch here.

March 12 - Farming for the Future | Van Buren Conference Center, Lawrence, MI

Farming for the Future is an annual educational event for local farmers and is a great opportunity to learn from agricultural specialists, educators, researchers, businesses, and other farmers. Breakout sessions this year will include tracks on grain, grazing, and perennial crops. Other topics will include farming low profit zones, slug pressure in high residue systems, finishing beef on pastures, soil health in fruit systems, conservation on big farms, and more. A MAEAP Phase 1 credit will be available for attendees along with RUP credits. Doors will open at 8:30 AM. Free lunch will also be provided. This event is free but pre-registration is required and space is limited. Please register by March 7.

March 12 - Tribal Food Producer Information Session for March | 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm | Online

The Tribal Food Producer Information Session will provide a virtual space to come together for learning about tax recordkeeping and funding opportunities. These quarterly sessions will be facilitated by Jen Falck (Oneida Nation), owner of Kahulahele Farmstead and Partnership Program Coordinator, Menominee Tribe’s Department of Agriculture and Food Systems, and Dan Cornelius (Oneida Nation), owner of Yowela Farms, grower of heritage Indigenous crops, and Outreach Program Manager for the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Jen and Dan will be joined by Julie Jesmer and Jamie Rahrig of Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems. Register here.

March 12 - SHOT Fund Informational Webinar | 11 am CST/12 pm EST | Online

The SHOT (Soil Health Opportunities & Tools) Fund invites you to attend an informational webinar where you can learn more about our 0% interest Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Bridge Loan Program. EQIP provides a cost share reimbursement to farmers, ranchers, and landowners who install eligible conservation practices that promote soil health, water quality, and biological diversity. One of the major challenges of the program, however, is the requirement that participants pay for the entire cost of practice installation upfront and out-of-pocket.

The SHOT Fund's EQIP Bridge Loan program provides landowners and farmers with flexible funding to cover the upfront costs of installing EQIP practices. Designed specifically for recipients of NRCS EQIP awards, our bridge loans have no fees, no penalties, and no interest.

This 1-hour webinar will feature members of the SHOT Fund team and experts from Food Systems 6 who will cover:

What is the SHOT Fund?
What is the current status of EQIP funding?
What is the SHOT Fund’s EQIP Bridge Loan Program?
What can I expect during the application process?
Q&A

March 12 - Terminated and Frozen USDA Funding: Filing an Appeal to Protect Your Rights | 10 am CST/11 am EST | Online

Are you a farmer with a signed contract with USDA for funding under programs including EQIP, CSP, or REAP?* Are you an organization with a signed grant contract under USDA RMA?* If so, and you are dealing with frozen funding, agency inaction, or have received a letter of termination, filing an NAD appeal or demand letter may help preserve your right to recover through a lawsuit. Farm Commons is hosting a FREE 75-minute webinar to help farmers and organizations discover:

Who might need to file an appeal,
What filing an appeal achieves, and;
How to file an appeal with NAD.

Facilitated by Farm Commons' Executive Director, Rachel Armstrong, Esq., and Farm Commons' Associate Director and Attorney, Erin Hannum, Esq., this webinar explains and expands on the two recent guides they wrote on the role of filing an NAD appeal for farmers and Farm Commons' forthcoming guide for nonprofits. Please join us to learn more about how Farm Commons, as well as other people and organizations, can support you in this difficult time. Register here.

March 18 - Michigan Cottage Food Law | 6 pm - 8 pm | Online

Learn how to prepare and sell foods to the public under Michigan’s Cottage Food Law. This two-hour workshop combines education about the Michigan Cottage Food Law and the food safety aspects of preparing and selling cottage foods safely and successfully. Michigan Cottage Food Law allows residents to manufacture foods in home kitchens and storing those products at home. Topics include preparing, packaging, labeling, storing, and transporting cottage foods. Register here.

March 18 - Combining Farm Specific Knowledge with Scouting to Form IPM Plans | 6 pm - 7 pm EST | Online

Join us for our March webinar hosted by the Vets in Ag Network and Heroes to Hive on March 18 from 6-7pm EST. In this webinar, we will be discussing how to use farm specific knowledge and scouting to form integrated pest management plans for small scale producers with a special focus on organic production. Registration is required to attend.

March 19 - Child Farm Injuries are NEVER "Accidents" | 12 pm - 1 pm CST/ 1 pm - 2 pm EST | Online

Summary: This presentation will address the learning objectives stated below, with a goal of raising awareness about how we can collectively make a difference in influencing culture of safety that safeguards children living and working on farms.

Objectives: At the end of the webinar, participants will have an increased understanding of the...

History of the terminology shift in disciplines of Transportation Safety, Injury Prevention, and Occupational Safety.
Rationale for word selection related to childhood agricultural fatal and nonfatal injuries.
Prevalence of the term “accident” in agricultural injury news reports
Actual and potential negative impacts of describing child farm events as “accidents”.
Personal and professional action steps for influencing a shift away from “accident” terminology in agriculture.

Intended Audience: Agricultural safety practitioners, child safety advocates, rural health care providers, rural law enforcement, farmers/parents.

To register for this training, you must have a free account in the AgriSafe Learning Lab. If you do not have an account, please create one here.

March 26 - Supporting Your Farm Employees with Physical and Mental Disabilities: Legal Obligations for Injuries and Disabilities on the Farm | 11 am CST/12 pm EST | Online

Do you supervise or manage employees on the farm or ranch? Do you have questions about how to support your employees with physical, mental, or cognitive disabilities?

Gain practical solutions to common legal and regulatory questions by joining us for our FREE 90-minute webinar. The law prohibits discriminating against people with disabilities, and this webinar is designed to help you understand how to support your employees and strengthen your management skills. Bring your questions and your wisdom to our webinar Facilitated by Farm Commons Staff Attorney, Chloe Johnson, Esq., and Communications Manager, Bonita Croyle. Register here.

March 31 - April 21 Webinar Series: Farm Financial Foundations | Online

Are you a farmer looking to learn the basics of accounting and developing financial strategies for your farm? Our upcoming webinar series, presented in collaboration with Good Roots will give you a roadmap to financial profitability and success for your farm business.

The four-part series (all virtual and all free!) will cover these key topics:

Part 1: Setting Up for Success

Part 2: Enhancing Profitability

Part 3: Budgeting & Goal-Setting

Part 4: The Value of Benchmarking

Learn more & register.

SAVE THE DATE! Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference | August 18 - 19, 2025 | The Leelanau School, Glen Arbor, MI

Now in its 26th year, the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference brings together farmers, growers, and land stewards for farm tours, hands-on workshops, and meaningful connections. A program of Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology, the conference rotates locations each year to highlight the diversity of Northwest Lower Michigan’s farms.

This year, the conference hub will be at The Leelanau School in Glen Arbor, and farm tours will take place throughout the region. After a successful shift to an August format, we’re continuing this immersive, on-farm learning experience at the peak of the growing season.

More details are coming soon—mark your calendars for August 18th and 19th, and stay tuned!