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Benewah
County Extension Programming in the areas of agriculture and
natural resources:
Forestry
Classes and workshops are
offered in forest management
such as: thinning and pruning; insect/disease identification; and Logger
Education to Advance
Professionalism (LEAP).
The area extension forester is Chris Schnepf, located in
the Kootenai County Extension Office at
208-446-1680 or
cschnepf@uidaho.edu.
Using Your GPS
A Global Positioning System of "GPS" receiver
is becoming as common to work or play in forests as a compass.
Yet many who use GPS devices feel they are only tapping a small
portion of the devices capabilities. This one day
program will introduce participants to he science underlying GPS,
describe the wide range of tasks that can be accomplished with GPS
and their accompanying technologies, such as mapping programs,
Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and internet data sources.
This workshop will take place Friday, July 10, 2009,
from 8:30 am to 5 pm at the Federal Building Conference Room in
St. Maries. The registration cost is $20 and the program can
accommodate up to 28 people. One needs to register by
Friday, July 3rd. This program is worth 6 Idaho Pro-Logger
Credits; and 5 hours, Category 1, Continuing Education credits
from the Society of American Foresters. If you have
any questions please contact Chris Schnepf at 208-446-1680.
Click here for a
registration form.
Master
Gardeners (click here to go
to their page)
Small
Acreage Farms
Workshops and classes are
offered to help small acreage land owners evaluate their resources
and plan their production. A business planning course is
available “Tilling the Soil of Opportunity” to help agricultural
entrepreneurs explore their idea(s) thoroughly before making
financial investments. Individual technical support and workshops
are also offered in soils, including sampling and fertility
management, in pasture management, and in livestock management
(especially equine) on small acreages. In addition, many existing
commodity producers are looking for alternative crops.
Opportunities for applied research are available in both
alternative crops and noxious weed control. There are several on-line publications about
small acreage farming from the University of Idaho.
Benewah
County Noxious Weeds
If you have any questions please contact Dale Morlan, Benewah County Weed Superintendent, at 274-2234 or the
Benewah County Extension Office at 245-2422.
Additional Resources
LOCAL
Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS)
The NRCS provides
leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve,
maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment. The
local NRCS office is in Plummer, also the home of the Farm Service
Agency (FSA).
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/
Contact them at
208-686-1699, ext 3
The Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Stabilizing farm income,
helping farmers conserve land and water resources, providing
credit to new or disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and helping
farm operations recover from the effects of disaster are the
missions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service
Agency (FSA).
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/default.asp.
Contact them at 208-686-1699, ext 2.
Benewah Soil & Water Conservation
District (SWCD).
The Benewah SWCD
provides action at the local level for promoting wise and
beneficial conservation of natural resources with emphasis on soil
and water conservation practices.
Meetings are held on the third Wednesday
of every month, 6 pm, at the Plummer NRCS office. The public is
welcome to attend.
http://www.scc.state.id.us/scd.htm
Contact them at 686-1260.
STATE
Idaho
Department of Agriculture (ISDA)
http://www.agri.state.id.us/
ISDA has a lot of resources
and information available, for example, a few topics are listed
below:
Certified Weed Free
Forage/Straw
Noxious Weeds
Pesticide
License Certification/Recertification
Animal Health
Veterinary Services
Organic Certification
Marketing
Idaho Agriculture
Directory
FEDERAL
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture supports three major programs that offer sustainable
agriculture information and assistance. Whether you are a farmer,
an educator or a researcher seeking more information about
sustainable agriculture in general, about a specific crop, or help
with a specific problem, these programs can help. Contact
information for each program and a description of each program's
area of specialization are provided below:
(301)
504-6559 www.nal.usda.gov/afsic
afsic@nal.usda.gov
AFSIC collects, organizes
and distributes information on alternative agriculture and
provides high-level searching and reference services from the
National Agricultural Library's vast collection and world-wide
databases.
AFSIC
Resources From the National
Agriculture Library and beyond:
Organic Agriculture
Community Based Agriculture
Sustainable Agriculture
(301)
504-5230
www.sare.org
san@sare.org
SARE provides grant
opportunities; maintains diverse portfolio of research projects;
synthesizes research results & on-farm experiences to develop
books, introductory bulletins and educator guides.
SARE Publications:
www.sare.org/htdocs/pubs
Educator guides
On-farm research
Farm success stories
Soil & pest management
Alternative marketing strategies
Alternative livestock production
(800) 346-9140
http://attra.ncat.org
National sustainable
agriculture information service answers questions about specific
farming practices and innovative marketing approaches, including
organic production.
ATTRA
Resources:
200+ free publications on farming and
marketing
Website with daily brief updates
Specialized responses to sustainable agriculture questions
Toll-free phone service in English (800) 346-9140 and Spanish
(800) 411-3222
Speakers for workshops and conferences
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