Equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities.
Caite and Jim Palmer hosted a field day near Castalia with 36 attendees on Sunday, June 30. The Palmers are taking over the farm that was started by Jim's great-grandparents in 1888. Prairie's Edge Farm gets its name from the former Conservation Reserve Program fields that comprised much of the farm, which sits on the edge of the Driftless Region in northeast Iowa.

The Palmers raise row crops and hay, and their pasture consists of prairie grasses that feed their Normandy cow-calf herd and Katahdin ewes and lambs.
ON THE BLOG
How do pig producers avoid health crises and reduce the chronic effects of disease, all while maximizing profitability? Unfortunately, there is not one quick-fix strategy. Herd health strategies bring together multiple practices into a package to raise successful and healthy pigs.
NEWS
The row crop cultivator’s basic job is to cut or uproot the weeds between rows, and cover up the in-row weeds that can’t be cut or uprooted.

But depending on plant, weed, soil and weather conditions, that job can get pretty tricky. In this video, hear from several PFI farmers on how they adjust their cultivators to get the job done.
Practical Farmers of Iowa is looking to hire a short-term contractor to build relationships with Iowa’s Latino community and increase their participation in our membership network .

We aim to connect with and learn about Latino Iowan farmer interests, as well as the barriers they face, so we can provide programming to help them begin and improve their farming careers.

This part-time, temporary contract position will run from approximately August 2019-January 2020, and will connect with Latino farmers, service organizations and Latino media outlets in Iowa to build relationships, learn about barriers and opportunities, and increase awareness about PFI.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesday, July 10 | 5 – 8 p.m. | Slater, IA
Hosted by: Lee Tesdell

Thursday, July 11 | 2 – 5 p.m. | Solon, IA
Hosted by: Paul Rasch and Sarah Goering
Register for one of our marquee summer events!
July 10: Field Day - Farmland Owner Legacy Award
5-8 p.m. | Slater

July 11: Field Day - Cider Orcharding
2-5 p.m. | Solon

July 16: Field Day - Vegetables for Rural Communities
4-6 p.m. | Elkport

July 17: Field Day - Soil Health Workshop
9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Grundy Center

July 17: Field Day - On-Farm Prairie & Insect Habitat
10 a.m. - Noon | Sutherland
July 17: Field Day - Organic Row Crops
1-3 p.m. | Sutherland

July 19: Field Day - Commercial Hair Sheep
10 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Blakesburg

July 23: Field Day - RAGBRAI at Howell's Greenhouse
6-10 a.m. | Cumming

Aug. 3: Field Day - Agroforestry
10 a.m. - 2 p.m. | Maxwell

Aug. 4: Workshop - Next Generation Summit
1:30-5: 30 p.m. | Van Meter
MEMBERSHIP
Promote PFI at your farm stand or event!
Are you a passionate member of PFI and want to help spread the word about our programs and resources? You can help us by distributing our printed materials at your farmers market stand or event. We will send you the materials of your choice, and can even provide a publication display, at no charge to you!

If you have a booth or event coming up and would like to help pass out PFI information materials, please contact Debra at debra@practicalfarmers.org or call the office at (515) 232-5661.  
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Steve Hopkins of Des Moines and Mollie Aronowitz of People's Company in Clive were featured in Water and Land News: Pro H20 Raises Awareness on Water Issues in Iowa

Adam Ledvina of Toledo was featured on Iowa National Heritage Foundation's blog: Browsing History
Have you been featured in the media? Tell us when and where to find a link to the article, and we'll feature you in a future issue of Practical News.