One of the hottest trends in specialty crops in Iowa and across the country is flower farming. Excitement for locally grown cut flowers has grown, along with the number of current and aspiring flower farmers.

On Jan. 19-20, PFI is excited to host "Growing and Selling Cut Flowers in the Midwest" as one of our pre-conference short courses.

This course will address some of the biggest questions Iowa’s flower growers face and (we hope!) strengthen the network of people growing and marketing these very special, diverse crops.

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

And the winner of our sunset plane ride is ...

Congratulations Rachel Schmidt Boeke!

Because Rachel registered for our annual conference before Nov. 30, she was entered in a drawing to win a sunset plane ride over Iowa, courtesy of Stott Aerial.

Rachel has been a PFI member since 2014 and is the garden manager at Dubuque Rescue Mission.

While we regret that we can't gift all of our pre-registrants a plane ride, there is still time to pre-register before rates increase! See which rate you qualify for.

PFI farminars are back in January 2023

Farminars are PFI's version of a webinar – a farmer-led webinar!

These 90-minute, online presentations are FREE for everyone. We encourage attendees to come with questions for the chat box!

Farminars are held on Tuesdays, from Noon-1:30 p.m. Central time from January to March.

Check out our lineup of farmer-speakers and register for the whole 2023 farminar series!

Help train the next generation of farmers in our Labor4Learning Program

Are you an experienced farmer? Are you looking for a high-quality, motivated farm employee? Apply to be a trainer in our Labor4Learning program!

We are looking for a range of farmers to who can offer aspiring farmers training in a variety of enterprises and production practices.

Help train the next generation of farmers! Learn more and apply today.

New research report: "Cover Crops for Winter Squash"

Cereal rye is a common cover crop used in vegetable cropping systems. With crew members Alayna Kuntz and Ella Ostedgaard, Kate Edwards evaluated hairy vetch as an alternative to growing cereal rye before winter squash.

Kate hypothesized that squash planted following vetch would yield a greater number and weight of marketable squash than squash planted following rye.

See if her hypothesis was correct in our latest report.

MEMBERSHIP

Support PFI through a gift of grain

Did you know that gifting grain directly to Practical Farmers may provide more significant tax savings?

Contributing grain allows you to avoid the sale of the commodity as income, while the production costs may still be deductible.

Reducing taxable income may provide advantages such as minimizing or eliminating your self-employment tax and reducing your adjusted gross income. Learn more here.

Want to support PFI with a direct financial donation? You can do that too.

Members in the News

Chris Deal of Jefferson, IA, was featured on the DonnaLonna Kitchen Show Podcast: 034: etting into the Holiday Spirit

Nathan Anderson of Aurelia, IA, was featured in Bloomberg Government: Climate-Smart Farm R&D Funds Waste Potential, Group Finds

Aaron Lehman of Polk City, IA, and Matt Russel of Lacona, IA, were featured in Progressive Farmer: Iowa Farmer Sees Lost Voices With DNC Move to Change Presidential Election Calendar

Nick Wallace of Keystone, IA, was featured in Big News Network: 10 Strategies for Telling Your Brand Story

Matt Russel of Lacona, IA, was featured in USDA Farm Service Agency News: FSA to Implement Pilot Hiring Program in Iowa

Aaron Lehman of Polk City, IA, was featured on the Donna Lonna Kitchen Show Podcast: 036: Fairness for Farmers with Aaron Lehman

PFI in the News

Practical Farmers of Iowa was mentioned in Financial News Media: Global Agriculture Supply Chain Management Market Expected to Reach $1.2 Billion By 2031

PFI was mentioned in the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition's Blog: USDA Announces Second Round of Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities Awards

Have you been featured in the media? If you're a PFI member, tell us when and where to find a link to the article, and we'll feature you in a future issue of Practical News.

Contact: rachel.burke@practicalfarmers.org

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