Webinars for Farmers

View archived webinars via YouTube, Powerpoint, or Cornell Video on Demand (VOD).

Click on the categories below to navigate quickly to a certain section!

Farm Energy |Farm Finances | Land Access | Marketing | Vegetable Production


Farm Energy

Title Description Link
Thirsty Livestock? Jonathan Barter of Barter Farm shows the renewable energy powered watering system on his 210 acre livestock farm (40 Angus cattle and 130 Cheviot and Dorset sheep) Webinar Recording
Sunflowers & Canola to Fuel Roger Rainville of Borderview Farm grows sunflower and canola at his dairy and turns the oilseed into two products: biodiesel, and pelletized meal for feed or to burn in a pellet stove. Webinar Recording
Family Vineyard Shrinks Carbon Footprint by 40% Art Hunt of Hunt Country Vineyards leads a virtual tour of their energy efficient winery, newly insulated warehouse, geothermal heating and cooling system, and vertical wind turbine. They also share a variety of ecological production techniques. Webinar Recording
Organic Veg. Farm Cools with the Earth, Warms with the Sun Jay Armour and Four Winds Farm use passive solar and earth cooling, straw bale building, root cellars, a 14-kw grid-intertied PV electric system, a permanent raised bed system in the vegetable garden, and a vegetable oil powered van to minimize their energy use. Webinar Recording
Dreaming of Local Lemons- Solar Energy Virtual Tour Summit Naturals Organic Farm has a high tunnel and greenhouse, whose active solar heating systems allow them to grow greens throughout the winter and tropical fruits such as oranges, lemons, pineapples and figs. Webinar Recording
Powering Your Farm Off the Grid Raymond Luhrman will take us on a virtual tour of Fox Creek Farm and describe how his family operates their 350 member CSA operation using solar and wind energy produced right on site. Webinar Recording
Compost Power! An active compost pile may be able to generate enough heat to keep your greenhouse warm in the wintertime, offset your water heating fuel needs or even heat a small-scale biogas digester. Learn how from Sam Gorton, co-founder of the Compost Power Network. Webinar Recording

Farm Finances


Title Description Link
Free Money? Finding the Right Grants, Cost-Share Programs, and Low-Interest Loans for Your Farm Business –Liz Higgins Liz Higgins, a Business Management Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Team, shares programs and tips to help you find a good fit for your farm financing needs. This was presented in Feb 2017 as an in-person workshop at Broome County CCE. Webinar Recording
Kiva Zip: Crowd-funded 0% Interest Microloans –Lauryn Drainie Loans of up to $10,000 with 0% interest and no credit check. Sound like a scam? It’s not! Come learn about Kiva Zip, whose mission is to reinsert human relationships into the world of financial capital. The Cornell Small Farms Program is a Kiva Zip Trustee. Webinar Recording

Creative Financing, Complementary Financing: Ways for Farms to Acquire Capital for Start-up and Operations –Ben Waterman This webinar explores unconventional ways of financing a farm, including community financing, owner financed sales and land contracts, loans from individuals, multi-year CSA shares, share leases, and crowd funding. Slides
Microloans from the Farm Service Agency –Christy Marshall Farmers and ranchers who are unable to obtain credit from another lender to start, purchase, sustain, or expand their family farm may be able to get a loan through FSA’s Farm Loan Programs. Webinar Recording


Land Access


Title Description Link
Land Access Part I: Options and Strategies. By Kathy Ruhf This first of a two-part webinar on land access focuses on the basics. Viewers will learn about land acquisition options and their advantages and disadvantages. They also will come away with information about leases and landowners. Slides Webinar Recording
Land Access Part II: Farm Financing Alternatives. By Ben Waterman This is the second part of the land access webinars, and focuses on emerging financing strategies, including alternative financing for land access as well as topics covered in the new book, Guide to Financing the Community Supported Farm, such as legal/accounting considerations, promissory notes, and multi-year CSAs. Slides
Webinar Recording

Marketing

Title Description Link
Selling Produce to Groceries Dan Kent of Kent Family Growers shares how he made connections with his wholesale customers, and describes the changes he made in infrastructure, packaging, labeling, invoicing and production to meet the needs of his wholesale clients.  Webinar Recording
Upstate Livestock Farm Reaches NYC Restaurants Learn about how Stephen Winkler and other livestock farmers work with Mosner Family Brands to reach restaurants and retail stores.  Webinar Recording

Mushrooms to Dining Rooms: Meet the People Behind the Food Chain

Alan Kaufmann of Shibumi Farm markets his exotic mushrooms to restaurants, corporate kitchens, and purchasers such as the Natural Gourmet Institute.  Webinar Recording

Turning Milk to Gold (Butter)

Shannon Mason of Danforth Jersey Farm shares her experiences using food hubs to reach larger markets in the NYC region.  Webinar Recording
Choosing and Evaluating Marketing Channels- Matt LeRoux This webinar explores the various marketing channels available to farmers, from wholesale venues to direct marketing, then explains how to evaluate these channels based on factors like scale, specialization, and location. Slides
Farmer Presentations from “Beyond Direct Marketing: Exploring New Ways to Sell Darren Maum and Shannon Mason share their farm stories and personal experiences with wholesale marketing.  Webinar Recording
Farmer Presentations Continued & Discussion from “Beyond Direct Marketing: Exploring New Ways to Sell Stephen Winkler presents and Summit participants engage the presenters in a discussion about wholesale marketing.  Webinar Recording

Vegetable Production

Title Description Link
Planning for Flexibility in Effective Crop Rotations –Chuck Mohler Mohler discusses tools for crop rotation planning, basics of a planning procedure, and managing pests and weeds through rotation. Slides
Organic Weed Management –Eric Gallandt Gallant goes through the various options farmers have for weed management, the pitfalls that go with each option, and some solutions to these pitfalls. Slides
Organic Soil Management –Elsa Sanchez This webinar discusses nutrient building, how soil nutrients affect weed pressure, nitrogen gained from cover crops, and soil tests and recommendations. Slides
Organic Insect Management –Ruth Hazzard This webinar discusses managing insect pests in organic systems. Slides
Organic Disease Management: Concepts and Facts for Beginning Farmers. By Meg McGrath McGrath goes over the requirements for disease development, the types and sources of plant pathogens, various options for management, and more in this webinar for both beginning and established farmers. Slides