Extension Connection

Happy New Year! Each new year brings a fresh set of goals for me both personally and at Extension. Therefore, I am in the process of collecting data on what residents of Carlton County would like to learn about in 2023. I want to be able to deliver memorable classes that are pertinent to our residents. Please reach out if you have ideas. Let's make the most of this year, together!

Best,

Mercedes

We recently mailed out a request for your input. If you have already completed the questionnaire, thank you. If not, please consider taking a few minutes to help us help you! Please click the link below or scan the QR code to tell Mercedes what YOU want to learn about in 2023!

http://z.umn.edu/2023needs

Looking to purchase your first farm? The Minnesota Department of of Agriculture's Rural Finance Authority is offering matching funds of up to $15,000 for down payments for qualified beginning farmers. Applications open at 9 a.m. January 4, 2023. Follow the link to learn more about eligibility, or contact Mercedes with questions. Tell your friends!

https://www.mda.state.mn.us/down-payment-assistance-grant-program

Are you interested in creating pollinator habitat, but you don't know where to begin? Check out this upcoming webinar series to help guide you in your pollinator plan. University of Minnesota Extension educators are excited to bring you this webinar series on creating your own pollinator habitat. This three-part series will cover how to create a pollinator-friendly garden, maintain a bee lawn and prairie planting for pollinators. Join us each afternoon on January 31, February 1 & 2 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. for this free webinar. You must pre-register for this series at http://z.umn.edu/BeeSeries to receive the webinar links.

The Northeast MN Forage and Grassland Council & MFA are once again offering their annual Tour de Forage on Tuesday, January 24, 2023. The event will be held at The Event Center in Floodwood, MN. Guest speakers include Thom Petersen, Commissioner of Ag for MDA, Dennis Hancock, Center Director for U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, and more!

There is a preregistration fee of $25 online, or $30 at the door.

To view the agenda for this and other statewide events and to register online: https://www.midwestforage.org/events.php

Hope to see you there!

The Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Grower's Association invites you to the 2023 Minnesota Fruit & Vegetable Expo, scheduled for January 18-20, 2023 in St. Cloud, MN. This comprehensive education program will kick off on Wednesday, January 18 with a keynote speaker and grower's panel on agritourism, and a welcome reception in the evening. The event continues for two jam-packed days of education and networking opportunities along with our trade show.

Check out the brochure for a more in depth look at program schedule:

https://mfvga.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2023-MFV-Expo-Schedule-Education-Fees.pdf

MDA's Organic Conference is being held January 5-6 at the River's Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud, MN. This two day event offers insightful sessions about numerous topics such as soil health, specialty crops, and more. The Minnesota Organic Conference offers learning and networking opportunities for people new to organic production as well as folks who are old hands at it. The educational program is complemented by an 80+ vendor trade show. For current program information and other conference news, visit www.mda.state.mn.us/moc or call 651-201-6012.

Join Shawn Bernhardt, local educator and mushroom grower for a presentation on growing this delicious fungi at home. He will cover supplies needed, growing conditions and harvesting.

Thursday, January 26, 2023 6:00-7:30 pm, Carlton County Transportation Building, 1630 County Rd. 61, Carlton

$5 at the door. 18 and under are free. Admission includes: hand-outs and door prizes.

Please call 218-384-3511 ext. 1 or email rustx048@umn.edu to pre-register.

Carlton, Pine, & Isanti Counties Extension are pleased to host the East Central Farm Transfer Workshop. Come and learn from the University of Minnesota Ag Business Team about how to navigate farm retirement, transferring farms from one generation to the next, and other pertinent topics. The event will be held on Friday, February 10, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.at the Pine County Historical Society & The Little Mermaid Cafe' in Askov, MN.

To register, please scan the QR code from the photo above, Contact Nathan Hulinsky, hulioo13@umn.edu, or follow the link: https://extension.umn.edu/event/east-central-minnesota-farm-transfer-workshop

Beef producers are invited to attend Federated Coop and Munson Lake Nutrition's Winter Cow/Calf meeting. Come and learn from guest speakers about trace minerals, and the importance of them within the diet. This event is being held on Thursday, February 16 at 6pm at Route 61 Lounge and Bowling (Gampers). This is a free event, but preregistration is required. To reserve a spot please call 218-485-4111.

In Minnesota, winter is full of opportunities to explore and learn new things in nature!

During a week-long Northwoods, Great Lakes course at the Long Lake Conservation Center, you will explore the wonders of nature in winter by birding and tracking wildlife. Participants will learn how the first Minnesotans survived the winter, practice our own winter resourcefulness, trek through the forest, and identify trees by their twigs and bark while snowshoeing, skiing, and discovering new things about nature only observed in the winter.

In this core course, training is tailored to Minnesota’s unique Laurentian Mixed Forest biome. The largest biome of the state, it covers over 23 million acres of northeast Minnesota. The region contains a multitude of landscapes, including swampland, bogs, vast forests, lakes and exposed bedrock.

Course details:

Date: Monday, January 9, 2023 - Friday, January 13, 2023

Time: 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. each day

Location: Long Lake Conservation Center, Palisade, MN

Cost: $295 (includes course manuals & supplies) Additional fees for lodging & meals

To register: https://extension.umn.edu/event/minnesota-master-naturalist-north-woods-great-lakes

Contact: Jim Platt, jimplatt@gmail.com

Interested in becoming a certified Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer or other program offerings? Learn more at: https://www.minnesotamasternaturalist.org/

The Extension volunteer sewing group is hosting an event to create book bags for the Cloquet Public Library summer reading program.

In years past the group has sewn pillowcases for the local youth shelter, a women's treatment center, Lake Venoah boarding house, and a homeless shelter.

The Carlton County 4H groups have been invited to participate. Sewing mentors will be available for those who would like to learn basic sewing skills. There will be some pre-cut patterns available to sew.

This event will take place on January, 30, 2023 from 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm at the Cloquet Library, 320 14th St., Cloquet. Patterns and fabric are available at the Extension Office for those that would like to get a head start. Please call or email Ann at the Extension Office to pre-register or to reserve a sewing machine. rustx048@umn.edu or 218-384-3511 ext. 1.

The Carlton County Extension Office will be closed on Monday, January 2 in observation of the New Year and Monday, January 16 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Messages for staff can be left via email or voicemail. We will get back to you as soon as we are able.

Read our latest email newsletter and consider signing up for future newsletters or forward to anyone interested in finding out how to get involved. 4-H participants are kindergarten through grade 13 and adults volunteers are needed. Contact our office with questions and learn more about how you can get involved today!

Keri Cavitt, Regional Director cavit005@umn.edu

Tracey Hartung, Administrative Specialist thartung@umn.edu

Katie Siltanen, 4-H Educator silta006@umn.edu

Mercedes Moffett, Agriculture Educator, moffe029@umn.edu

Ann Rust, Vol Coord & Horticulture Assist rustx048@umn.edu

Email: mnext-Carlton@umn.edu
Website: https://local.extension.umn.edu/local/carlton
Location: 317 Chestnut Avenue, Carlton, MN, USA
Phone: 218-384-3511
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UofMNExt

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