Busy, Busy February at Extension Office

Where did February go? My February FLEW by, jam-packed with programs and events!

I am excited to celebrate our graduates of the Annie’s Project for Cut Flower Growers. This six-week course started in January and finished this week. Our eight participants in Crawfordsville learned from local Farm Credit professionals, local Farm Bureau Insurance Agents, Lawyers, Purdue Economists, local FSA and NRCS professionals, a panel of flower growers, and Purdue Extension Educators. It was a fantastic class that allowed the participants to learn about how personality types can interact in a business, create mission statements, learn what information you need to have prepared before going to a loan provider or the FSA office, and learn from other participants and speakers passionate about growing cut flowers. Thank you to all our local speakers who helped teach this class!

Unfortunately, we did not have enough participants to host the Succession Planning Series, “Leaving a Lasting Legacy For Midwestern Farm Women” here in Crawfordsville. However, I was able to help still facilitate the online version of the class. Over ninety participants in the state of Indiana attended virtually, combined with the participants from Kansas and Nebraska this class reached over 500 participants! This is the second class I have offered that was the product of a NIFA grant applied for by Extension Educators from Nebraska, Kansas, and Indiana’s land grant universities. We learn and interact with professionals and participants across the Midwest and Plains. We listen to speakers from each state each night and then do “hands-on” activities in our in-person classroom. If you are interested in working on your farm or family business’s estate or succession plan, please contact me! I can connect you with a Purdue professional from the Farm Succession Team or the Purdue Institute for Family Business to support you.

PARPS

The Indiana Office of State Chemist has finished inputting 2024 PARP attendance records. If you need more Pesticide Applicator Recertification Programs to maintain your Indiana Pesticide License, please join us on Thursday at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds for the Statewide PARP at 6:30 p.m.

Tricia Herr is the Extension Educator | Agriculture & Natural Resources