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12/5 - 12/7/2006	Great Lakes Fruit Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO Grand Rapids
12/11	MDA Pesticide Applicator Recertification Review & Test Banks Township Hall - Antrim County
12/12	MDA Pesticide Applicator Recertification Review & Test NW Michigan Hort Res Station
12/15	Farm Income Tax Session NW Michigan Hort Res Station
1/5 - 1/6/2007	Farm It Foward Kellogg Biological Station
1/16 & 1/17	NW Michigan Orchard & Vineyard Show Grand Traverse Resort
1/18	Taste the Local Difference Workshop
1/27	Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference Grayling High School
1/29 - 1/31	Tree Fruit IPM School Kellogg Biological Station
1/30	Agriculture's Conf. on the Environment Lansing Center, Downtown Lansing
3/2 - 3/3	Farm It Foward Kellogg Biological Station
3/4 - 3/7	5th Int'l Organic Tree Fruit Research Symposium East Lansing
3/13 - 3/15	Benzie / Manistee Hort Show Crystal Mtn Resort

PESTICIDE CERTIFICATION REVIEW & TEST SESSIONS
Nikki Rothwell, District Fruit IPM Educator
Duke Elsner, Agricultural Agent, Grand Traverse County MSU Extension
Stan Moore, Agricultural Agent, Antrim County, MSU Extension

December 11, Banks Township Hall, Ellsworth
December 12, Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Review of Core Manual Materials (2 re-certification credits of private or commercial core offered)

12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Lunch on your own

1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Certification Tests offered by MDA

There is no cost for either review session. If you will be taking the MDA exam in the afternoon, please have the exam fee(s) on hand. The private applicator test is $50 and commercial is $75. Please make your check payable to State of Michigan. To help you prepare for the exam, the Pesticide Applicator Core Training Manual (E-2195) can be purchased for $10.00 at your county Extension office or at the NW Michigan Horticultural Research Station.

Please RSVP

December 11: Call Gloria at the Antrim County MSU Extension office, (231) 533-8818
December 12: Call Jackie at the NW Michigan Hort Station, (231) 946-1510

FARM INCOME TAX SESSION
By Jim Bardenhagen, CED Leelanau Co.

The Annual Farm Income Tax Update will be held on Friday, December 15, 2:30-4:30 p.m. at the NW MI Horticultural Research Station.

Larry Borton, MSU Ag Economics Department and Director of the MSU Telfarm Department, will be covering various income tax changes affecting farms and individuals for 2006. Larry will also present suggestions for income tax planning and will provide a number of handouts as well. As usual, your questions are welcomed.

If your farm uses a tax preparer, please invite him/her to join us so he/she is aware of all the items that can affect agriculture tax returns.

The cost is $6, which covers conference room charges, handouts and refreshments, payable at the door.

NW MICHIGAN ORCHARD & VINEYARD SHOW

The NW Michigan Orchard & Vineyard Show will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, January 16 and 17, 2007, at the Grand Traverse Resort in Acme. Cherry Marketing Institute’s annual meeting will be held during the second day of the program. A day of wine grape programs will be conducted concurrently with the general session on the first day.

The tree fruit session will include topics in pest management, specifically on cherry leaf spot and new fungicide resistance bioassays, the Old Mission codling moth mating disruption program, cherry fruit fly and post-harvest control strategies, and new work on biofumigants in tree fruit orchards. This year’s program will also cover training dwarf sweet cherries as well as results from work at the NWMHRS on new sweet cherry varieties and rootstocks. The tree fruit session will also feature two out-of-state speakers. Dr. Lailiang Cheng from Cornell University is a nutrition specialist that works with tree fruit and grapes--he will be a terrific resource for both sessions at the Show. Dr. Robert Kurlus from Poland will be on-hand to talk about his latest research on the cold hardiness of cherries.

The wine grape session will feature timely topics including powdery mildew, botrytis bunch rot, Japanese beetle, and new control strategies for potato leaf hopper. Dr. Cheng will present his work on carbon partitioning in grape vines during the afternoon. The wine grape session will round out with a Riesling triangle test.

A complete program schedule will be included in the next newsletter.

TASTE THE LOCAL DIFFERENCE (TLD) WORKSHOP
By Jim Bardenhagen, Leelanau MSU Extension Director

On January 18, 2007 the Taste the Local Difference (TLD) Team will hold a workshop with area growers/producers, distributors and retailers/institutions/restaurants. The main focus will be to initiate work on an implementation plan for serving more of the $45 million local food market in the 2007 season.

The workshop is an outgrowth of the TLD Forums run at several locations last winter. If you are interested in providing local agricultural products for the local food market, please come and help develop the local system to make this market happen.

The meeting will start at 1 pm at a location to be announced shortly. Details should be on the www.localdifference.org website soon. You can register by calling (231-256-9888) or emailing (msue45@msu.edu ) Leelanau MSU Extension.

There is no cost to attend, and refreshments will be served.

The workshop is sponsored by Leelanau MSU Extension, Michigan Land Use Institute, Northern Michigan Lake Alliance and the Traverse City Small Business Technology and Development Center (SBTDC).

NORTHERN MICHIGAN SMALL FARM CONFERENCE
Stan Moore, MSUE, Antrim Co.

This year’s Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference will be held on Saturday, January 27 at Grayling High School. Now in its 8^th year, this conference has proven to be one of the most respected and well-attended farm conferences in Michigan.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. George Bird, Professor of Entomology at Michigan State University. Break out session topics will include: Bird Flu; Starting with Meat Goats; the SARE program; CSA as part of your farm; Season Extension for Small Farms; Food as Medicine; Sea Energy Agriculture; Alternative Energy; Organic Beef Production; MAEAP presentation; Soils; Creating Value Added Opportunities with Processed Food; and more.

The trade show offers many exhibits that attendees may visit for even more information from composting to wood burners to cheese making and raising organic meats.

Past attendees have praised speakers and topics for their relevance and insight into the concerns of today’s small-scale farmers. It is a great time to network with the 600 + farmers that attend each year.

For more information, please contact Stan Moore at the Antrim County MSU Extension office at: PO Box 427, Bellaire MI 49615; (231) 533-8818, msue05@msu.edu or www.antrimcounty.org Then click on the MSU Extension link.

2007 MSU TREE FRUIT IPM SCHOOL

January 29, 30, and 31, 2007
Kellogg Biological Station, Hickory Corners, MI

The MSU Tree Fruit IPM School is back for 2007! This year’s program is designed to take an in-depth look at our most problematic reoccurring pests in Michigan orchards and their new and exciting control strategies. We have gathered researchers and extension specialists from around the country and around the state to discuss pest management tactics with growers, consultants, scouts, and chemical company field representatives in order to produce high quality fruit in Michigan.

This year we will follow a more traditional type format where speakers will give a presentation on their updated pest research, followed by a short question and answer session. However, we have incorporated three longer discussion times—call-in radio style ‘bug talk’ sessions with the entomology experts and also a ‘disease talk’ that aims to answer all your pathology needs.

PROGRAM CONTENT

Plum curculio: Three good experts--one bad weevil

Codling moth: Is this pest worse than ever?

New chemistries: What’s comin’ down the pipeline…

Cherry Fruit Fly: New twist on CFF life cycle across MI

Cherry Leaf Spot: Copper’s potential for tarts’ #1 disease

Fungicide Resistance in Apple: NY pro imparts his advice

Post-harvest Disease: How to get rid of those rotten apples

Management of Armillaria: Is controlling this disease impossible?

Fungicide Resistance in Brown Rot: Can this be true? Stay tuned!

Cherry RAMP Project: Assessing the scene after 3 years

Update on the Regulation Front: EQIP, CSP, MEAP, & AZM

Insecticide Activity: A look into how insecticides tick

Tank Mixes: What you can and can’t toss into the tank

For questions or a registration form, please call Nikki at 231-946-1510.

2007 BENZIE-MANISTEE HORTICULTURAL SHOW UPDATE

The Benzie Manistee Horticultural Society, in collaboration with the Benzie MSUE Office, is pleased to announce that the 2007 Show at Crystal Mountain Resort is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13 – Thursday, March 15. Although specifics are still underway, the general focus will be on apple production and marketing. In addition, speakers from across the United States will also cover such topics as direct marketing, organic production, food safety, small fruit production, and other value-added information. The banquet will be held on Wednesday night, March 14^th and as always will feature a special guest speaker and a number of honored guests. Details will be forthcoming. Please mark these dates on the calendar.

FARM IT FORWARD

"Farm It Forward" is a four-day workshop that will be held January 5-6 and March 2-3, 2007 at the Kellogg Biological Station. This program will help you and your operation’s future managers: discover how to address major issues that can lead to failure in a multiple generation farm business; learn about estate planning; find out whether an existing operation is large enough to support an additional partner; uncover alternatives for transfer of farm assets; get the most recently published resources for those considering a multiple generation farm business; network and share ideas and experiences with other farmers who may be dealing with the same issues. Cost: $300. For more information, call 989/672-3870 or contact the local MSUE office.

DISASTER DECLARATION ALLOWS FARMERS TO RECEIVE EMERGENCY FARM LOANS

USDA’s Farm Service Agency designated 28 Michigan counties as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by storms containing excessive rain, flooding, hail, and high winds during 2006. Area counties included in the designation are Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau.

The agency’s designation makes qualified farm operators in primary and contiguous disaster counties eligible for low-interest physical loss EM loans from the Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have until July 9, 2007 to apply for loans to help cover part of their losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merit, taking into account the extent of loss, ability to obtain other credit, security available and repayment ability.

FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity. USDA has also made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Emergency Conservation Program, Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

For more information, contact your local FSA office or go to http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov

JIM NUGENT SOON TO RETIRE

Jim Nugent will retire at the end of this year. An event to recognize his retirement will be held Tuesday evening, January 16, at the Orchard and Vineyard Show. The program will begin immediately following a reception in the exhibit hall. Everyone is invited!

ROTHWELL NAMED DISTRICT EXTENSION HORTICULTURE EDUCATOR AND NORTHWEST MICHIGAN HORTICULTURAL STATION COORDINATOR

Michigan State University Extension and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station have named Dr. Nikki Rothwell District Extension Educator and Coordinator for the NWMHRS. Her effective starting date is January 1, 2007.

Many already know Rothwell because of her current role as the MSU Extension District IPM Educator, at the NWMHRS. In the IPM position her responsibilities have included developing programs and providing relevant IPM information as well as conducting related research for the northwestern lower Michigan fruit industry. In her new role at NWMHRS, Rothwell will provide leadership and coordination for MSU Extension horticultural educational programs and activities in northwestern lower Michigan. She will also disseminate current research-based technical and management information to the fruit industry. She will handle day-to-day management of the station and all associated efforts. Rothwell will work with the fruit industry representatives to determine research priorities, interact with regional and MSU-based faculty members to coordinate research activities, and conduct industry workshops and field days for growers.

At this time there is no predicted gap in IPM duties at the NWMHRS. MSU plans to fill Rothwell's previous position of MSU Extension District IPM Educator within 6 to 8 months.

Please send any comments or suggestions regarding this site to:
Bill Klein, kleinw@msu.edu

Last Revised: 12-01-06