Join this webinar to learn about production and marketing challenges and opportunities for farming organically in urban environments. Organic producers of all sizes and across all landscapes must follow the same national standards to meet the requirements of USDA organic certification. However, certified organic farmers and farmers using organic growing practices may have different production and market opportunities and challenges when growing in an urban environment.

Soil health is defined in terms of soil function, and some of the most important functions are related to water-holding and water infiltration. Farmers and policy-makers both care about these properties, but they can be elusive to measure. In this edition of the Soil Health Digital Café, Dr. Anna Cates, University of Minnesota Soil Health Specialist, discusses on-farm efforts to quantify changes in soil function with soil health practice adoption, including soil organic matter pools, soil aggregates, and water infiltration.

This 12-part monthly webinar series will explore forest ecosystems and their composition and structure under a changing climate, and the influence on wildlife populations and carbon dynamics. The series will also share tools and management approaches to help facilitate forest and wildlife climate adaptation at both landscape and stand scales.

An overview of the MNDNR's efforts regarding the management of ash dominated stands on state lands in Minnesota in response to Emerald Ash Borer. The video presentation discusses current EAB quarantine areas in Minnesota, rules regarding movement of ash and hardwood materials, signs and symptoms of EAB infestation in ash and recommendations for reporting possible EAB issues. It also covers the ash resource priorities, challenges and opportunities throughout the state. Possible management options and suggestions are offered for different types of ash dominated stands.

A recording of a virtual windbreak short course for Nebraska:

• Part 1: Ritch Nelson: Using the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide for Windbreak Conservation Planning Criteria
• Part 2: Pam Bergstrom: Web Soil Survey, Site Preparation
• Part 3: Galen Wittrock: Windbreak Design
• Part 4: Craig Stange: Windbreak Field Observation/ Discussion

A recording of a virtual windbreak short course for Nebraska:

• Part 1: Bruce Wight: Wind Protection Needs Past and Present
• Part 2: Richard Straight: Windbreak Design or How do Windbreaks Work?
• Part 3: Richard Straight: Windbreak Purposes
• Part 4: Lord Ameyaw: International Agroforestry/Windbreaks

Join Drs. Miranda Curzon and Marcella Windmuller-Campione as they discuss their work on two Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) project sites. The ASCC project represents a collaboration between managers and scientists to establish experimental trials that assess forest ecosystem response to climate adaptation approaches (resistance, resilience, transition, and passive no action). Miranda will introduce a new multi-state ASCC study to be implemented on state-owned lands in the Driftless Area.

This University of Minnesota website has links to forest pests and disease descriptions, identification and management options.

Each year, the Minnesota DNR Forest Health team conducts both aerial assessments and on-the-ground monitoring to assess the health of the state’s forests. Join us for this webinar as MN DNR Forest Health Specialists provide an update on the status and trends in forest health from all corners of the state.

Climate change is altering forest ecosystems, with many changes expected by the end of the 21st century. Forests vary widely, and not all forests are equally at risk; vulnerabilities are strongly influenced by regional differences in climate impacts and adaptive capacity.