Introduction

Hello MWFFC, 

Happy winter! If you are receiving this newsletter it is because you put down your email on our sign-up sheet, joined through our website, or are connected with the MWFFC through some other means. 

We are excited to share our December 2024 newsletter, which is full of exciting events, opportunities, and news about the coalition.

Upcoming Events

Click the link below to register via zoom. If you have specific questions you would like to discuss, send them in advance to [houstone@lincolnu.edu]. 

Join us at the annual Great Plains Growers Conference, hosted by Missouri Western University in St. Joseph, MO.

The conference will feature a trade show, poster session, and talks on forest farming, tree fruit, vegetable production, business management, and more!

The forest farming track on Friday, January 10th will introduce the Midwest Forest Farming Coalition, and will include topics related to forest farming opportunities in the Midwest. Join us to learn about site selection, site preparation, NRCS cost-share for forest farmers, and hear from new forest farmers as they share about their operations. 

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To learn more about the 2025 Great Plains Growers Conference, visit the conference webpage using the link below.

Other Opportunities

The Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant Program is an initiative funded by Edwards Mother Earth Foundation (EMEF) that is managed by Virginia Tech University in partnership with Rural Action, Appalachian Sustainable Development, North Carolina State University and SilvoCulture.

The grant provides direct financial support for agroforestry, including forest farming! Forest farmers can receive up to $1,000 for 1/4 acre and up to $500/acre for site preparation depending on project scale and scope. Awardees are reimbursed for project expenses upon completion of the project.

The deadline for applications is March 3rd, 2025. If you are interested in applying, check out the link below and direct questions to Patrick Bowers at Virginia Tech [bpatri8@vt.edu].​ 

The MWFFC can also provide you with design assistance and work through the application process with you. Contact Ezra Houston [houstone@lincolnu.edu] if you would like help with your application. 

Forest Farming Tidbits

Other News

This fall, the MWFFC had the pleasure of attending several events to share about forest farming opportunities in the Midwest: 

On October 19th, we set up our booth at the Missouri Chestnut Roast, and we gave a short presentation about our mission to support forest farming. It was great to see you there!

On November 9th, we joined the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry and others for their forest farming workshop at the Land of the Osages Research Center, where we learned about forest management practices for forest farming, hands-on inoculating mushroom logs, chainsaw safety, prescribed burn planning and small acreage enterprise budgets. Look out for more workshops like this in the future!

If you are interested in connecting with us in other ways, feel free to check out our website and social media pages through the links below.