A virtual experience offering 40 educational sessions with knowledge and resources for farmers, landowners and those interested in food and agricultural production.
Michigan State University Extension invites you to the 2025 MI Ag Ideas to Grow With conference, happening virtually from Feb. 24 through March 7, 2025.
The program, now in its fifth year, offers a wealth of educational opportunities for everyone involved or simply just interested in agriculture. By offering this program virtually, attendees from across the Great Lakes region can hear from experts in a wide range of topics.
The MI Ag Ideas to Grow With virtual conference features approximately 40 educational sessions across two weeks with topics focused on:
- Animal agriculture – beekeeping, livestock production, environmental management and farmers markets.
- Beginning farmer – protecting the operation, soil texture, business loans, EQIP funding, selling meat and climate change.
- Field crop production – slugs and bugs, crop growing mysteries (i.e., stunted soybeans), growing canola, no-till challenges and opportunities, and precision conservation strategies.
- Food preservation – cottage food law, canning, selling honey and maple syrup, dehydrating herbs and produce.
- General interest – food marketing labels, grant writing.
- Irrigation – field crop, horticulture and drip irrigation, and Michigan water policy.
- Solar – grazing cattle and sheep, and growing vegetables in solar projects.
- Vegetables – building up food sovereignty programs through garden education, marketing tips when wading into direct-to-consumer sales and deep dives into growing selected root, shoot and froot veggies.
“Michigan is blessed with an incredibly diverse agricultural industry,” said Charles Gould, Michigan State University Extension educator based in Ottawa County. “No matter the level of experience, there’s a session for everyone, from practical tools for new farmers to specialized knowledge for seasoned professionals.”
Due to the generous support of Michigan State University Extension, this event is offered to participants at no cost. However, attendees must register to receive the necessary Zoom links. With free registration, you will gain access to attend as many sessions as you want and even switch between tracks, making it easy to tailor the conference to individuals’ needs and interests. Restricted use pesticide and certified crop adviser credits will be offered for several of the sessions. For more information and to register, visit the MI Ag Ideas to Grow With conference website.
