Have you ever thought about growing mushrooms on your farm? Come learn all about shiitake production!
This workshop will teach you how to start growing shiitake on logs and the best ways to manage them. You will get to inoculate your own log to take home. You will also learn how to determine whether shiitake production is an economically viable venture for your farm.
This event will be held on February 21st from 9 am to 12 pm. The classroom portion will be held at the Extension office (103 S. Bickett Blvd., Louisburg, NC), and then we will move to the nearby Franklin County Farmer’s Market for the hands-on portion. The cost to attend this workshop is $15. Register online at the following link.
go.ncsu.edu/shiitake-mushroom-workshop
Grant Writing
Dr. Kathleen Liang at North Carolina A&T State University will offer three levels of workshops to assist ag producers, extension agents, and community organizations to enhance the ability of financial management and grant writing. Each workshop will require registration. Please see workshop description and Zoom registration links below:
Level 1 - this is an introduction to grant writing for researchers, producers, extension agents, and community organization staff who have no experience or limited experience in designing, planning, and preparing an effective grant proposal. Contents will include formulating ideas, transforming ideas into fundable concepts, strategies to write a grant proposal, and building an effective team to collaborate. We will end with sources of funding and program information.
Level 1 - Basics of Grants (types, programs, purposes) Grant Writing
When: Feb 4, 2026 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting
and
Level 2 - this workshop offers a deeper understanding of types of funding across different agencies and organizations, strategies to build a realistic budget/narratives, creating a reasonable timeline for proposed activities, creating a feasible project management plan and data plan, and building a reasonable evaluation plan. Additional discussion will cover Center of Excellence justification if interested.
Level 2 – Strategies to put a grant application together Grant Writing
When: Feb 11, 2026 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting
and
Level 3 - This workshop will provide a step-by-step guide to show grant application procedures using specific programs. We will also cover budget preparation, resource allocation, and some dos and don'ts when it comes to developing an effective proposal.
Level 3 - Details of grant writing following the call for proposals
When: Feb 18, 2026 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
Register in advance for this meeting
Peach Workshop and NC Peach Growers Society Annual Meeting
- The NC Peach Growers’ Society Annual Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 27, 2026 has been canceled due to Inclement Weather. It is re-scheduled for Monday, February 16, 2026. The Pre-Conference Workshop scheduled for Monday, January 26, at the Sandhills Research Station, has been canceled. It will not be re-scheduled this year.
- 2026 NC Peach Growers’ Society Annual Meeting RESCHEDULED
Upcoming Winter Storm
We have some serious winter weather headed our way at the end of the week. Here are some helpful articles on what to do to protect your farm.
Conferences
Southern Cover Crops Conference
NC Agritourism Conference and Farm Tour
