U of I Extension to host Farm Commons webinars Jan. 5th and 6th

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[January 05, 2015]  Legal Tools for Building Sustainable Farm Businesses
Farm Commons Webinar Series

The University of Illinois Extension will be hosting two Farm Commons webinars at the University of Illinois Extension office, 700 S. Airport Drive in Springfield, Ill. on January 5 and 6. The webinars will include –Hosting Safe, Legally Secure Farm Events; and Adding Value without Adding Legal Liability To Farm Products.

The webinars are free, but you must register at http://farmcommons.org/webinars  to attend. You then have two options: you can view the webinar at your own home/office or you can attend at the University of Illinois Extension office.

Each webinar will provide lots of time for questions, input from farmers themselves, and true stories about folks who have been there. In Springfield, we will have local experts at each of the webinars including Wes King, Executive Director, Illinois Stewardship Alliance and Rebecca Osland, an attorney in Springfield, providing legal advice and planning services to people involved in local food and local businesses.

The featured webinars will include:

Hosting Safe, Legally Secure Farm Events
Monday, January 5, 2:00-3:30 p.m.


On-farm events are a great way to build support in the community. And, they’re a lot of fun! But as the saying goes, it’s only fun until someone loses an eye. Make sure your farm isn’t left with the short end of the stick after a good-intentioned event goes bad. From zoning compliance to guest injuries and serving prepared food, we’ll work through a checklist of things a farm should address before hosting an event.

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 Adding Value without Adding Legal Liability to Farm Products
Tuesday, January 6, 2:00-3:30 p.m.


Although starting a processing operation, improving packaging, and developing new products are great ways to make the farm more profitable, these activities have a huge legal impact. Employment laws, liability potential, state/federal regulations, and tax factors all change when a farm begins to process product. Farms relying on cottage food laws should make sure to attend- we’ll talk about what these laws do not do to protect farms.

For more information, contact Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, Extension Educator at 217-782-4617, cvnghgrn@illinois.edu

[Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, Extension Educator, Local Food Systems and Small Farms, University of Illinois Extension]

 

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