BELVIDERE, Ill. — Birds need daily care and feeding, adequate housing and good, quality water – which are just a few of the things to consider before ordering chicks. Kyle Cecil, University of Illinois extension educator, will share best management practices on raising healthy turkeys and processing options.

“Raising Broiler Turkeys” is the first in an upcoming Small Farm Webinar Series from 1-2 p.m. on Thursdays through March. Participants can listen from home, but U of I extension is offering the opportunity to join others at the Boone County extension office, 205 Cadillac Court, Unit 5, in Belvidere.

There is no fee, but pre-registration is required. Sessions may be cancelled for insufficient registration or participants may be asked to consider an alternate location.

To register, call 815-544-3710 or register online by visiting https://webs.extension.uiuc.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=7578

This is a 12-week educational series for the small-farm community and provides practical knowledge on emerging topics that advance local food production in Illinois. The series is aimed at providing small farm producers with a look at how leading practices in production, management and marketing enable operations to improve profitability and sustainability.

Other topics include:

•Strawberry Production on Jan. 17 in Boone, DeKalb and Ogle counties, presented by Mike Roegge, extension educator

•Water Sanitation for Small Farms Produce at 1 p.m. Jan. 24 in Boone County, presented by James Theuri, extension educator

•Wildlife Damage Control on Jan. 31 in Boone, DeKalb and Ogle counties, presented by Dave Shiley, extension educator

•Basics of Fruit Insect Management on Feb. 7 in Boone and Ogle counties, presented by Rick Weinzierl, extension specialist in entomology

•Intro to Farm Financial Management on Feb. 14 in Boone County, presented by Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, extension educator

•Seed Saving on Feb. 21 on Boone, DeKalb and Ogle counties, presented by Chris Konieczka, extension educator

•Managing Crop Rotations in High Tunnels on Feb. 28 in Boone County

•Farm to School Sales – What’s Involved? on March 7 in Boone County, presented by Julia Govis, U of I Farm to School Program coordinator

•Beneficial Insects on March 14 in Boone, DeKalb and Ogle counties, presented by Kelly Allsup, extension educator

•Weed Control in Pastures on March 21 in Boone and Ogle counties, presented by Ellen Phillips, extension educator

•Crop Budgeting Resources on March 28 in Boone County, presented by Steve Ayers, extension educator