North Dakota State University Extension will again host the Field to Fork webinar series starting in February 2026.

Experts from across the region will provide information about growing, preserving and preparing specialty-crop fruits and vegetables safely in this 11th annual webinar series.

The Field to Fork Wednesday webinars will begin Feb. 11. The webinars will be held online from 2 to 3 p.m. CDT through April 15. The webinars are archived for later viewing, but participating in the live webinar allows participants to interact with the presenter.

The webinars are free of charge, but registration is required. Register at ag.ndsu.edu/fieldtofork. The webinars will be held on Zoom. Participants will receive reminders and a link to participate, along with a link to the recording if they are unable to attend.

Julie Garden-Robinson, NDSU Extension food and nutrition specialist, says that when the first Field to Fork webinar series started 11 years ago, online webinars were still relatively new. Now the series reaches thousands of people annually, both live and through the recordings.

Topics that will be covered:

Feb. 11: Planting techniques make all the difference: From tomatoes to apple trees – Don Kinzler, NDSU Extension horticulture agent

Feb. 18: New and promising vegetable varieties for 2026 – Tom Kalb, NDSU Extension area horticulture specialist

Feb. 25: The prepared consumer: From grocery aisle to emergency plan – Cindy Brison, University of Nebraska Extension educator

March 4: Food preservation all year - Fruit leathers, apple chips, jerky and more! – Julie Garden-Robinson, NDSU Extension food and nutrition specialist and professor

March 11: Debunking common vegetable gardening myths – Esther McGinnis, NDSU Extension horticulturist and associate professor

March 18: To sous vide or not sour vide: Safety of long-term, low-temperature cooking for vegetables – Bryon Chaves, Rutgers University (New Jersey) associate professor

March 25: Roots, fruits, and shoots: Edible plant parts – Susie Thompson, NDSU Department of Plant Sciences associate professor and potato breeder

April 1: Safe home canning: Start with the recipe, finish with confidence – Karen Blakeslee, Kansas State University Extension associate

April 8:  Safer solutions: Natural insecticides to manage garden insects – Janet Knodel, NDSU professor and entomologist

April 15: Does soil health make a difference in producing healthy food? – Carlos Pires, NDSU Extension soil health specialist and assistant professor

“Our Field to Fork website has a wealth of information from growing, preparing and preserving foods from apples to zucchini, plus all the archived Field to Fork webinars from 2016 to present,” says Garden-Robinson, NDSU Extension food and nutrition specialist and coordinator of the program.

This project is made possible with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

To register, visit NDSU Extension’s website at ag.ndsu.edu/fieldtofork or contact Garden-Robinson at 701-231-7187 or julie.garden-robinson@ndsu.edu.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - Dec. 29, 2025

Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, 701-231-7187, julie.garden-robinson@ndsu.edu

Editor:  Elizabeth Cronin, 701-231-7006, elizabeth.cronin@ndsu.edu