. This year’s get-together for the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association took place in Nashville and Knoxville, TN. The week-long event was part trade show, part tour and also featured two days of in-depth marketing specific demonstrations and discussions by experts and peers on how m...

Ben and Hannah Wolbach of Skinny Dip Farm in Westport, MA shared their experience growing and selling winter storage crops at a Twilight Event for the Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP). In the workshop, Hannah and Ben Wolbach explained their fertility practices. Farm soils ...

Beit Alpha cucumbers are becoming more popular among growers, and for good reason. They’re gynoecious (produce only female flowers) and parthenocarpic, so they don’t require pollination. With good management in a high tunnel, these seedless cukes will produce two crops in one season, and skilled gro...

Knowing what consumers want when they shop for fresh market fruits and vegetables is the key to growers’ success in planning and growing crops. Consumer tastes and trends vary from year to year and are often influenced by popular magazine and other media features. How can growers predict what consum...

Labor issues continue to dominate farm-based businesses. Our work takes hands-on education and training, it’s often seasonal, and it doesn’t fit well in a typical family’s 9-to-5 schedule. Truthfully, not everyone is cut out to work for us. But as we debate how to best retain employees, it is import...

Farm inputs can include energy in the form of fuels, electricity and fertilizers. Crop and livestock production uses energy in many forms. Energy heats water for washing equipment and harvested crops, and powers lighting for production and handling areas. Livestock and produce producers use energy f...

If you are now taking the time to review the interviews you did last fall or this winter for new workers, incorporate the “E-Factor” for finding and retaining exceptional employees. The E-Factor equates to those individuals who you move to the top of the hiring list for their enthusiasm, energy and ...

Make decisions regarding labor management and new equipment investment is something that most farmers face during normal business operations. Chris Blanchard of Purple Pitchfork shared his experience gathering accurate farm costs and production data for investment decisions at the 2014 Beginning Far...

The owners of a Gorham, Maine farm are hoping to become a hub for good, local food. “The general trend is moving toward becoming a suburb of Portland,” said Steven Bibula. “That’s good for us, because it’s an area that is densely populated by people who are very interested in local and artisan.” Bib...

How many foods can be grown and sold in under a week? Microgreens are ready to sell 5 to 10 days after germination. Baby greens are harvested less than 2 weeks after germination. Super Babies® “are tiny living pieces of art!” says CEO Lauri Roberts who produces microgreens under the Super Babies nam...

Two of the top names in agriculture met for a standing room only town hall meeting during the recent annual convention of the American Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau President Stallman moderated while U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed current topics and fielded audience questions. Vilsac...

As an eighth-generation grower, John Lyman has had the unique opportunity to watch his family’s business grow from a typical New England farm to a New England destination. “From the late 1950s on, we had a purebred Guernsey herd,” said Lyman. “We were also in the orchard business, which was pretty m...

Visions of beach plums — particularly of beach plum orchards on South Jersey farms — are running rampant in Cape May County, NJ. The beach plum, prunus maritima, is the subject of a $40,000 New Jersey Department of Agriculture 2015 Specialty Crop Block Grant. With this funding, the Cape May County B...

The annual meeting of the Connecticut Pomological Society was held on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014 at the Gallery Restaurant in Glastonbury, CT. The meeting was called to order at 9 a.m. by President Rick Macsuga and President-elect Erica Teveris. Each year the attendance at this meeting grows. This year, ...

Opportunities for scaling up small farms to serve a growing wholesale institutional demand for locally-sourced foods are knocking at the door. But farmers who choose to answer the call are advised to become GAP (Good Agricultural Pratices) certified, will need to implement washing and packing effici...