Alison Lane, business advisor with the Maine Small Business Development Center (MSBDC), has a confession: “Up until a year ago, we only had a couple reviews on the MSBDC Bangor Office Google page because you forget about it.” Fortunately for Lane and small business owners, recruiting online reviews ...

Annual growers come to mind when discussing forcing bloom for seasonal sales. But perennial growers can benefit too. Customers tend to purchase flowering plants when they are in bloom. Many are looking for flowers to plant during spring, as annuals in their glory are available at every garden center...

Although some farms have websites, many do not optimize them to attract more customers and clients, according to Jo Cook, founder of Sun & Soil Website Design and a small farm in Michigan. (She’s been designing websites eight years and farming for three.) Cook recently presented a webinar for FACT ,...

Being an Extension vegetable specialist most of my career, I orchestrated many educational sessions for various winter meetings and trade shows. I organized educational meetings when I was employed at North Carolina State, Kansas State and at Penn State and developed many additional workshops and se...

Recently the Department of Agriculture announced a $300 million Organic Transition Initiative designed to support the increased production of organic agriculture. The number of farmers transitioning to organic farming has dropped significantly in the past 15 years. If you’re curious about organic pr...

Although there’s been a rise in those growing hemp for CBD, the crop has become increasingly popular over the past four years for grain and fiber. Farmers interested in growing (or already growing) hemp for grain and fiber face numerous challenges that are just now being addressed. The Pennsylvania ...

The AmericanHort Scholars program aims to set students in horticulture on a path to success by exposing them to the breadth of the industry, its opportunities and its leaders at the annual Cultivate convention. Each year, six students are chosen for this special experience, giving them insight and a...

For years, commercial greenhouse growers have used supplemental lighting to help boost greenhouse production when the weather won’t seem to cooperate, as well as creating a more uniform product throughout the greenhouse. It began with fluorescent and high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting, which fed th...

Harvest and field work isn’t quite finished, which means hundreds of young children will be extra riders in tractors and other farm machinery. Fortunately, the majority will not be involved in an accident, but other dangers may not be immediately obvious. Marsha Salzwedel, project scientist and agri...

Chase Pagel doesn’t just talk about safety, she lives it. As the safety coordinator for Pagel’s Family Business, part of which includes the largest privately owned dairy farm in Wisconsin, Pagel is responsible for both employee and visitor safety. She recently provided information on the top OSHA vi...

The 2022 Virtual Orchard Meetup brought experts from across the country together to discuss the latest technological research designed to assist tree fruit growers. From robots for pruning and thinning to those which can detect and map diseases or predict the best branches to remove, today’s growers...

The amount of equipment found on a horticultural operation is almost mind boggling. A lot of it has been modified over the years by the farmers to better meet their needs. Some of the equipment goes back several generations. Vegetable farm sizes run the gamut from an acre to thousands of acres. The ...

Tulips are the first major crop in spring for flower farmers. I consider this my first influx of cash at the beginning of the season. They can be spaced very close together to only take up a small area, plus are grown as annuals and harvested with the bulb attached so the beds are easily flipped for...

Perhaps the most common and important part of a marketing strategy is signage. Signs are the visual displays which inform and instruct customers. Think of the many types and quantities of signs you already utilize in and around your business. While signs can be categorized into many different messag...

While many farmers are diligent in keeping up with proper maintenance of their farm equipment throughout their working season, care must be taken in equal measure during the colder off season. Dr. John Buchanan, associate professor and Extension specialist at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville...