Dewey and Sharon Lloy had a plan when they purchased a 55-acre farm in Raymond, Maine: to create a Christmas tree farm and provide a memorable experience for guests. “We bought the farm in 1992 and started clearing the first plot for Christmas trees in December,” said Dewey. “My vision was to have a...

When farming is one’s occupation, one doesn’t have to belong to a gym. One keeps fit and gets enough exercise lifting heavy weights of crops and bending down to plant or pick them. Ray Young, owner of Next Barn Over Farm in Hadley, MA, grows enough certified organic vegetables to fill 500 CSA orders...

GREENLAND, NH – Agriculture Commissioner Shawn Jasper kicked off New Hampshire’s 11th Direct Marketing Conference on Nov. 4 at the Portsmouth Country Club, co-sponsored by the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension and the Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food. “Agritourism means attr...

People can enjoy a real country experience when they visit Kenburn Orchards and pick their own high bush blueberries or, later in the year, return to choose and cut their own Christmas tree. While picking blueberries, they might receive a discount coupon for their tree during the holiday season, and...

Hemp has faded in and out of history, and its contributions have been easily forgotten. But efforts by citizens, researchers and lawmakers led to hemp’s removal from the Schedule I Drugs list in January 2019. The use of hemp for a variety of purposes is hardly new. References dating back to Mesopota...

It’s the end of the season and the last guests have enjoyed autumn activities at Winterbrook Farms, but owners Brandon and Taylor Huffman are already planning for next year. The Huffmans purchased the 327-acre hay and crop farm in Thurmont, MD, from Taylor’s parents’ estate in 2016, and are continui...

When the 2014 Farm Bill allowed states to initiate hemp research programs, there was widespread optimism that restrictions would be lifted nationwide. An amendment to the 2018 Farm Bill did just that. Hemp research blossomed, growers started growing, and in late 2019, the first Pennsylvania Hemp Sum...

Like many locations in Upstate New York, Casler Flower Farm is near a lot of places but not necessarily tied to one. It is just outside the hamlet of Cedarville, kind of close to Cassville, and its mailing address is linked to West Winfield. That ambiguity works for them, though, as it draws in peop...

Greenhouse growers across the country are embracing hemp as a supplemental or even primary crop for their growing operations. A four month turn in the greenhouse, hemp could potentially follow spring bedding plant production as an additional income stream. With the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills opening t...

Many businesses use social media as part of their marketing strategy. Charlotte Smith, owner of 3 Cow Marketing, believes farmers shouldn’t be an exception. She presented “How to Find & Engage with Customers on Social Media” as a recent webinar. Smith was raised on a dairy that folded because of the...

As autumn comes to a close most greenhouses and garden centers find themselves scrambling to gear up for the Christmas season. Does your holiday product mix include fresh-cut trees and wreaths? Have you ever considered setting up a seasonal tree lot to add to your year’s bottom line? With more than ...

SENECA FALLS, NY – A standing-room only crowd gathered at Empire Farm Days to hear from Larry Smart, professor, plant geneticist and breeder for Cornell’s School of Integrative Plant Science Horticulture Section. The size of the group demonstrated their interest in getting in on the ground floor of ...

GENEVA, NY – A lot can happen to honey as it’s transformed to mead. Chris Gerling, Extension associate and manager of the Vinification & Brewing Laboratory at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, and Kaylyn Kirkpatrick, an Extension associate at Cornell AgriTech, led a discussion on interactions between yeas...

­Pumpkins, gourds and everything else autumn will be the order of the day until Thanksgiving. But as soon as mums and corn stalks fade, Christmas tree farms that offer U-cut trees will become the center of attention. Customers visit U-cut farms for a variety of reasons, but the goal of the tree farm...

Alternative energy projects are popping up across the country, often the result of a power company approaching a landowner to obtain land for solar or wind projects. Shannon Ferrell, Department of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University, has studied the topic extensively and has tips for...