There are many farmers’ markets in northern New Jersey and they each have to get creative to stay busy and profitable. The market in Sparta, Sussex County, has moved twice, from the municipal building parking lot to the middle school lot and now is in the parking lot of medical offices.Emma Lavin, w...

A few weeks ago, a consortium of local vegetable growers gathered at the Albion, ME research farm of Johnny’s Selected Seeds with one task in mind, to discuss the obstacles and opportunities related to growing tomatoes in the New England region. The Tomato Growers Roundtable is a conduit for growers...

With 2015 being the International Year of Soils, a lot of attention has been paid to the soil health of our country’s agricultural systems. While much attention has been put toward cropland and pasture, the same concern can, and ought to, be applied to orchards and groves. Recently NRCS hosted a web...

Researchers at Washington State University and the ARS are currently evaluating the impact of tiny soil-growing organisms with the jaw-breaker name of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM fungi) for enhancing onion growth and suppressing soil borne diseases caused by soil pathogens such as Rhizoctonia s...

The National Organic Coalition (NOC) hosted their annual fly-in for Hill Day in mid-June. The three-day fly-in schedule included an Organic Farmer Alliance planning meeting and policy coaching before legislative meetings. Nearly 40 NOC delegates from around the country met with their legislators. St...

In today’s world of assumptions and stereotypes, it’s often hard to separate fact from fiction. For example, what seems to be a new trend might just be one observer’s limited scope. Or a purchase may fall through for a reason completely different than the one you anticipated. For a business, a mista...

How can growers raise higher quality crops, bring tomatoes and cucumbers to market early and reduce costs while raising profits? Andy Radin of the University of Rhode Island (URI) Extension offered production tools at URI Extension’s mid-summer 2015 Twilight Meeting. Over 30 growers attended the wor...

When Edward Scott was a boy growing up in Ashfield, MA his family’s farm had an apple orchard, chickens and cows. He became well known for his gift of working with apple trees. “The kids would pick apples when the other apple pickers were away at war,” said his daughter, Donna Scott. Her mother Jani...

The recent upsurge in consumer interest in produce grown nearby has prompted a similar interest in farm-grown processed foods such as jams, jellies, honey and maple syrup. These products bring a diversity to farm stands and farmers markets that is likely to result in increased sales. Realizing the n...