The Small Farms update summarizes announcements, resources, opportunities and upcoming events relevant to small farms. Please feel free to share this information in newsletters, email lists, etc. If you would like to submit an item for an upcoming issue,
please visit our new online form. Subscribe here.
Thank you again for your interest and support of small farms in New York.
Anu Rangarajan,
Director, Cornell Small Farms Program
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| Small Farms Program Highlights |
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Twenty Minute Manager Webinars
Being prepared to hire, manage and retain skilled employees is crucial for farmers across New York. The Labor Ready Farmer (LRF), offers a team-based approach to address this challenge by building skills of new farmers and Latino agricultural employees wanting to climb the ladder from labor to management. Cornell Cooperative Extension created a series of webinars that have been condensed into four minute YouTube videos available here.
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Local Food, Planning and Faces
Are you an economic development specialist, Extension educator, or regional food system specialist? Join the Cornell Local and Regional Food System for a workshop on how to estimate standard economic impacts for various types of local food system activities using the IMPLAN software modeling system on August 13th and 14th. Looking to network with others working in aspects of the food system? Learn more at the
LRFS website
.
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American Farmland Trust Seeks Soil Health Specialists
American Farmland Trust (AFT) is looking for agricultural service professionals to assist the organization in educating and providing technical assistance to farmers on soil improvement practices. Up to 20 participants will be accepted into the Practical Soil Health Specialists program. Training will kick off September 2018 and be provided through five, two-day workshops combined with related field days. The program will include lectures, demonstrations, hands-on activities, panel discussions, practice observation, and review of case studies.Participants will have the opportunity to network with instructors, farmers, and other participants throughout the program. The deadline to apply is July 20, 2018,
and the program cost is $100 for selected participants. A limited number of competitive scholarships are available. Travel stipends will be provided to any participant traveling more than 60 miles each way.
Applications can be found
here.
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Text Alerts Available for Fruit and Vegetable Growers
Fruit and vegetable farmers in 17 Eastern NY counties can now receive real time alerts on high risk disease and pest outbreaks texted directly to their cell phone.
The text alerts will be reserved for important crop alerts that could impact management decisions immediately. For instance, if there were an outbreak of Late Blight in the area, this would be transmitted to vegetable growers.
Farmers can choose the crop for which they wish to receive updates. Additionally they can request that Ag Business Alerts be sent to them. These alerts might include due dates for crop insurance deadlines, market opportunities etc. More information and the link to sign up here.
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Why a Decrease in Farmers Market Participation?
Across much of the United States, farmers markets have reported a decrease in consumer participation over the last couple of years, resulting in a decrease in farm sales and income. In an attempt to understand and reverse this slump, a multi-state study is being undertaken by Farmers Market Federation of NY and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, in partnership with Community Involved in Agriculture (CISA), NOFA-VT, Maryland Cooperative Extension and the Farmers Market Association of Maryland. The study will consist of a consumer survey to ascertain the reasoning behind consumer choices of venues to shop for local food. The survey will focus on all consumers with an interest in local food. Take the survey
here.
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Survey to Assess Needs in Financial Management Skills
Farmers are in need of gaining financial management skills to increase profitability, understand which enterprises make and lose money, understand their costs of production, be able to assess the financial health of their farms, benchmark against other farms, and other reasons. However, there is a shortage of agricultural service providers with these financial management skills to help farmers. University of New Hampshire Extension is currently working toward writing a SARE PDP grant that would build skills in agricultural service providers on farm financial management. This quick, easy survey is currently open and data collected will benefit the SARE PDP grant proposal.
Click here to take the survey.
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"Tailgate Talks" at Winterton Farm
July 10, 5:30 pm- 8:00pm. Winterton Farms, 689 Winterton Rd., Bloomingburg, NY 12721
More than 20% of farmers are beginning farmers, with less than ten years of farming experience, according to the national Farm Bureau. A unique Beginning Farmer Tailgate Talks series of rotating farm-hosted potlucks, intended for new and beginning farmers, will continue at Winterton Farms. The discussion will cover maple syrup, honey, vegetable, and lavender production at the Winterton Operation. Participants are asked to bring a dish or beverage to share. This series is FREE. Registration can be completed online at
www.sullivancce.or
g, by emailing
[email protected], or calling 845-292-6180. In the event of special needs, please contact the
CCESC office.
Cultivating a Thriving Food Network
July 22, 3:30- 7:00pm.
Join TASTE NY, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County and Dr. Richard Stup, of the Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development program, to discuss how to build effective teams based on open communication and leadership practices. Learn employee management practices to help your farm or food-based business grow effectively and meet wholesale market demands without sacrificing quality of your product. Dr. Stup will discuss tools and resources for building your team and the importance of communication in a team. Register online
here.
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Plant Disease ID and Organic Controls
August 1, 6:00 pm- 8:00pm.
CCE-Tompkins,
615 Willow Avenue,
Plant disease problems can be prevalent in the central NY region, especially in cool wet summers. Learn how to identify common plant diseases in the early stages, and how to treat them organically. Participants will also learn preventative steps you can take to minimize disease problems.
Instructor Chrys Gardener is the Community Horticulture Educator at CCE Tompkins. Chrys has been growing vegetables organically for over 30 years.
Pre-registration is required to hold your place in the class, and also in the event that a class is postponed or cancelled and participants need to be contacted. More information and registration
here.
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Growing American Ginseng in the Southern Tier
September 22, 1:00- 5:00pm.
CCE Broome County, 840 Upper Front St, Binghamton 13905
Join Ginseng Expert Bob Beyfuss for a classroom presentation followed by woods walk. This program is designed to teach participant how to get started growing American ginseng on forested land in the Southern Tier. This class will begin by teaching you how to assess a forested site for suitability for growing wild simulated ginseng.
The cost for the class is $25/person and you must pre-register as space is limited. Participants will receive a copy of The Practical Guide to Growing Ginseng by Bob Beyfuss.
Priority is given to active service members or veterans in NYS. More information and registration can be found
here.
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MANY MORE EVENTS at our Statewide Events Calendar.
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Career, Etc. Opportunities
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Farm Manager and Educator: Pocono Organic Farm
The Farm Manager/Educator is responsible for the farm operations and Veteran training at Pocono Organic Farm. Some job duties include: launching a Veteran Farming Training Program by registering and welcoming new students, performing intake interviews, and organizing meetings and tours of Rodale's farm and Pocono Organic Farm; coordinate curriculum development and delivery and assign instructors as necessary; assist in providing outreach, marketing, and recruitment for Veterans Farming Training Program. More information can be found
here. To apply send a resume and cover letter to Elaine MacBeth at
[email protected].
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Nutrition Educator
This position will serve as the Family, Health & Well-Being Educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of Franklin County and will implement Family, Health & Well-Being programming for a menu of existing educational programs and program activities. The Educator will deliver research-based Family, Health & Well-Being Programs utilizing existing curriculum and resources. Program topics will include, but not be limited to: food and nutrition, food safety, family health and well-being, etc. This position will coordinate assigned administrative aspects of the Family, Health & Well-Being Program and will assist the Executive Director with marketing efforts for Family, Health & Well-Being programming. This position will also coordinate information and updates to the Association website, as well as other social media efforts to include Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, and will coordinate and manage all media transactions (i.e. social/web, print, radio and television) in support of programming efforts.
Applications due July 9. More information and application can be found
here.
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Farm Supervisor for Bear Creek Farm
Bear Creek Farm is an innovative and growing flower farm that uses sustainable practices to grow premium dahlias and peonies in the beautiful Hudson Valley, New York. Recognized by New York Magazine as the "Best Dahlias" in their third
year, they are seeking an energetic, self-starter with an organized mind who enjoys working on complex multi-faceted projects to join their team.
Passionate about flowers, the farm supervisor will be directly managing and coordinating activities of horticultural workers and will help add structure to all operations from the seeding schedule, to weeding, to harvest and post-harvest handling both in open fields and high tunnels. The supervisor is directly responsible for keeping workers on task and ensuring that flowers are properly grown, harvested and distributed. At times, the physical duties of the job may include assisting in soil prep and harvest. This will enable the owner to focus more on marketing and rapid growth. The supervisor will be involved in every aspect of creative problem solving and managing people. More information can be found here. Commercial farm experience necessary to apply. Apply by sending resume and cover letter to [email protected].
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Director for Food Processing Business Incubation Program
The Finger Lakes Regional Prosperity Network (FLRPnet) and Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Tompkins County are partnering to pilot a food manufacturing sector development program. The Director of the Food Processing Business Incubation Program (FoodBIP) is responsible for developing, implementing and managing a dynamic outreach and technical assistance network. FoodBIP is a business development program, targeting farm-based and factory-based food and beverage manufacturers. By connecting businesses with regional assets and technical assistance, FoodBIP will create an entrepreneurial ecosystem for the food sector and a regional identity as a good place to grow a food manufacturing business. Program goals include creating good jobs and careers, and fostering business investment in this rural region.
T
he position is based in Ithaca, however the Director may operate flexibly out of other locations in the region. The success of the pilot program will determine future expansion to a full-time position serving an expanded region. A full job description and application details can be found
here.
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ARE YOU HIRING? If you have a job opportunity that you would like to submit to the Small Farms Bi-Monthly Update, please write a detailed 125 word description and submit it
here
!
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Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NE SARE) Grant
Northeast SARE's Research and Education Grant program funds projects (with or without an applied research component) that result in gains in farmer knowledge and skills applied to make changes that lead to greater sustainability throughout the Northeast region.
Projects must explore, improve, or expand on practices or approaches that address the three tenets of sustainable agriculture: environmental quality, financial viability, and social sustainability/ quality of life issues.
Preproposals are required for Research and Education grants. The preproposal is a preliminary concept document that allows SARE reviewers to select the most promising projects to be invited to submit full proposals. The deadline for 2019 Research and Education Grant preproposals is
July 10, 2018. Learn more about the program
here.
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Organic Farming Research Foundation Grants (OFRF) Early Release Date
Based on the OFRF report,
2016 National Organic Research Agenda
(NORA), this year's
priority areas for research projects include soil health, innovative weed control, organic insect
pest management, livestock health, social science research on the marketing, policy, and economic barriers to successful organic production and barriers to transition, and emerging issues related to environmental, economic, or social challenges for organic growers. Submissions must meet one or more of the six priority areas.
Letters of Intent are due July 15th, with those invited to submit full proposals notified in the Fall. A grant database can be found
here.
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Grazing to Control Parasites
This free .pdf from ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture discusses an Integrated Pest Management
system to combat the Barber Pole Worm in sheep.
The guide discusses
th
e life cycle of the worm, grazing management practices, and provides additional resources to control the flock. Find the publication here.
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New Cornell Meat Price & Yield Calculator
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County announces new features on the Cornell Meat Price & Yield Calculator. The Calculator allows farmers to enter farm and channel-specific data and profit goals, then price their meat with the assurance of meeting those goals.
New features include an improved cost of production calculation and the ability to split marketing labor and profit for more accurate cost accounting. These improvements mean that farmers can easily break down various costs and come up with an accurate pricing structure to fit the profit they desire. Another new feature on the improved website is a printable / downloadable price sheet - after a farm is finished generating new prices, the site will gather this information in a PDF to print or save.
Farmers are invited to use the Livestock Price & Yield Calculator located at
calculator.meatsuite.com.
Contact Matt LeRoux,
[email protected]
, for help or with questions.
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How Important is Increasing Consumer Awareness?
The most recent podcast in the "Voices from the Field" series features Daniel Prial of the
National Center for Appropriate Technology talks with Abby Ferris, Member Services Coordin
ator with the National Farmers union. They discuss the role of her organization and the importance of educating consumers about how the agriculture industry works. This episode and more available
here.
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Need personal help?
Sometimes local questions are best answered by your neighborhood
Cornell Cooperative Extension agent. Check out our county-by-county listing of small farm agents
here. You can also get to know our Cornell Small Farms Program
staff, or
contact us. Just starting to farm? We have an extensive resources available in the "
Plan Your Farm" section of our website.
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The Small Farms Update is intended as a resource for farmers and agricultural service providers in New York and the Northeast, and is provided to you by Cornell Small Farms Program. We envision a future where diverse and vibrant urban and rural farms build human capacity, revitalize communities, supply regional food systems, and foster ecological resilience in a changing world. The Cornell Small Farm Program is a joint effort of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Cornell Cooperative Extension.
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