Extension News: March 2009 Archives

Attendance indicates resurgence of interest in home food production

Eighty-five people showed up at the Holiday Inn in Concord for a workshop entitled Raising Chickens in the Backyard, featuring Merrimack County Extension agricultural resources coordinator Dot Perkins and retired Extension poultry specialist Tom Danko.

"When we scheduled the event in late February, we planned on meeting at the Blue Seal feed store in Bow," says Perkins. "We thought we'd get a big crowd of 30 or 40 people. But after first-week registration topped 60, we moved it to the Holiday Inn."

Meanwhile up in Coos County, agricultural resources educator Steve Turaj says his three-session spring Victory Garden workshop "was oversubscribed, with 50 registrants within two weeks of sending out the announcement."

Food security, safety, self-reliance
"More people are raising chickens and growing vegetables because of the economy," Perkins says. "They want to feed their families fresh, healthy food and feel more secure about their food supply," "Food safety issues play into it too."

Turaj chocks it up to "a greater interest in overall self-reliance."

Perkins says, "They wanted to know about everything: from brooding chicks to broody hens, housing issues, disease management, pasturing chickens, slaughtering, breeds of chickens, predators, nutrition, proper egg handling, food safety issues, lighting requirements--you name it. We rambled a lot. They battered us with questions from 6:30 until 10:00 p.m. and even walked me out to my car."

Perkins has scheduled another talk for April 4 on backyard poultry and swine. By March 30, that workshop had 45 people registered. Turaj also scheduled another session to accommodate the overflow of people interested in basic vegetable gardening and green crops as alternative livestock feeds.

For basic information on any aspect of home food production, call Extension's Family, Home & Garden Education Center Info Line, 1-877-398-4769, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Saving Special Places, New Hampshire's largest annual conservation conference will be held on Saturday, April 4, 2009 at Gilford High School in Gilford.

Whether you're new to conservation and want to learn from the people who do it every day, or you're an old hand wanting to network with colleagues, you won't want to miss Saving Special Places.

Co-sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension and the Society for the Protection of NH Forests, the conference features three sessions, each offering 11 tracks of workshops (for a total of 33 workshops) for beginners through experienced levels.

Learn about Basic Conservation Options, Wind Power and Conservation, Funding and Conservation, Integrating Biodiversity Considerations into Working Forest Easements, and more, or attend a Round Table discussion for more advanced levels.

Lisa Vernagaard, Director of Planning and Stewardship at The Trustees of Reservations in Massachusetts will give the keynote address, sharing many examples of how land trusts and other conservation organizations are beginning to take meaningful action toward climate change. She will direct our attention to the many challenges we face including determining future land conservation projects, evolving our land management, reducing our organizational carbon footprints and building public support.

Rand Wentworth, President of the national Land Trust Alliance, will provide a brief overview of the national land conservation movement and its emerging trends, opportunities and challenges during the morning plenary welcome session. He will also be leading and participating in workshops throughout the day.

Conference brochure
Workshop descriptions
Conference registration form