Extension News: December 2011 Archives

New Hampshire’s family farms are a valued source of local food, land preservation and other natural resources for future generations.

Through two upcoming workshops, UNH Cooperative Extension hopes to strengthen the long-term viability of our state’s family farms.

NH Small Farm Conference

First up is the New Hampshire Small Family Farm Conference Jan. 5 at the Holiday Inn in Concord. The conference focus is on energy efficiency and alternatives. Greenhouse growers who attend will learn more about how to save energy, and farmers will discover new ways to make their farms more energy efficient.

Other topics of interest include how to secure funds for on-farm efficiency and alternative energy, on-farm alternative energy practices and experiences, and electricity, retail versus wholesale – why should you pay more?

Women in Agriculture Conference

Next up on Feb. 3 is the 2012 NH Women in Agriculture conference at the Farm and Forest Expo in Manchester, with a focus on empowering women in agri-business today.

Guest speaker Dafna Michaelson, founder and president of JourneyWomen for the 50 in 52 Journey, a project for which she traveled across America to find America’s problem solvers and idea “generators,” is the featured speaker.

Michaelson will share her stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things for their communities throughout the country, with the goal of “changing the mirror we use that reflects who we are as a society” and inspiring others to action.

Farm Panel

A panel of New Hampshire farm women will share their experiences starting and operating their businesses, and a panel of women who operate value-added businesses, also takes place.

UNH Cooperative Extension, partnering with the USDA Risk Management Agency, the N.H. Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food and the USDA Farm Service Agency, will provide tools and techniques important to agriculture today at these workshops.

Adjusted Gross Revenue Deadline

Don’t forget the Jan. 31 deadline to purchase an Adjusted Gross Revenue policy that insures the entire farm rather than individual crops or enterprises. Jan 31 is also the due date for the Apple acreage and production reports.

Financial support from the USDA Risk Management Agency to UNH Extension makes these programs possible at minimal cost to participants. To learn more, go to extension.unh.edu or call 603-862-3234.

Learn more about these two conferences at the following websites:

NH Small Farm Conference

Women in Agriculture

Many communities are interested in community scale biomass heating for cost savings and environmental reasons. The Roadmap makes it easier for communities to get started by providing information and technical assistance.

...read about the Roadmap or download a copy here.

It’s been over 30 years since an outside resource person has come in to educate UNH Cooperative Extension staff about swine management.

On Dec. 5, over 30 Extension staff, agency representatives and producers from around New England participated in a training session held at the Merrimack County Extension office in Boscawen.

The idea of a training originated when Carroll County Extension Agricultural Educator Russ Norton had a client who needed in-depth advice on retro-fitting a dairy barn for hog production. Norton located a resource person at Penn State, Dr. Ken Kephart, animal science professor, who agreed to conduct the  training along with site visits.

Dr. Kephart was hired for two days through the Agricultural Engineering Project supported by the Andrew C. and Margaret R. Sigler Foundation. Day one was class instruction on housing and facilities, feeds and feeding, breeding management, farrowing management, and growing and finishing pigs. Pork Quality Assurance Training (PQA) provided the guidelines for good production practices.

Day two was on-site consultations with pork producers who needed guidance with facility design. Dr. Kephart was joined by Stan Weeks, agricultural engineering consultant, John Porter, UNH Cooperative Extension, and Norton, UNH Cooperative Extension.

All participants received a resource notebook and several booklets related to swine production. Some key points were:

Don't try to compete with the big swine producers, find a niche and charge what the product is worth.

Feed and facilities are the two main costs of production, so promote efficient production and find low cost feed sources, and control capital investment in equipment and housing.

Follow the proven practices in hog production such as long, narrow pens, sloped floors and mechanically cleaned gutters, proper ventilation and adequate nutrition.

Use sound management practices and establish a working relationship with a veterinarian to properly administer vaccines and medications.

Russ Norton has a CD of the resource notebook, available by contacting him at 603-447-3834.

What do eggplants, tunnel innovations, stone fruit and organic production all have in common?

They’re all workshop topics at the 17th New England Vegetable & Fruit conference and Trade Show next week in Manchester.

Close to 1,500 farmers, trade show participants, Extension educators and more will come together at the Radisson Hotel for three days Dec. 13-15, eager to learn new techniques at the more than 35 educational sessions, covering major vegetable, berry and tree fruit crops as well as various special topics.

Farmer to Farmer Meetings

Several Farmer to Farmer meetings after each morning and afternoon session will bring speakers and farmers together for informal networking and in-depth discussion on certain issues.

UNH Cooperative Extension Specialist Becky Sideman, chair of the program committee for the conference, noted that this every-other-year conference is “special because it’s put together with close collaboration between growers and Extension from across the region.”

“The steering committee, which includes growers and extension personnel from throughout New England and New York, gathers the best speakers from within our region and across the country to tell you about the latest innovations and advances in the fruit and vegetable industry. Almost every session includes both farmers and research or extension personnel, so you are getting the ‘best of both worlds’,” she noted.

“We’ve been hard at work to ensure those attending are offered a wealth of topics,” Sideman added. As well, “certified crop advisors and certified pesticide applicators are eligible to receive Continuing Education Credits.”

What Farmers Will Learn

Farmers will learn more about profitable winter growing, including the use of high and low tunnels, varieties, planting dates, protection and marketing. Other topics include innovative crop rotations, strawberry basics, pumpkin production, pollination and protection, postharvest and storage, and root crops.

While many of the topics involve growing, farmers can learn more about estate and succession planning, farm business management, and how to better assess the profitability of different crop enterprises.

There also is an extensive trade show with over 100 exhibitors. Conference sponsors include the Extension systems of the Universities of New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont, Cornell University, and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

Two other major sponsors are the New England Vegetable and Berry Growers’ Association and the Massachusetts Fruit Growers’ Association.