Play is important for children of all ages, and children’s play areas can become an integral part of your agritourism operation – but these spaces must be created with safety in mind. A session at the most recent Great Lakes Expo led by Nate Bosch, landscape architect with Outdoor Discovery Center o...

At the most recent Cultivate Conference , growers packed together to soak up smart strategies on a deceptively simple subject: watering. In a session titled “Optimize Moisture Management to Grow Your Best Crops Ever,” Nick Flax, technical services specialist at Ball Seed Company, made one thing clea...

According to some, elderberries have a taste similar to blackberries and black currants but have a more “earthy” flavor. Their unique flavor is enjoyed by many these days in culinary treats and elderberry medicine extracts. The market for elderberry is still being studied and expanded. So a team of ...

“Are the PFAS in pesticides contaminating our land and water? Unfortunately, there really isn’t enough research yet to give us a firm answer,” said Faith Cullens-Nobis, an Extension educator with Michigan State University. Despite the lack of a firm answer, Cullens-Nobis thinks farmers need more inf...

UNH Extension Fruit & Vegetable Production Field Specialist Heather Bryant started her half-hour class on pruning blueberry bushes by introducing the tools she uses. Long-handled bypass loppers provide the leverage needed to cut and remove no-longer vigorous blueberry canes, Bryant explained. Commer...

Nearly everyone looks forward to retirement, and many anticipate collecting Social Security. However, planning is essential. Paula Ledney, Penn State Extension program specialist, retirement planning and business management, explained, “Social Security is a federal program that provides retirement b...

Hello, farm family! Yesterday, an old memory resurfaced from some dusty corner of my mind. It was of my great-grandfather sharpening a hoe on our old foot-powered wheel grinder. Hoes We used hoes a lot on our farm back then. Naturally, we employed them for transplanting seedlings and weeding vegetab...

Russell Wallack of Breadtree Farms and Brian Caldwell of Hemlock Grove Farm discussed commercial organic chestnut production, marketing and processing as an outreach of their Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) mentorship. The U.S. imports millions of pounds of chestnuts annually; Walla...

Alby and Heather Brandon own and operate Brandon Family Farm in West Kingston, RI. It’s a certified organic diversified vegetable farm with about 15 acres in production. About 10 years ago, they added strawberries to their crop rotation. The strawberries are sold through farmers markets, a CSA progr...