This workshop will explore the alternatives to land ownership and the advantages and challenges to these specific arrangements. Learn how to negotiate and craft lease agreements and build good relationships […]
This online webinar will cover all you need to know about farm record-keeping for organic certification. Specific topics include simplifying records on your farm for efficiency and organic certification requirements as well as compost production records needed to gain approval for use on certified organic farms.
Horticultural topics covered will be the basics of planting fruit trees, including site selection, choice of variety and rootstock, planting best practices, tree training and pruning, fertilization and ongoing fruit tree care. (In-depth pest management will be covered in the afternoon session.) If weather permits, there will be a hands-on demonstration of planting fruit trees at Dowse Orchards.
Led by Dr. Dan Cooley and Mr. Jon Clements.
One of the most challenging thing about growing your own fruit is knowing how to identify the insect pests and diseases that might afflict them. Learn the basics of pest and disease identification and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the home orchard. Hands-on,
scouting, monitoring, placement of traps, etc. will be covered.
Led by Dr. Dan Cooley and Mr. Jon Clements.
A meeting of small business owners concerned about the impact of current immigration policies on their livelihoods and on their workers will take place on April 8th in Hadley, MA.
Learn what it takes to launch a new value-added product, and get inspiration from seasoned producers. Joanna Benoit from the Western MA Food Processing Center will discuss key product considerations, regulations, and start-up costs, and a panel of producers will share their experiences assessing opportunities, refining recipes, getting funding, developing infrastructure, and more.
Get tips on marketing your value-added product and refining your business model to meet your long-term goals. A panel of producers -- including Abe Hunrichs of Hosta Hill, Nicole Blum of Carr's Ciderhouse, and Jessica Tudryn Wisniewski of Relish the Harvest -- will share how they branded their products, evaluated and developed markets, set goals, arrived at their current marketing plan, and faced challenges and successes along the way.
This presentation will explore how fruit can be incorporated into an edible landscape setting. We’ll talk about common fruit like strawberries and blueberries and also more unusual fruit like Aronia and Lingonberries. Participants will learn what these plants can contribute to a home landscape and what it takes to grow them successfully. The end of the class we will tour the UMass Permaculture Garden.
Led by Ms. Sonia Schloemann.