In this feature, NCR-SARE Professional Development Grant Program grant recipient, Sanjun Gu, explains vegetable grafting, an emerging technique but has become popular among small-scale farmers.
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Source: Down the Earth: Report from the Field, Innovative Small Farmers’ Outreach Program (ISFOP): East Central Region. By Dr. Sanjun Gu
Grafting is an old practice with tree fruit. It is the act of joining two plants together. The upper part of the graft, the scion, becomes the top of the plant; the lower portion, the rootstock, becomes the root system or part of the trunk. Vegetable grafting...
Read MoreThe story below features SARE grant recipients turning to alternative energy practices-despite the steep learning curve often involved.
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Source: AgriView, Jane Fyksen, Crops Editor
High energy prices aren't going to go away. Concerned about the impact energy costs will have on the long-term sustainability of their operations, more producers are turning to alternative energy practices-despite the steep learning curve often involved.
While energy-efficiency measures are generally the fastest and cheapest way to reduce energy-related costs, many farmers are now turning...
Read MoreThe 2012 Minnesota Statewide High Tunnel Conference will be held Wednesday and Thursday, February 8 and 9, at The Lodge at Brainerd Lakes in Baxter, Minnesota. This conference is sponsored, in part, by NCR-SARE.
A Beginning High Tunnel Grower Workshop with a “Basics of High Tunnel Production” session will be held the morning of the first day, February 8th, from 8:30 a.m. to12:00 p.m. for beginning growers and those that need a review.
The main conference will start at 12:45 pm.Keynote speakers for this year’s conference include:
- Mary Gardiner from Ohio State who will present ”Identifying...
Earlier this year, Bill Wilcke, University of Minnesota Professor Emeritus, established a graduate fellowship to perpetuate his interest in sustainability and to guarantee the future professional work of the Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering Department at the University of Minnesota.
Bill was born and raised on a small diversified crop and livestock farm in northwest Iowa. Like most farms in the 1950s, hard work
and perseverance were valued. After graduating from Battle Creek High School, Bill received all three post high school degrees in Agricultural Engineering from Iowa State University...
The story below features a SARE-sponsored Beginning Farmer Institute to be held in Minneapolis in January 2012. Participants of the Beginning Farmer Institute meet throughout the year to discuss topics, such as financial planning, USDA farm programs, risk management and communication skills, which they and the National Farmers Union have identified as important.
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Source: HobbyFarms.com
This month, first-time farmers from across the U.S. will converge in Minneapolis for the second session of the Beginning Farmer Institute (BFI), a learner-centered program sponsored by the National...
Read MoreA Conservation Tillage Conference is scheduled for February 7th - 8th, 2012, Rochester, MN. Conserve soil, time and fuel with conservation tillage. This conference will send you home with hands-on, how-to information in nearly every aspect of conservation tillage. Whether you are an experienced steward looking to fine-tune what you are doing, a crop consultant who helps growers, or a novice looking to get his feet wet, put this conference on your calendar now. Speakers include experienced growers, agronomists, academic experts and production economists. Sponsored, in part, by NCR-SARE. Visit the...
Read MoreIn the story below, read about a Local Foods College taking place in Minnesota on January 24, 2012, sponsored, in part, by NCR-SARE.
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Source: University of Minnesota Crookston
If you are interested in growing more of your own food or scaling up production to market garden scale, the upcoming Local Foods College is designed for you. The series, which begins on January 24, 2012, will offer an overview of the basics, from planning to soils, fruit and vegetable production and business planning. The series, available via interactive television (ITV) at several locations across northwestern...
Read MoreToday USDA-NIFA released the North Central Regional Integrated Pest Management Program Competitive Grants Program Request for Applications (RFA). The application deadline is February 29, 2012.
Approximately $750,000 is available for research only, extension only, or research and extension projects.
The Regional Integrated Pest Management Grants Program (RIPM) supports the continuum of research and extension efforts needed to increase the implementation of IPM methods. The RIPM program supports projects that develop individual pest control tactics, integrate individual tactics into an IPM system,...
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