gr east 12.11

December 2011Volumee 20Numberr 12

Serving All Aspects of Commercial Horticulture

Christmas B3

Classifieds B16

Fruitt && VegetableEquipment C1

Neww Varieties B9

$2.50

EasternEditionn

Section Oneof Three

Greenhouse • Nursery • Garden Center • Fruit & Vegetable • Farm Markets • Landscapers • Christmas

Today’ss Marketingg A5

Northh Countryy Fruitandd Vegetablee Seminar

andd Tradee ShowPagee A4

GROWERGROWER

January 2011Volumee 20Numberr 1


Teamm Broccoli:: Projectseekss Eastt Coastbroccolii industry

Pagee A4

Classifieds B15

$$2.50

EasternEditionn

Section Oneof Two


TTooddaayy’’ss MMaarrkkeettiinngg A5

Inserts (in some areas)

• Empire State Fruit &Vegetable Expo Program

• Grower Marketplace• NJ Plants

PennsylvaniaYoung Farmersattend NationalInstitute inCalifornia Page A2

April 2011Volume 20Number 4


PPeettee JJoohhnnssoonn ttoo rreebbuuiillddaatt PPeettee’’ss GGrreeeennss,, wwiillllccrreeaattee VVeerrmmoonntt FFaarrmm

FFuunndd PPaaggee AA33

Auctions B3

Classifieds B20

Equipment B2

Irrigation A14

Sustainable/Organic B8

$2.50

EasternEdition

Section Oneof Two


TTooddaayy’’ss MMaarrkkeettiinngg B6


• Northern Tool• Produce Promotions• Pro-Tech• Southern Specialty Foods

Conservation practices and irrigationcontribute to thriving orchard

Page B9

May 2011Volume 20Number 5


Auctions B3

Classifieds B12

Value Added/Specialty Foods B6

$2.50

EasternEdition

Section Oneof Two



Serving up homemade Serving up homemadeon the farm on the farm

GGrreeeennhhoouusseeNNiigghhtt LLiigghhtteerr

—— PPaaggee AA22

Inserts (in some areas)• Calhoun Bend Mill• Southern Specialty Foods

GROWERGROWERJune 2011

Volume 20Number 6


Auctions B16

Classifieds B16

Greenhouse B10

Safety A18

Technology B1

$2.50

EasternEdition

Section Oneof Two



MMaarriinngg FFaammiillyy iinnnnoovvaatteessvviinneeyyaarrdd ttoo uunnccoorrkk nneeww

aaggrriiccuullttuurraall iinndduussttrryy—— PPaaggee AA22


Brad Peck Agency

GROWERGROWER

Miller Plant Farm opens 2011growing year with new retail storeand greenhouse Page B14

July 2011Volume 20Number 7


Auctions B6

Christmas B1

Classifieds B16

Fall Harvest B10

$2.50

EasternEdition

Section Oneof Two


TToday’s Marketing A5

AAlllleennddee sswwoorrnn iinn ttoosseeaatt oonn ssttaattee bbooaarrdd ooffaaggrriiccuullttuurree PPaaggee AA1144

Toigo Orchards:Delivering excellence

~ Page A2

GROWERGROWER

February 2011Volumee 20Numberr 2


20100 Pennn StateAnnuall Flowerr Variety

Triall Pagee A15

Classifieds B19

Fruitt && Vegetables B1

Pestt Control A8

$$2.50

EasternEditionn

Section Oneof Two



Twin Spring Fruit Farm Page A2Twin Spring Fruit Farm Page A2

March 2011Volumee 20Numberr 3


Hunter’ss Farmm Marketreceivess Tonyy RussoFarmerss Marketing

Awardd Pagee A18

Classifieds B20

Directt Marketing B1

Landscaping A19

NJLCA A22

$$2.50

EasternEditionn

Section Oneof Two




• Waldos• Wessels

Resilient New England growersrecover from winter storms Page A2

September 2011Volume 20Number 9


Auctions C1

Christmas B1

Classifieds B12

Organic /Sustainable Ag C1

$2.50

EasternEdition

Section Oneof Three



MMore than just trees atMayne’s Tree Farm

Page B1

Penn State Variety Trials ~flowers on hot summer days

~ Page A2

GROWERGROWEROctober 2011

Volume 20Number 10


Alternative Fuel C1

Auctions A30

Christmas B1

Classifieds C3

$2.50

EasternEdition

Section Oneof Three



WWays to promote yourChristmas tree farm

Page B1

Inserts (in some areas)Brad PeckGreen GoodsNorthern Tool

LynOaken Farms:A signature variety

~ Page A2

GROWERGROWERNovember 2011

Volume 20Number 11


Auctions A22

Christmas B1

Classifieds C3

Winter & SpringPlanning C11

$2.50

EasternEdition

Section Oneof Two



FFllooooddwwaatteerrss iinnuunnddaatteeddccrrooppss iinn PPeennnnssyyllvvaanniiaa

PPaaggee AA33

Portsmouth Nursery~ Page B11

GROWERGROWERAugust 2011

Volume 20Number 8


Auctions B12

Christmas B1

Classifieds C13

Equipment A8

Fall Harvest C1

New Products B14

$2.50

EasternEdition

Section Oneof Three



MManaging thepine shoot beetle

Page B1

Inserts (in some areas)CK GreenhouseGreenstar Farm Market

Averill Farm’s loyalcustomers keep coming back

~ Page A2

Happy HolidaysHappy Holidaysfrom

Country Folks GrowerCountry Folks Grower

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by Jennifer WagesterLIVONIA, NY — Rain clouds

cleared just in time atHoneyhill Farm as 25 individ-uals arrived for a morningfocused on small-scale veg-etable farming. The partici-pants represented all areas ofthe agricultural community,from farmers to college stu-dents and professors.Attendees came from as far asBuffalo, Watertown, andUtica. An RIT student wasalso on hand to capture theevent on film.

Fred and Susan Forsburg,owners of Honeyhill Farm,welcomed the opportunity toshare their farm with visitors.Fred and his wife purchasedHoneyhill in 1978 and hadalways planned to farm theland. But while Fred workedas an engineer, he had littletime for more than a large gar-den. In 2002, his employer’sdownsizing gave him theopportunity to make farminghis way of life.

Honeyhill Farm producesorganic pasture raised chick-ens, grass-fed beef, garlic, heir-loom tomatoes, and a variety ofother vegetables. The farm sellsat farmers markets, a multi-farm Community SupportedAgriculture (CSA) organizationand local restaurants. Theyalso sell and ship seed garlicthroughout the United States.The farm is named for the hillon which it is located —Honeyhill.

As an engineer, Fred isalways trying to find betterways to do things. The farm’smain crop of garlic started as avery labor intensive crop.

Hand planting of garlic is nec-essary to ensure the garlicseed (a garlic clove) is placed“tip up” so that shoots easilygrow up. Initially, every garlicclove was planted by bendingdown, placing the seed correct-ly into the soil, and thenstanding up to walk furtherdown the row. This process istime consuming and strenu-ous to the body. It also takesthe fun out of farming.

To make planting easier,Fred teamed up with AlfredUniversity. The result is a 4foot by 8 foot plywood platformsuspended on a steel frame(basically a modified trailer)

that allows a team of two peo-ple to plant directly into thesoil from a comfortable posi-tion. A prototype was con-structed in 2010 at a cost of$700 and immediately put intopractice, which saved the farmabout $700 in labor costs. Animproved version incorporatesgauge wheels to support heightadjustment of the platform,places the wheels outside theplatform space, and includes atool bar to attach hilling discsor other equipment.

A demonstration of the latestdesign platform was provided.The platform was first attachedto the farm’s Tuff-bilt tractor,which offers a hydrostatictransmission. Low speed isessential as it permits plantingat a comfortable pace andallows the operators to accu-rately place the cloves.Rectangular openings in theplatform align with furrows inthe soil bed that are estab-lished by the mid-mount fur-rowers on the tractor. Theplanters placed garlic clovesthrough the openings directlyinto the soil by hand. Theirefforts created neat rows ofevenly spaced garlic within afew minutes. Fred reportedthat he has increased plantingspeed by 6 to 7 times whilemaintaining accurate place-ment and avoiding theunpleasant ergonomics of thestoop and bend or drop andcrawl methods previouslyemployed.

After the demonstration, sev-eral participants took turnsplanting garlic from the plat-form, drawing much enthusi-asm and encouragement fromthe crowd. While sharingHoneyhill Farm’s experienceswas the focus, Fred welcomedideas and advice. Participantsoffered suggestions for ways toimprove the design and dis-cussed additional options thatwould make it more versatile.Fred’s plans for using the plat-form for other related agricul-tural tasks were also presented

and discussed in some length.During the discussion, Fred

shared how undiluted 10 per-cent (100 grain) white distilledvinegar has been an effectiveherbicide for broadleaf weedsin his garlic fields. Garlic is inthe genus Allium. Their leaveshave a waxy coating that pro-tects the plant from the vine-gar. Broadleaf weeds, however,are highly susceptible as thevinegar breaks down the cellmembrane integrity of theplant causing plant tissue todeteriorate. Weeds treated withvinegar tend to yellow withinfour hours. Unfortunately,

grasses are not affected byvinegar application.

At the close of the presenta-tion, lunch was served as par-ticipants talked and sharedtheir own farming experiences.Topics ranged from hops pro-duction and raising meat goatsto challenges with small scalefarming and labor concerns.Participants from universitieswere quizzed on their areas ofexpertise.

Farmer-to-farmer educationis a core feature of theNortheast Organic FarmingAssociation of New York(NOFA-NY). This year, 38 work-shops were provided throughNOFA-NY from June throughOctober. A majority of themwere hosted by farms, whileothers were held at fieldresearch or teaching facilities.Each year NOFA-NY asks itsmembers if they would like tohost a workshop on a topic oftheir interest. Many organicfarmers welcome the opportu-nity to share their experiencesand to gather ideas and insightfrom others in the agriculturalcommunity. The Practical Toolsfor Small Vegetable Farmsworkshop was funded by theUSDA Northeast SustainableAgriculture Research andEducation Farmer Grant pro-gram and co-sponsored by theAlfred State College Center forOrganic and SustainableAgriculture.

More information aboutNOFA-NY is available online atwww.nofany.org. HoneyhillFarm can be found onFacebook or honeyhillorganic-farm.com.

NOFA-NY presents practical tools for small vegetable farms

Workshop participants take pictures and discuss the new garlic planting process.

Garlic planting at Honeyhill Farm is now faster and easier with newtools in place.

Photos by Jennifer WagesterAttaching hilling discs (as held in Fred Forsburg’s hand) or otherequipment is possible with the new platform design.

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by Jon M. Casey

It doesn’t take a visitor toNourse Farms, Inc. of SouthDeerfield, MA very long to real-ize why customers return yearafter year for their strawberry,raspberry, blackberry, aspara-gus, rhubarb and other bram-ble plants. The care and quali-ty that goes into the plantmaterial that originates fromthis family-owned farm is obvi-ous. Recently, I had the oppor-tunity to spend an afternoonwith Tim Nourse, owner of thisConnecticut River Valley oper-ation, to see how he and hiswife Mary, their son Nate, anda staff of highly qualified,experienced and loyal employ-ees serve customers on anational and internationallevel. The experience was mostimpressive.

As one of eight USDA certi-fied quarantine stations in theU.S., Nourse Farms offers cus-tomers the confidence in know-ing that the level of sophistica-tion and expertise this opera-tion possesses is unsurpassed.With a farm history of berryproduction that extends backto 1932, the Nourse family hasdevoted their life to excellencewhen it comes to sharing theirsuccess with others in the formof the latest, hardiest and mostproductive varieties of plantmaterial available in the berryindustry.

Tim recalled how he beganfarming after serving severalyears as a sales representativein the fertilizer and chemicalindustry. Nourse, who has adegree in agronomy and Ageconomics, said he grew up ona dairy farm, but he found thathis interest in horticulture andmore specifically in berryplants, became evident duringthat time. While in sales, Timserved a customer with whomhe developed a close businessrelationship. From there, Tim’sfarming endeavors began totake shape.

“Mary and I bought this farmin 1968,” said Tim. “We formeda corporation with a strawberrygrower in easternMassachusetts who had beenin the business for many yearsand was planning to retire

because of poor health. Wewere looking to continue grow-ing berries as a specializedcrop rather than a commodityfrom the very beginning.”

“We planted our first crop in1969 and sold our first crop in1970,” he said. “We needed tobuild an economic base so wewent through the first sevenyears of our farming togethergrowing vegetables for the localfresh vegetable market. It wasthe most effective way for us tosupport the enterprise in a waythat we could build it into thespecialty markets that we wereseeking. For the first six years,we sold vegetables as a cashcrop and then we added thefirst raspberry productionaround 1975. By 1978, we hadtransitioned from vegetablesinto the small berry crops forwhich we are known today.”

Nourse remembered how the1970s and 1980s were espe-cially productive for the “pick-your-own” style of farm mar-keting, and the demand forquality plants at that time

helped to accelerate theirgrowth as a nursery stock pro-ducer. “We were very fortunateto be involved during that timebecause of the huge demandfor quality plants.”

From there, the Noursesbegan to exhibit at trade showsto promote their plant propaga-tion business on a nationalbasis. In the early years, theirmarketing area only extendedto the surrounding NewEngland area and they werelooking to grow their base overthe coming years. “As weattended shows like the ones inHershey, PA, Michigan andWisconsin, we were able toexpand our base and to intro-duce ourselves to growers whoneeded plants. Since then, thebusiness has continued togrow.”

As time passed, Nourse hadan opportunity to attend apresentation in Hershey, PA byDr. Don Scott, a USDAresearcher, who presented theidea of propagating plants frombits and pieces of plant materi-al. “That was the title of thetalk,” he said. “The point hewas emphasizing was thatplants could be propagatedfrom tissue culture as a way tohelp prevent disease issues, inthe new plantings. That wasespecially emphasized with thestrawberry plant diseaseissues. That was the cleanestway to do it. He told of how theItalian strawberry industry wasdoing that as a way to producehigh quality plants, so byNovember of that year, we hadour pilot lab in place and webegan using that method. Inthe summer of 1980, weexpanded the pilot lab to makethat a part of our business.Then, in 1982, when weexpanded this facility, we builtour first tissue culture lab.”

“We wanted to use this asone of the ways that we could

provide a specialty service toour customers. It has proven tobe an important component inour mission to grow qualityplants. The disease control thatthis gives us helps us to pro-vide our customers with thehealthiest plants possible,” hesaid.

Today, Nourse Farms com-prises more than 700 acres ofland that is meticulously caredfor. Tim said that they have aprecise crop rotation scheduleas a way to prevent diseaseamong plants and as a way tokeep the soil healthy for futurecrops. “We have the kind ofsandy soil that is needed to digplants under most of the condi-tions that we find in the springand fall when that takes place,”he said.

Tim explained how his sonNate has devoted his effortsas Sales Director since hejoined the business. He saidthey make an extensive effortto source plant material frominternational sources.

“We want to be able to offerthe best varieties to our cus-tomers so we want to be ableto shop internationally for the

newest and most desirablevarieties,” he said. “When wefirst started in the berry busi-ness, the only varieties werethose that were developed inthe U.S. by USDA, Beltsville,MD or Cornell University inNew York. Today we have afew from those two sourceshowever the remainder comesfrom other parts of the world.For example, we offer raspber-ries and strawberries thathave been developed in theU.K. as well as from TheNetherlands, from France,from Italy, Poland andCanada. This gives growersthe most up-to-date varieties.Flavor is the key.”

Nourse said that they arecontinually testing new vari-eties in their laboratory, a facil-ity completed in 2009. “We arein the process of patenting anew variety of strawberry thatwe have named ‘Mayflower,’”said Tim. “We wanted toexpress this new variety with aconnection between the U.Kand Plymouth Rock here inMassachusetts.”

Nourse Farms: Berry business at its best

Tim and Nate Nourse are the father-son team that heads up

Nourse Farms a nationally recognized berry plant propagator.

Photos by Jon M. Casey

Plant material is cultured in small tubes like those shown in the

inset photo. In Nourse’s Growth Room the temperature, humidity

and amount of daily lighting is continually monitored for optimum

plant growth.

by Jon M. Casey

For a number of growersin the small-fruit and berrygrowing industry, 2012 willbe a year of recovery. Theywill be recovering eitherfrom the dry conditions thatare affecting parts of thenation in the south andsouthwest or they will bedrying out from the wet con-ditions following the hurri-canes and flooding in thecentral and eastern U.S.However, for Nourse Farmsof Whately, MA, 2012 looksto be a year of continuedgrowth and success as theyprepare to serve their cus-tomers with a vast selectionof berry plant varieties forthe coming production year.

Established in 1932, thisthird-generation family-owned farm set its sights onthe business’s 80th yearwith an Open House andTour on Aug. 18. For themore than 275 in atten-dance, the day’s events gavean opportunity to see thelevel of technological expert-ise and care that goes intothe plant material that issold to berry growers acrossthe nation, growers who arelooking for the highest qual-ity products in the industry.

Tim Nourse, who alongwith his wife Mary and sonNate, along with their highlyrespected managementteam, oversee the daily oper-ations of this ConnecticutRiver Valley operation. Thebusiness is divided into

three segments. About two-thirds of their plants are forfruit producers who growberry plants for productionat a commercial level. Theremaining third goes to re-sellers of small fruits and tothe mail-order/online cus-tomer who is looking for gar-den quantities for their ownhome use.

“We have customers allacross the U.S. and inCanada,” he said. “We sell toa wide range of customers.Together, the entire processmakes it a success.”

“Our recent open housewas our first open houseevent in five years,” he said.“We wanted to coordinate itwith this year’s NorthAmerican StrawberryGrowers summer tourwhich took place earlier thatweek.”

Nourse recalled that thegrowers were scheduled tovisit farms in southern NewHampshire and easternMassachusetts, and byholding the open house onthe following day, it gaveNourse customers on thosetours, an opportunity tostop at their location to seethe kind of care and qualitythat they put into their plantmaterial.

“We had customers fromas far away as Oregon andManitoba, Canada,” he said.“It was the perfect way tohelp us celebrate our 80th

Nourse Farms’ open house celebrates start

of 80th year in business

Open house A4

Nourse Farms A4

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The Monthly Newspaper for Greenhouses, Nurseries, Fruit & Vegetable Growers

Country FolksCountry Folks

(518) 673-3237 • Fax # (518) 673-2381(ISSN # 1065-1756) U.S.P.S. 008885

Country Folks Grower is published monthly by Lee Publications, P.O. Box 121, 6113 St. Hwy. 5,Palatine Bridge, NY 13428.Periodical postage paid at Palatine Bridge, NY 13428.Subscription Price: $22. per year. Canada $55 per year.POSTMASTER: Send address change to Country Folks Grower, P.O. Box 121, Subscription Dept.,Palatine Bridge, NY 13428-0121.Publisher, President..................................Frederick W. LeeV.P., General Manager ....................Bruce Button, 518-673-0104 [email protected]., Production ................................Mark W. Lee, 518-673-0132 [email protected] .....................................Robert Moyer, 518-673-0148 [email protected] Coordinator ................Jessica Mackay, 518-673-0137 [email protected] ...........................................Joan Kark-Wren, 518-673-0141 [email protected] Composition .........................Allison Swartz, 518-673-0139 [email protected] Ad Manager ...................Peggy Patrei, 518-673-0111 [email protected] Foreman ..........................................Harry DeLong

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Fax (518) 673-2699

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AD SALES REPRESENTATIVESBruce Button, Ad Sales Mgr . . . . . . . [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . .800-218-5586, ext. 104

Dan Wren, Grower Sales Mgr . . . . . . . [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . 800-218-5586, ext. 117

Jan Andrews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . 800-218-5586, ext. 110

Dave Dornburgh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]. . . . . . . . . . 800-218-5586, ext. 109

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Mark Sheldon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814-587-2519

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Lee Publications6113 State Hwy. 5, PO Box 121, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428

We cannot GUARANTEE the return of photographs. Publisher not responsible for typographical errors. Size, style

of type and locations of advertisements are left to the discretion of the publisher. The opinions expressed in this

publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. We will not knowingly accept or publish advertising which is

fraudulent or misleading in nature. The publisher reserves the sole right to edit, revise or reject any and all adver-

tising with or without cause being assigned which in his judgement is unwholesome or contrary to the interest of

this publication. We assume no financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisement, but if at fault, will

reprint that portion of the ad in which the error appears.

The clinical nature of this facilitykeeps plant material in a healthy envi-ronment, away from other plants thatare brought in to the farm or that aregrown in nearby fields. Plant material istissue cultured in the lab and eventual-ly transplanted in Nourse’s greenhousefacilities on site.

“When we built the new lab, weinstalled an air supply system thatkeeps new plants isolated from the otherplants that are in the facility for diseasetesting,” he said. “As we test the plantshere, we have the same kind of facilitiesthat USDA has in their own facilities.”

“We have the technology here to teststock plants for particular diseasesusing sap inoculation and grafting ontosusceptible indicator plants as well asimmunological test method called ELISAand the new PCR technology as well,” hesaid. Nourse said that because theyhave this high level of capability, they

satisfied the requirements for theMassachusetts Certification Program.That allows them to ship strawberry andraspberry plants worldwide.

Tim is quick to recognize his staff andthe support team and the large numberof people who help make Nourse Farmsthe success that it is. His son Nate is therecent Past President of the NorthAmerican Strawberry GrowersAssociation and he is currently thePresident of the North AmericanBramble Growers Association. Tim’swife Mary serves in various roles in thebusiness. Annette Tirrell is the GeneralManager with Nursery Manager, BobMizula and Greenhouse Manager JimWalsh overseeing the early growth of thenew plant material.

For more information on NourseFarms, visit their website atwww.noursefarms.com or give them acall at 413-665-2658.

year in business, which takes placethis coming year.”

The open house also gave visitors theopportunity to see how Nourse Farmsgoes about disease detection, tissueculture production, greenhouse pro-duction and field production as well.“The morning was dedicated to walkingtours focused on fruit production andbus tours to the nursery to see all of ourproduction,” said Tim. “That includedstrawberries, raspberries, blackberriesand other production plant material.”

Following lunch, attendees were ableto learn more about fruit productionduring formal presentations that cov-ered plasticulture production, pruningraspberries and blackberries, and train-ing of raspberries and blackberries forgrowers who were looking to improvetheir skills in these specialties. “We ded-

icated our presentations to focus onhow we do it here, so that we couldshare that information with others,” hesaid.

Tim noted that they also had devotedspecific acreage to the new swing armtrellis growing technique, which fea-tured raspberries and blackberries ondisplay using this new method. “Theswing arm trellis gives very good resultsfor training the fruit.”

Nourse concluded that the openhouse was a satisfying success by say-ing that they were very pleased with thefeedback that they had received fromseveral of the attendees, who wrotenotes of thanks and encouragement fol-lowing the event. For more informationabout Nourse Farms, visit their websiteat www.noursefarms.com or give thema call at 413-665-2658.

Nourse Farms Continued from A3

Open house Continued from A3

With the resurgence of localfarming and the growing inter-est in local foods, farmers arelooking for information thatwill help them keep up withconsumer demand. So UNHCooperative ExtensionAgriculture Educators in Coosand Grafton counties, SteveTuraj and Heather Bryant,teamed up to hold the NorthCountry Fruit and Vegetable

Seminar and Trade Show onWednesday, Oct. 26 at theMountain View Grand Resortand Spa in Whitefield, NH.

More than 135 producersvisited booths representing 18local and regional businesseswhose products and servicessupport farmers. They heardfrom New Hampshire expertson bramble production,pumpkin and squash pests,

curing and storing vegetables,UNH research on seasonextension, and tips on how togrow a prize winning giantpumpkin. The day’s onlyshadow was a sobering updateon the Spotted WingDrosophila, a highly destruc-tive invasive pest that attackssmall fruit like raspberriesand strawberries right beforeharvest time.

One farmer commented, “Iwill store my pumpkins farbetter now and tell others howto do it right!” Another said,“The talks on pests will helpme protect my crops beforethere is a problem.”

Mountain View Grand’sChris Diego, said he feels “Toomany people don’t knowwhere their food comes from.”This observation has helped tocement Mountain ViewGrand’s commitment to localfood and to working the state’sagriculture into the experiencethey offer their guests. ChefBrian Aspell showed that com-mitment in a lunch menu thatincluded produce and cheesesfrom eight area farms. Aspellsaid he was excited about thecontacts he made and thequality of local products.

North Country Fruit and Vegetable Seminar and Trade Show

Vendors primarily from New Hampshire, but also Connecticut,

Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont set up trade show booths.UNHCE Fruit and Vegetable Specialist Becky Sideman discusses

curing and storing vegetables.

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Marketing vs. sales - why two strategies are better than one

Isn’t marketing the same as sales?Aren’t sales what marketing is all about?

Those two questions surface in al-most every discussion about agricultur-al and agribusiness entrepreneurismand business growth.

Marketing and sales represent twosimilar, but separate pieces, to anoverall business plan. Marketing iseverything you do upfront to reach theaudience you feel will most likely buyyour product or service. Sales are thefinalizing agreement between buyerand seller that closes the deal. Thestrategies you develop for each ofthese growth segments signal how youplan for your business to grow andprosper over a defined time period.Each component, marketing or sales,

requires different strategies. That iswhy two distinct plans are better thancombining them together.

Marketing asks you to strategizeabout the key buying groups that wantto introduce your product to and thathave the means to most likely purchaseit. A marketing plan helps you paredown a broad buying public to the tar-get audiences you need to reach. Youmay have already defined that you areinterested in reaching families who buyfresh produce, or tourists who enjoyfarm outings. You have built your ad-vertising and promotional campaignsaround those interests. Marketing asksyou to delve deeper and identify thesub-groups where sales will actuallytake place and make your businessgrow. It moves from the shot gun ap-proach of trying to reach all populations

to the specific consumers most likely tobecome your loyal customers.

Sales strategies take this informa-tion and research to the conclusion ofthe agreement or purchase. The cus-tomer is interested and now you mustclose the sale. It is wonderful to have astream of customers coming to lookover a product or attraction, it takesadditional strategy to have them actu-ally purchase your product, buy tick-ets to your event, or agree to stocktheir shelves with your food and value-added products.

Some business owners choose toseek outside help in developing a mar-keting plan. Marketing research firmsand other business consulting groupscan devote time to more complex mar-keting issues, especially in dealingwith wholesale and retail contracts orfranchising. Some business ownersand managers feel these types of spe-cialized services help zero in on targetaudiences and identify specific pointsof sales where growth is more likely ina shorter period of time.

Farm gate operators may decide thatlocal research is more helpful in design-ing a simpler marketing plan. This is of-ten more appropriate for new and devel-oping businesses, although businessmentoring programs and business incu-bator services provide marketing assis-tance for local entrepreneurs. Regard-less of how a marketing plan is devel-oped however, the ultimate goal is to laythe groundwork for sales.

A sale is often defined as “the act ofcompletion of a commercial activity.”Sales then are the finalizations of mar-keting’s preparation. If you have a teamof sales representatives, they have al-

ready learned the essentials of closingthe deal. In the case of smaller or morespecialized operations, employeesshould have that same instruction. Em-ployees are often the first line of salerepresentation your customers experi-ence and need to have the informationand training necessary to provide goodinformation and encourage sales.

Sales strategies outline who you ex-pect to sell your product or service to,how often, and how many units you willsell for a given price. This sounds sim-ple enough, but developing this overallstrategy demands some time, research,and knowledge of your industry or pointof sales. Developing a strategy for sell-ing at a farmers’ market is differentthan working with a team of whole-salers and retail outlets.

While marketing and sales go hand inhand, they represent two distinct pointsof planning and operation for any agri-cultural business or service industry.They lay the foundation for your overallbusiness operation and success.

Farm business planning is support-ed by the Cooperative Extension Ser-vice, local colleges and business coun-seling groups. From providing tem-plates for marketing and sales strate-gies, to courses on completing an over-all business plan, ag operators have anabundance of resources from which tocreate good, solid plans. The USDA’sNational Ag Library atwww.nal.usda.gov is one of many on-line sites that provide templates andresources for agricultural planning.

The information above is provided foreducational purposes only and shouldnot be substituted for professional busi-ness or legal counseling.

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Evaluating advertisingstrategies for fruits andvegetables and the im-plications for obesity in

the United Statesby Jura Liaukonyte,Bradley J. Rickard, andHarry M. Kaiser, DysonSchool, Cornell Universityand Timothy J. RichardsMorrison School ofAgribusiness, ArizonaState University

Obesity has become ahuge problem in the Unit-ed States with over aquarter of the populationcategorized as obese. Theaverage American hasgained 16.3 pounds dur-ing the 21 years (1988-2008) which results in anaverage weight gain of0.77 pounds annually.

The U.S. obesity problemhas been blamed on ahost of factors such asrelatively low prices percalorie for high fat andsweetened foods, insuffi-cient exercise, substan-tial marketing campaignsby the fast food industry,and other environmentaland economics factors.Another important factoris the trend in fruit andvegetable consumption,which has declined by12.5 percent (fruit) and7.6 percent (vegetables)on a per capita basis overthe last 15 years.

One type of advertisingthat has been more com-mon in Canada (Go for2&5), Australia (Fruit andVeggies-More Matters),and the United Kingdom(5 a Day) than in theUnited States is “broad-based” advertising, whichis designed to promoteoverall consumption offruit and vegetablesrather than specific com-modities. The fruit andvegetable sector in theUnited States currentlyhas a voluntary broad-based program that issignificantly smaller thanthe Go For 2&5 broad-based program used in

Australia. The U.S. in-dustry has discussedadopting a mandatorybroad-based programthat would be used in ad-dition to the current com-modity-specific pro-grams. In 2009 advocatesof a mandatory programproposed to assess firsthandlers of all fruits andvegetables an annualper-unit tax in order toraise $30 million forbroad-based advertising.However, the majority ofgrowers did not want toadopt the proposed pro-gram and the policy failedafter a plebiscite was con-ducted among all firsthandlers in 2009.

We recently conducted

economic experiments toexamine the efficacy ofcommodity-specific andbroad-based advertisingon increasing the de-mand for fruits and veg-etables and reducing obe-sity. In our study, wemeasured the impact ofbroad-based advertising,commodity-specific (ap-ple and potato, separate-ly) advertising, and twohybrid programs that in-clude broad-based andcommodity-specific ad-vertising across eight se-lected fruits and vegeta-bles. We use experimen-tal methods to elicit con-sumers’ willingness topay for various fruits andvegetables subject to ei-

ther broad-based or com-modity-specific advertis-ing. Willingness to payestimates can be easilyconverted into changes indemand and we use thesemeasures in our simula-tion. We simulate the po-tential effects of the fruitand vegetable promotionstrategies on food con-sumption using an equi-librium displacementmodel developed byOkrent and Alston(2011). Our simulatedchanges in quantities of

retail food products aretranslated into changesin daily and annual calo-ries consumed using theaverage daily quantity offood and energy intake inthe 2005-06 NationalHealth and Nutrition Ex-amination Surveys.

Our results foundstrong support thatbroad-based advertisinghas a significantly highereffect than commodity-specific advertising on

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consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) forfruits and vegetables. For example, WTPincreased by 18.1 percent, 22.9 percentand 32.8 percent for the three treat-ments involving broad-based advertis-ing, which were all statistically signifi-cant unlike that for commodity-specificadvertising (see Table 1).

These results are consistent with thefindings of a very successful broad-based advertising program field experi-ment implemented over a three-year

(2002-2005) period in Australia, whichsuggests that both industry stakehold-ers and government health agenciesshould carefully consider adopting abroad-based promotional strategy.

Our research provides the first piece ofempirical evidence about the broad-based advertising effects relative to com-modity-specific. While our research hassome limitations, it is an important start-ing point in a significant industry debatein the U.S. Broad-based advertising has

the capacity to increase demand forfruits and vegetables, and it also has thecapacity to decrease caloric consumptionand obesity. We find that a successfulbroad-based advertising campaign forfruits and vegetables, either alone or as ahybrid with commodity-specific cam-paigns, may reduce average annualcaloric intake per person by approxi-mately 1,800 kcal (Table 1). This calcula-tion takes into account the direct effectsof advertising on demand and prices forfruit and vegetables, as well as the indi-rect effects of changes in demand for all

other products as a result of the demandand price effects. Although this reduc-tion may appear small, it is a substantialpart of annual weight gain (0.77 poundsper year) that average American has ex-perienced. Such a strategy could be usedas one component of an overall programto reduce obesity and the serious healthrisks associated with it. Therefore, basedon the results of our study, an increasein broad-based advertising may lead tobenefits for producers of fruits and veg-etables and consumers more generally.

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Fall is prime plantingseason and a recentlylaunched website offerstips for growing in agreener fashion to helpprotect America’s greatwatersheds such as theChesapeake Bay.

Greener Plants®(www.greenerplants.com), an initiative designedto help consumers andorganizations learn howto steward the Bay andother waterways fromtheir own backyards.

Greener Plants was de-veloped by EasternShore Nursery of Virginiawith the support of theChesapeake Bay Foun-dation®. All of the nurs-

ery’s 400 varieties oftrees and shrubs aregrown under an award-winning nutrient andwater management planthat minimizes impacton the environment andChesapeake Bay. Thelarger aim is to instructand encourage environ-mentally responsiblegrowing practices athome that will help cleanup and preserve Ameri-ca’s watersheds.

The www.greener-plants.com website pro-vides a wide range of de-tailed educational infor-mation, including in-depth guidance for betterand greener fall planting.

The site explains properrecycling, disposal, wa-ter conservation, fertil-ization and pesticidepractices, as well as spe-cific steps to a healthierlawn, xeriscaping, creat-ing buffer strips and raingardens. There is alsocontact information forarea conservation andwatershed organizations.

The Chesapeake BayFoundation advisedEastern Shore Nurseryof Virginia on the con-tent of the GreenerPlants website.

“The Chesapeake BayFoundation applaudsEastern Shore Nurseryof Virginia as a model

plant grower for manag-ing nutrients in a man-ner that protects waterquality in streams,rivers and the Chesa-peake Bay,” saysWilliam C. Baker, Presi-dent of the ChesapeakeBay Foundation. “Theirwebsite is a very easyand useful tool for help-ing people achieve bet-ter results with less im-pact on our waterways.”

The initiative is cap-turing the interest andsupport of a range of en-vironmental groups onthe Bay and nearby wa-tersheds. The Partner-ship for the DelawareEstuary, West Virginia

Rivers Coalition, Massa-chusetts WatershedCoalition, Mullica RiverWatershed Coalition,Friends of BombayHook, Potomac River-keeper, ShenandoahRiverkeeper, LynnhavenRiver Now and the Eliza-beth River Project areamong the groups.

“From the yard,streams, rivers, bays tothe ocean, better grow-ing care at home willhelp generate an im-proved water environ-ment for all,” says NickCovatta, co-owner ofEastern Shore Nurseryof Virginia. “The web-site was created as a

how-to guide for con-sumers and groups tobe better stewards at agrassroots level.”

Eastern Shore Nurseryof Virginia was estab-lished in 1966 in Keller,VA on the watershed ofthe Chesapeake Bay.The wholesale nurserygrows more than 400 va-rieties of trees andshrubs for garden cen-ters, re-wholesalers andlandscapers from NorthCarolina to Illinois toMaine. The nursery isowned and operated byCovatta and his wifeRobin Rinaca, along withpartner Mark Hopkins.

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SOUTH NATICK, MA —New England Grows, thepremier conference andtrade exposition for greenindustry professionals,announces the return ofGarden Center Successon Wednesday, Feb. 1,2012, from 8:30 a.m. to3:30 p.m. Introduced torave reviews last year,this one-day intensiveseminar is tailored to thespecific needs of gardencenter professionals.

This year’s GardenCenter Success is fo-cused on helping gardencenter professionals buckretail market predictions

and fight for their busi-nesses in these turbulenttimes. Keynote speakersinclude business leaderand best-selling authorBill Taylor, who will sharethe tenets of his latestbook, “Practically Radi-cal: Not-So-Crazy Ways toTransform Your Compa-ny, Shake Up Your Indus-try and Challenge Your-self.” Taylor shook up thebusiness world with thelaunch of Fast Companymagazine in 1995 andhasn’t stopped since —inspiring champions ofchange and growth whoare reinventing their

companies.Taylor will be joined by

other speakers includinggarden center guru andmarketing wizard ChadHarris, who together withhis wife, Beth, has craft-ed The Garden Gates inSouthern Louisiana intoone of the nation’s pre-mier lifestyle stores.Even under the most ad-verse conditions — theeconomy, Mother Nature,and more — their busi-ness has thrived due inlarge part to Chad’s irrev-erent “market like a madman” strategy.

Speaking about last

year’s Garden CenterSuccess, that had 1,000registrants in its inaugu-ral run, Nancy DuBrule-Clemente of Natureworksin Northford, CT, said, “Itwas a totally amazingday. Thank you for get-ting the BEST speakers. Ihave already implement-ed many of the specificideas they shared.”

Again this year, withthe help of master facili-tator Jon Hockman, Gar-den Center Success par-ticipants will gain an un-derstanding of real worldretail trends, learn frompeers who are getting it

done in their own inde-pendent garden centers,and develop an actionplan to increase sales,optimize their merchan-dising, and keep theirpeople in peak perform-ance mode.

“Expect a high impact,result-driven learning ex-perience,” said RichClark of Clark Farms inWakefield, RI, and NewEngland Grows’ educa-tion chairman. “If you’rea key player at an inde-pendent garden center,you need to be at GardenCenter Success!”

New England Growswill celebrate its 20th an-niversary year in Bostonfrom Wednesday, Feb. 1to Friday, Feb. 3, 2012.In addition to a three-dayline up of 30 business-building seminars, Grows2012 will offer a trade ex-position of more than 600vendors showcasing solu-tion-based products,technologies and servicesfor the green industry.

There is no additionalcharge to participate inGarden Center Success,but seating is limited andadvance registration is

required. New EnglandGrows registration is $45per person before Jan.16, 2011 and $65 there-after. If you sign up fouror more people from thesame company beforeJan. 16, the price perperson is just $39.

Low registration fees,world-class education,and exclusive deals onthe tradeshow floor makeNew England Grows thebest place to do businessthis winter. To learn moreand to register visitw w w . N e w E n g l a n d -Grows.org.

Garden Center Successat New England Grows ispresented in cooperationwith Garden Center mag-azine. New EnglandGrows is an educationalpartnership between theNew England Nursery As-sociation, MassachusettsArborists Association,Massachusetts Associa-tion of Landscape Profes-sionals, MassachusettsNursery & Landscape As-sociation, and a networkthat includes more than30 allied green industryorganizations.

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RICHMOND, VA —Virginia farmers in sixsoil and water conserva-tion districts are beingurged to participate in apilot program to collectinformation about con-servation practicesthey’ve implemented.

“Farmers need to knowwhat’s going on, and theyshould participate,” saidWilmer Stoneman, Vir-ginia Farm Bureau Fed-eration associate directorof governmental rela-tions. “This is a programthat is valuable to them.

It’s a direct response toFarm Bureau’s com-plaints that incompletedata is being used by theEnvironmental Protec-tion Agency to draw upmandatory conservationprograms to improve wa-ter quality in the Chesa-peake Bay watershed.”

Best managementpractices are changesfarmers and otherlandowners make totheir property to reduceor eliminate soil erosionor contamination of wa-ter. They include switch-ing to no-till planting

methods, fencing live-stock out of waterways,and using nutrient-man-agement planning forcrop production..

The Virginia Depart-ment of Conservationand Recreation hasrecords only of practicesinstalled using cost-share funds from federaland state conservationprograms. Those werethe records the EPA usedfor its Chesapeake Baycomputer model in re-cent years.

“We know that a lotmore conservation prac-

tices have been installedor are in use on Virginiafarms than are onrecord,” Stoneman said.“They have to be, sincethere has never beenenough cost-share fund-ing to meet the demandfor financial assistance.So many farmers paidfor these practices out oftheir own pockets, butthey are not being credit-ed in the EPA model.”

In response to thatcomplaint, the 2010 Vir-ginia General Assemblypassed a bill requiringthe secretary of natural

resources to establish adata collection programfor voluntarily imple-mented agriculture andforestry BMPs. Virginia’s47 soil and water conser-vation districts are theprimary collectionagents, and six pilot dis-tricts started that workthis summer.

The pilot districts arelocated in and aroundBristol, Roanoke, Har-risonburg, Charlottesville,the Northern Neck, Vir-ginia Beach and Chesa-peake. For more informa-tion, visit vaswcd.org .

AL PRESTON GARAGE, INC.810 Howe Ave.

Shelton, CT 06484203-924-1747

J. DAVID MULLINIX & SONS14420 Howard Rd.Dayton, MD 21036410-489-4363

WEST END SALES110 North Hwy. 18

Vale, NC704-538-5345

FROST FARM SERVICE, INC.Mason Rd. Rte. 123

Greenville, NH 03048603-878-2384

CATSKILL TRACTOR INC.384 Center St.

Franklin, NY 13775607-829-2600

MABIE BROS. INC.8571 Kinderhook Rd.Kirkville, NY 13082315-687-7891

SOSLER’S GARDEN & FARM EQUIPMENT, INC.

2839 Rte. 17MNew Hampton, NY 10958

“South of Middletown”845-374-3621 • 845-374-3601 fax

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M.M. WEAVER & SONS, INC.169 North Groffdale Rd.

Leola, PA 17540717-656-2321

MANOR MOTORS3655 Rte. 553 Hwy.Penn Run, PA 15765724-254-4753

TURNER TRACTOR INC.Evans City, PA 16033

724-538-4177

State begins tracking owner-financed farm conservation practices

RICHMOND, VA — Vir-ginia had more winningmarkets than any otherstate in American Farm-land Trust’s “America’sFavorite Farmers’ Mar-ket” contest this year.

Nine Virginia marketswere ranked in the Top20, and four made theTop 5 in their respectivecategories.

The online contestpulled in 90,000 votes.Markets were groupedbased on number of ven-dors, and voters couldchoose their favoritemarkets in one of fourcategories. “Boutique”markets had 15 vendorsor fewer; small marketshad 16 to 30; mediummarkets had 31 to 55vendors; and large mar-kets had 56 or more.

Virginia's winning bou-tique markets were theOld Beach Farmers Mar-ket in Virginia Beach atNo. 5, Stuart FarmersMarket at No. 14 andKing George FarmersMarket at No. 16. Smallmarket winners were theLakeside Farmers’ Mar-ket in Richmond at No. 3and Virginia BeachFarmers Market at No.

14. Winners in the medi-um market categorywere the Falls ChurchFarmers Market at No. 3,Williamsburg Farmers’Market at No. 5, andPowhatan Farmers Mar-ket at No. 8. The Virginiawinner in the large mar-ket category was theCharlottesville City Mar-ket at No. 14.

“It’s great to see somany of Virginia’sfarmers’ markets rankin this national con-test’s Top 20,” saidTony Banks, a com-modity marketing spe-cialist for Virginia FarmBureau Federation.“This success showsthat consumers, farm-ers and vendors arevery supportive of thefarmers’ markets inVirginia, and that thereis tremendous opportu-nity for farmers whowish to sell directly tothe consumer.”

Virginia has seen asubstantial growth inthe number of farmers’markets in recentyears. The state had 88in 2005 and has atleast 200 today.

Virginia farmers’markets rank amongfavorites nationwide

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Awald Farms of North Collins, NY,has acquired Concord Nurseries Inc.also of North Collins. NY. ConcordNurseries was a well known producerof grapevines in the Nursery Trade.

Awald Farms is continuing the pro-duction of quality grapevines by prop-agating them in plug trays in a green-house and then transplanting theminto raised plastic beds with drip irri-gation in a soil virgin to grapevines.Awald Farms also produces many wellknown varieties of raspberry andblackberry plants for sale.

The farm has been family owned andoperated since 1914 when under theoperation of Edward P. Geiger, grand-father of the current owner, EdwardAwald. Now operated by the third andfourth generations of the family, AwaldFarm products are sold to farm mar-kets, grocery stores, wineries, berry

growers, plant nurseries, home gar-deners and individuals alike through-out the United States and Canada.

For more information or to obtain acatalog or price list, call or fax Ed orMillie Awald at 716-337-3162, voice,or 716-337-3600, fax.

Awald Farms acquires Concord Nurseries

Awald Farms is continuing the produc-tion of quality grapevines.

Awald Farms also produces many well known varieties of raspberry and blackberryplants. Photos courtesy of Awald Farms

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BLACKSBURG, VA —Virginia Tech’s College ofAgriculture and Life Sci-ences has named J.Roger Harris, of Blacks-burg, VA, head of the De-partment of Horticul-ture, effective Oct. 1.Harris has held this po-sition on an interim ba-sis since July 2008.

“The Department ofHorticulture is a vitalcomponent of the col-lege’s academic pro-grams and its sustain-ability and green indus-try efforts, supportingVirginia communitiesand pioneering researchin the field,” said AlanGrant, dean of the Col-lege of Agriculture andLife Sciences. “The col-lege has truly benefitedfrom Roger’s experienceand leadership. We arevery pleased that he willcontinue serving the de-partment in this capaci-ty and that he is com-mitted to leading its fu-ture growth.”

Virginia Tech’s Depart-ment of Horticulture,www.hort.vt.edu/, offersgraduate and under-graduate degrees in arange of applied plantscience topics — fromlandscape design andsustainable urban land-scaping to biotechnolo-gy, crop production, andplant breeding. The de-partment maintains ac-tive research and out-reach programs that fo-cus on solving applied

plant science questionswith state, national, andinternational impact.

Harris first came toVirginia Tech in 1993 asan assistant professorand has taught classesin nursery crops, plantpropagation, and land-scape contracting. Hehas focused much of hisresearch on tree estab-lishment and root

growth and has au-thored more than 60manuscripts in scientificjournals, along with nu-merous other publica-tions. He has also ad-vised more than a dozengraduate students ontheir research, theses,and dissertations.

Prior to joining VirginiaTech, Harris worked atnurseries in Michigan and

Virginia. He then moved toFlorida where he workedas chief horticulturist forthe largest landscapingcompany in northernFlorida for 11 years.

Harris earned a bache-lor’s degree in industrialmanagement from Geor-gia Tech and another inhorticulture from Michi-gan State University. Healso holds a master’s de-

gree in environmentalhorticulture from theUniversity of Florida anda doctorate in urbanhorticulture from Cor-nell University. He is amember of the AmericanSociety for HorticulturalScience, the Internation-al Society of Arboricul-ture, and the Arboricul-ture Research and Edu-cation Academy.

Roger Harris named head of Horticulture Department at Virginia Tech

J. Roger Harris

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by Elizabeth A. TomlinWhat do a Dairy Management Spe-

cialist, a Field Crop Specialist, and aHorticulture Specialist have in com-mon? Besides the obvious answer ofagriculture- and being employedthrough the renowned Cornell Coopera-tive Extension- all three were recentlyinvolved in saving about 10 acres of gar-lic in Montgomery County, NY.

At 80 years of age, Stan Erkson is af-fectionately known as “the Garlic Guy”by the many folks that know him

throughout the Hudson, Schoharie andMohawk Valleys.

Erkson, who had previously been adairy farmer, began growing garlic in1993 initially with 10 pounds, andstarted marketing it in 1996. He cur-rently produces 6 or 7 tons per year.

Although Erkson admits the north-east typically has the best weather con-ditions for growing garlic- which re-quires about 8 months to grow andthrives in the winter months- drying theharvest had become a problem. “I was

losing 1/3 of my garlic crop,” Erksonsaid. “My worst loss was in 2009.”

High humidity and wet weather werethe culprits, bringing on disease, whichwould quickly spread through the bulbs.

He turned to his CCE Central NYField Crop Specialist Kevin Ganoe, whointroduced Erkson to CCE Agriculture /Horticulture Specialist Crystal Stewart.

“She’s the garlic expert!” agreed CCECentral NY Dairy Management Special-ist David Balbian.

“He used to dry all of his garlic in apassive system,” Stewart pointed out.“So the garlic only dried at a rate thatthe environment would allow for. Nowthat he has all of this air moving over it,the garlic dries faster, which reducesthe amount of disease you would see onit. You could pull it out of the field andit would be beautiful, but it would dete-riorate as soon as it came into the dry-ing area.”

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CCE Central NY Field Crop Team Specialists team up to save garlic crop

Recycled barn fans can be seen behind (L-R) Fort Plain garlic producer Stan Erkson,CCE Agriculture / Horticulture Specialist Crystal Stewart, and CCE Central NY DairyManagement Specialist David Balbian, as they examine garlic dried by the new sys-tem designed by the team.

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Balbian said that he gotinvolved in the projectwhen Stewart consultedhim about a drying system.

“Stan was going to hirean engineer to design thissystem,” Balbian said.“Crystal knew I had expe-rience designing ventila-tion systems for barns,and thought I could prob-ably help him out withouthim having to hire an ex-pensive outside engi-neer.” That is exactlywhat happened.

Through research onthe Internet, Balbian saidhe was able to “find outthe specs on two goodsized, operational fansthat were in his (Erk-son’s) old barn that couldstill be used. In the end it

was a very economicalproject for him that hasproven to do the job withlittle cash outlay.”

Erkson said the wholeproject cost him under$2,000. However, if he hadpurchased the barn fans,the project would likelyhave doubled in cost.

Dimensions of the roomused in the tunnel ventila-tion system are 8’ W x 10’Hx 60’L. The fans are built inon one end of the roomand follow the natural flowof the wind. All sides areclosed up and the air,which is forced through,exits through louvers onthe opposite end.

Balbian, who admitshe had taken some En-gineering courses at

Cornell, explained howhe came up with his cal-culations. “Basically weare looking at the crosssectional area of thewidth and the height,and then we’re lookingat how fast we want tomove the air. In barns, Ioften calculate it to 41/2 -5 miles an hour.”

Balbian said that theamount of air that a fanwill move depends onmany variables.

Diameter and shape ofthe blades, the bladespeed, the motor’s horse-power, the design of thecovering, and louvers allcontribute to the airflow,

and must be taken intoconsideration.

“Looking at the CFM(cubic feet per minute)ratings of these fans, andfollowing a specific set offormulas,” Balbian said,“the calculated air flowwas almost 3 mph.”

Balbian and Stewartagreed they weren’t ex-actly sure of what airspeed was required toproduce the desired ef-fect, however, after talk-ing it over with Erkson,“we figured it would prob-ably be fast enough togive reasonable air move-ment,” Balbian stated.

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Photos by Elizabeth A. Tomlin

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“You need to understand the con-cept,” Balbian said, “and understandhow the formulas work, how air move-ment works- and how it’s affected byoutside influences.”

“The system took about 2 weeks to in-stall once I had the formulas and calcu-lations,” Erkson said - adding that 3 to4 tons of garlic can be dried at one timeusing the drying racks.

Although Erkson said that by usingthe new system this year he did not loseany garlic, Balbian credited Erkson formaking the drying area “very tight,which is why it’s working so well.”

Alpha Garlic Farm, owned and oper-ated by Stan Erkson, markets it’s garlicthrough use of a website and throughgarlic festivals.

“There’s an outstanding festival inSaugerties,” Erkson said. “It’s the

biggest one in the USA. I sell two tons ina weekend down there!”

Erkson also grows onions and shallots. For more information on this drying

system, contact Erkson at 518-993-2975. Crystal Stewart can be reachedby e-mail at [email protected], andDavid Balbian can be contacted [email protected].

“Sometimes you just need someone toguide you to make these conceptswork,” Balbian stated.

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ITHACA, NY — In col-laboration with CornellCooperative Extension ofTompkins County andAlternatives FederalCredit Union’s BusinessCENTS Program, theGroundswell Center forLocal Food & Farming inIthaca will be offering anintensive Farm BusinessPlanning course thiswinter. The class willcover all major aspects ofthe farm business start-up process including as-sessing your land, infra-structure and equipmentneeds; legal and regula-tory issues; productionplanning; marketing; fi-nancial feasibility, budg-ets and recordkeeping;and more.

The course is de-signed for those who:

• Have at least a yearof hands-on experiencein farming, OR havecompleted Groundswell’sNew Farmer TrainingProgram, and…

• Expect to get theirfarm enterprise off theground within threeyears, OR are in the earlystages of a farm businessand need help, and…

• Have a clear idea ofthe kind of farm enter-prise they would like to

operate, and…• Can fully commit to an

intensive 14-week coursewith substantial outsideresearch and homework.

The class will run for14 weeks, meeting everyother Thursday eveningfrom 6-9 p.m. from Jan.5 through April 12,2012. Instructors areMonika Roth, Agricul-ture Program Leader andMatt LeRoux, Agricul-ture Marketing Special-ist with Cornell Coopera-tive Extension of Tomp-kins County; and LeslieAckerman, Director ofthe Business CENTSProgram of AlternativesFederal Credit Union,along with area farmerswhose stories illustratethe benefits of businessplanning and financialmanagement skills.

“This is a rigorouscourse for the seriousfarming entrepreneur,”says Joanna Green, Di-rector of theGroundswell Center forLocal Food & Farming.“We are really pleased tobe working with Monika,Matt and Leslie. They’reskilled teachers with alot of practical knowl-edge to offer.”

Groundswell is com-

mitted to supporting anew generation of farm-ers that reflects the di-versity of culture, color,and class in our commu-nity. Tuition for the classis on a sliding scale, from$80–$300 depending onhousehold income. It isNOT a requirement thatyou own land or have thefinancial resources toown land. This coursewill examine opportuni-ties to lease land forfarming in the TompkinsCounty area, and to se-cure financing throughag and commerciallenders or local “SlowMoney” investors.

Registration is limited,so please apply early. Anonline application formis available at www.groundswellcenter.org.Click on Programs/Busi-ness Planning. For more

information send anemail to [email protected] orcall 607-277-0180. ThisBusiness PlanningCourse is supported inpart by the USDA’s Be-ginning Farmer andRancher DevelopmentProgram, NIFA Grant#2010-49400-21799.

Class schedule andtopics:

• Jan. 5: Central NewYork ag industryoverview; Business plan-ning overview; Planninga farm business; Clarify-ing your vision, goalsand timeline.

• Jan. 19: Assessingyour resources: land, in-frastructure, labor, etc;Land tenure options; Le-galities and logistics ofgetting started; Selectingyour enterprise; Re-

sources for farming.• Feb. 2: Enterprise

Planning Basics: Landevaluation, improve-ments and preparation;Infrastructure & equip-ment needs; Productionplan and timeline.

• Feb. 16: Finance I:Understanding financialstatements & accountingconcepts; Recordkeepingbasics and taxes; Sav-ings, loans and othersources of financing.

• March 2: Finance II:Gross profit & cash flowprojections; Start upbudget; Operating budget.

• March 15: MarketingI: Marketing basics;Comparing market chan-nels; Projecting sales.

• March 29: MarketingII: Drafting your market-ing plan; Understandingyour competition.

• April 12: Final Pre-sentations and feedbackfrom peers, instructorsand advisors.

The Groundswell Cen-ter for Local Food &Farming is an initiativeof the EcoVillage Centerfor Sustainability Educa-tion/Center for Transfor-mative Action. Supportfor Groundswell comesfrom individuals andbusinesses who believein the importance ofstrong local food sys-tems, the Park Founda-tion and the BeginningFarmer and Rancher De-velopment Program ofthe National Institute forFood and Agriculture-USDA, Grant #2010-49400-21799. For moreinformation visitwww.groundswellcen-ter.org.

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Up to five North Carolina communities will re-ceive support to develop incubator farms to attractnew farmers, thanks to an effort by the Center forEnvironmental Farming Systems. Incubator farmsprovide aspiring farmers with a place to learn, trytheir hand at farming and develop the markets tomake their own operations successful.

CEFS has announced the launch of a new Incu-bator Farm Project that will support beginningfarmers. The project is an integral part of the 10%Campaign, a CEFS initiative that encourages con-sumers, businesses, institutions and agencies tospend 10 percent of their food dollars on locallyproduced foods.

Between now and Dec. 1, city and county govern-ments and state agencies may submit proposals tobe included in the initiative. Successful proposals

will kick off with a community charrette to concep-tualize the local incubator farm projects.

“Access to land has been identified as one of thetop challenges facing new farmers in North Caroli-na,” said Joanna Massey Lelekacs, state coordina-tor of the project. “The Incubator Farm Project willwork with communities to address this need by re-purposing vacant public land into places that incu-bate new farmers.”

In exchange for a rent-free place to farm, the newfarmers will be asked to give back to their commu-nities, either by donating fresh farm products orother services for those in need, said Dr. NancyCreamer, co-director of CEFS and North CarolinaState University professor of horticultural science.

North Carolina Cooperative Extension is one ofseveral partners in the Incubator Farm Project. Co-operative Extension already has established twoincubator farms — Orange County’s Breeze Farmand Cabarrus County’s Lomax Farm. In addition toland access, farmers receive education and sup-port at these farms from Cooperative Extensionagricultural agents.

Other partners are the National Center for Ap-propriate Technology, Carolina Farm StewardshipAssociation and Andrew Branan, an attorney whoconcentrates his practice on production agricul-ture and land transfer issues. Funding for theproject is provided by the Beginning Farmer andRancher Development Program of the National In-stitute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Departmentof Agriculture.

CEFS will partner with municipalities, countiesor state agencies to help develop up to five new in-cubator farms over the next two years. Successfulapplicants must meet the following criteria:

• Strong public leadership dedicated to develop-ing an incubator farm;

• Strong community partnerships with organiza-tions like N.C. Cooperative Extension or communi-ty colleges;

• Incubating farmers who will contribute to anidentified community need instead of leasing land;

• Access to local, affordable housing in the com-munity for new farmers with limited resources;

• Willingness of public land owner to turn vacantland into productive land;

• Consumer interest in local foods;• And ideally, mentor farmers in the community.In return, CEFS will assist with development of

the new incubator farms by providing training,web-based resources, education on farm transitionand land access, access to state agricultural pro-fessionals and business specialists, and partner-ship on grants for additional support. CEFS willhelp each community develop their incubator farmby facilitating a charrette process that will result ina visioning report, concept plan or other materialsfor seeking additional funds.

Applications will be accepted through the onlineportal found at the project Web site: www.ncnew-farmers.org. The application deadline is 5 p.m.,Dec. 1. Applicants should address questions [email protected], and additional infor-mation also is available at the Web site.

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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — Re-searchers in Penn State’s College ofAgricultural Sciences have beenawarded a $2.3 million grant by theU.S. Department of Agriculture to in-vestigate how certain cover crops androtations can improve production oforganic commodities.

The study’s goal is to determinewhether diverse cover crop mixtures —as opposed to a single-species covercropping — can enhance ecosystemfunctions in a corn-soybean-wheatcash crop rotation that produces or-ganic feed and forage, according toproject leader Jason Kaye, associateprofessor of soil biogeochemistry.

“There has been a lot of regional in-terest in these mixtures, or cover cropcocktails as they are sometimes called,so we want to provide farmers with in-formation they need to design mix-tures that serve them well,” he said.

“We will be planting cover crop mix-tures that target nutrient supply, nu-trient retention, weed suppression andmanagement ease,” Kaye said. “We’lltest the idea that diverse mixtures pro-vide these functions better than covercrops in monoculture.”

The Penn State project is one of 23 in18 states chosen for funding by USDA.The grants — from the department’sNational Institute of Food and Agricul-ture through two sources, the OrganicAgriculture Research and ExtensionInitiative and the Organic TransitionsProgram — are aimed at supporting re-search and extension programs work-ing to help organic producers andprocessors grow and market high-

quality organic agricultural products.“As more and more farmers adopt or-

ganic agriculture practices, they needthe best science available to operateprofitable and successful organicfarms,” said Kathleen Merrigan,deputy agriculture secretary, in an-nouncing the grants. “America’s brandof organic agricultural goods is world-renowned for its high quality andabundance of selection.

“These research and extension proj-ects will give producers the tools andresources to produce quality organicfood and boost farm income, boostingthe ‘Grown in America’ brand.”

Cover crops are particularly impor-tant for managing weeds and nutri-ents on organic farms where synthet-ic fertilizers and many pesticides arenot allowed, Kaye said. He explainedthat an innovative part of the PennState research involves measuringcover crop impacts on a suite ofecosystem functions.

“Most studies focus on one func-tion, but we will measure simultane-ous effects on nutrient supply, nutri-ent retention, weed suppression, in-sect pest regulation, soil quality, ero-sion control, yield and short-termprofitability,” he said.

“We think it is important for agricul-tural research to include a number ofecosystem functions because we ex-pect tradeoffs among them. For exam-ple, treatments that maximize nutrientsupply may not be optimal for weedsuppression.”

Kaye and his team will test covercrop treatments at Penn State’s Rus-

sell E. Larson Agricultural ResearchCenter at Rock Springs, about ninemiles southwest of the University Parkcampus, and with farmer collabora-tors. Researchers also will work with acover crop seed company and farmernetworks to maximize the research’simpact on regional organic agriculture.

Since the late 1990s, U.S. organicproduction has seen significantgrowth. U.S. producers increasinglyare turning to certified organic farmingsystems as a potential way to decreasereliance on nonrenewable resources,capture high-value markets and pre-mium prices, and boost farm income.

Today, according to USDA, morethan two-thirds of U.S. consumersbuy organic products at least occa-sionally, and 28 percent buy organicproducts weekly.

But despite the growing popularity oforganic foods, there is a lack of appliedresearch and outreach to supportfarmer efforts to employ diverse covercrop mixtures in organic feed and foragesystems, Kaye pointed out. “To fill thisgap, our long-term goal is to quantifyand translate the benefits and trade-offs

of using diverse cover crop mixtures inorganic feed rotations,” he said.

Kaye suggested that using a numberof cover crops to accomplish differentneeds aligns with the overall approachto organic production. “The use of bio-diversity to enhance farm performanceis deeply rooted in organic farmingphilosophy, reflected in the organicrule, and consistent with contempo-rary ecological theory,” he explained.

Other researchers involved in theproject at Penn State include MaryBarbercheck, professor of entomology;Dave Mortensen, professor of weedecology; Dawn Luthe, professor ofplant stress biology; Dave Hartman,extension educator based in ColumbiaCounty; Tianna DuPont, extension ed-ucator based in Northampton County;Mena Hautau, extension educatorbased in Berks County; Sara Cor-nelisse, senior extension associate inagricultural economics and rural soci-ology; Charles White, extension associ-ate in entomology; and MeaganSchipanski, post-doctoral scholar inentomology.

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Penn State receives $2.3 million organic-agriculture research grant

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Familiar blueberries and their less-er-known wild relatives are safeguard-ed by U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) scientists and curators atAmerica’s official blueberry genebank.The plants, collected from throughoutthe United States and more than twodozen foreign countries, are growing atthe USDA Agricultural Research Ser-vice National Clonal GermplasmRepository in Corvallis, OR.

The blueberries are maintained asoutdoor plants, potted greenhouse andscreenhouse specimens, tissue cultureplantlets, or as seeds, according to re-search leader Kim E. Hummer.

The genebank’s purpose is to ensurethat these plants, and the diversegenepool that they represent, will beprotected for future generations togrow, enjoy, study and improve. Forexample, plant breeders can useplants in the collection as parents fornew and even better blueberries forfarm or garden.

Blueberries and several other smallberries are among the fruit, nut andspecialty crops housed at the Corvallisrepository, which in turn is part of anationwide, ARS-managed network ofplant genebanks.

Likely the most comprehensive of

its kind in the United States, theblueberry collection neverthelesscontinues to expand, Hummer re-ports. Some acquisitions, referred toas accessions, are donations frombreeders. Others are acquiredthrough collecting expeditions, whichhave taken plant explorers to Russia,China, Ecuador and Uruguay, amongother places, as well as throughoutthe United States to find new blue-berry plants for the repository.

The collection includes species ofwild blueberries native to the PacificNorthwest that have pigmented fleshor pulp. Some breeders are trying tobreed some of these species into the fa-miliar highbush blueberry that has awhite interior, Hummer noted.

If breeders can put color on the in-side of berries through cross-breedingthe internal-color berry plants withhighbush plants, the breeders may be

able to produce a berry that gives fullercolor to processed blueberry jams, jel-lies, juices and dried or frozen fruit.

Other prized specimens at thegenebank may someday become land-scaping favorites. One example: low-growing Vaccinium praestans fromRussia, China and Japan. Also knownas redberry Kraznika or rock azalea, itcould make an interesting, attractiveground cover that comes complete withedible fruit.

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OAK GROVE, VA —The Southern NurseryAssociation (SNA) ismoving beyond the smallsteps it has taken overthe past few months torebuild the associationand has begun takinglarger steps to focus onrebuilding the market-place in the Southeast.

Founded in 1899, theSNA was a prominent in-dustry leader for morethan 100 years. After atransition of leadershipin 2006, and severalyears of economic down-turn, coupled with in-dustry consolidation, adecline in membershipand the cancellation ofthe annual SNA tradeshow, the 112-year oldassociation found itselfin a stagnant condition.In November of 2010,Danny and Karen Sum-mers, who served the as-sociation from 1988 to

2006, contacted the cur-rent board of directorsand a core group of pastpresidents and membersto encourage them topull together to save theassociation.

In February of thisyear, Karen Summerswas appointed InterimExecutive Vice President.Danny Summers wasappointed Board Advi-sor. Since then, thegroup has been hard atwork to set new direc-tives for organizationalchange to rebuild the as-sociation and once againbecome an integral partof the horticulture in-dustry in the Southeast.The future focus will beon member services topromote sales and prof-itability, and monitoringissues that cross statelines and impact the re-gion. Taking advantageof the digital age, vital in-

dustry services, currentnews and relevant infor-mation will be deliveredonline through the newSNA website,www.sna.org. The web-site features a virtualmarketplace with a ro-bust search engine forlocating people, productsand services, as well asmore than 10,000 pagesof horticultural research.Member forums, blogs,and e-mail alerts add tothe functionality of thenew system.

To assure regional par-ticipation and input, sev-eral new committeeshave been created andwill be functioning soon.These new committeeswill assist with efforts toprovide communication,

education, informationand marketing opportu-nities throughout the re-gion. In addition, the an-nual SNA BusinessMeeting and SNA Re-search Conference havebeen scheduled and willbe held in conjunctionwith the GSHE in Mo-bile, AL in January of2012. A special round-table discussion, explor-ing ways to stimulate themarketplace to createmore business opportu-nities in the Southeast isplanned to take placeduring this time. Moredetails to follow.

You can expect to seemany changes and lots ofactivity in the comingmonths with the launch

of the new website, newcommittee development,member surveys, region-al news and informationdisseminated once again,and industry leaders rec-ognized through the SNAawards program.

The Southern NurseryAssociation is a non-profit, professional tradeassociation representingthe horticultural indus-try in the southern U.S.SNA provides memberservices to wholesalegrowers, brokers, retail-ers, landscape contrac-tors, landscape archi-tects, grounds mainte-nance contractors, inte-

riorscapers and alliedsuppliers. Established in1899, the SNA strives toprovide educational,marketing and network-ing opportunities essen-tial to the survival of thehorticultural industry.

For further informa-tion on SNA, contact theSouthern Nursery Asso-ciation, Inc. at 894 Lib-erty Farm Road, OakGrove, VA 22443-5200,by phone at 804-224-9352, fax to 804-224-9352, by e-mail [email protected] or visit theSNA website atwww.sna.org

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New law elevates legal repercus-sions of mislabeling maple syrupfrom a misdemeanor to a felony.Mislabeling short-changes producersand defrauds consumers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sena-tors Charles E. Schumer and KirstenGillibrand on Oct. 20 introduced legis-lation that would make intentionallymislabeling food products as “maplesyrup” a federal crime. Currently thisform of food fraud is only a misde-meanor. The legislation would makethese crimes a felony, increasing sen-tences that prosecutors can seek forpeople who defraud consumers andfarmers by intentionally mislabeling

maple syrup.“Maple farmers across New York

state produce some of the highestquality syrup in the world,” said Sena-tor Schumer. “We need to crackdownon individuals trying to pass off fakesyrup as the real thing, so that ourfarmers can compete fair and square.The only thing that should be flowingover mom’s pancakes is good, pure,New York maple syrup.”

“New York is the second largest pro-ducer of maple syrup in the U.S., andwe shouldn’t allow production to behampered by fraudulent behavior,”Senator Gillibrand said. “This bill en-sures that producers of real maple

syrup can sell their product in an hon-est market and that consumers knowwhat they’re paying for.”

The bill is being introduced in re-sponse to a recent U.S. Food andDrug Administration investigationthat determined that a Rhode Islandman was marketing and selling aproduct as maple syrup when in factit was cane sugar. Cane sugar costs

about 2 percent as much as realmaple syrup, thus defrauding con-sumers who believed that they werepurchasing real maple syrup. The bi-partisan Maple Agriculture Protectionand Law Enforcement (MAPLE) Actwould increase the maximum penaltyfor fraudulently selling maple syrupthat is not, in fact, maple syrup fromone year to five years in prison.

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PENSACOLA, FL —Emerald Coast Growers’Marketing Manager, JohnFriel, has been namedpresident of the PerennialPlant Association (PPA).

The PPA is known as anindustry-leading organiza-tion hosting National andRegional Symposia witheducational seminars,networking, camaraderieand tours to public gar-dens, private gardens, re-tail nurseries and whole-sale growers.

The Association's mostvisible program allowsmembers to choose aPerennial Plant of the Year.Growers and gardenersalike eagerly await the an-nouncement of the winner.

PPA's 2012 NationalSymposium will be held

July 3-10, 2012. JoinECG and all the majorplayers in the perennialworld in Boston. If yougrow, sell or design withhardy plants and grasses,it's the place to be.

Emerald Coast Growersis proud to celebrate 20years of success in thehorticulture business.Known for its wide varietyof perennial starterplants and specialtyplants, Emerald CoastGrowers maintains thedistinction of being one ofthe industry's largestsuppliers of ornamentalgrass liners to NorthAmerican growers and re-tailers. With more than400,000 sq. ft. of green-house space, 55 acres offarmland and growing lo-

cations in both the north-east and southeast,Emerald Coast Growerssupplies top qualitystarter plants to growersthroughout North Ameri-ca. ECG starters areavailable by common car-rier, grower truck or cus-tomer pickup in Floridaor Pennsylvania. Formore information, visitwww.ecgrowers.com.

Emerald Coast Growers’ Friel isnew PPA president

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MELVILLE, NY — TheSuffolk County chapterof New York Agri-Womenheld its fall meeting re-cently in Riverhead, NY.More than 20 women in-volved in agriculture metat Schmitt Farms onRoanoke Avenue for atour of this vegetablefarm, led by owners Deb-bie and Phil Schmitt.

Debbie Schmittshowed the group thefarm’s facilities for pack-aging and washing pro-duce and explained itsfarm stand and whole-sale delivery operations.

Phil Schmitt demon-strated some of thefarm’s seeding andspreading techniquesand equipment. He alsotreated the group to ahayride tour of the farmfields, including its newcomposting area andgave an on-site demon-stration of the farm’sblade harvesting of itsspring mix. The grouplearned about differentleafy vegetable crops,from cabbage and lettuceto more unusual itemssuch as golden beets,horseradish and sorrel,and the different com-mercial and ethnic mar-kets for these products.

After a chilly morningin the fields and sometasty samples of thefarm’s trademark freshhorseradish, beets andsalad dressings, thegroup traveled toStonewall’s for lunch anda discussion of currentagricultural topics, suchas immigration and laborpolicies, opportunities fornew farmers, and out-reach to local schools.Joe Gergela, executive di-rector of Long IslandFarm Bureau, was in at-tendance and discussedthe new agricultural En-

terprise Park being devel-oped at the Stony Brookincubator at Calvertonthat will provide labs,kitchens and other re-sources for agriculturalproducers and small-scale food processors toresearch and developnew products.

“Because of the diver-sity and significance ofagriculture in SuffolkCounty, and the increas-ing level of interestamong women involvedin agriculture, NYAW hasannounced preliminaryplans to hold itsstatewide 2012 AnnualMeeting in Suffolk Coun-ty,” announced VickiGruber, a local attorneyand the Long Island dis-trict leader for NYAW.The Annual Meeting iscurrently being plannedfor March 2012.

Schmitt Farm is afourth-generation familyfarm that has been farm-ing on Long Island forover 150 years. TheSchmitts operate a 165-acre wholesale vegetablefarm producing lettuce,spinach, cabbage, beetsand herbs, and a retailfarm stand, Schmitt’sFarm Stand on Sound.Debbie Schmitt alsoruns Deb’s Field GrownFlowers, which suppliescut flowers and bou-quets to wholesale andFarm Stand customers.

New York Agri-Womenis a state affiliate ofAmerican Agri-Women, a

national coalition ofwomen in agriculturethat provides a forum forcommunication and thepromotion of agriculture.NYAW affords women inNew York State an op-portunity to network andshare views and poten-tial solutions to commonconcerns. Its primarypurpose is to educateelected representatives,

consumers and mem-bers of the agriculturalcommunity. Informationabout NYAW and Ameri-can Agri-Women is avail-able at www.newyorka-griwomen.com andw w w . a m e r i c a n a g r i -women.org. For informa-tion about meetings onLong Island, contactGruber at 516-845-8088or [email protected].

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BLACKSBURG, VA —Virginia Tech’s SoilJudging Team won firstplace at the SoutheastRegion Collegiate SoilJudging Contest for thesecond year in a row.The event took placenear Morgantown, WV,on Oct. 7.

Team members are allstudents in the Collegeof Agriculture and LifeSciences’ Department of

Crop and Soil Environ-mental Sciences(www.cses.vt.edu/).

They are:• Austin Gardner, of

Round Hill, VA, a seniorcrop and soil environ-mental sciences major;

• Chris Heltzel, ofMaurertown, VA, a jun-ior crop and soil environ-mental sciences major;

• Blake Krecji, of Vien-na, VA, a senior environ-

mental science major;• Melanie Letalik, of

Fairfax, VA, a senior envi-ronmental science major;

• Kelly McMillen, ofChesapeake, VA, a sen-ior environmental sci-ence major; and

• Heather Taylor, ofBlacksburg, VA, a seniorcrop and soil environ-mental sciences major.

Team membersMcMillen and Letalik

earned the second- andthird-highest individualscores, respectively, withTaylor and Gardner alsoplacing in the top 20.John Galbraith, profes-sor of crop and soil envi-ronmental sciences,coached the team.

In the competition,each team described thesoil in four different pits,with the goal of matchingtheir answers with thoseof the official judges.Many of the pits weremuddy from recent rainin the area, covering thestudents’ boots in orangeand maroon mud — Vir-ginia Tech’s official colors.

“I knew it was a goodomen because of the colorof the mud,” Galbraith said.

Most of the studentsprepared for the event bypracticing on the week-ends and taking the “SoilDescription and Inter-pretation” course.

“Being prepared aheadof time allowed the stu-dents to be relaxed andconfident during thecontest,” Galbraith said.“The students put them-selves in position to winby voluntarily going outto practice on Fridaysand Sundays. However,like true Hokie fans, wealways made time to at-tend football games andhave some fun in be-tween (and during) thepractice sessions.”

The competition in-cluded 10 schools fromthe region, with the Uni-versity of Tennessee-Knoxville earning secondplace and Auburn Uni-versity placing third. Allsix students on the teamwill represent VirginiaTech in April 2012 at theNational ChampionshipContest hosted by WestVirginia University.

Virginia Tech defends region-al soil judging championship

Virginia Tech Soil Judg-ing Team members pic-tured in front row fromleft to right are AustinGardner, Heather Taylor,and Coach John Gal-braith. Back row from leftto right are KellyMcMillen, Blake Krejci,Melanie Letalik, andChris Heltzel.

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by Krisy GashlerA rose by any other

name may smell assweet, but an apple byanother name couldfetch a much sweeterprice for farmers.

Using experimentalauctions, researchers atCornell University’sCharles H. Dyson Schoolof Applied Economicsand Management testedparticipants’ willingnessto pay for five differentvarieties of apples, in-cluding a new, patentedvariety developed at Cor-nell, currently namedNY1. Participants didn’tknow about the apples’history or the Cornellconnection, but theylearned about each vari-ety’s attributes, such assweetness and crisp-ness, and they tastedslices of each.

The researchers’ con-clusion? Consumerswere willing to pay morefor NY1, and they werewilling to pay still morewhen it had an “exciting,sensory” name, said as-sistant professor BradleyJ. Rickard. He presentedthe research Nov. 8 atthe New York ProduceShow and Conference inNew York City.

Rickard and co-au-thors Todd Schmit,Miguel Gómez and HaoLu, all of the DysonSchool, wanted to test theinfluence of branding onpatented fruit varieties.

“There are a lot ofbrands throughout thegrocery store. The oneexception is fresh pro-duce,” Rickard said.“But in the case of ap-ples, pears, tomatoesand peaches, that’s theone place in the freshproduce sector whereyou have a choice. Notreally across brands,but across these vari-etal names.”

And what’s in a name?Quite a bit, it turns out.

Apple names generallyfall into three categories,Rickard said: sincerenames based on a breed-er or location, such asCortland or GrannySmith; sophisticatednames, which usuallyhighlight the fruit’s ap-pearance, such as Red orGolden Delicious; andexciting names thatevoke the taste or tex-ture of the apple, suchas Honeycrisp.

In the experimentalauction, the researcherstested the new Cornellapple under threenames: sincere“Williams,” sophisticated“Burgundy Beauty” and

exciting “Flavor Haven.”In all cases, the aver-

age bid for the new applewas 12 percent higherthan the average for fourother apples (Empire,Fuji, Honeycrisp, andPiñata). With the FlavorHaven name, the averagebid jumped to 27 percentover the other varieties.

Perhaps most interest-ing, Rickard said, bidson NY1 influenced bids

on the other new,patented Washington ap-ple, Piñata, but made nodifference in bids on thetraditional varieties.

New York groceryshoppers already enjoy awide selection of apples— including some of the66 varieties developed atCornell, such as Cort-land, Empire, Macounand Jonagold — butnew, patented varieties

are starting to hitshelves. These varietiesoften sell for a premium,but they’re also more ex-pensive to grow, as farm-ers have to buy licensesto grow them.

Historically, publicuniversities developednew apple breeds and re-leased them to the pub-lic. But in 1980, theBayh-Dole Act gave uni-versities the right to re-

tain the intellectualproperty rights for theirresearch. In May 2010,Cornell forged a partner-ship with a new industrygroup, the New York Ap-ple Growers LLC, to es-tablish an exclusive li-censing agreement forthe new apple varieties,NY1 and NY2.

“The license will entailsome fairly substantialupfront fee. It could be

$1,500 an acre upfront,”Rickard said. “Then onceyou sell a box of fruit,you also need to pay aroyalty.”

Rickard’s primary re-search interest is deter-mining the best priceand setup for that li-cense. In September, hewas awarded a two-year,$348,700 USDA grant tostudy that topic.

HAPPY HOLIDAYSFrom the Staff at

Country Folks Grower

Apples with catchy names may boost revenue for farmers

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by Stephen WagnerVery recently the media reported that

the Obama administration had calledoff its so-called Christmas Tree Tax.The media being the media, there are afew things wrong with that statement.In the first place, there never was aproposed tax on Christmas trees. Sec-ondly, President Obama never hadanything to do with it. The issue inquestion was a 15-cent assessment onChristmas trees that would be paid bythe Christmas tree growers themselvesto raise about two million dollars.Those monies were to be used to pro-mote real Christmas trees instead of ar-tificial trees. The following is a briefchronicle of how things got so confused.

About nine or 10 years ago, as PressSecretary of the Pennsylvania Agricul-ture Department, I can remember anagency lawyer coming into my officewith a fat report, the size of a mediummarket telephone book, sitting down,and explaining that it was testimonyfrom a formal meeting of Pennsylvania’sChristmas Tree Growers, an associationget-together. After nearly a decade,memory is vague on specific details butthe main point the lawyer was trying tomake is that there was too much dis-agreement among growers for any cohe-sive promotion program touting Christ-mas trees to move forward at the statelevel. But that was then and this is now.That was also only one state and now

Christmas Tree Growers nationwide arefinally, of necessity, on the same page.The tone of the argument has simplifiedto a war of real Christmas trees versusartificial trees. What could possibly gowrong?

A recent online news report unequiv-ocally stated that “the Obama Depart-ment of Agriculture is implementing a‘Christmas Tree Tax’ [which] has pro-voked outrage from folks worried abouta War on Christmas — and also thoseworried about taxes. The tax, however,wasn’t the Obama administration’sidea. It was the Christmas tree lobby’screation. Real Christmas trees havebeen steadily losing market share to ar-tificial trees, so growers and retailerslobbied the Department of Agricultureto institute a check-off tax and use thefunds to promote real trees.”

Much of that last paragraph is notbased on fact. Public Relations Managerfor the National Christmas Tree Associ-ation, Rick Dungey, says it is not a tax,and attributes the so-called ‘tax’ talk toa misinformed public interest groupand a lazy media. “The tax is a completefabrication by somebody called The Her-itage Foundation,” he said. “It’s actuallya check-off program that was finallypublished two days ago” [Nov. 8] in theFederal Register. “Somebody who does-n’t understand check-offs decided tocall it the Obama Tax on ChristmasTrees. The news media, without check-

ing any facts, decided to start repeatingthat. It’s been an interesting two days.”

“I’m disappointed particularly withthe Heritage Foundation which brokethe story,” says Jim Heater, owner ofthe Silver Mountain Tree Farm in Sub-limity, OR, “because they normally gettheir facts pretty straight. I think that ineverybody’s rush to take a shot at Oba-ma they tacked this tax thing on him,and it is not a tax! It is a self-help grow-er program.”

Some think that the Heritage Founda-tion is not the culprit but rather a fellowgrower who started the rumor. But, “Idon’t think that any grower out therewould have been foolish enough to havecut his foot off by trying to get the thingstopped in the way it was done,” opinesCline Church of the nursery that bearshis name in Fleetwood, NC.

Nevertheless, it is interesting because

the purpose of the Christmas treeCheck-off Program was to raise moneyto promote their industry and applymonies to research. The industry nowhas to combat a public mentality thatsees a Christmas tree tax where therewasn’t any. The media reported that theWhite House rescinded the non-existenttax, but people still have it in theirminds. It was hoped the program wouldhave collected between $2 and 2 1/2million dollars, with that money beingused to promote live Christmas trees.And a Christmas tree grower wouldhave to cut at least 500 trees for the 15cents to kick in.

Cheryl Nickelson of the WisconsinChristmas Tree Association sees bothsides of the story. “I think artificial treesare the threat,” she says, “and yet peo-

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CCHH RRIISSTMATMAS SS SEECTICTIOONNChristmas Tree Checkoff Program ~ What happened?

Recently, the National ChristmasTree Association reported that theChristmas Tree Promotion, Researchand Information Order was publishedby USDA. However, just two days later,NCTA received word that the checkoffwas being delayed, with no timetableset for implementation.

The delay announcement was pub-lished in the Federal Register. Accordingto USDA, the regulations are stayed “inorder to provide all interested persons,including the Christmas tree industryand the general public, an opportunityto become more familiar with the pro-gram.” In response to the delay, NCTAissued this statement.

So, what happened between last Nov.8 and Nov. 17? Understanding thatmany of you are busy in the midst of theseason, we wanted to take a moment toupdate you on the events and the in-dustry response.

• Shortly following the publication ofthe checkoff, David Addington of TheHeritage Foundation published a blogpost calling the checkoff program a “taxon Christmas Trees by the Obama Ad-ministration.”

• While incorrect, this story waspicked up by numerous media outlets,without seeking comment from industrymembers or USDA.

• To help stop the spread of misin-formation, NCTA released a statementexplaining the facts. Industry leadersand NCTA staff also spoke to medianationwide and responded via socialmedia networks. The NCTA Blog Armyalso went to work, commenting andcorrecting erroneous stories whenthey found them.

Since the original story broke, a num-ber of articles have been published indefense of the industry.

USDA announces delay of Checkoff Program

Checkoff B4

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ple tend to go with tradi-tion, things that they’refamiliar with from theirchildhood. I’ve talked topeople who look for aScotch pine because theygrew up with a Scotchpine. That’s what theylike. Another lady said‘we have an artificial treebecause we always hadan artificial tree.’ But get-ting people to buy, andcontinue to buy, realtrees, turns into an envi-ronmental debate. Mostartificial trees are notmade in the UnitedStates. They’re notbiodegradable; they’renot recyclable.” Sheadded that if people buyartificial trees instead ofone from a local treefarm, “they’re sendingmoney overseas,” where-as if the tree is locally in-

spired, “it’s better foreverybody becausethey’re keeping money inthe community.”

Jim Heater agrees withthe environmental equa-tion. “Natural trees pro-vide oxygen during theirgrowth and provide habi-tat for wildlife,” he says.“Even after Christmas isover, they’re using themas fish habitat in some ofthe estuaries where thelittle fish can get insidebut the big ones can’t. Orthey’re chipped formulch. We are definitelythe [eco]-friendly tree.”Heater goes on to say thatabout 90 percent of the‘fake tree’ companies areoffshore. “They’re takingbig sections of marketshare, so we’ve got to fig-ure out a way to let peo-ple know this is a non-re-

newable, non-recyclableproduct. We’ve done someresearch at the National,and found that a fake treestays in the home forabout six years. Six yearsin the home and six cen-turies in a landfill.”

Among the final provi-sions in the final rule of

the check-off program isthe fact that ‘there will bea delayed referendum totake place three years af-ter collection of the as-sessment begins.’ And allassessments for this cropyear (August 1, 2011 -July 31, 2012) are due byFebruary 15, 2012. “I feelthat is probably why

USDA set the program upon a three-year basis —to give the industryenough time to make theprogram work,” Churchspeculated. “I feel there’sso much confusion outthere when it comes tocommodity check-offsthat consumers, andmany of our politicians,

don’t even understandhow they work, or whatthey can accomplish.”

Church sums it up verysuccinctly when he says“There are still a lot oftrees being pulled out ofattics.” Oh well, maybenext year!

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Hand dipped tapers• Slow Burning• Drip-less• Smokeless• Moderately scented• Natural waxes

In addition to Paraffin, weoffer natural wax option candlesin True Bayberry, Beeswax,

Palm Wax and Soy.

Also AvailableStorm candles — recycled wax

• Soy candles • Display racks• Fire starters • Private label available

• Reed diffusers

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• True Bayberry Candles, a Traditional Christmas Candle

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• Tapers in Christmas scents

• Holiday Votives and Tea Lights in Holiday Scents

CCHH RRIISSTMATMAS SS SEECTICTIOONNCheckoff from B3

NOFA-NY’s 2012 Winter Conference:The Cooperative Economy, will be heldat the Saratoga Hilton & City Center,Saratoga Springs, NY, from Jan. 20-22, 2012. This year will mark the 30thanniversary of the annual OrganicFarming and Gardening Conference,the premier organic educational eventin New York State.

The 2012 Winter Conference will fo-cus on the spirit of cooperation uponwhich the organic movement is built.Celebrate the great tradition of coop-eration that enables us to share ourknowledge, innovative solutions toagricultural challenges, and supportfor the growing community of thosewho wish to farm in a more sustain-able way.

The 2012 NOFA-NY Winter confer-ence will feature keynote addressesby several distinguished guests, in-cluding John Ikerd of the Universityof Missouri, Kathlyn Terry of Ap-palachian Sustainable Development,and the 2012 NOFA-NY Farmers ofthe Year Paul and Maureen Knapp ofCobblestone Valley Farm. The week-end will also feature over 80 technicalworkshops on a variety of topics inorganic agriculture. Workshop trackswill feature organic fruit, vegetable,grain, livestock, dairy, food process-ing, and homesteading topics, as wellas agricultural policy and food justicetopics. Our 2012 lineup features vet-eran producers including MichaelPhillips, Dr. Guy Jodarski, Didi Em-

mons, Rachel and Steffen Schneider,Elizabeth Henderson, Mark andKristin Kimball, and many others.Beginning farmers won’t want to missthe Beginning Farmer Mixer onThursday, Jan. 19 from 7–11 p.m.

NOFA-NY will also host the first everNortheast Organic Research Sympo-sium at this year’s conference, show-casing cutting edge research in organ-ic production from both academic andfarmer researchers. The ResearchSymposium will be held Jan. 19-20.Package registration deals are avail-able for the Research Symposium andthe 2012 NOFA-NY Winter Conference.

To help make this event affordablefor farmers, NOFA-NY will offer over100 scholarships to beginning and ex-

perienced farmers. Scholarship appli-cations, due Dec. 1 are available onlineat www.nofany.org/scholarships2012.Contact Rachel for more information at585-271-1979, ext. 511.

For a complete schedule, online reg-istration, scholarship applications,and more information, visit the con-ference website, www.nofanyconfer-ence.org. To receive an Early-BirdDiscount, register by Dec. 7. To regis-ter over the phone, call Katie at 585-271-1979, ext. 512. For questions re-garding programming, sponsorships,tradeshow or advertising opportuni-ties, contact Matt Robinson at 585-271-1979, ext. 503, or e-mail [email protected].

Cooperation is focus of 2012 NOFA-NY Winter Conference

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The Virginia Department of Agricul-ture and Consumer Services (VDACS)offers agricultural producers an oppor-tunity to showcase their products atSIAL Canada 2012 through partner-ship with the Southern United StatesTrade Association (SUSTA). This Mon-treal show, which runs May 9-12,2012, is the leading Canadian foodtrade show and it always books early.VDACS encourages producers to lockin their booth space now before allspaces are gone.

In 2010, Canada was Virginia’slargest export market. The state’s agri-cultural exports to Canada have in-creased dramatically over the pastthree years. Bakery products, non-al-coholic beverages, wine, vegetablessuch as tomatoes and potatoes, andpork and poultry exports have experi-enced increases. Participants at SIALCanada will be able to expand the listof existing exports to include frozen,ready-made and canned products;functional foods (foods that purport tohave health-promoting or disease-pre-venting properties); fresh and driedfruits and vegetables; organic, healthand children’s products; food ingredi-ents, food service products, groceryitems, fine foods; sauces and condi-ments; confectionery, bread and pas-tries; and meat and poultry.

Canada’s trade with the U.S.

amounts to more than $500 billion ayear. The increasingly urban popula-tion is demanding more convenience,value, nutrition and ethnic diversity inthe food product selection. Proximityto Canada keeps transportation costslow, and most U.S. products enter thecountry duty free under the NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement.

Information for participants:• Participants will exhibit in SUSTA’s

pavilion;• Opportunity to meet key buyers,

importers and representatives of majorretailers;

• Participation fee: $1,100 for a cor-ner booth or $1,000 for a full in-linebooth, $500 for half an in-line booth.Corner booths cannot be split;

• Registration Deadline: March 1,2012. No refunds will be issued forcancellations after this date; and

• Interpreter services included inbooth fee. Other amenities will be of-fered but additional fees may apply.

Producers interested in taking ad-vantage of this opportunity to intro-duce their products to Canadashould contact Keith Long at VDACS.Call 804-371-8990 or [email protected]. Forinformation on additional domesticand international trade events, go tothe VDACS website at www.vdacs.virginia.gov/international/tradeshows.shtml .

AAggee PPeerr 110000 PPeerr 11000000

Colorado Blue Spruce8-12" 2-0 40.00 170.0012-18" 2-2 110.00 700.00Norway Spruce8-12" 2-0 40.00 170.0012-18" 2-1 83.00 550.0016-24" 2-2 110.00 700.00White Pine8-14" 3-0 45.00 225.008-12" 2-1 83.00 550.0012-18" 2-2 92.00 700.00

Bare-root Perennials & Deciduous also available

Please Call or Write for a Complete List

Also AvailableWhite Spruce, Serbian Spruce, Black Hills Spruce,Douglas Fir, Concolor Fir, Canaan Fir, Fraser Fir,Scotch Pine, Austrian Pine, Canadian Hemlock

Virginia producers haveopportunity to showcase

products in Canada

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LEWIS, ONEIDA, OT-SEGO AND SCHOHARIECOUNTY, NY — Moreand more women aretaking key roles in agri-culture in New York. Toempower them to be-come strong businesspartners on the farm,Annie’s Project RiskManagement Educationfor Farm Women will beoffered at Cornell Coop-erative Extension officesin Lewis, Oneida, Otsegoand Schoharie counties.Women from neighboringcounties will be welcomeat the business skills de-velopment program thatwill be offered 10 a.m.-2p.m. for six consecutiveThursdays from Jan. 12through Feb. 16, 2012.

Pre-paid registrationwith the $50 course feeis required to Exten-sion by Dec. 12. Classsize is limited, so earlyregistration is warrant-ed for the populartraining program.

“This course is valu-able for women who are

new to farm businesses,wives and daughterswho have inheritedfarms, women who havepurchased or startedfarms on their own, andwomen who want to im-prove skills they havelearned while working ona farm,” says David Cox,Agriculture ProgramLeader with Cornell Co-operative Extension ofSchoharie County.

Annie’s Project classescover topics in produc-tion, marketing, and fi-nancial, legal (estateplanning), and humanresources risk manage-ment. Lessons rangefrom learning agricultur-al software computerskills to how to buy cropinsurance and rent land.Each session includes aone-hour lunch periodfor networking.

“Annie’s Project pro-vides essential informa-tion about how a farmworks and it establisheslocalized support net-works of women with

similar agricultural in-terests and challenges,”says Cornell CooperativeExtension of LewisCounty Farm BusinessManagement EducatorPeggy Murray.

The six-week Annie’sProject is named forNorthern Illinois womanAnnette “Annie” Kohlha-gen Fleck who married afarmer in 1947 andlearned how to be hisbusiness partner as wellas his wife while raisingfour children, and man-aging a home with threegenerations under oneroof. Annie’s tireless

record keeping helpeddrive the farm’s manage-ment choices.

In 2009, Annie’sdaughter Ruth FleckHambleton, who alsomarried a farmer, startedAnnie’s Project to edu-cate and mentor otherwomen in agriculture.

“The course work in-cludes the opportunity tolearn how to organizeand manage informationcritical to the farm’s day-to-day and long-termsuccess,” says CornellCooperative Extension ofOtsego County FarmBusiness & Marketing

Development EducatorAmy Chamberlain.

Cornell CooperativeExtension of OneidaCounty Community Ed-ucator Bonnie Collinssays, “This is the sec-ond time Annie’s Projectwill be offered in Oneidaand Schoharie counties.The response last yearwas terrific and gradu-ates encouraged us tomake this trainingavailable to their fellowwomen in agriculture.”

To register, contact

Cornell Cooperative Ex-tension; in Lewis Countyat 315-376-5270; inOneida County at 315-736-3394 x104, in Ot-sego County at 607-547-2536, and in SchoharieCounty at 518-234-4303by Dec. 12.

This educational out-reach is supported byfunding from the North-east Center for RiskManagement Educationand by Annie’s NationalNetwork Initiative for Ed-ucational Success.

This Family Friendly House Situated in a Beautiful Country Setting

Rural Route Cooperstown, NY

Could MakCould Make Ye Your Drour Dreamseams

Come TCome True...rue...

More than a house, a wonderful way of life. 3.5acres, Kitchen with built in Dishwasher, Stove,

Refrigerator/Freezer, Ample Cupboards and WorkIsland. Dining Area - Living Room adjacent toDen, 3 Bedrooms with 3 Baths. Large, GlassedSunroom, Outside Deck, Insulated Barn withconcrete floor. Oil Hot Water Baseboard Heat. You owe it to yourself to come and take a look. Owner will carry mortgage for qualified buyerwith down payment. Otsego Lake Privilege.

Contact Owner • 518-568-5115or Hubbell’s Real Estate • 607-547-5740

Become a Strong Farm Business Partner:Register for Annie’s Project by Dec. 12

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by Ann PerryScientists at the U.S.

Department of Agricul-ture (USDA) are leadingthe way in learning moreabout “biochar,” thecharred biomass createdfrom wood, other plant

material and manure.The studies by Agricul-

tural Research Service(ARS) scientists at labo-ratories across the coun-try support the USDApriorities of promotinginternational food secu-

rity and responding toglobal climate change.ARS is USDA’s chief in-tramural scientific re-search agency.

Soil scientist Jeff No-vak at the ARS CoastalPlains Soil, Water and

Plant Research Center inFlorence, SC, is coordi-nating the multi-locationeffort. In one project, heled a laboratory study tosee if different biocharscould improve the sandysoils found on the Car-

olina coastal plain andPacific Northwest siltloam soils derived fromvolcanic ash.

Novak’s team usedpeanut hulls, pecanshells, poultry litter,switchgrass and hard-wood waste products toproduce nine differenttypes of biochars. Allthe feedstocks were py-rolysed at two differenttemperatures to pro-duce the biochars. Py-rolysis is a process ofchemical decomposi-tion that results fromrapid heating of theraw feedstocks in theabsence of oxygen.Then the biochars weremixed into one type ofsandy soil and two siltloam soils at the rate ofabout 20 tons per acre.

After four months, theteam found thatbiochars produced fromswitchgrass and hard-woods increased soilmoisture storage in allthree soils. They saw thegreatest increase in soilsamended with switch-grass biochar producedvia high-temperature py-rolysis — almost 3 to 6percent higher than acontrol soil sample.

Biochars produced athigher temperatures alsoincreased soil pH levels,and biochar made frompoultry litter greatly in-creased soil levels ofavailable phosphorusand sodium. The scien-tists also calculated thatthe switchgrass biocharamendments could ex-tend the window of soilwater availability by 1 to3.6 days for a soybeancrop in Florence, andcould increase soil wateravailability for cropsgrown in Pacific North-west silt loam soils by0.4 to 2.5 days.

Given their results, theteam believes that agri-cultural producers couldsomeday select feed-stocks and pyrolysisprocesses to make “de-signer” biochars withcharacteristics that tar-get specific deficienciesin soil types.

Results from this studywere published in Annalsof Environmental Scienceand in the Journal of En-vironmental Quality.

Read more about thiswork in theNovember/December2011 issue of Agricultur-al Research magazine.

Kurt Zuhlke & Assoc. Inc.PO Box 609, Bangor, PA 18013-0609


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Using biochar to boost soil moisture

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The National Young Farmer’s Coali-tion released a study showing that thenation’s young and beginning farmersface tremendous barriers in starting afarming career. “Building a FutureWith Farmers: Challenges Faced byYoung, American Farmers and a Na-tional Strategy to Help Them Succeed”surveyed 1,000 farmers from acrossthe United States and found that ac-cess to capital, access to land andhealth insurance present the largestobstacles for beginners. Farmers ratedfarm apprenticeships, local partner-ships and Community Supported Agri-culture (CSA) as the most valuableprograms to help beginners.

“If Congress wants to keep Americafarming, then they must address thebarriers that young people face ingetting started,” says Lindsey LusherShute, Director of the NationalYoung Farmers’ Coalition. “We needcredit opportunities for beginningand diversified farmers, land policiesthat keep farms affordable for full-time growers and funding for conser-vation programs.”

Report findings include:• 78 percent of farmers ranked “lack of

capital” as a top challenge for beginners,with another 40 percent ranking “accessto credit” as the biggest challenge.

• 68 percent of farmers ranked landaccess as the biggest challenge facedby beginners.

• 70 percent of farmers under 30rented land, as compared to 37 per-cent of farmers over 30.

• 74 percent of farmers ranked ap-prenticeships as among the most valu-able programs for beginners.

• 55 percent of farmers ranked localpartnerships as one of the most valu-able programs, and 49 percent rankedCommunity Supported Agriculture(CSA) as a top program.

Lack of capital was found to be thebiggest challenge for beginners. Al-though the USDA’s Farm ServiceAgency offers loans to beginning farm-ers, current loan rules often disqualifyeven experienced farmers with goodcredit and small loans are hard tocome by. For real estate transactions,FSA loans take too long to process —up to 30 days to qualify and up to ayear to receive funds — and the$300,000 loan limit doesn’t go far inmany real estate markets.

Land access was the second biggestconcern. Farmers under the age of 30were significantly more likely to rentland (70 percent) than those over 30(37 percent). Over the last decade,farm real estate values and rents dou-bled making farm ownership next toimpossible for many beginners.

“In Nebraska the main barrier tonew and beginning farmers is accessto land. Unless an aspiring farmerinherits land, it is very difficult tohave access to it,” says William A.Powers, farmer and Executive Direc-tor of the Nebraska SustainableAgriculture Society.

The National Young Farmers’ Coali-tion recommends action at the local,state and federal level to help begin-ning farmers. At the local level, com-munities can create market opportuni-ties for farmers by starting Communi-ty Supported Agriculture groups andshopping at farmers markets, as wellas protecting existing farmlandthrough zoning and the purchase ofdevelopment rights. States can pre-serve farmland and even offer tax cred-its for farmers that sell their land tobeginners. At the federal level, Con-gress can include the “BeginningFarmers and Ranchers OpportunityAct” in the next Farm Bill, which sup-ports many of the specific recommen-

dations in the report.Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vil-

sack, is calling for hundreds of thou-sands of new farmers nationwide.Over the past century, the total num-ber of American farmers has declined— from over 6 million in 1910 to justover 2 million today. For each farmerunder 35 there are now 6 over 65 andthe average age of farmers is 57. TheUSDA expects that one-quarter(500,000) of all farmers will retire inthe next 20 years.

The ‘good food’ movement is inspir-ing many young people to farm, bothfrom farming and non-farming back-grounds. These farmers have the po-tential to offset the numbers of retiring

farmers and keep family farms active,but land tenure and lack of capital aregetting in the way.

“With the release of reports such asthis one, the agrarian revival, this in-flux of young and beginning farmers,gains status — we’re not just a fewpeople spread across the country,we’re a well organized, politically ac-tive group that can be documented,”says Tierney Creech of the Washing-ton State Young Farmers Coalition.“We know who our senators and rep-resentatives are, we vote, and ourfriends and families vote. We needUSDA and government support tosucceed and we’re going to let the na-tion know that.”

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Young and beginning farmers need capital, land, health insuranceNew survey of 1,000 young and beginning farmers reveals what the next generation needs

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Stokes Seeds prides it-self in the number of veg-etable trials it puts outeach year. Each variety is“Stokes Tested” in manygeographic areas in theNortheast, Midwest, andCanada or it does not goin the 2012 Stokes SeedsCommercial GrowersGuide. Generally eachvariety is tested for mul-tiple years in numerouslocations. This strategywas especially beneficialin 2011 with the chal-lenges of varying temper-

atures and precipitation.Whether it is green beansor seedless watermelon,you can be certain thatyou are getting the bestnew varieties on the mar-ket. Growers do ask for“Stokes Tested” varieties.

Following are com-ments on some of our fa-vorite new “Stokes Test-ed” varieties.

In green beans, Inspi-ration and Wyatt hadexceptional years inStokes trials. Inspirationis a classy high quality

5.7- inch bean with anupright plant that setwell in the heat in 2011

and also holds well inthe field. It has demon-strated some tolerance toseason Midwest viruscomplex and whitefly.

New VarietiesNew ‘Stokes Tested’ varietiesavailable for 2012

Archimedes

Hendrix

Sugar CubeStokes B10

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As we enter our 66thyear in the seed businesswe continue towards ourmission of helping farmfamilies feed their friendsand neighbors at homeand around the world. Weare continually evaluat-ing vegetable varieties aswe strive to bring growersthe best available prod-ucts for their market op-portunities.

For the 2012 seasonwe have added over 30

products to our commer-cial vegetable seed cata-log including beans,broccoli, corn, peppers,pumpkins, squash,tomatoes and watermel-on. Several sweet cornvarieties have beenadded including the newPerformance Series™from Seminis.

Ka-Ching, a 78 day,synergistic bi-color fromCrookham is everythinga grower desires in qual-ity, ear size and yield.The plant has great

health and architecturewhich translates intoyield potential. It isrugged and adaptablewith a large ear for itsseason. The uniformity ofthe ears in size, place-

ment and maturity,lends itself to machineharvesting. It also dis-plays a nice package forthe consumer in its tip

fill, husk protection andeating quality.

Give your early cornmarket a boost by plant-

ing Cuppa Joe to followEspresso. Cuppa Joe,from Seneca VegetableResearch, is a 73 daysynergistic bi-color that

Wyatt had a very consis-tent yield in the springand fall of 2011, of nicedark green pods, 4-sievein diameter and is 5.7inches long on an up-right plant. It has excel-lent bacterial diseaseand virus resistance.

Archimedes pepperwas introduced last yearand performed very wellin both trials and pro-duction fields this year.Archimedes is a 76-daygreen to red blocky bellpepper. It has resistanceto BLS 1,2,3 and inter-mediate resistance toPhytopthora.

Sugar cube can-taloupe was the pre-ferred variety for tasteand yield in 2011. It isfor the farm market thatis looking for a smallerhigh quality personalsize 2 LB melon. It hashigh sugars (14 percentbrix), deep orange flesh,tight interior, amazingtaste and excellent dis-ease tolerance.

For those growers thatraise onions for storage,Hendrix is the newonion for you. It is a nice106-day long day onionwith a medium gold col-or, long storage, and anice globe shape. Thisvariety performed verywell over a wide geo-graphic area in 2011.

Ask your Stokes SeedsSales Representativeabout the newest

Inspiration

Wyatt

Stokes from B9

Rupp offering more than 30 new products

WeeeeeOne

TirrenoPassion II

Xanthi, Belcanto and Ora-nos peppers.

Rupp B

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SummitSummit Pumpkin is

fast becoming the stan-dard of comparison forlarge fruited pumpkins.Fruit average 30 to 40lbs., are dark orange andnicely ribbed. Handles

standout for size, dura-bility and black color.Plant is semi-bush. Ma-turity is 95 days. Summithas homozygous resist-ant to Powdery Mildew.

ApogeeApogee Pumpkin is

possibly the largest fruit-ed Powdery Mildew re-sistant pumpkin on themarket today. Fruit aver-

age 40 to 50 lbs., aredark orange with goodribbing and extra-largehandles. Plants havelarge vines. Maturity is105 days.

Rascal PMRR PumpkinRascal PMRR Pumpkin

has homozygous resist-ance to Powdery Mildewand heterozygous resist-ance to WMV and Phy-tophthora. Pink fruit arelarge, flat, deeply fur-rowed, thick-walled andsemi-hard shelled. Fruitaverage 30 to 40 lbs. Ma-turity is 100 days.

PrudencePrudence Pumpkin is a

smaller version of Sum-mit. Fruit average 20 to25 lbs, are dark orangeand well ribbed with alarge, thick handle. Plantis semi-bush. Maturity is90 days. Prudence hashomozygous resistant toPowdery Mildew.

ProgressProgress Pumpkin is

perfect for markets de-siring a smaller carvingpumpkin. Fruit average7 to 10 lbs., are verydark orange, very wellribbed and have a longtwisting handle. Plant is

semi-bush. Maturity is100 days. Progress hashomozygous resistant toPowdery Mildew.

For more informationvisit www.pumpkinveg-etableorganicseeds.com.

Outstanding new varieties from Outstanding Seed Company LLC

Summit

Apogee

Rascal

Prudence

Progress

Harris Seeds has along history of selectingvarieties that excel interms of field perform-ance, market appear-ance, and eating quality.This tradition continueswith 2012's vegetable in-troductions, which rangefrom crowd-pleasingsmall pumpkins to trulymouthwatering sweetcorn and melon varieties.

Little Giant F1 Pump-kin is small in size andbig on kid-friendly ap-peal. Its rich, dark-or-ange color and smoothsides make it great forpainting, but its lightribbing and strong, darkgreen handle give it thelook of a miniature jack-o-lantern. This beautifullittle pie pumpkin is thelatest addition to HarrisSeeds' extensive line ofpumpkins with interme-

diate resistance to Pow-dery Mildew.

Crunchkin F1 Pump-kin is a hard shell ver-sion of Harris Seeds'popular Munchkin minipumpkin and is sure tobe a hit for fall decora-tion. The flattened,deeply ribbed shape andmedium-orange, lightlyflecked color giveCrunchkin a classic,customer-pleasing ap-pearance. Best of all, thehard shell allows for ex-tended storage and

Thanksgiving sales.Mirai 315 BC F1 and

Mirai 160 Y F1 SweetCorn are the latest in theimpressive Mirai super-sweet series. Mirai vari-eties offer truly superbeating quality, with melt-in-your-mouth tender-ness and exceptionalsweetness. These intro-ductions are both 74 dayvarieties that produce re-fined, cylindrical 8-inchears of delicious kernelson sturdy, clean plants.Strong tip fill, attractive

Harris Seeds’ 2012 introductionsperform from field to table

Harris B13

Little Giant F1 Pumpkin

Mirai 315 BC F1 SweetCorn

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Following are severalnew varieties that we areoffering for 2012. Feelfree to visit our website,www.noursefarms.com,for our complete listing of

varieties. Our 2012 cata-log will be available in De-cember. Contact us for a

free copy at 41 RiverRoad, South Deerfield,MA 01373, telephone413-665-2658, fax 413-665-7888, or [email protected].

Mayflower Strawberry

(EM-995) (U.S. PlantPatent Pending) *Exclu-sive to Nourse Farms

We are introducingMayflower as a new late-

Porcelain Doll F1Porcelain Doll is an eye-

catching, exotic PinkPumpkin perfect for allholiday decorations.Porcelain Doll’s deep-or-ange, sweet flesh can beused for pies, soup, andgourmet culinary delights.Full vine plant habit.Good Powdery Mildew tol-erance. 20-24 lbs.

LimonLimon is a commercial

green zucchini with anopen bush habit andvery low spine count.Unusual and eye-catch-ing lime-green fruit withlemon-yellow “efferves-cent” color mixed in forthe gourmet market.

Golden GirlGolden Girl is a Hybrid,

Yellow Zucchini Squash.This top yielding hybridseed brings together an

outstanding, true goldenyellow color and a strong,open bush habit. An at-tractive presentation ofconsistent quality andshape make this yellow

zucchini a winner. Toler-ant to Powdery Mildew 2.

BootyBooty is a hybrid, deter-

minate, open field tomato

characterized by strongyields. Fruit are dark red

provides an 8 to 8 1/2inch ear. It offers excel-lent eating quality for anearly corn along with thecold soil vigor and a cleansturdy plant you look forin an early time slot.

Allure is a 75 day syn-ergistic bi-color fromSeneca Vegetable Re-search with excellent eat-ing quality. Allure pro-duces a very refined 8- Obession II

Majus Ka Ching

Cuppa Joe Allure

Rupp from B10

Rupp B13

New varieties from NE Seed

Orange SherbetGolden Girl Red Rock

Red Head

Porcelain Doll F1

Napoli Tandy Summertime

Limon

Booty

Amarillo

NE B13

Nourse Farms offering several varieties for 2012

Albion StrawberryDaroyal StrawberryMayflower Strawberry

Natchez Blackberry

Octavia Red Raspberry Portola Strawberry Monterey Strawberry

Prime Ark®

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and firm with good tomato taste. A beau-tiful tomato that has wonderful flavor andis perfect for East Coast production. Didvery well in trials and is still under testfor tolerances.

NapoliNapoli is a hybrid, Tuscan type melon

that features a high brix, bright orangeflesh with a tight cavity and a vigorousvine with a terrific canopy for fruit pro-tection. Tolerant to Powdery Mildew Race2 and Fusarium Race 1 and 2, Watermel-on Mosaic Virus.

Orange SherbetOrange Sherbet is a hybrid, Tuscan,

eastern shipper cantaloupe that exhibitsextremely high quality. Combining a highbrix with a strong melon flavor, OrangeSherbet is one of the best eating melons

available. A high fiber content gives thismelon variety good shipping ability. Or-ange Sherbet’s appearance makes for anattractive display. Tolerant to PowderyMildew Race 2 and Fusarium Race 1 and2, Watermelon Mosaic Virus.

AmarilloAmarillo is a hybrid, golden, indeter-

minate cherry/cocktail tomato that canbe grown in a greenhouse or open fieldwith excellent leaf cover. Featuring ataste that is outstanding, Amarillo’s fruitchanges from yellow to gold with maturi-ty with 20-80 fruit per cluster. This is anearly maturing tomato — just 75 days.Tolerant to Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Verti-cillium Wilt and Fusarium Wilt.

SummertimeSummertime is a hybrid, triploid wa-

termelon that is a tremendous varietyfor any watermelon program. Summer-time’s ultra-sweet flesh is testing in therange of 4-5 on the penetrometer andmany fields have had brix readings of11-12. With excellent shipping qualitiesand an attractive, well-definedflesh/rind margin, Summertime is anexciting new watermelon.

Red RockRed Rock Seedless Watermelon fea-

tures a high brix content with excellentshipping capabilities and shelf life.Small seed pips.

Red Head

Red Head is a hybrid, openfield/greenhouse, saladette type Romatomato. Red Head features a compacthabit and is ideal for the fresh market.Determinate at 70 days to maturity.

TandyTandy features a strikingly beautiful off-

white color with a strong, medium darkgreen handle. Tandy is an excellent yield-er with a medium vine habit. Ideal as anedible pumpkin or novelty colored pump-kin. For more information on this andmany more great varieties, visit us at www.dpseeds.com. Buy online atwww.neseed.com.

by-1.75 inch ear with strong tip fill,good husk cover and great flag leaves.This is the perfect variety for growerswhose consumers demand quality.

We are excited to be able to offergrowers the new Performance Series™sweet corn hybrids from Seminis.These hybrids are the only fresh mar-ket sweet corn hybrids proven to have:outstanding yield, up to 85 percent lessinsecticide use, dual mode of action forabove-ground insects, below-groundprotection, tolerance to RoundupWeatherMAX® and Roundup Power-MAX® and taste and nutrition value onpar with conventional counterparts.The Performance Series hybrids in-clude: Obsession II, Passion II andTemptation II.

We are pleased to be able to offergrowers three new conical peppers forthe 2012 season. Belcanto (red), Ora-nos (orange) and Xanthi (yellow) fromEnza Zaden are high quality peppershaving superior flavor when comparedto bells of the same color. They producehigh yields of mature colored pepperswith little yield reduction compared togreen. These 6-7inch peppers would beideally marketed in multi-coloredpacks and will be sure to catch the eyeof your customers. Your customers candice them for use in flavorful fresh sal-sas, larger pieces for stir-frys, servestuffed fresh or roasted as a new kindof wrap that can be a feature on the

plate but not dominate as most bellpeppers would.

We’re excited to release a new jack o’lantern pumpkin. WeeeeeOne is a newunique miniature pumpkin, with pow-dery mildew resistance. The 3-by-3inch fruit have shallow ribs and a fullround shape similar to traditional jacko’ lantern pumpkins. WeeeeeOne canbe carved and brings a new look to falldecoration.

2011 was a launch year for Tirreno, anew cantaloupe from Enza Zaden. Grow-ers had great success producing the 4-6pound fruit. Tirreno has shown tremen-dous plant health in the field which pro-vides the opportunity for excellent yieldpotential. Tirreno has absolutely the besteating quality of any variety that we havemarketed to date. For 2012 we are offer-ing Majus a big brother to Tirreno. Ma-jus shares many of the characteristicswith larger 6-8 pound fruit and coarsernetting. This is a must try for your 2012growing season.

"From Asparagus to Zucchini witheverything in between, for ProfessionalGrowers of any size" — and with over1,100 vegetable varieties from all themajor vegetable breeders, Rupp Seedsis uniquely able to help farm familiesfeed their friends and neighbors athome and around the world.

To request your copy of our 2012Commercial Vegetable Seed catalog, vis-it our website at www.ruppseeds.com orgive us a call at 800-700-1199.

dark green husks, andlong flags make the earslook as classy as theytaste. Mirai 315 BC is abicolor with nicely-con-trasted yellow and whitekernels, while 160 Y addsa midseason variety to

Harris Seeds' line of full-flavored Mirai yellow corn.

Summer Sweet® SSW2001 MR F1 SweetCorn combines excep-tional supersweet flavorwith advanced seed tech-nology and powerful dis-ease protection. SSW va-rieties are bred for fuller,less wrinkled seed thanother supersweet vari-eties, which offers moreenergy to the seedlingduring germination andallows better seed flowwhile planting. To makegrowing as smooth asplanting, SSW 2001 MRoffers resistance to thenew strains of rust(Rp1G, Rp1I) and inter-mediate resistance toNCLB and SCLB.

Solstice F1 Melon isBIG in every respect:size, flavor, and diseaseprotection. With deepsutures, heavy netting,and luscious flavor,these huge 7-9 lb melonshave the look and eatingquality of traditional“Eastern” type melons.However, they also offer

the full disease packageof newer hybrids, includ-ing resistance to Fusari-um wilt (0,1,2) and Pow-dery Mildew (1,2).

Red Bounty F1 Toma-to offers extra-large, de-licious, deep red fruit,plus resistance to Toma-to Spotted Wilt Virus.While previous tomatovarieties offered only in-termediate resistance tothis devastating disease,Red Bounty offers moreprotection, for a harvestthat lives up to the vari-ety's name.

Harris Seeds' extensiveline of untreated and or-ganic seeds includes 265vegetable varieties thisseason. Of special noteare Manny F1 OrganicCucumber and TaurusF1 Cucumber, which of-fer gourmet quality fruitin both greenhouse andfield culture.

To request a HarrisSeeds Professional Veg-etable Growers' Catalog,call 800-544-7938 or vis-it www.harrisseeds.com.

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The FDA released adocument on Oct. 19 thatprovides an overview offactors that potentiallycontributed to the con-tamination of fresh, wholecantaloupe with thepathogen Listeria mono-cytogenes, which was im-plicated in a multi-stateoutbreak of listeriosis.

In early September2011, the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA), inconjunction with theCenters for Disease Con-trol and Prevention(CDC) and state healthdepartments, began toinvestigate a multi-stateoutbreak of listeriosis.Early in the investiga-tion, cantaloupes fromJensen Farms in thesouthwest region of Col-orado were implicated inthe outbreak.

On Sept. 10, FDA,along with Coloradostate officials, conduct-ed an inspection atJensen Farms duringwhich FDA collectedmultiple samples, in-cluding whole can-

taloupes and environ-mental (non-product)samples from within thefacility, for laboratoryculturing to identify thepresence of Listeriamonocytogenes. Of the39 environmental sam-ples collected fromwithin the facility, 13were confirmed positivefor Listeria monocyto-genes with pulsed-fieldgel electrophoresis(PFGE) pattern combi-nations that were indis-tinguishable from threeof the four outbreakstrains collected fromaffected patients. Can-taloupe collected fromthe firm’s cold storageduring the inspectionwas also confirmed pos-itive for Listeria mono-cytogenes with PFGEpattern combinationsthat were indistinguish-able from two of thefour outbreak strains.

As a result of the isola-tion of outbreak strainsof Listeria monocyto-genes in the environ-ment of the packing fa-

cility and whole can-taloupes collected fromcold storage, and the factthat this is the first doc-umented listeriosis out-break associated withfresh, whole cantaloupein the United States,FDA initiated an envi-ronmental assessmentin conjunction with Col-orado state and local of-ficials. FDA, state, andlocal officials conductedthe environmental as-sessment at JensenFarms on September 22-23, 2011. The environ-mental assessment wasconducted to gathermore information to as-sist FDA in identifyingthe factors that poten-tially contributed to theintroduction, growth, orspread of the Listeriamonocytogenes strainsthat contaminated thecantaloupe.

FDA identified the fol-lowing factors as thosethat most likely con-tributed to the introduc-tion, spread, and growthof Listeria monocyto-

genes in the cantaloupes:Introduction:• There could have

been low level sporadicListeria monocytogenesin the field where thecantaloupe were grown,which could have beenintroduced into thepacking facility; and

• A truck used to haulculled cantaloupe to acattle operation wasparked adjacent to thepacking facility and couldhave introduced contami-nation into the facility.

Spread:• The packing facility’s

design allowed water topool on the floor nearequipment and employeewalkways;

• The packing facilityfloor was constructed ina manner that made itdifficult to clean; and

• The packing equip-ment was not easilycleaned and sanitized;washing and dryingequipment used forcantaloupe packing waspreviously used forpostharvest handling of

another raw agricultur-al commodity.

Growth:• There was no pre-

cooling step to removefield heat from the can-taloupes before cold stor-age. As the cantaloupescooled there may havebeen condensation thatpromoted the growth ofListeria monocytogenes.

FDA’s findings regard-ing this particular out-break highlight the im-portance for firms to em-ploy good agriculturaland management prac-tices in their packing fa-cilities as well as ingrowing fields. FDA rec-ommends that firms em-

ploy good agriculturaland management prac-tices recommended forthe growing, harvesting,washing, sorting, pack-ing, storage and trans-porting of fruits and veg-etables sold to con-sumers in an un-processed or minimallyprocessed raw form.

FDA has issued awarning letter to JensenFarms based on environ-mental and cantaloupesamples collected duringthe inspection. FDA’s in-vestigation at JensenFarms is still consideredan open investigation.

midseason variety. Bredby David Simpson at theEMR East Malling Re-search Center, U.K.,Mayflower exhibits highproduction and firm, highquality berries. Mayflowerwas identified in our testplots in a very wet fruit-ing season, as the fruitstood up under difficultconditions. In our ad-vanced grower trials, 80percent of the growers re-sponding to our surveysaid the variety per-formed well in their trialand that they would plantit again. We highly recom-mend Mayflower for trialplantings.

Octavia Red Raspber-ry (Licensed Variety) *Ex-clusive to Nourse Farms

This is a new late-sea-son floricane raspberrythat we first offered in2011. It is the latest fruit-ing summer variety avail-able. Octavia will pickseven to 10 days laterthan Encore and until theearly primocane varietiesbegin. Octavia is highlyproductive with good fla-vor and firmness. Con-sider Octavia for freshmarket applications. Weare still learning aboutlevel of winter hardiness,but recommend trialing itin areas where late sea-son production is de-sired.

Natchez Blackberry(Plant Patent 20,891)

Natchez is a recent re-lease from the Universityof Arkansas breeding pro-gram. This is the earliestripening thornless variety

with very high productionpotentials. Very large andgood tasting berries canbe harvested during athree-to-five week sea-son. Due to its semi-erectgrowth habit, Natchezperforms best with a trel-lis. We highly recommendthis variety.

Prime Ark® 45 Black-berry (Plant Patent Ap-plied For)

Prime Ark® 45 is a newrelease from the Universi-ty of Arkansas breedingprogram. It is a thornyprimocane-bearing black-berry with an erect grow-ing habit. Fruit size ismedium-large and trialsindicate that Prime-Ark®45 is much more produc-tive than Prime Jim. Fruitholds up well after pick-ing and is suitable forshipping. The floricanefruiting season is afterPrime-Jim and Natchezand before Ouachita.Early indications are thatthe primocane cropripens later than Prime-Jim. Ripening may be toolate for some northern ar-eas, but will extend theblackberry season for sit-uations where late fruit isdesired. We would recom-mend Prime Ark® 45 asthe outstanding primo-cane-bearing blackberry.

Portola Strawberry(U.S. Plant Patent No.20,552)

This is a strong day-neutral variety from Cali-fornia. Fruit is lighter incolor than most everbear-ers and should be har-vested before fully red. It

has good flavor with alarge crop that is as earlyas Evie-2. Recommendedfor beginners, this varietywill perform in warmerclimates. Recommendedfor zones 5-7.

Daroyal Strawberry(Licensed Variety) *Exclu-sive to Nourse Farms

Daroyal is our secondintroduction from theDarbonne-Inotalis breed-ing program in France.Daroyal is vigorous withstrong rooting capacity.Berries have an attractiveconic shape, darker redcolor, good internal colorand a glossy appearance.Our production fieldsshow high yields during along season. Daroyal willeasily compete with Ho-neoye due to its excellentflavor. This berry ripensquickly, we recommendharvesting every otherday.

Monterey Strawberry(U.S. Plant Patent No.19,767)

This is a moderate day-neutral cultivar from Cal-ifornia. It has great flavor,like Seascape, while moretolerant to high summertemperatures. This planthas good leaf disease re-sistance, but is suscepti-ble to powdery mildew.Recommended for begin-ners and experiencedgrowers. Recommendedfor zones 5-7.

Albion Strawberry(U.S. Plant Patent No.16,228)

Albion produces verylarge fruit that is mostlyconical, very firm and red

in color. Its flavor is verygood for a day-neutral. Toget the high yields it iscapable of producing,this variety will need astronger watering andnutrient program thanany other everbearer.Wider plant spacing willdeliver the largest berries.It is resistant to verticilli-um wilt, phytophthoracrown rot and has someresistance to anthracnosecrown rot. Recommendedfor zones 5-7.

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WHOLESALE GROWERS OF QUALITY SMALL FRUIT PLANTSBLUEBERRIES ARE OUR SPECIALTY

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Red RaspberriesPurple RaspberriesYellow RaspberriesBlack Raspberries

Black CurrantsRed Currants

White CurrantsAsparagus

www.kriegersnursery.comALL STOCK GRADED TO AAN STANDARDS

www.cfgrower.com

Announcements

� � � � �

ADVERTISERSGet the best response fromyour advertisements byincluding the condition, age,price and best calling hours.Also we always recommendinsertion for at least 2 timesfor maximum benefits. CallPeg at 1-800-836-2888

CHECK YOUR AD - ADVER-TISERS should check theirads. Lee Publications, Inc.shall not be liable for typo-graphical, or errors in publica-tion except to the extent of thecost of the first months inser-tion of the ad, and shall alsonot be liable for damages dueto failure to publish an ad.Adjustment for errors is limit-ed to the cost of that portion ofthe ad wherein the erroroccurred. Report any errorsto Peg Patrei at 518-673-3237 ext. 111 or 800-836-2888.

NEED BUSINESS CARDS?Full color glossy, heavy stock.250 ($45.00); 500 ($65.00);1,000 ($75.00). Call Lee Pub-lications 518-673-0101 [email protected]

YARD SIGNS: 16x24 full colorwith stakes, double sided.Stakes included. Only $15.00each. Call Beth at Lee Publi-cations 518-673-0101. Pleaseallow 7 to 10 business dayswhen ordering.

Cars, Trucks, Trailers

1998 INTERNATIONAL TOW-MASTER on 4700 air ridechassis with DT466, 275hpengine, 6 spd. Allison auto.trans., good paint w/perfectinterior & air seats. Nearlynew Michelin tires & brakes,25,000 lb. 5th wheel hitch.Ready to take you on yournext trip. 518-993-2618 FortPlain,NY

Farm Equipment

HollandTransplanter Co.

510 E. 16th St., Holland, MI 49423Ph: 1.800.275.4482 Ext. 1 • Fax: 616.392.7996

Website: www.transplanter.comE-mail: [email protected]

Farm MachineryFor Sale

ONE AND TWO ROW sweet-corn, vegetable, pumpkinplanters w/JD Max-Emerge.Also, custom build planters.Pequea Planter, 717-442-4406

STANHAY Seeder, 4 rows, 8reconditioned boxes, 3 extradouble line shoes. Call 518-441-9870

Farm Market Items

Affordable USA MADE Items.Full line of heavy duty items,poles - hooks - trellis items,arbors - fences - indoor items.Free 400 plus Items Catalog.Custom Display Racks. Alsoaccepting custom orders.Serving customers since1999. A&L Iron Works, LLC,624 Buchland Rd., Narvon,PA 17555. 717-768-0705, Fax717-768-0245

Fertilizer &Fertilizer Spreading

HIGH QUALITY BULK AGLIMEavailable from Tilcon, NY Inc.Licensed for use in NY and NJ.Contact Mike DiRenzo on845-480-3249

www.tilconny.com

For Sale


Garden Supplies

GROW HALF-DOLLAR SIZEmuscadine & blackberries,200 varieties, fruits, nuts, andberries. Free color catalog.Ison’s Nursery, P.O. Box 190,Brooks, GA 30205, 1-800-733-0324. www.isons.com

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Irrigation

Greenhouse Supplies

Irrigation

Greenhouse Supplies

www.thermalarm.com

You need to know!ThermalarmP.O. Box 459

603-522-5301East Wakefield, NH 03830

Too Cold? Too Hot?

See Us at Manchester, NH

Nursery Liners Nursery Liners

POTTED LINERSFlowering Shrubs Evergreens

Natives Boxwood GrassesWeb site: www.appnursery.comEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 1-877-743-4733 Fax: (717) 597-9073Chambersburg, PA 17201

Order Now For Spring

Nursery Stock Nursery Stock

- Fruit, Shade, Ornamental Trees

- Flowering Shrubs, Small Fruits, Roses, Vines

- Rhubarb, Asparagus, Horseradish And More!

VISIT US AT WWW.KELLYWSN.COM

Nursery Stock Available

Box 66 Phelps NY 14532 • 877-268-2151 • Fax 315-548-8004USE CODE # SB1211 FOR $10 OFF YOUR INITIAL ORDER.

Bareroot - Containerized - Packaged

Small Minimum Orders/Free Color Picture Tags

Pest Control

Plants

Pest Control

Plants

Advanced Landscape Plant IPM PHC Short Course January 3-6, 2012

For registration information contact: Avis KoeimanDepartment of Entomology, 4112 Plant Sciences Building,

University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742Tel: 301-405-3913


Roofing

Refrigeration

Roofing

Refrigeration

AMERICAN WHOLESALE CO.NEW/USED WALK-IN-COOLER ~ FREEZER BOXES ~

REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS ~ EQUIPMENTLarge Inventory ~ All Sizes

• Buy • Sell ~ Nationwide • Wholesale Prices

Phone: (216) 426-8882 • www.awrco.com

BUY DIRECT – We manufacture Metal Roofing & Siding.ABM & ABX Panel - Standing Seam - PBR PanelLOW PRICES - FAST DELIVERY – FREE LITERATURE

A.B. MARTIN ROOFING SUPPLY, LLC Ephrata, PA 1-800-373-3703

Newvil le, PA 1-800-782-2712

ROOFING & SIDING

Full line Pole Building material. ~ Lumber - Trusses - Plywood.

www.abmartin.net • Email: [email protected]

GreenhouseEquipment

GREENHOUSE: 84,000SqFt.IBG Arch II structure for sale,gutter connected, disassem-bled & ready for shipping,303-915-8589 (Colorado). Forphoto’s [email protected]

Greenhouse Supplies

USED NURSERY

POTS FOR SALE

1 gal . . .9

2 gal . .15

3 gal . .19

4 gal . .25

5 gal . .50

7 gal . .60c

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Please CallFrank Geiger203-255-1024

Geiger’s Garden Center40 Bel ont St.

Fairfield, CT 06430

Heating

Help Wanted

FLORASEARCH, INC.In our 3rd decade of performing confi-dential key employee searches forthe nursery, greenhouse, and horti-culture industries and allied tradesworldwide. Retained basis only.Candidate contact welcome, confi-dential, and always free.

FLORASEARCH, INC.1740 Lake Markham Road

Sanford, FL 32771407-320-81777 (phone)) •• 407-320-80833 (fax)

Email: [email protected] Site: www.florasearch.com

O R C H A R D M A N A G E R :needed for non-profit organi-zation located in MA. Seewww.community-harvest.orgfor information. 508-735-9567

Lumber &Wood Products

LOCUST 4x4’s, fence posts,split rails, lumber. Natural,chemical free non poisonousalternative to pressure treatedthat has strength and lasts alifetime. 518-883-8284

Native Plants

NATIVE GRASSES, sedges,rushes, wildflowers, andherbaceous plants for use inwetland mitigation, restora-tion, and landscape design.Contract growing available.Signature Horticultural Ser-vices, Freeland, MD. Call 410-329-6466 or fax 410-329-2156.

Nursery Equipment

3 SECTION (2row) multivator,30” Ace of Spades, CareTreefoilage tying machine, TS60Vermeer tree spade on 87F800 Ford. 319-936-2534.

Nursery Stock

#1½ 6-7’ Douglas Fir, $15.00;#2 Douglas Fir, $13.00. 814-404-4662

Japanese Maples-Bare RootGrafted three year old

container grown-nice sizeTwenty varieties available-

Call for brochure FREE shipping$11.00 per tree

See our display Ad Kelleygreen Nursery

Paul Ferretti-Sales Rep843-832-1500 office

843-814-1757cell843-695-0794 fax

[email protected]

LEYLAND CYPRESS: 3 gal-lon 36-42”, $10.00. Quantitydiscounts. Also larger sizes.OTTERBEIN NURSERY,Newburg, PA 717-423-0119,717-423-0146(Fax)

Nursery Stock

LARGE VARIETY of Ever-greens, Flowering Trees,Shrubs & Natives in largersizes. Pre-dug trees available.700 acres of quality fieldgrown material. 40 yearsexperience. Roger Coffey &Sons Wholesale NurseryPh: 828-394-2259 Fax:8 2 8 - 7 5 8 - 2 2 4 0 e m a i l :[email protected]

Call 800-836-2888 to place your classified ad.

Real Estate Wanted

WANTED: Farm Market orsmall farm in Eastern Penn.,Delaware, New Jersey, NewYork or New England. ContactBarry at 215-493-8730

Seeds

VIS SEED COMPANY:Specializing in flower seedsfrom around the world.Seeds, plugs, cutt ings.Offering the best annual,perennial, vegetable & herbseeds. Celebrating 25 years!Contact us for a current cat-alog. PO Box 661953, Arca-dia, CA 91066. (P) 626-445-1233, (F) 626-445-3779,h v i s @ v i s s e e d . c o m ,www.visseed.com

Sprayers

Parts, Sales & Service for Durand-Wayland

& MyersArendtsville Garage

135A Main St. • Arendtsville, PA 17303

717-677-7416

Trucks


WANT TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD? CALL: 800-836-2888

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Calendar of Events

DEC 1Direct to Consumer FarmMarketing & Agri-Tourism

SeminarBerks Co. Ag Center, 1238County Welfare Rd.,Leesport PA. 8:30 am - 4:30pm. Contact John Berry,610-391-9840. On Internetat extension.psu.edu.

DEC 12Professional PestManagers School

Holiday Inn - Harris-burg/Hershey, 604 StationRd, Grantville, PA. 7:45 am -3 pm. The sessions aredesigned to update you withthe latest information con-cerning your role andresponsibility in relation tointegrated pest managementand pesticide regulations asyou are earning core andcategory credits. Registra-tion fee of $75 coversinstructional materials,lunch, breaks and speakerexpenses. Registrationsreceived after Mon., Nov. 28,2011, will be $95/person.On Internet at http://exten-sion.psu.edu/dauphin

DEC 13-15New England Vegetable &Fruit Conference & Trade

ShowCenter of New HampshireRadisson Hotel, Manchester,NH. On Internet at www.newenglandvfc.org

DEC 20Penn State Extension

Workshop on Crop LoadManagement

Adams County Agricultural& Natural Resources Center,Gettysburg, PA. 8:30 am -3:30 pm. Includes presenta-tions on the carbon balancemodel and use of a new tool- the Equilifruit Disk - forassessing optimum applecrop load. During the after-noon, participants will moveto Kuhn Orchards, Cash-town, PA for a discussion of“Pruning to Manage CropLoad.” The afternoon prun-ing demonstration is freeand will be conducted inSpanish and English. Finaldate to register is Dec. 14.Call 877-489-1398. OnInternet at www.cvent.com/d/9cqjgg.

JAN 8-92012 National Green

CentreOverland Park ConventionCenter,6000 College Blvd,Overland Park, KS. Call 888-233-1876 or [email protected].

JAN 11-13MANTS® 2012 (The Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade

Show)Baltimore, MD. Call 800-431-0066 or e-mail [email protected]. On Internet atwww.mants.com

JAN 14NOFA 25th Annual Winter

ConferenceWorcester State University,486 Chandler St., Worcester,MA. Contact CathleenO’Keefe, e-mail [email protected]. On Internetat www.nofamass.org/con-ferences/winter/index.php.

JAN 2216th Annual P.L.A.N.T.Seminar - Perennials &

Design - A PerfectCombination

Greater Columbus Conven-tion Center. $75 per person.Call 614-771-8431. OnInternet at www.perennialplant.org.

JAN 24-25Second Annual NJ Plants

Trade ShowNew Jersey Convention Cen-ter, Edison, NJ. On Internetat www.njplantshow.com.

JAN 25-28ANLA Management Clinic

Galt House Hotel & Suites,Louisville, KY. ContactANLA, 202-789-2900 or e-mail meetings@anlaorg. OnInternet at www.anla.org.

JAN 27-28Mid-States Horticultural

ExpoKentucky international Con-vention Center, Louisville,KY. For advertising contactBetsie A. Taylor, 502-695-0106 or [email protected]. For booth infor-mation contact Louree Walk-er, 931-473-3951 or [email protected].

JAN 31-FEB 2Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Veg-

etable ConventionHershey Lodge, Hershey, PA.Contact Bill Troxell, 717-694-3596 or [email protected] Internet at www.mafvc.org.

E-mail announcements of your regionalevent(s) to: [email protected] must receive your information,plus a contact phone number, prior tothe deadline that’s noted under theAnnouncements heading on the 1stpage of these Grower Classifieds.

* * *

Trees Trees

HALABURA TREE FARMS35 Dreher Rd.

Orwigsburg, PA (Schuylkill Co.)570-943-2137 office570-943-7692 fax

Cut & B&B available • Reasonable Prices • Delivery Available

Douglas FirConcolor FirHemlockShade & FloweringTrees Available

White PineNorway SpruceArborvitae

Blue SpruceSerbian SpruceFrazier Fir

1. PHONE IT IN - Just give Peggy a call at1-800-836-2888

FAX IT IN - For you MasterCard, Visa,American Express or Discover customers... Fill outthe form attached completely and fax to Peggy at

(518) 673-2381

2.MAIL IT IN - Fill out the attached form,calculate the cost, enclose your check or credit cardinformation and mail to:Country Folks Grower Classifieds

PO Box 121,Palatine Bridge, NY 13428

3.

If you have used equipment for sale, ask about our group of weekly farm newspapers that cover from Maine to North Carolina.

Name: (Print)_____________________________________________________________Address:________________________________________________________________City:________________________________________St.:_________Zip:_____________Phone:_________________________________Fax:______________________________Cell:___________________________E-mail:____________________________________

� I have enclosed a Check/Money Order� Please charge my credit card:

� American Express � Discover � Visa � MasterCardAcct#:_________________________________________________Exp. Date:_________Signature:_______________________________________________Date:____________

4.E-MAIL IT IN - E-mail your ad [email protected]

Required w/Credit Card Payment Only

(MM/YY)

5 EASY WAYS TO PLACE ACOUNTRY FOLKS GROWER CLASSIFIED AD

$15.25

$9.25

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$10.45

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$14.05

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FOR BEST RESULTS, RUNYOUR AD FOR TWO ISSUES!

Cost for each Issue per Zone:$9.25 for the first 14 words,30¢ each additional word.

(Phone #’s count as one word)# of issues to run______ Total Cost $________Zone(s) to run in: � East � Midwest � West

5.ON-LINE - Go to www.cfgrower.comand follow the Place a ClassifiedAd button to place your ad 24/7!

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Nearly 150 farm-to-con-sumer marketing projectsreceived funding Oct. 13under the U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture’sFarmers Market Promo-tion Program (FMPP),marking a $9.2 million in-vestment to support directmarketing and to increaseconsumer access tohealthy food, much of it infood deserts and otherlow-income areas. This

year’s awards — 149 intotal, distributed across42 states and the Districtof Columbia — showed arise in urban projects andincreased diversity in thetypes of projects funded.

“Earlier this year, we re-ported that more than1,000 new farmers mar-kets have been recordedacross the United States,totaling 7,175 markets,”said Deputy Secretary

Kathleen Merrigan.“Through programs likeFMPP, we believe thatUSDA’s contributions todirect farm-to-consumermarketing are providingalternative economic op-portunities for our nation’sagricultural producers.”

Traditionally, FMPPhas funded projects inboth rural and urban ar-eas. However, this yearsaw a shift toward a

more even distribution,with urban projectsgrowing to nearly half ofthe portfolio. “In additionto funding many worthystart-up farmers mar-kets, I was particularlypleased to note a rise inthe number of innovativeprojects like those thatcreate or expand com-munity-supported agri-culture programs(CSAs), agritourism, and

mobile markets,” Merrig-an added.

Increasing fresh foodaccess in food deserts —low-income areas identi-fied as having limitedaccess to affordable andnutritious food — andother low-income com-munities was a priorityfor this year’s awards.As a result, over 40 per-cent of projects fundedby FMPP this year serve

one or more food desertsand another 20 percentwill be implemented incommunities with apoverty rate of 20 per-cent or higher.

Additionally, improve-ments in transportationand delivery methods,purchase of refrigerationequipment and improve-ments to packaging andstorage that facilitatefood access comprisenearly a third of the proj-ects funded. ElectronicBenefits Transfer (EBT)projects continue to ex-ceed the congressionallymandated 10 percent,accounting for approxi-mately 24 percent of to-tal funding which givesparticipants in federalnutrition assistance pro-grams even greater ac-cess to nutritious food.

Among the more in-novative projects thisyear are:

• Renaissance Projectof New Orleans, whichwill operate food banksand mobile producemarkets at social serviceagencies and publichousing facilities in NewOrleans, LA.

• Round Valley IndianHealth Inc., which willdevelop a program to pro-vide locally raised prod-ucts to schools in Covelo,CA, through a CSA.

• EcoStation: NY, Inc.,which will purchase, op-erate and staff a solar-and biodiesel-poweredrefrigerated mobile mar-ket in low-income areasof Kings County, NY.

• Lulus Local Food ofRichmond, VA, whichwill establish four virtualonline farmers marketsand also provide farmersthe opportunity to par-ticipate in a relatedgleaning program.

• Oregon CheeseGuild, which will workwith Oregon cheesemakers to create an“Oregon Cheese Trail”through a comprehen-sive agritourism and me-dia outreach initiative.

Since its inception in2006, the Farmers Mar-keting Promotion Pro-gram has awarded morethan $23 million acrossthe country to supportdirect producer-to-con-sumer marketing and lo-cal food projects. FMPPis administered by theAgricultural MarketingService. Projects are ex-pected to be completedwithin 24 months of ini-tiation. The full list ofawards granted for fiscalyear 2011 is available atwww.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/FMPP.

USDA supports diverse food access through Farmers MarketPromotion Program grants

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by James Carrabba, Agri-cultural Safety Specialist,New York Center for Agri-cultural Medicine & Health

Oxyacetylene cuttingand welding equipmentis commonly used inmany agricultural oper-ations. It is importantfor anyone who uses this

equipment to be able touse it properly and safe-ly. It is also very impor-tant that the com-pressed gas cylindersare stored safely.

This article will dis-cuss some basic safetyguidelines that need tobe followed for properly

storing oxyacetylenecylinders. Acetylene isthe most common gasused for welding andcutting metals, and isvery flammable. The oxy-gen won’t burn or ex-plode but assists othergasses burn at greaterrates when mixed to-

gether. Acetylene andoxygen are stored sepa-rately in compressed gascylinders. Due to thepressures inside, a com-pressed gas cylinder canbe shot through the air

like a rocket if its valvebecomes damaged orbroken. Gas cylindersneed to be protectedfrom physical damage,heat, and tampering.

Here are some basicguidelines for properstorage of compressedgas cylinders:

Storage areas shouldbe designed to adequate-ly accommodate the var-ious gas cylinders thatwill be used at the farm.It should be well-drainedand well-ventilated andpreferably be of fire proofconstruction. Likegasses should be stored

together with each other.Cylinders should not bestored in subsurface lo-cations. The storage areashould be free of corro-sive chemicals or fumes.

The storage areashould be prominentlyposted with the hazardclass or names of thegasses that are storedthere. No smoking signsshould be posted at thestorage area.

The storage areashould not exceed 125° F.

There should be sepa-rate storage areas for

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Safe storage of oxyacetylene cylinders

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empty and full cylinders. Empty cylin-ders can be marked with MT or EMPTYwritten on them.

When not in service, acetylene andoxygen cylinders must be stored sepa-rately from each other. They must beseparated by a distance of at least 20feet or be separated by a non-flamma-ble wall that is at least 5 feet high.

Cylinders should be stored in an up-right position and chained to preventthem from falling.

Single acetylene and oxygen cylin-ders that are being used are consid-ered “in service.” They can be stored ona cart or at a fixed work station adja-cent to each other without a fire-proofpartition. Cylinders that are in servicemust be secured to prevent falling.

Containers must be protected fromany objects that could contact the

surface of the cylinder and cause anabrasion or cut into the cylinder.Cylinders cannot be stored near ele-vators, walkways, unprotected plat-form edges, or any locations wherethey could be struck by heavy movingor falling objects.

Keep cylinders away from flammableand combustible materials.

Cylinder valves must be closed whennot in use and prior to moving.

Cylinders can be stored outside, butthe bottom of the cylinder must be pro-tected from the ground to prevent corro-sion. With outside storage it is prefer-able to store the cylinders on asphalt orconcrete areas that are graded to drainwater away. In the summer, full cylin-ders should be screened against the di- (preserves, butters, jellies, sauces, mustards and salsas)

WWW.DILLMANFARM.COM • 800.359.1362{label design by: www.flow-design.com}

www.cfgrower.comStorage from C1

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Field operations are one of the largest uses of en-ergy on most farms, so it is helpful to examine reduc-ing or eliminating operations for reductions in ener-gy use. Conservation tillage systems conserve fuel bycutting down on the number of passes across fields.No-till or reduced-till systems allow farmers to pre-pare the seedbed, apply fertilizer, and plant the cropin one operation.

No-till drills or air seeders use approximately 0.7gallons per acre. A common conventional tillage sys-tem for crop production includes a chisel plow opera-tion using 0.6 gallon per acre, a field cultivator using0.3 gallons per acre, and a drill using 0.5 gallons peracre for a total of 1.4 gallons per acre. In this exampleconservation tillage requires half the fuel of the con-ventional tillage system.

Questions to ask:• Are you using radial tires and are they properly

inflated?• Is your tractor properly matched to the imple-

ment you are using?• Are you reducing the engine RPM speed when a

larger tractor is used with a smaller implement?• Is your tractor wheel slippage excessive?• Is a change or reduction in tillage practices

possible?• Is fuel storage shaded?• Have your engine fuel filters and air cleaner

been replaced or serviced as recommended by themanufacturer?

• Have your engine fuel injectors been cleaned andserviced properly?

• Are you using a timer on your tractor’s engineheater?

Tractor operation• Proper maintenance as recommended by the man-

ufacturer should be performed regularly on all fieldequipment. This includes replacing fuel filters, chang-

ing oil and filter, lubricating bearings, and having regu-lar engine tune-ups. The tractor maintenance programsprovided by implement dealers are an excellent way tohave equipment (especially tractors and combines)checked and maintenance operations completed byprofessionals.

•Aim to maintain wheel slippage generally be-tween 10% and 15% for two-wheel drive tractorsand 8% to 10% for four-wheel drive tractors. Wheelslippage outside this range means the tractor is notweighted properly. If wheel slippage is greater thanthe recommended amount when a heavy load ispulled, more weight should be added in the form ofcast iron wheel weights or fluid in the tires. Eitherform of weight is as effective as the other. If wheelslippage is less than the recommended amount, thetractor is carrying too much weight. This will causethe tires to sink in deeper than necessary and in-creases power requirements to move the tractoracross the field, resulting in lower efficiency.

• Avoid using small implements with large tractors.For most efficient operation, the implement shouldbe operated using the best matched tractor. If a larg-er tractor is used with small implements, use theprinciple of gearing up and throttling down to main-tain proper ground speed will reduce fuel consump-tion. Be careful to not overload the engine when us-ing this method.

rect rays of the sun andthe outside storage areashould not exceed 125° F.In the winter, the cylin-

ders should be protectedfrom accumulations ofice and snow.

When the cylinders arenot in service, or duringtransportation, the regu-lator must be removedand the protective capscrewed into place overthe valve to protect it.

When moving cylin-ders, it is best to trans-port them on a cart.They can be moved shortdistances by rolling themon their bottom edge.Cylinders should neverbe dragged over the floor.

If you would like moreinformation on this top-

ic, please contact us. NY-CAMH is available toprovide safety training atNew York farms on anyagricultural safety topicand we can also conductconfidential conductfarm safety surveys.These services are of-fered at no cost by agrant from the New YorkState Department of La-bor Hazard AbatementBoard. For more infor-mation, please contactJim Carrabba, Agricul-tural Safety Specialist at800-343-7527 extension239, or e-mail [email protected]. NY-CAMH, a program ofBassett Healthcare Net-work, is enhancing agri-cultural and rural healthby preventing and treat-ing occupational injuryand illness.ECONo more

hoeing!The weeder you must have!

- Adjustable 3pt. linkage- P.T.O. Driven- Requires no hydraulic

outlet on the tractor- Eliminates 95% of any

length of weeds- Can work around and

between the plants- Adjustable wheels for

different cultivations- Eliminates the need of

herbicides for weeding

Roeters Farm Eq., Inc.565 E. 120th St., Grant, MI 49327

231-834-7888 www.roetersfarmequipment.com

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PENNS CREEK MFG.1340 Broadway Rd., Winfield, PA 17889

1-570-837-1197www.pennscreekwelding.com

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Tractor and field operations energy efficiency checklist

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The paper chain pottransplanting system isa unique, ingenious,and highly efficientmeans to transplantvegetables, flowers andherbs. It is unlike anytransplanter used inthe U.S. or Europe. Ithas no motor and ispulled by hand. It al-lows a single person totransplant as many as264 plants in less thana minute. This is ac-complished whilestanding upright thuseliminating countlesshours spent kneeling,crawling, or stooping.

The system relies onplanting into paper potsthat are in a chain. Be-cause the pots are in achain, they feed them-selves through the trans-planter. A new flat of pa-per pots comes com-pressed and is openedusing a set of metalopening rods and aframe. The most com-mon paper pot flats have

264 cells. Seeding a pa-per pot flat can be doneby hand but seeders areavailable that seed anentire flat at a time.

Once the seedlingsare ready to be trans-planted and soil pre-pared, the transplanteris pulled into a bed tobegin creating a furrow.A tray of seedlings isplaced on the trans-planter platform andone end of the paperpot chain is pulleddown into the furrow. Anarrow metal stake isinserted through thefirst cell into the soil tosecure the start of thepaper chain. Then thetransplanter is pulleddown the bed and allthe seedlings go intothe ground, one afterthe other. Small metalflanges at the rear ofthe transplanter pushsoil over the paper potsand packing wheelstamp the soil.

The paper pot system

is ideally suited to close-ly spaced crops, espe-cially onions, leeks, scal-lions, and shallots. Thisis because in-row spac-ing is determined by thelength of the paper chainconnecting each cell.Currently, paper chainpots are available thatresult in 2 inch, 4 inchand 6 inch in-row spac-ing. The system alsoworks very well forspinach, various Asiangreens, and many typesof cut flowers. Othercrops that can be growninclude chard, kohlrabi,basil, cilantro, beets,corn, peas, beans, andlettuce. By skippingcells, it is also possible toplant crops like broccoliand kale.

The paper chain potsystem was invented inJapan and is currentlybeing imported to NorthAmerica by Small FarmWorks (www.smallfarm-works.com). A video ofthe transplanter in ac-

tion can be viewed at ourweb site. A video demon-strating how to open, fill,and seed the paper potflats is also available.

The paper chain pottransplanting system isan economical optionfor vegetable growersbecause it can substan-tially reduce laborcosts. It also enableshoophouse growers toexpand the number ofplantings in a season(due to transplantingnormally direct seededcrops). Another benefitis achieving higher den-sity stands of crops thatgerminate better in con-trolled conditions (in agreenhouse of germina-tion chamber) ratherthan field conditions.

For more information,contact John Hendrick-son at [email protected] or 920-927-7362 or N1749Yerges Road, Reeseville,WI 53579.

• Constantly variabletransmissions (CVT) or in-finitely variable transmis-sions (IVT) are new tech-nologies that help improvefuel efficiency by usingelectronic control of trans-mission and engine speedfor most efficient opera-tion. The operator sets theoperation speed, and thecontroller determines en-gine speed and transmis-sion setting based onload. These systems auto-matically perform shiftup/throttle down

• Don’t leave engineheaters plugged inovernight, if possible.

Diesel tractor enginesgenerally require 1 to 2hours of heater opera-tion before cold weatherstarts. A 1000-watt en-gine heater will cost$150 dollar a season touse (based on 10 hoursper night, and$0.10/KWh, heatingseason 150 days long).Operating that same1000-watt heater foronly 2 hours each morn-ing will save $120, morethan enough to pay forthe cost of the timer.

This article is an ex-cerpt from Tractor andField Operations Energy

Efficiency Checklist byJohn Nowatzki, NorthDakota State Universityand Carl Pedersen,North Dakota State Uni-versity. To view the en-tire article, visit www.ex-

t e n s i o n .org/pages/31200/trac-tor-and-field-operations-energy-efficiency-check-list-and-tips

Source: www.exten-sion.org

Small Farm WorksPlant over 250 seedlings in less

than a minute with the paper chainpot transplanter. See the video at

N1749 Yerges, Reeseville, Wisconsin [email protected] 920-927-7362

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As the transplanter is pulled down the bed, theseedlings go into the ground, one after the other.

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BLACKSBURG, VA — For decades,scientists and farmers have attemptedto understand how a bacterialpathogen continues to damage toma-toes despite numerous agricultural at-tempts to control its spread.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato isthe causative agent of bacterial speckdisease of tomato (Solanum lycoper-sicum), a disease that occurs world-wide and causes severe reduction infruit yield and quality, particularlyduring cold and wet springs.

In the spring of 2010, for example,an outbreak in Florida and Californiadevastated the harvest in those areas.

“There is not much that can be donefrom a farming standpoint,” said BorisVinatzer, associate professor of plantpathology, physiology and weed sciencein the College of Agriculture and LifeSciences, www.cals.vt.edu/, at VirginiaTech, and an affiliated faculty memberwith the Fralin Life Science Institute.“First, farmers try to use seed that isfree of the pathogen to prevent disease

outbreaks. Then, there are some dis-ease-resistant tomato cultivars, but thepathogen has overcome this resistanceby losing the gene that allowed theseresistant plants to recognize it and de-fend themselves. For the rest, there arepesticides but the pathogen has be-come resistant against them.”

So how exactly has the pathogenevolved to consistently evade eradica-tion efforts? This is where sciencesteps in, and a copy of the bacterialpathogen’s game plan is crucial.

Thanks to the collaborative work ofVinatzer, Virginia Bioinformatics Insti-tute, www.vbi.vt.edu/, computer sci-entist Joao Setubal, statistician Scot-land Leman, and their students, thegenome of several Pseudomonas syri-nage pv. tomato isolates have been se-quenced in order to track the bacterialpathogen’s ability to overcome plantdefenses and to develop methods toprevent further spread.

Their findings were recently pub-lished in the August 2011 issue of

PLoS Pathogens, a peer reviewed open-access journal published by the PublicLibrary of Science.

The research team has studied thepathogen for nearly five years. In2007, with resources from the Vir-ginia Bioinformatics Institute and theFralin Life Science Institute, Vinatzersequenced the genome ofPseudomonas syringae pv. tomato us-ing a Roche GS-FLX™ sequencer atthe Virginia Bioinformatics Institute.

In 2008, Vinatzer received a $1 mil-lion, five-year Faculty Early Career De-velopment (CAREER) Award from theNational Science Foundation to contin-

ue investigation of the pathogen. Short-ly thereafter, he brought Setubal, a for-mer Virginia Tech faculty member whorecently went to work for the Universi-ty of Sao Paulo in Brazil, and Leman,assistant professor of statistics at Vir-ginia Tech, onto the project to handlethe bioinformatics and statistical as-pects of the research, respectively.

First, the scientists needed to mapchanges in the bacterial pathogen overlarge spans of time. They comparedDNA sequences of bacteria isolated inmultiple years, dating back to 1960

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Tomato pathogen’s tricks of the trade unraveled

Thanks to the collaborative work of Virginia Tech’s Boris Vinatzer, above, and otherresearchers the genome of several bacterial pathogen isolates have been se-quenced in order to track their ability to overcome tomato plant defenses and to de-velop methods to prevent further spread.

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The 2012 Empire State Fruit andVegetable Expo and Direct MarketingConference, will be held Jan. 24-26,

2012 at the On Center in Syracuse,NY. More than 1,500 growers, re-searchers and industry professionals

flocked to the 2011 Expo featuring ed-ucational seminars and a large tradeshow.

2012 sessions will include: FlowerProduction, Flower Marketing, Labor,Potatoes, Tree Fruit, Tomatoes andPeppers, Cultural Controls, DirectMarketing, Pesticide Safety, VineCrops, Leafy Greens, Cover Crops, SoilHealth, Reduce Tillage, Berry Crops,Cabbage and other Cole Crops, FoodSafety, Onions, Garlic, Peas and Snap

Beans, Greenhouse and Tunnels, Pes-ticide Safety, and Sweet Corn.

The 2012 Becker Forum will focuson: Farming in a Non-Farmer World:Building Trust, Engaging Communi-ties and Finding Common Ground.

Joining the Expo this year will beNYS Flower Industries Inc.

“We are excited. We definitely willhave to start thinking about changing

and stored since then ininternational culturecollections. Setubal,along with Nalvo Almei-da, an associate profes-sor at the Federal Uni-versity of Mato Grossodo Sul, provided auto-mated genome annota-tion and helped Vinatzer

with identification andanalysis of mutationsthat distinguished thesequenced genomes.

“One of the questionswe asked was, ‘did thebacteria isolated in 2000directly evolve from thebacteria isolated in1975, or did they evolve

independently from anancestor that lived fur-ther back in time, maybe100 to 200 years ago?’”said Vinatzer.

To answer this ques-tion, Leman, Vinatzer,and Rongman Cai of Lix-ian, China, a graduatestudent in VirginiaTech’s Department ofPlant Pathology, Physiol-ogy, and Weed Science,used statistical methodsto correlate the differ-ences in the DNA se-quences between the iso-lated bacteria with theyears in which they wereisolated to determine ifthe bacteria progressive-ly became more differentfrom the first bacteriaisolated in 1960.

The research teamfound that the pathogenlikely evolved on a rela-tively recent time scaleand continues to adaptto the tomato by mini-mizing its recognition bythe tomato immune sys-tem. This suggests thatnew pathogen variantswith increased virulenceare spreading aroundthe globe unobserved,presenting a potentialthreat to biosecurity. Ul-timately, it calls for moreprecise methods ofpathogen identificationto replace outdated taxo-nomic descriptions thatwere established at atime when it was impos-sible to classify bacteriaprecisely because thenecessary moleculartechniques had not beendeveloped yet.

This particularpathogen is important tostudy because “it hasbeen used as a modelpathogen by many labsaround the world and iseconomically significantbecause it reducedtomato quality andyield,” said Vinatzer.

Currently, Vinatzer isextending the researchproject to investigatewhere the pathogen orig-inally evolved, how it isspreading around theglobe, and what can bedone to interfere with itsspread, including howthe tomato might be en-gineered to be more re-sistant to the pathogen.

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our name. With the addi-tion of Flower Industrysessions, and the DirectMarketing sessionsbringing in a speaker onlivestock direct market-ing, plus our labor ses-sions which will also beimportant to dairymen,the name Empire StateFruit and Vegetable Expo2012 just doesn’t cover itall,” laughs Marvin.

On Jan. 25, 2012 aspart of the Fruit and Veg-etable Expo, New YorkState Flower Industrieswill offer an afternoon ofgreenhouse topics. Thesession will cover a widerange of topics with ex-citing speakers. The ses-sions will include: Cul-tural Tips for GrowingProven Winners by Jessi-ca Boldt from PleasantView Gardens; VegetableVarieties for BeddingPlant Sales by Bill Rus-sell from Harris Seed;Save Time for Green-house Sanitation by Bet-sy Lamb from the NYSIPM program; New PlantVarieties and Opportuni-ties for 2012 by DonBrown from Griffin; andan Update on Peat MossAvailability and Alterna-tives in Transplant Pro-duction with Neil Matt-son from Cornell. Joinus for the session andvisit the huge agricultur-al trade show.

Labor Sessions moveto the Expo

“The past severalyears, we’ve covered la-bor issues at the BeckerForum. In 2012, we arebringing the labor dis-cussion to the main Exposite at the On Center.This will give those inter-ested in labor a chance toattend DEC and CCA eli-gible sessions as well asa chance to visit ouramazing trade show,”adds Marvin.

This year’s Expo willfeature select sessionspresented in Spanish.

Trickle IrrigationWorkshop SessionsWondering if you are

getting the most bang foryour buck from your irri-gation system?

To find out, join othersuccessful growers andlearn about Trickle orDrip Irrigation systems.During this session onWednesday, Jan. 25,vegetable, fruit andflower growers fromacross the state willlearn how to design atrickle system from ex-pert Rob Rider of OANewton Irrigation Sys-

tems in Bridgeville, DE. Dr. Steve Reiners of

the NYSAES at CornellUniversity will discusshow to know when towater and how to deter-mine when crops havehad enough. Bring yourpencils because youwill be asked to do a lit-tle math in this hands-on session.

Penn State ExtensionSpecialist Steve Bogashwill talk about addingnutrients or “fertigation”of vegetable crops andseveral growers fromacross the state will dis-cuss how they use thislow input, water savingmode of irrigation totheir advantage on theirown farms.

Berry Growers Gather

Join berry growersfrom across the state aton Thursday, Jan. 26.This day long programfeatures national expertDr. Barclay Poling fromNorth Carolina Statespeaking on StrawberryPlasticulture systems.Growing strawberries onblack plastic mulch iscommonplace for grow-ers outside of the North-east, and is rapidly be-coming more importantfor New York state grow-ers as they raise moreday neutral berries andalso try to control weedpests with fewer herbi-cides. Cornell Universityentomologist Dr. GregLoeb will also share in-formation about control-ling insects in the longer

season day-neutralstrawberry systems.Growers from across thestate will share their ex-periences with plasticul-ture systems as well.

Bird control is one ofthe primary problemsfor berry growers na-tionwide. National ex-perts Dr. Alan Eatonfrom the University ofNew Hampshire andMartin Lowney from theUSDA Wildlife Servicewill share bird manage-ment strategies andmake you aware of thelegalities of bird controlprograms. Growers willshare information aboutusing netting effectivelyin berry plantings.

Cornell University re-searchers Dr. Kerik Cox,

Dr. Greg Loeb and Dr.Marvin Pritts will startthe final session of theday with a discussion ofsome newer chemicalsthat have been intro-duced for use on berriesin New York state. Thisdiscussion will alsotouch on some of thematerials that may beused on Brown Mar-morated Stink Bug andSpotted WingedDrosophila, two new in-vasive pests that werefound this year in theNew York.

The day will closewith some new researchinformation on High

Tunnel production ofraspberries and black-berries. Dr. MarvinPritts, Dr. Courtney We-ber and Dr. Greg Loeb,all from Cornell, willtalk about the potentialof bramble crops in hightunnel production.

A special feature ofthe Berry Day at theExpo is a GrowerRoundtable. The topicfor the informal discus-sion is “Tools thatmake berry growingeasier.” Growers are in-vited to bring photos,small equipment or any

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ideas to share with thegroup. John Shenk ofEco-Weeder fame willbe present to talkabout his equipmentwith the group.

Another addition thisyear is a small postersession that will be heldin the East Ballroomwhere the main sessionsare held. Cornell re-searchers will have a fewposters that discusstheir latest research onview for berry growers.

Hotel Deals — BookEarly

This year, the best ho-tel deal in town will be atthe Genesee Grande, lo-cated just blocks fromthe On Center Expo siteand Syracuse University.A special Expo rate of$85 per night is boundto book the hotel early,so be sure to make yourreservations now. Visithttps://www.reserva-t i o n s - p a g e . c o m /C00264/H01405/be.ash

x?pc=ESFVG to book orcall 800-365-HOME. Tellthem you’re coming forthe Expo.

Other featured hotelsThe Holiday Inn Syra-

cuse - Liverpool. Home tothe Becker Forum andlocated right off the NYSThruway. This hotel hasregular shuttle service tothe Expo main site. Showspecial $92 per night.Call 800-Holiday to book.

Staybridge Suites, Liv-erpool. Attached to the

Holiday Inn. Suites startat $102 per night Expospecial. Call 800-Holidayto book.

The Crowne PlazaSyracuse. Located justblocks from the Exposite. Shuttle serviceavailable upon re-quest. Expo special$93 per night. Call(800) 227-6963.

The Expo website hasa new look and so muchmore.

The website for the2012 Expo, www.nysv-

ga.org, will be hosted un-der the NYS VegetableGrowers for the firsttime. But that’s not theonly change. The Website will be able toprocess registrationsand take credit card pay-ments from attendees.

“In the past, registra-tions were all done byhand. Imagine typing inover 1,000 credit cardnumbers?” notes Marvin.“Registration will also beeasier for attendees.Click, click, click, pay-ment accepted and we’llsee you at the show!”

The 2011 Empire State

Fruit and Vegetable Expois sponsored by the NewYork State VegetableGrowers Association,Empire State PotatoGrowers, New York StateBerry Growers Associa-tion, New York StateFarmers’ Direct Market-ing Association, NewYork State HorticulturalSociety, Cornell Univer-sity and Cornell Cooper-ative Extension.

For more information,contact the NYS Veg-etable Growers at [email protected] orcall 315-986-9320.

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See us At The GREAT LAKES EXPODec. 6-8, 2011 Booth #1210

New Blackmore 84 T Ellepot features community watering

The New Blackmore Company 84 T Ellepot™ 25mm stock No. 8895 tray featurescommunity watering, label ramps on each end, fluted cell walls for added strengththat also channel water and roots and help “lock in” Ellepots™ during shipping. Acreased side edge also gives the tray extra strength. The depth is 1 inch, footprintis 10-by-20 inches and the soil volume is 22cc. Contact Blackmore at 800-874-8660or [email protected], or www.blackmoreco.com.

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New York State Agri-culture CommissionerDarrel J. Aubertine re-cently alerted New York’sgarlic growers that Stemand Bulb Nematode(Ditylenchus dipsaci), aserious pest of garlic andother crops, has beenfound in the state on im-ported seed garlic. Firstspotted by Cornell Coop-erative Extension veg-etable specialist ChristyHoepting in OrleansCounty in June 2010,the microscopic stemand bulb (bloat) nema-tode (Ditylenchus dip-saci) has now been iden-tified in garlic seed andsoil samples from 17New York counties.

The commissioner pro-vided advice to growerson options to help pro-tect their crop, which isscheduled to be plantedthis month. The presenceof Stem and Bulb Nema-tode, also known as theBloat Nematode, in seedshipments destined forNew York state has beenconfirmed by U.S. Cus-toms and Border Protec-tion (CBP) AgriculturalSpecialists. Once estab-

lished, Stem and BulbNematode will cause asignificant decline in pro-duction and, at times,death of the plants.

“Garlic is an importantcrop in New York. It is avaluable crop that hasseen production in-crease,” said Aubertine.“But, this pest presentsa real threat to our garliccrop. Growers need tounderstand the threatand take precautions.”

The U.S. Departmentof Agriculture’s Animaland Plant Health Inspec-tion Service (APHIS) con-tinues to work with CBPto identify and addresspathways by which thisnematode may enter theUnited States. Given thepotential economic im-pact of this pest, APHIShas initiated a review todetermine appropriateways to prevent furtherspread within the U.S.

The Stem and BulbNematode is a micro-scopic worm that cancause yellowing anddeath to garlic plants.Some host crops can ex-perience swelling anddistortion of plant parts

and rotting of stembases. While the nema-tode poses no risk to

human health, it can af-fect international tradeof certain commodities.

It is also nearly impossi-ble to eliminate becauseit can survive on a rangeof other hosts, as well asthe soil itself. Otherhost crops includeonions, potatoes, alfalfa,strawberries and orna-mental plants.

To help prevent Stemand Bulb Nematode fromentering the country andimpacting our local crop,growers should alwaysrequire a valid phytosan-itary certificate whenthey purchase foreignseed. If growers haveconcerns about a ship-ment of seed, theyshould contact their lo-

cal Cornell CooperativeExtension agent to havethe seed tested. Garlicgrowers can also reachout to Cooperative Ex-tension for testing to re-ceive confirmation that acrop is nematode free.

The Department hasalso provided a $69,122grant to the New YorkState Agricultural Exper-iment Station in Genevafor testing and analysisof garlic seed. The grantwill also assist with de-

See Us At The Great Lakes Expo, Booth 610

Blackmore’s new 21 count loose-fill tray is the “stan-dard” 11-by-21 inches size. It is intended for landscap-ing use and/or woody ornamental type production.Thetray features label ramps at each end, tapered conecell design with fluted sidewalls for strength and to actas an air conduit to the root zone. The new tray is No.6 RPS and may be recycled. Contact Blackmore toll-free 800-874-8660 USA/Canada or on the webwww.blackmoreco.com for more information.

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Garlic growers warned to beware of imported nematode

Cornell nematologist George S. Abawi, left, with ex-tension associate Robert Hadad checking garlic inthe field. Garlic C13

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termining the extent of this pest’spresence in New York.

Garlic Seed Foundation DirectorDavid Stern says the help will be in-valuable to fighting “a real problemthat starts slow but grows exponential-ly, and the next year can decimateyour crop.”

Some growers have suffered up to 80percent crop loss, costing them severalthousand dollars, as garlic can retailfor more than $10 a pound. The para-site also affects onions, leeks, chives,celery, some varieties of peas and let-tuce and other plants; more than 120plants can serve as a host.

“Ten percent of all New York veg-etable farms report growing garlic. Its

high value per acre makes garlic a fi-nancially important aspect of our veg-etable industry,” said extension spe-cialist Crystal Stewart.

Bloat nematode-infected plants arestunted, with yellow, limp leaves andsuffer premature defoliation. Bulbsgradually discolor to dark brown, andbecome soft, lightweight and cracked.

Young nematodes feed on leaves,stems and bulbs, and adults move intothe soil once plant tissues become toodegraded. They can then spread to newsites through planting material, oncontaminated equipment and by irri-gation and surface water runoff.

Cornell nematologist George S.Abawi, Ph.D. '70, said farmers can lim-

it the pest's distribution and damagethrough crop rotation, debris removal,hot water washing of field equipmentand moist soils, as the nematode likesdry conditions.

“Garlic growers must take a holisticapproach to production, from site se-lection and pest control to proper har-vesting and storage, and must nottransport infected seed or planting ma-terial,” Abawi said.

Hoepting warned that even “perfect-looking” bulbs can have low levels ofnematode that eventually cause prob-lems during production, so it is impor-tant to use clean seed. Abawi saidclean soil is equally important, so both

should be tested.“Growers do not help themselves by

planting clean seed in infestedground,” he added.

For more information about how tosubmit soil and seed samples for test-ing, contact Abawi [email protected] .Cornell Coopera-tive Extension held three meetingslast year where growers expressedtheir concerns regarding the possiblepresence of Stem and Bulb Nematode.The Garlic Seed Foundation has alsobeen hearing from growers. Accordingto David Stern, Director of the Foun-dation, “We are hearing from an in-

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JANUARY• Winter Trade Show Issue

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• Since 1991 •

Starting December 2005

• Since 2001 •

Country Folks

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creasing number ofgrowers regarding prob-lems with their garliccrop due to this Nema-tode. The attention tothis issue by NYSDAM,Cooperative Extension,CBP, APHIS and Dr.George Abawi, with hiswork at Cornell, isgreatly appreciated! Welook forward to workingwith them to addresswhat is becoming a very

serious problem for gar-lic growers.”

In follow up, U.S. Cus-toms and Border Protec-tion (CBP) initiated Op-eration Stem Bloat Ne-matode, where they sam-pled all imported ship-ments of garlic for seedand found 40-50 percentof the shipments wereinfested with the nema-tode. “We were surprisedat the volume of ship-

ments found to be infest-ed with this nematode,given how clean and dis-ease-free the garliccloves appeared”, saidAnn Marie Paul, CBP As-sistant Director of FieldOperations, Buffalo, NY.

These findings initiat-

ed a temporary changein national protocol onseed garlic entering thecountry from Canada byrequiring all shipmentsto be sampled and test-ed for the presence ofthis nematode.

According to the 2007

U.S. Census of Agricul-ture, New York has 330garlic farms that dedi-cate 306 acres to garlicproduction. Garlic pro-duction is up consider-ably since 1992 whenthe state only reported11 acres grown. The

vast majority of the gar-lic grown in New Yorkstate is marketed freshand is valued at $24.5million. New York Stateis fourth in the nation interms of acreage devot-ed to garlic production.

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Garlic from C13

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Gov. Martin O’-Malley received approval from U.S. De-partment of Agriculture SecretaryThomas Vilsack for Maryland’s requestfor a disaster designation for wide-spread crop losses due to extremeweather conditions this year, which in-cluded excessive heat, drought, anddamage resulting from Hurricane Ireneand Tropical Storm Lee.

“Because farmers throughout mostof Maryland experienced significantcrop losses, we requested a disasterdesignation and thank Secretary Vil-sack for granting it,” said O’Malley. “Itis our hope that the designation willprovide relief to the farmers who needit and help them prepare for the nextgrowing season.”

“From April through October, Mary-

land farmers experienced widespreadcrop losses due to a variety of extremeweather conditions ranging from exces-sive heat, drought and flooding,” saidBuddy Hance, secretary of the Mary-land Department of Agriculture. “Farm-ers in the disaster designation areas ex-perienced market value losses exceed-ing 30 percent.”

This designation makes farm opera-tors in the 15 primary counties —Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester,Frederick, Howard, Kent, Montgomery,Queen Anne's, St. Mary's, Somerset,Talbot, Washington, Wicomico andWorcester — as well as the counties ofAllegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore,Carroll, Charles, Harford, PrinceGeorge's, and the independent city ofBaltimore — eligible to be considered

for assistance from the USDA FarmService Agency, provided eligibility re-quirements are met. Farmers musthave purchased crop insurance on eli-gible crops to qualify for USDA disas-ter assistance programs.

This assistance includes USDA FarmService Agency (FSA) emergency loansand the Supplemental Revenue Assis-tance Payments (SURE) Program. Farm-ers in eligible counties have eight

months from the date of a secretarialdisaster declaration to apply for emer-gency loan assistance. FSA will consid-er each emergency loan application onits own merits, taking into account theextent of production losses, securityavailable and repayment ability. SUREProgram applications for 2011 croplosses will be accepted in 2012, whenthe 2011 farm revenue data required bystatute becomes available.

Maryland receives federal crop disaster designation for 15 counties

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