Northeast

High Tunnel Winter Cropping Systems

A 40-minute presentation by Lewis Jett, West Virginia Extension Service, on the use of high tunnels for winter crop production. Download separate audio and slideshow files:Download audio (MP3, 15MB) Download slideshow (PDF, 10MB)

Vegetable Bedding Plants Pest Management

This University of Massachusetts web page has information on integrated pest management (IPM) and organic controls, two practical ways to effectively manage pests on vegetable bedding plants. Vegetable bedding plants are commonly grown in the Northeast as part of the spring sales mix. Although vegetable bedding plants may only be in the greenhouse for a […]

Getting Work Done Series

The legal classification of farm workers has many implications, including whether farmers must pay minimum wage, carry workers’ compensation, withhold and pay taxes, and more. A series of guides--one for each state in New England--are designed to help farmers better understand the legal definitions and criteria for classifying their workers. The guides walk readers through […]

Northeast SARE Announces 2021 Farmer Grant Awards

The Administrative Council of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program is pleased to announce that it has recently approved 29 Farmer Grant projects for funding, totaling $352,241. The Farmer Grant Program funds farmers to explore new ideas in sustainable agriculture on production, marketing, labor, farm succession, social capital and other topics. Projects […]

Spiders Provide Conservation Biological Control on Farms

Spiders were the focus of a Northeast SARE Graduate Student Research Grant project conducted by University of Maryland student Dylan Kutz. Kutz was interested in studying these undervalued yet important sources of natural insect control. He said, “Spiders are the most abundant natural enemy that occur in most agroecosystems and are estimated to globally consume […]

Webinar provides overview of Partnership Grant program

Northeast SARE grant coordinator Candice Huber provided information on the Partnership Grant program in a webinar held on March 2, 2021. She covered who is eligible and how to apply, topics that have been funded and how grant funds can and cannot be used. Candice also offered tips for writing a strong proposal and what […]

New Online Tool Helps Farmers Make Cover Crop Decisions

The Northeast Cover Crops Council (NECCC) recently released an online tool designed to support farm decision-making around cover crops. The Cover Crop Decision Support Tool is available at no cost at: http://covercrop.tools/. It includes a Cover Crop Explorer that provides in-depth information on more than 35 cover crop species. It also has a Species Selector […]

Northeast Cover Crop Decision Support Tool

The Northeast Cover Crops Council (NECCC) has created an online tool designed to support farm decision-making around cover crops. The tool includes a Cover Crop Explorer that provides in-depth information on more than 35 cover crop species. It also has a Species Selector that assists users in selecting individual cover crops based on plant hardiness […]

New Jersey Ethnic Demographics Map for Marketing Ethnic Produce

With funding from Northeast SARE, Rutgers University State SARE staff and their team worked to develop this interactive map to help inform ethnic crop production. The map couples demographic information of ethnic populations with crops that can be grown in New Jersey to market to specific geographical areas. The map makes use of publicly available […]

Problem Solving and Innovation on the Farm

This manual is designed to help farmers improve operations by combining problem-solving and experimentation with day-to-day farm management. The step-by-step process outlined is based on the know-how of experienced farmers who have developed innovative approaches for adapting their farms to changes. By explaining the techniques these farmer innovators use, the manual provides information on how […]

Good Food Farmers Network Guide

The guide, written by farmer Henry Corsun of Dog Wood Farm in Old Chatham NY, documents the work to develop Good Food Farmers Network as a replicable model of farmer-owned joint marketing and sales. The model was designed to require little start-up capital and utilizes nationally available resources to make it more readily available to […]

Shiitake Mushroom Cultivation in the Northeast United States

The guide, developed by farmer Willie Crosby of Fungi Ally, outlines the process of indoor and outdoor shiitake mushroom cultivation. It also includes results from strain research conducted through a Northeast SARE Farmer Grant. Table of Contents Introduction Strains and Spawn Sources Growing Shiitake Mushrooms on Logs Growing Shiitake Mushrooms on Supplemented Sawdust Getting Started […]

A Guide to Sharing Farm Equipment

Hudson Valley New York farmer Faith Gilbert of Letterbox Farm Collective wrote this guide for farmers, service providers, cooperators, and organizers of shared equipment pools. The guide covers an array of practical concerns for equipment sharing. Contents include case studies, a review of different ownership and management arrangements, financial considerations, annotated budgets, sample fee structures, […]

Sowing the Seeds of Justice Food Manual

This manual offers strategies and insights to help farmers run a small farm business that supports the needs of low-income communities. It is drawn from the lived experiences of farmers at Soul Fire Farm, a family farm working to end racial and economic injustice in the food system, and partner farms as well as research […]

Crediting Cover Crops and Soil Organic Matter in a Variable Rate Nitrogen Fertilizer Prescription

Crop growth depends on available nitrogen (N) in the soil, much of which comes from mineralization of soil organic matter and other organic residues, such as cover crops. The amount of mineralized N available to a crop depends on several biological and environmental factors such as temperature, moisture, soil texture, the total quantity of organic […]

Goldenberry Fact Sheet

The fact sheet, written by Edward Durner of the Department of Plant Biology at Rutgers University, provides an overview of goldenberry (Physalis peruviana L.). It includes a botanical description and basic information on production considerations.

Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus and Impatiens necrotic spot orthotospovirus

This fact sheet was written by Pennsylvania State University graduate student Juan Francisco Iturralde Martinez who studied molecular techniques for detecting the viruses: Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) and Impatiens necrotic spot orthotospovirus (INSV). The publication provides information and recommendations about the project's model virus TSWV and the closely related virus INSV that can be […]

Dried Flowers, Herbs and Cover Crops Sold as Seasonal Decoration

Monica Drazba of Chickadee Creek Farm in Pennington, New Jersey conducted a Northeast SARE Farmer Grant to study the production costs, required labor, marketability, and profitability of growing specialty cut flowers and grasses specifically for wreath production. As a result, she created a series of five fact sheets, below, that contain an analysis of the […]

Cordyceps Mushroom Cultivation in the Northeast United States

Cordyceps is currently one of the highest valued mushrooms cultivated in the world. The US market for cordyceps is rapidly growing in the supplemental and herbal markets. Willie Crosby of Fungi Ally, Montague, MA, studied basic production variables of cordyceps, including strain and container, on his farm. Results of the study informed this cultivation guide. […]

Baskets to Pallets Teaching Manual

The Baskets to Pallets Teaching Manual was written by Violet Stone, New York state SARE coordinator, as part of a state-based professional development program aimed at addressing the gap of tools to support farmers as they decide if, when and how to sell to a wholesale market. The Manual contains lessons plans and teaching resources that educators […]