1995 Annual Report for ENE95-009
A Video Training on Cultivation Featuring Talented Farmers - Their Weed Control Machines
Summary
Two high-quality videos describing cultivation equipment, techniques, and tacticsare proposed. These 45-minute videos will be educational and reference tools for extension personnel and other agencies in the Northeast who work with crop farmers.
This resource is needed because extension personnel lack sufficient knowledge about the technical aspects of cultivation to adequately advise organic growers as well sustainable and conventional growers interested in shifting from herbicides to cultivation. Cultivation is the most economical and effective alternative to herbicides and is becoming increasingly important to the operations of most vegetable growers. Regulatory and logistical pressures such as difficulty in obtaining labor, loss of herbicides for minor crops, and rotation considerations are causing growers to move toward non-chemical weed management practices. Growers presently have difficulty in obtaining detailed information on cultivation from extension and other sources. Extension personnel need exposure to what can be done with cultivation, and they need materials to use as resources in educating farmers. Video allows demonstrations of a variety of equipment in action. The two-part video proposed will be narrated by farmers. The farmers chosen for the videos are experienced cultivators from Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. These farmers will demonstrate a range of commonly-used and innovative equipment, discuss and use and adjustment of these machines, and impart ideas on strategies for cultivating that produce effective, economical weed control.