Project Overview
FNE07-600
Project Type: Farmer
Funds awarded in 2007: $9,054.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2007
Region: Northeast
State: Maine
Project Leader:
Commodities
- Agronomic: barley, canola, corn, millet, oats, potatoes, rapeseed, rye, spelt, soybeans, sugarbeets, wheat
- Fruits: melons
- Vegetables: sweet potatoes, artichokes, beans, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), onions, parsnips, peas (culinary), peppers, rutabagas, sweet corn, tomatoes, turnips, brussel sprouts
- Additional Plants: herbs, ornamentals
Practices
- Crop Production: continuous cropping, cover crops, double cropping, intercropping, multiple cropping
- Education and Training: demonstration, display, extension, farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, workshop
- Production Systems: general crop production
- Soil Management: green manures
- Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures
Proposal summary:
Current crop planning software is based on computer spreadsheets that lack flexibility for small-scale diversified farms. The lack of a flexible plan, on a spreadsheet that is cumbersome to maintain, can cause growers to have plantings slip off schedule, leading to gaps and erratic supplies of produce for marketing. This project will create an interactive software package that will allow growers to manipulate complex, involved crop plans. Outreach will be through articles, a web site, and several workshops throughout the Northeast.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.