Project Overview
Commodities
- Agronomic: corn, grass (misc. perennial), hay
- Fruits: berries (other), berries (strawberries), melons
- Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), lentils, onions, parsnips, peas (culinary), peppers, rutabagas, sweet corn, tomatoes, turnips, brussel sprouts
- Additional Plants: herbs, ornamentals
- Animals: poultry, goats, sheep, swine
- Animal Products: dairy
Practices
- Animal Production: parasite control, animal protection and health, herbal medicines, homeopathy, manure management, mineral supplements, grazing - multispecies, pasture fertility, preventive practices, grazing - rotational, watering systems, winter forage, feed/forage
- Crop Production: biological inoculants, cover crops, intercropping, municipal wastes, nutrient cycling, organic fertilizers
- Education and Training: technical assistance, demonstration, farmer to farmer
- Farm Business Management: new enterprise development, budgets/cost and returns, community-supported agriculture, marketing management, feasibility study, agricultural finance, value added, whole farm planning
- Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, habitat enhancement, hedgerows, riparian buffers, riverbank protection, wetlands, wildlife
- Pest Management: biological control, cultural control, physical control, prevention, weed ecology
- Production Systems: transitioning to organic, holistic management
- Soil Management: composting, green manures, organic matter, soil quality/health
- Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, partnerships, public participation, urban agriculture, analysis of personal/family life
Proposal abstract:
This project will conduct a series of half-day, small-group farm visits as a component of the 2005 Women’s Sustainable Agriculture Conference, to be held October 21-23, 2005. The conference will bring together approximately 350 farmers and agricultural service providers from around the nation to share educational and organization strategies and build technical and business skills aimed at expanding the number of sustainable farms owned and operated by women. The primary project activity is farmer-to-farmer networking (outreach), but it will also extend results from previously conducted farm-based research. These small-group tours will visit farms where the operator has participated in Women’s Agricultural Network (WAgN) programs and/or the Northeast SARE Farmer Grant Program.
Project objectives from proposal:
Traveling by van, each tour will visit one or two farms. Participants will learn about farm operations, integrating marketing, business development, and decision-making strategies with production topics. On farms where the operator has conducted SARE-supported on-farm research, results will be shared. Participants will leave the tour inspired by the farmers they’ve visited, acquired new knowledge, and make meaningful connections with others who are working on the same issues in their communities. We anticipate that one-third of the conference attendees, or about 120 people, will participate in the farm visits and up to two-thirds of those individuals (about 60-80 people) will be from the northeast region.