Granite State Times

News 

FRSAN-NE Farm Financial Counseling Discussion: Losing the Contract; Farmer financial counseling through the pivot. [Online]

Fri. Sept. 10

10:00am-11:30am

The recent news that Danone, the parent company of Horizon Organics, is terminating the contracts of 79 dairy farmers across New England is the latest in a long series of situations where farmers face difficult decisions when a company choses to terminate their contract. Once limited to chickens and hogs produced under production contracts, these corporate decisions to cut off regions of farmers have now been seen in organic milk, specialty meats, and a series of other products.  When a farmer loses a market they have taken on significant debt to serve, there are a series of issues that determine the ability of the farmer to pivot to a new market, a new product, or even keep their home and land.

This will be a discussion group for farm advisors (especially financial counselors)  and will address specific production, financial and human issues that determine the options available to farmers facing a significant market disruption, including debt load, specificity of equipment, scale of markets and entrepreneurial experience. 

Please register in advance for this meeting here. 

$700 million in competitive grant funding will be available through the new Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR).

The program will provide relief to farmworkers, meatpacking workers, and front-line grocery workers for expenses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This relief is intended to defray costs for reasonable and necessary personal, family, or living expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as costs for personal protective equipment (PPE), dependent care, and expenses associated with quarantines and testing related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This aligns with the Administration’s efforts to revitalize the economy and provide relief to historically underserved communities. The Request for Application (RFA) will be announced in early Fall and will be open for 60 days. Additional information and technical assistance for applying to these grants and program updates will be provided by USDA when the application period opens.

For more information here.

Commercial Sweet Corn Growers: We Need Your Feedback!

The purpose of this survey is to prioritize research and extension efforts for improving corn earworm management in sweetcorn throughout the Northeast. Results will be used in the development of a grant proposal for a project to address these needs.

This survey should only take 15-20 minutes or less to complete. This survey is open to sweet corn producers, crop consultants, Extension personnel and others who make sweet corn pest management decisions or provide management recommendations.

Represent New England pest management needs by filling out this survey.

Thurs., Sept. 9

5-7pm

The Grafton County Farm has teamed up with UNH Extension and the Grafton County Conservation District to install a cover crop demonstration in the vegetable field behind the farmstand.  We have a mix of cover crops suitable for vegetable and dairy systems.  Please join us for a discussion about the benefits but also the very real challenges of growing cover crops.

Species we are growing include:

• Sweet Yellow Clover • Crimson Clover • Phacelia • Radish • Teff • Barley • Sunn Hemp • Japanese Millet • Oats and Peas • Sorghum • Sunflower 

This meeting is free and  will be in person at the Farmstand at the Grafton County Complex in North Haverhill.

2 NH Pesticide Applicator Recertification Credits have been approved for this meeting.

Contact Heather Bryant for more information at heather.bryant@unh.edu or 787-6944 

More details here.

Workshop Dates and Topics:

  • 9/09/2021: Biostimulants: Tools to Improve Growth and Plant Health • 9/16/2021: Managing Winter Injury to Trees and Shrubs 

 1 NH Pesticide Applicator Recertification Credit has been applied for, for each of the webinars.

 More details and to register here.

Blueberry IPM Meeting

Fri., Sept. 10,

2-4pm

Topics to be covered include: Plantings/Varieties, IPM strategies including: bird and insect netting, mulching, herbicides, insecticides, insect lures and traps, weather station and NEWA network, the Conservation Innovation netting project and pollinator habitat.

 PAT Recertification Credits pending

More details and registration here.

Fri., Oct. 5

12:00pm-1:00pm

Join Northeast SARE Farmer Grant Program coordinator Candice Huber for this webinar that will review who is eligible to apply, the types of projects it funds, how to apply and more. Faith Gilbert of Letterbox Farm will share her experiences applying for and managing SARE grants.

Register here.

See the full schedule and register here.

Food Safety for Poultry & Rabbit Producers [Online]

Initial Class

Nov, 16,17, & 18

9-10:30am

$25 per person

New Hampshire producers can sell poultry and rabbits (up to 20,000 poultry and 1,000 rabbits per calendar year) directly to NH restaurants without USDA inspection. For producers to legally sell their products in this way, they must complete this initial certification course with UNH Cooperative Extension and recertify after five years. Topics for the November class include:

• Regulations • Facilities & Equipment • Health Animals • Cleaning & Sanitizing • Personal Hygiene • Temperature Control • Labeling & Recordkeeping • Steps to CertificationClick here to register for this class.

Recertification Class

Available 24/7 online

$20.00 per person

This recertification program fulfills the education requirement specified in the rules and will help producers continue their working plan for providing safe meat products for this market.

The course is for recertification purposes only. 

The recertification course contains three sections, please work through each section in chronological order. Each section contains a video lecture, a short quiz to complete, and a list of resources for your reference. Once you have completed each section you will be emailed a certificate which you can then use to re-register with the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture Markets and Food 

Click here to register for recertification.

For more information, contact Ann.Hamilton@unh.edu or  Elaina.Enzien@unh.edu

Products Map