Category Archives: Apples and Other Fruit

4th Annual Upper Midwest Hazelnut Growers Conference

March 1-2, Eau Claire

Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin hazelnut growers plan to convene this spring to share information on growing, processing and selling hazelnuts. Researchers from Ontario, New Jersey, Minnesota and Wisconsin will share their work on propogating commercial nuts from hybrid and native hazelnut stock, and various ways growers are marketing their crops.

For more information and to register, go to:

http://www.midwesthazelnuts.org/assets/files/2013%20Hazelnut%20Conference%20Brochure.pdf

hazelnut

 

 

The Equitable Food Initiative

Please share widely with your friends and colleagues!

The Equitable Food Initiative is hiring a Senior Advisor to engage major actors in the food industry to join the EFI.

The Equitable Food Initiative (www.equitablefood.net) is a consortium of major food buyers, growers, farm worker groups and consumer advocates to ensure dignified livelihoods for farm workers; a trained workforce and safer, more sustainable food. The co-chairs of the coalition are Oxfam America and the United Farm Workers of America.

The position will engage major actors in the food industry, other organizations and the public with the goal of strengthening the EFI program as well as providing steering for the design of field-based training, certification and verification.

The position will be based on the West Coast. To apply, see Positions at Oxfam America.

Peter O’Driscoll
Project Director
EquiTABLE Food Initiative
www.equitablefood.net

202-777-2933 (desk)
617-407-8171 (cell)

PODriscoll@OxfamAmerica.org

 

Building the Base of Your CSA: Legal Best Practices, Including Member, Volunteer, and Intern Agreements

Webinar: Monday, December 10th, 2012 at 6pm

Do you have a CSA program or are you planning to start one? Would you like guidance on how legal documents can help you achieve your CSA goals?

Farmers are invited to attend a webinar December 10th at 6pm to learn about the legal aspects of running a CSA and gain strategies for crafting a CSA member agreement to improve customer satisfaction and retention. This webinar will also discuss how to create meaningful volunteer opportunities with worker share or volunteer agreements, while also identifying potential legal risks. We will discuss setting up a CSA business, hiring interns and apprentices, and overall risk management strategies to build a CSA that can thrive.

CSA farmers, educators, and advocates are invited to attend. The legal principles discussed will be relevant to CSA farmers nationwide, although Wisconsin and Illinois examples will be emphasized for state-specific discussions.

Please register for this webinar at www.farmcommons.org.

After registering you will receive more information about how to log into the webinar. We are excited to use the University of Illinois’ user-friendly and interactive webinar presentation resources. It will be accessible for those on dial-up. Phone support will be available if you have any trouble accessing the presentation.

This webinar is presented by Professor A. Bryan Endres at the University of Illinois Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics and Rachel Armstrong of Farm Commons and the University of Illinois. It is hosted by the University of Illinois, Online and Continuing Education and funding is provided in part by the North Central Risk Management Education Center.

Want to sell wholesale?

Looking for a buyer? The Local Food Expo has a couple of display areas for you at its meeting next Tuesday, September 18. Hosted by the Institutional Food Marketing Coalition, this event brings buyers and sellers together to swap business cards and learn about their mutual interests and concerns around wholesaling food grown in our region. They are especially interested in meat and cheese vendors. To register for the meeting. reserve a display table or learn more, go to www.ifmwi.org. Register now!

Northeast Iowa Local Food Directories Available

The Northeast Iowa Buy Fresh Buy Local chapter announces the 2012 Local Food Directory is now available. The directory has been connecting consumers with direct marketing farmers for six years. Buying local products from farmers is good for you, your family, your community and the environment.

This year’s directories were printed in a unique partnership with Inspire(d) magazine, a local publication based out of Decorah, Iowa. Inspire(d) covers positive news in the Driftless Region – Northeast Iowa, Southeast Minnesota, and Western Wisconsin and can be picked up for free at more than 100 locations across the region. Directories are also available online at www.iowafreshfood.com – click on Finding Local Food.

The Northeast Iowa Buy Fresh Buy Local Chapter is part of the Northeast Iowa Food & Farm (NIFF) Coalition and the Food & Fitness Initiative (FFI). Together, they are working to create community environments that support access to fresh, locally-grown food. More information about these programs can be found at www.iowafoodandfitness.org.

The Buy Fresh – Buy Local guide for the Dubuque region is in production and should be available shortly.

2012 Fruit and Vegetable Field Day

2012 Fruit and Vegetable Field Day

July 23, 2012, 8:30am – 3:00pm
ISU Horticulture Research Station (near Gilbert, IA)

A field day highlighting Iowa State University fruit and vegetable research is planned for July 23 at the ISU Horticulture Research Station near Gilbert. Organizers say the field day will be of interest to commercial producers, small-scale growers, master gardeners and home gardeners.

The field day will feature research-based information on a variety of topics including biochar, apple root stocks and training systems, organic production, and high-tunnel fruit and vegetable production. It is scheduled to run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., giving vegetable and fruit producers ample information to enhance their skills and diversify gardens and acreages.

During the afternoon session a panel of growers, researchers, agriculture professionals and extension personnel will discuss current and future needs of the fruit and vegetable industry in Iowa. Also showcased will be a student-run vegetable enterprise geared towards developing entrepreneurial and business skills. The Department of Horticulture and Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture will partner with the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association to sponsor the event.

“We firmly believe that strong grower-researcher collaboration is needed to address ongoing issues and challenges, and develop new ideas for fruit and vegetable research in Iowa,” said Ajay Nair, extension vegetable specialist.

The $25 field day registration fee includes lunch, refreshment breaks and abstracts of ongoing research projects. Online registration is available at http://www.aep.iastate.edu/hort Early registration for the field day is $25 through midnight, July 16. Late registration or at the gate will be $35. To assist with meal and facility planning, advance registration is greatly appreciated.

Contact: Ajay Nair, Horticulture, (515) 294-7080.

From the EcoApple team at CIAS:

EcoApple Scouting Workshop Series: June 26, 28, 29

Exciting news!

The IPM Institute, CIAS, and Threshold IPM will be putting on a series of hands-on scouting workshops in late June at three orchards around Wisconsin. The workshops are designed to teach participants specific scouting techniques for primary pests, secondary pests, and beneficials and learn how to apply those techniques in making critical orchard management decisions.

Workshop dates and locations (all will be held from 12:30-6pm):

Tuesday, June 26 — LaCrescent, MN (managed full-organic)

Thursday, June 28 — Poynette, WI (managed half-organic/half-conventional)

Friday, June 29 – Gibbsville, WI (near Sheboygan) (managed full-conventional)

The workshops are coming up soon, so please get your registration fee in as soon as you can.
See the full brochure with registration instructions here.

PLEASE NOTE: Attendance will NOT be allowed without pre-registration! No drop-ins!

Organic fruit growers: pls weigh in

Organic fruit growers:

The Organic Tree Fruit Association invites you to complete our 2012 Grower Survey. Thank you for your consideration and for sharing with your members and networks.

OTFA is a professional association dedicated to serving the interests of organic tree fruit growers and advancing the organic tree fruit industry through education, research, and advocacy.

      You can access the link here:

2012 OTFA Grower Survey

This survey is part of an Organic Tree Fruit Association (OTFA) Specialty Crop Block Grant award received through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Your feedback helps OTFA learn about the needs, challenges, and opportunities Midwest Organic Tree Fruit Growers face and help us better address, respond to, and serve the needs your needs, plan future educational events and seminars and identify potential collaborators in on-farm research projects.
info@organictreefruit.org

www.organictreefruit.org

Eco-apple conference calls

This is our 4th season of grower conference calls during the pest management season. If you are growing apples and might benefit from speaking with John Aue with Threshold IPM and other apple growers, please consider joining the AppleTalk email list.

Once you are on the list you will receive regular emails announcing the calls, as well as information about up-coming webinars and access  to the AppleTalk web site where conference call recordings are taped and other information of interest is posted.

To join the list, email or call Alex McCullough at armccullough@wisc.edu, 608-265-3637.

Transportation Costs and Considerations

Mark your calendar for a Workshop on transportation costs, the evening of May 2, 2012 in Dubuque. This event is targeted to farmers who want to assess what their transportation costs are and consider alternate ways to get their products to market. The event is free, but we need an RSVP to ensure adequate refreshments. Please spread the word throughout the region.

Land Stewardship Project and Iowa Extension is offering the workshop, in conjunction with the UW-Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and the National Center on Freight Infrastructure, Research and Education.