Join Our Tarping for Reduced Tillage Workshop Series
Are you a vegetable farmer already using tarps? Or are you wondering if and how tarps could work best on your farm?
The Cornell Small Farms Program is excited to announce a series of workshops on tarping in small-scale vegetable systems, to be held in Maine and New York this fall. Tarping has emerged as a new practice for small farms — a tool being used to suppress weeds, manage soils, and reduce tillage. Join a full day, farmer-to-farmer workshop to talk about how we can use tarps to advance reduced and no-till vegetable production. During the workshops we’ll discuss tillage, weeds, and how to combine tarps with other soil building practices — like compost, mulches, and cover crops. You will learn from farmers as they share their successes and failures with tarps being used on their farm. You will also hear research results from five years of tarping trials which test no-till practices side-by-side with conventional management. Come prepared to dig-in, share your practices and struggles, and walk away with a plan to use tarps with less tillage on your farm. This work is accomplished in collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension and the University of Maine, with support from Northeast SARE.
Lettuce harvest in a long-term permanent bed trial at Thompson Research Farm in Freeville, NY.
Ryan Maher / Cornell Small Farms Program
We are offering this workshop at four different locations this November. Choose the site that works for you and register now, as space is limited.
Cost to participate is $35 per person with lunch and refreshments provided. Scholarships are available for active duty U.S. armed forces or military veterans in NY, covering up to $100 for travel costs and registration with support from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. To apply, contact Dean Koyanagi at drk5@cornell.edu or (607) 255-9911.
For questions on registration and workshops, contact Ryan Maher at rmm325@cornell.edu.
Saturday, November 2, in Northport, ME
This event is a pre-conference workshop hosted at the MOFGA Farmer to Farmer Conference, and will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Point Lookout Resort and Conference Center. Registration closed.
Monday, November 4, in Springvale, ME
Sorry, but this workshop has been cancelled. Check out other locations!
Monday, November 18, in Canandaigua, NY
This workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Ontario County. Registration closed.
Tuesday, November 19, in Voorheesville, NY
This workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Albany County. Registration closed.
Workshop Leaders
Anu Rangarajan is Director of the Cornell Small Farms Program, and serves as New York’s Statewide Specialist in Fresh Market Vegetable Production.
Crystal Stewart is an Extension Vegetable Specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension on the Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Team.
Mark Hutton is Associate Professor of Vegetable Crops for University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Associate Dean in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture.
Nick Rowley is a Research Associate for the University of Maine at Highmoor Farm.
Ryan Maher is the Project Coordinator for the Cornell Small Farms Program’s Reduced Tillage project, and serves as a Research and Extension Specialist.
The Reduced Tillage (RT) project of the Cornell Small Farms Program supports farmers in adopting scale-appropriate RT practices that can lead to healthy, productive soils and greater profitability. Through the evaluation of novel tools and methods using systems-based field research and on-farm trials, the project helps farmers learn about the approaches that can work for their farm.
