Reduced Tillage Project Uncovers Tarping Impacts for Organic Vegetable Farmers
One farmer shared with us in early summer: “If we didn’t have a tarp down before our mixed greens this spring, we would have been in big trouble with our CSA. In our untarped plantings, we lost the crop to weeds. We’re not going to do that again.” Tarps are becoming a versatile tool to…
Read MoreRecommendations for Agritourism Farms During COVID-19
Autumn brings about celebrations around the harvest and holidays. It also is an important time for our agritourism farms. These farms host activities that provide customers with a unique outdoor opportunity for farm-based entertainment and food system education, as well the ability to purchase fresh produce grown close to home. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers…
Read MoreRegister Now for Our Upcoming Online Course Season, Including New Courses
The Cornell Small Farms Program is excited to announce that our upcoming online course season will begin live webinars this fall, and will feature new courses to offer even more learning opportunities. Our suite of online courses moved to a new, more user-friendly platform last year, which grants registrants permanent access to their course content.…
Read MoreCOVID-19 Update on CFAP Payments and Expanded Eligibility
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced updates to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). This includes coverage for additional specialty crops, including nursery crops and cut flowers, and a deadline extension for applications to September 11. Additionally, producers with approved applications will receive their final payment. The following additional commodities are now eligible…
Read MoreYou’re Invited: Reconnecting with Purpose
As farm and food system educators or change makers working alongside rural and urban farm communities, we face enormous challenges to our efforts to support improved livelihoods of those we serve. Among these are climate instability, rapidly shifting markets, exorbitant land/lot prices, lack of resources, race/gender/class inequities, and labor shortages. While we may design focused…
Read MoreIn the News: COVID-19 Reveals Slaughterhouse Shortages
Finding a slaughterhouse to process meat has been a challenge for small farmers for years. Federally inspected slaughterhouses are few and far between, and in many parts of the country, it takes driving long distances — often multiple hours, both ways — to reach one. This shortage is often attributed to the consolidation of processing…
Read MoreConsider Glamping to Diversify Income from Your Scenic Pastures
The Cornell Small Farms Program’s Erica Frenay details how a glamping operation has helped diversify her farm’s income stream. In the early 2000’s, I had the joy of spending a memorable 4 days with Bill Burrows, a 6th-generation rancher and Holistic Management practitioner from Northern California. Bill told us the story of how his family…
Read MoreZoë Loomis
Zoë is a senior in CALS studying Environmental Science with a concentration in Agroecology and a minor in Community Food Systems. She grew up in Center City Philadelphia, but she has always loved the outdoors and has spent lots of time hiking in the Adirondacks and tending plants in her aunt’s many gardens. Zoë became…
Read MoreStruggling with Slaughterhouse Access? Survey for NYS Livestock Farmers
If you raise animals for meat in New York State, you are no stranger to the complicated logistics and roadblocks that exist in getting animals to slaughter. For many producers, the COVID-19 pandemic has made access even more difficult. We are collecting information to communicate with policy-makers the scope of the problem from farmers’ perspectives…
Read MoreSecrets of Storing Garlic
The storage life of your garlic is a complex equation. I love eating garlic all season long. I’ve let untold bulbs of garlic sprout, shrivel and mold over the years. My hope for this article is to save you time, money and heartache, so here is how to store garlic well, for seasons to come.…
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