Farmers from all agricultural sectors within the Connecticut River Watershed in both New Hampshire and Vermont are invited to join in sustaining the environmental health of the watershed through a membership in the newly convened Connecticut River Watershed Farmers Alliance (CRWFA). [Read more…]
New England Farm Weekly
Agritourism ~ Can you get a five-star rating with your business?
by Elizabeth A. Tomlin
Autumn is the time of year many farms and orchards open their doors for farm tours, pick your own apples and pumpkins, farm days and other events.
A recent webinar provided by the University of California Small Farm Program in partnership with FarmsReach featured speakers Scottie Jones, Director of the U.S. Farm Stay Association, and Meghan Bishop-Sanderson of Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm, advising producers on how to get that coveted five-star rating. [Read more…]
Thomas Farms: More than just rutabagas
by Kristen M. Castrataro
It is often the unexpected, unpredictable things in life that make all the difference. Such was the case for Thomas Farms in Corinth, Maine. In 2000, Frank Thomas found himself in the hospital with a staph infection. It was harvest time, and 300 acres of chip potatoes sat in the field. The family hired a replacement harvester who bruised the produce so badly that the chip company immediately cancelled the Thomas’ contract. [Read more…]
Eating alpaca
by Samantha Graves
Squicky. That’s the word that came to mind when I stared down an alpaca burger served to me by a farmer on a recent trip to Maine. Squicky embodies a feeling of disgust or repulsion, free from judgment over the rightness or wrongness of an act. For some, eating alpaca is like eating your favorite pet or muppet. But for a growing number of farmers in the United States, culling alpacas is not only about making their farm a sustainable enterprise; it’s about improving the quality of the animals raised in the United States. [Read more…]
Alpacas 101
by Laura Rodley
Alpaca lovers and people curious about alpacas had a treat at Moonlight Rose Alpacas Farm the last week of August. They got to see a brown two-day-old female alpaca baby, or cria, named Sweet Caroline and a one-month-old rose gray cria, Fitzgerald, both bred at the farm in time for David Rose’s Alpaca 101, a seminar devoted to all aspects of raising alpacas. Topics included raising alpacas, their lifespan, care, feeding, birthing, breeding, showing and using their fiber for clothing. [Read more…]
Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association holds its annual summer meeting
by Kristen M. Castrataro
The Massachusetts Fruit Growers Association held its annual summer meeting and farm tour at the University of Massachusetts Cold Springs Orchard in Belchertown, MA. Around 80 fruit growers and Extension personnel from Massachusetts and Rhode Island attended to learn about current research in grapes, brambles, stone fruit and pome fruit. [Read more…]
Filth flies and cattle
by Tamara Scully
The four major types of filth flies important to livestock agriculture are the house, face, stable and horn flies. Because they are found in environments with manure or manure residues, livestock operations are preferred environments for filth flies. But each type of fly has specific environments conducive to supporting their life cycles, and control must be targeted to each species. [Read more…]
Agritourism: Protecting public health, animal health and your farm
by George Looby, DVM
Matters relating to agritourism and its multiple issues were the topic of a conference held late August at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, CT.
Dr. Bruce Sherman, Director of the Bureau of Regulation and Inspection organized the meeting in response to an outbreak that occurred in March on a Lebanon, CT goat farm where 50 visitors became ill after visiting the facility. [Read more…]
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