by Sanne Kure-Jensen
The owners of 4 Town Farm know their customers value a “farm experience,” not just fresh food, fabulous flowers or perfect plants. This family-owned, diversified produce farm, located just a few miles from downtown Providence, RI, owes its repeat visitors to its superb customer communication practices, which make for a day of family fun. Continue reading
by George Looby, DVM
The Third Annual Connecticut Agriculture Commission Conference was held on April 5 at EastConn located in Hampton, CT.
Chairman John Gudskowski opened the Conference with words of welcome to those in attendance and then introduced Commissioner of Agriculture Steven Revizcky who gave the audience an update on some of the happenings in his department. He noted that Connecticut has experienced a 22 percent increase in the number of farms since the time of the last survey and a significant increase in the acreage under cultivation. New England as a region has undergone a significant increase in both areas but not as dramatic as that which has taken place in Connecticut. Nationally the number of farms has declined by 4 percent. The commissioner went on to say that the Governor’s Council for Agricultural Development is now functioning as originally designed and is making significant contributions. Continue reading
by Laura Rodley
Organizers of the 40th Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair that occurs on Memorial Day weekend in Cummington, MA are recognizing the anniversary in a unique way. Co-chairs Lisa Bertoldi of Williamsburg, Shawn Thayer, who has attended every fair since its inception, and Aaron Loux, both of Cummington, are currently in the final stages of formalizing a scholarship in the amount of $500 that will go towards a young student studying sheep culture and production related studies at the college level. Application procedures are being fine-tuned.
“We’re not gentrified, not fancy, very much to its roots. We’re still very ‘sheepy’,” said Bertoldi, “offering sheep shows, two full days of dog trials featuring border collies, a myriad of fiber arts and vendors selling anything related to fiber from yarn to spinning wheels, as well as fleece, woolcraft and photography exhibits judged on Saturday and spinning contests.”
The fair has retained, “All the wonderful things that we do that have been lost at other fairs.”
These include a potluck supper at the close of the Saturday at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. attended by shearers, farmers, exhibitors, vendors and fiber people and whoever would like to join in. “It’s a potluck, then it’s a business meeting, then it’s an ice cream social. In classic farmer approach, not a minute is wasted,” said Bertoldi, co-chair since June.
During the day, the 4-H food booth sells their landmark lamb bits. Continue reading
by Tamara Scully
The Penn State Mastits and Milk Quality Conference featured speakers and researchers from several universities, and emphasized the need for a multi-faceted approach to manage mastitis. Addressing mastitis means focusing on prevention, identifying the organism responsible, taking steps to stop infection and appropriately treating cases of infection based on their etiology.
“Our ultimate goal is to prevent infection,” Gina Pighetti, Ph.D, of the University of Tennessee, said. Continue reading
