Making that move can be very profitable, but challenging – hear how!
Join commercial berry growers from across the state on Thursday January 22nd 2015 for a day-long commercial berry education session at the Empire State Producers EXPO held at the OnCenter in Syracuse, NY.
Morning Berry Session, Thursday, January 22, 2014, 9 to 11 AM
This session is designed to whet your appetite for what promises to be a full day of commercial berry educational programming you won’t want to miss!
Consider expanding your berry operation by adding a new crop. One of the newer small fruit crops gaining acreage in NY as well as popularity is Juneberries. Dr. Erwin “Duke” Elsner, small fruit educator from Michigan State University will detail the basics of getting into Juneberry production and marketing, sharing insider how-to’s for this exciting new crop (via webinar).
Is organic blueberry growing on a large scale right for you? Dr. Bill Sciarappa, County Extension Dept. Head, and Agricultural Agent with Cooperative Extension of Monmouth County, Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, brings it all into focus in his talk on “Organic Blueberry Production and Promise”.
“Introducing Ms. Penny Heritage, new communications person for the New York Berry Growers Association”, is one of the happenings in this session during the NYSBGA annual meeting. Learn more about the association’s very successful efforts in mobilizing state funding for critical Spotted Wing Drosophila research and how you, too, can benefit from membership in this highly motivated organization.
And now here’s…the rest of the story! If you had to give an opinion of the return on investment berry crops provide to your operation what would you say? Would your answer be a factual one based on your most recent berry farm business summary and enterprise budget data? Mr. Dan Welch, FarmNet Business and Succession Planning Coordinator from the Cornell University Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and management will provide final insights from a 2-year berry farm business summary research and extension project, funded by the NY Farm Viability Institute, and explain how you, too, can get set up to evaluate berry crop return on investment for your operation.
Afternoon Berry Session, Thursday, January 22, 2015, 1 to 4 PM
Looking for a new berry market but not sure which way to go? Try heading south! Berries are becoming more and more popular in the “Big Apple”. Bob Weybright from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture program shares his insights on small fruit marketing opportunities in NYC.
Have other commercial berry growers really “Gone Bigger” successfully?! And just how big, is BIG? Be on hand for the “Going Bigger” grower panel to hear 3 growers share their insights. Panelists include Mr. Steve Polter, Polter’s Berry Farm, Fremont, OH, Mrs. Shirley Kline from Happy Valley Berry Farm, Bridgeton, NJ and Mr. Nate Nourse, Nourse Farms, Whately, MA. Each will briefly share how they “went bigger’ with their operation. A 15 minute audience Q&A is included in this panel discussion.
Do you feel like your efforts in commercial blueberry production are for the birds?! Hear Cornell graduate student Ms. Heidi Henrichs discuss her latest findings in bird management in fruit crops and tip the scales back in your favor (and perhaps sell a used car, or two, in the process…)
Those rotten root weevils! Is it possible to minimize damage from these unseen and often undetected pests in your strawberry plantings before it’s too late? Dr. Elson Shields from the Cornell Department of Entomology will share exciting results from his trials using microscopic entomophagus nematodes (aka bug-eating soil inhabiting round worms…) which you CAN grow and try at home!
“Where have all the…honeybees gone?!” seems to be one of the new songs of the day. How can you offset loss of these pollinators in your small fruit crops, particularly strawberries? Ms. Heather Connelly, graduate student in the Cornell Department of Entomology, shares results from her research work on improving strawberry pollination using wild flower plantings.
The final berry session of the day continues to provide updated insights on, you got it, Spotted Wing Drosophila and its management. Dr. Greg Loeb, Cornell Department of Entomology, and Ms. Dale Ila Riggs, President, NYS BGA, will share research findings on several fronts from work being done here in NYS to combat this invasive species.
So plan to join us for information packed 2015 EXPO berry educational program, you’ll be glad you came!