Start Farming Blog
You can greatly increase your market day bottom line by taking some time to evaluate how you plan to sell your products at the farmer’s market. Here are some things customers (and market managers) will expect to see from you.
Know what the number one answer for "what do you think it takes to farm?" You HAVE to love what you do – you have to enjoy it!
Recently I have been receiving a lot of requests for help finding farmland to buy or lease. I wanted share a collection of resources to help you find land and considerations to make before you rent or buy.
Cucumbers, Summer Squash, and Winter Squash have a number of serious pests: cucumber beetles, squash bugs, and vine borer. Cucumber beetles also transmit bacterial wilt, squash mosaic virus, increase the incidence of powdery mildew, black rot and powdery mildew. Make sure you use cultural controls to manage these pests from the start!
For consumers (and some very enthusiastic vendors), this time of year elicits shrikes of excitement and sheer joy as people line up to see which vendor has the early asparagus, rhubarb, or coveted dry beans preserved from fall harvest.
Are you raising poultry and wondering what rules apply to you?
"What should I be pricing my melons at?" Take a step back and incorporate price into your marketing plan.
It is easy to let weeds go in the rush of spring planting. Try not to forget that a little time spent managing weeds now can save you huge amounts of time later.
It is critical to manage fruit diseases before you have them. Whether organic or not management is usually protective, not curative.
Free Webinar April 10, 7-8pm EST Join the Cornell Small Farms Program and FSA Senior Loan Specialist Carrie Novak for this One-Time Opportunity
FSA recently launched their new micro-loan program. If you are a new farmer who needs a loan of less than $35,000 the micro-loan program might be a good fit.
Here are some practical tips when looking to manage pastures this spring.
As you are about to shear your sheep this spring I thought you might want to review our sheep shearing videos. Mike Fournier, Penn State Extension demonstrates the six shearing positions as well as tool maintenance.
Check out this event featuring new farmers from our area talking about social media.
Once the season gets rolling there are so many things to do it can be hard to keep up. To prevent pest and disease problems it is a good idea to come up with a plan now.
Right now, livestock farmers are in a difficult position. Feed prices have skyrocketed and it can be difficult to pass that entire increase on to our customers without having very expensive chicken that might be out of the range of most of our customers. We might need to raise our prices to help recoup some of the cost but we also need to find areas where we can improve efficiencies, cut costs, and know where our greatest expenses lie.
Exploring the Small Farm Dream is a course for people who are thinking about starting a farm.
Join us for tractor and machinery safety training April 4th from 2-6pm in Perkasie PA. Penn State Extension and Blooming Glen Farm will be hosting a tractor safety workshop for seasonal farmers, interns and farmers who have not received any safety training and may have become complacent about the dangers.
Are you interested in or currently farming in a city? Do you wonder how to access land, how to reclaim a contaminated site, how to maximize use of a small growing space, or how to most successfully target your urban market?
