Goals and Outcomes Achieved. The UVM Extension research hopyard has led to an initial report on the suitability of commercially available hop varieties to the Northeastern climate. As hops are a perennial crop, future research is needed to determine the suitability of these varieties over time, as the plants mature and as they are exposed to different pest and disease cycles. Through this initial funding we were also able to conduct preliminary trials on organic pest controls. Scouting data collected in the hopyard has also lead to the discovery of varietal trends in potato leafhopper predation, something that has previously not been researched. Future work is needed with this particular pest, but also with hop pests in general. Pests that attack hops in the Northeast are different than those that are an economic threat in the Pacific Northwest. Through regular scouting in the experimental hopyard pests and diseases are being identified and information is shared with growers through our web resources. The goal was to develop local and relevant research for Northeast hop growers. The outcome from this project is the establishment of a research hopyard and the initiation of a variety trial. In addition, the hopyard has allowed us to collect valuable information on fertility and pest issues in hopyards. Lastly, we are advisers to 3 growers that were awarded USDA SARE Farmer Grants to investigate fertility, trellis design, and harvesting questions on-farm. The goal was to develop relevant and practical educational programs and material. The outcome has been the development of a diverse array of materials and events that have been accessed by more than 1000 stakeholders. Based on post conference survey data we have found that stakeholders are improving their hopyard production by accessing the materials. Future work needs to be done to document long term impact of the hops outreach program. The annual Winter Hops Conference was full to capacity in both 2010 and 2011, with over 100 participants each year, bringing together brewers, hop growers, and those interested in hops. In 2010, Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx, a fourth generation hop farmer and hops geneticist was featured, and he gave an overview of hops production and hops breeding. Xxxx Xxxxxxxx from Xxxxxxxx Farms in Seneca Castle, NY has been growing hops for over a decade, along with over 1000 acres of vegetables. He shared his knowledge and experience on producing hops in the Northeast. Also invited was Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx from the Quebec Ministry of...
Goals and Outcomes Achieved. One of our goals was to involve the local Tahoma High School (THS) teachers, staff and students in all aspects of the market. Several MVFM Board volunteers met with Tahoma High School staff in February 2009 to work out a plan to utilize students for: • Website Design: Xxxxxxx Xxxx, THS Technology teacher and two of her students designed the initial MVFM website: xxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx. • Marketing Plan: Xxxx Xxxxxxx, THS marketing teacher and class analyzed market survey and developed an advertising plan. • Inaugural Poster Design: Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx, THS art teacher and digital art class. As an assignment, the digital art class was requested to develop the inaugural poster for the market. A copy of the design that was chosen by several volunteers is attached. • Student Internship Opportunities: Provide student interns from FFA and FBLA. Xxx Xxxx, THS FBLA faculty advisor, Xxxxx Xxxx, THS FFA faculty advisor and Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Career Center staff and their students designed market application, researched interview questions, performed initial interview of applicants, recommended six to MVFM Board volunteers (all six were hired to intern at the market). Our secondary Goal was to train six THS students to become Assistant Farmers' Market managers. Our student interns started working with the market, both vendors and management, on June 20 at 7am. We couldn’t have opened the market on time without them. The students helped the MFVM set up the tents and then helped the vendors set their tents up (on a case by case basis). They moved tents and products, sinks and trash cans, signage and banners. They helped direct traffic into the parking lot and dog-sat for families that brought their animals to our no pets allowed (except service animals) in the market. They spent every Saturday morning at the information booth, counting attendees within the market, handing out vendor sales report envelopes and collecting them at the end of day. When all the daily chores were completed and the market closed (at 1pm), our interns broke everything down and stowed it away and then turned to help our vendors pack their stalls. We are confident that our interns could open and close the market without the market managers.
Goals and Outcomes Achieved. How the performance goals and measurable outcomes were achieved for each project(s). If outcome measures were long term, summarize the progress that has been made towards achieve- ment.
Goals and Outcomes Achieved. Out peach industry continues to hold steady at about 5,000 to 5500 acres according to 2016 statistics. Production was up in 2017 although somewhat early maturing. Because we have so much in store pressure from other commodities including apples this earlier maturity helped us market our peach crop profitably. Producers and shippers from Georgia and South Carolina had approximately 15 percent of a crop in 2017. They are out major peach market competitors in eastern markets where we have been selling most of our peaches. Since 2017 was the final year of our grant it was wonderful for our industry to experience good fruit movement, strong prices and even with rising costs most growers and those involved in fruit movement were still able to have a profitable season Year Utilized Production (tons) Season Average Price ($ per ton) Value of Utilized Production ($1,000) 2010 34,000 $ 920 $ 31,280 2011 30,000 $ 1,220 $ 36,600 2012 30,000 $ 1,320 $ 39,600 2013 18,120 $ 1,501 $ 27,200 2014 21,000 $1,320 $ 27,891 2015 21,170 $1,310 $ 27,732 2016 20,000 $1,440 $ 28,800 2017 24,000 ? ? The final USDA-NASS and USDA-Market News Services Price Data was not available yet for 2017 and informal survey of our growers and UDSA Market News reports has helped us draw this conclusion in achieving our major goal of a viable industry viability. We have members that sell both fruit on the wholesale and retail markets, Just having the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council and keeping our programs on promotion on going and visible enables us to had many inquiries from potential buyer on where they can buy peaches in New Jersey. Our buyer information we publish and the trade magazines in which we advertising keep our growers and shippers names For all retail and wholes marketing the increase in in Facebook, Instagram and Twitter usages has helped increase our peach industry exposure. We continue to have effective press releases that are published and utilized to get our name in front of the public or more implanted Jersey Peaches and Jersey Fresh Peaches. We did increase our retail promotions in all three years of the grant by trying to be more efficient and by training more volunteers to coordinate these promotions. We used the peach queen more in 2014 and 2015. We had more special peach market promotions called peach promotional parties and our Perfect Peach Pie Contest became more popular and garnered great publicity for the peach industry (see accomplishment data); We also started in 2...
Goals and Outcomes Achieved. In 2017 there were 22,105 CWT of potatoes marketed in the Jersey Fresh brand bag. This was a 10% increase from the 12,029 CWT that was marketed in the Jersey fresh brand bag in 2016. There were 424,224 individual 5#,10# and 50# bags packaged under the Jersey Fresh brand in 2017. This was as increase of 8% compared to 2016. Year Packages CWT Increase 2015 244,180 12,029 2016 392,420 20,005 66% 2017 424,224 22,105 10% Our original goals of increasing sales by 7.5% in year 1 and increasing by 10% in year 2 were met. Our original plan was to increase sales to 43,500cwt, but this was not achieved. As we reported previously, Rabbit Hill Farms is no longer growing and packing potatoes. In addition, Xxx Xxxxxx Farm did not grow any potatoes in 2017. Both growers were large producers of Jersey fresh potatoes. Lessons Learned Our original plan of producing durable Gator Board grower displays was not as well received by the chain stores we were targeting. We listened to their recommendations and reacted accordingly. We had to change our original plan and design USB drives with our social media video and grower pictures, grower price cards, grower recipe cards and corrugated bins. Each of these were well received by the retail markets we targeted. By implementing the corrugated bins with the grower pictures on them we were able to save on the cost of distributing the POS material. We did not spend any money for distribution. We were able to put the grower price cards and recipe cards in the bins that were distributed to the stores. 2015 was a very difficult year for New Jersey potato growers. Much of the potato seed that was planted was infected with Dickeya. This caused major crop failures and a major decrease in the 2015 production / marketable yields. We were able to rebound nicely in 2016 and 2017 with a 66% and 10% increase in volume respectively. Overall we are very pleased with the success of our program. Having the funding to promote New Jersey potatoes allowed us to present a complete marketing program to the retailers we were targeting. This included Point of Sale along with social media marketing tools. All of the fresh market potato growers in New Jersey benefited from this program. A list of the New Jersey White Potato Industry Advisor Council and the New Jersey White Potato Association members is attached. All of the members have benefited from this project. In addition, all of New Jersey / Jersey Fresh Specialty Crop producers have benefited from this p...
Goals and Outcomes Achieved. The activities performed include: • WSDA’s project reached close to 100 nutrition directors, producers and advocates with trainings about ways schools can buy and serve Washington-grown produce. Using ‘A School’s Guide to Purchasing Washington-Grown Food’, the manual WSDA developed through another funding source, workshop participants ran through forecasting templates, and did trouble-shooting exercises around how to write an appropriate Request for Bids using geographic preference, and how to calculate the ‘preference’. • Provision of hard copies and web-based access to “A School’s Guide to Purchasing Washington Grown Food” to school nutrition services directors. • Customizing the Toolkit at xxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx to allow users to better search and identify a wide variety of options for food service providers with options that are adapted to the nutrition requirements of meals served in settings from preschool through high school • Adding 34 new recipes adapted for the requirements of preschools and childcares and 5 recipes for K-12 school meals to Washington-Grown Food Kit in the online Farm to School Toolkit, featuring Washington grown specialty crops • Sharing and promoting recipes developed by Washington school nutrition professionals that feature and promote the shoulder season and cool weather specialty crops that are available during the majority of the months that schools are in session • Delivery of institutional market access webinars for processors, and development of technical assistances fact sheets for processors of Washington grown specialty crops. All are shared on the online Farm to School Toolkit. • Outreach to nutrition professionals, public health representatives, industry groups, and food processors including in- person presentations, trainings, and web-based resources and instruction. • Pilot project development and implementation in 2 school districts to provide guidance and to demonstrate the appropriate sourcing and contracting for Washington grown and processed specialty crops. As expressed in the original grant proposal, two years is a short timeline for seeing tangible business results from an education and outreach program. This project focused on buyer education, along with development of targeted resources for farmers and food processors on how to successfully engage with school markets. There continues to be a need for technical assistance and training in this complex framework of state and federal guidelines and in a mark...
Goals and Outcomes Achieved. The goal of this project was to determine cultural practices necessary for the off-season production of blueberries in Mississippi. Specifically MSU wanted to:
Goals and Outcomes Achieved. The goals of the project were: 1) to increase the pounds of sweet potatoes sold in Mississippi by at least 10% and 2) to increase the number of growers/packers GAP certified in Good Agricultural Practices. Five activities were performed to address the first goal: exhibiting at the PMA Tradeshow, radio ads, recipe brochure, billboard ads, and the “Produce News,” trade publication ads. Pounds of sweet potatoes sold increased from 1,265,000 in 2009 to 3,520,000 in 2012; the goal was exceeded.
Goals and Outcomes Achieved. Students gained and increased their knowledge of agriculture through the Mississippi Department of Education’s Custodial Caretaker Curriculum, training sessions provided by the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, field trips made to Xxxxxx State University and the MSU Truck Crops Experiment Station, and the actual hands-on care of the garden. While the Oakley Youth Development Center is located a large agricultural plot, the land was never utilized to produce vegetables for the facility until the Garden Project was implemented. The project got off to a slow start due to limited resources. Therefore, the benchmark set was from the crop yield from the first year. During the first year (2011), students planted only six crops including: okra; tomatoes; squash; peppers; blueberries; and watermelons. The blueberries did not produce a crop, as it typically takes two-three years for blueberry bushes to yield berries. However, the okra, tomatoes, squash, peppers, and melons produced enough to feed 62 students for approximately 12 weeks. In the second year (2012), students increased the number of crops to 11 including: greens; lettuce; onions; cabbage; peas; squash; cucumbers; peppers; tomatoes; watermelons; and eggplant. This represented an 83% increase in the number of crops planted. The crops yielded enough to feed 75 students; this represented a 21% increase in the number of students feed with the crops planted. During the third year (2013), the excessive rain destroyed approximately 75% of the spring crops, so this had an impact on the amount of food yielded from the crops. The students were able to harvest the greens, cabbages and onions. They also added two additional crops, peach and apple fruit trees. These were maintained in the greenhouse until the appropriate planting time. The progress from the third year could not be calculated due to the timing of the harvest and the lack of control over the weather. The target to increase the number of crops by 10% was achieved from 2011 to 2012 as planned. The second goal was to increase the student knowledge of healthy eating and living through the work of this project. When the initial benchmark was established, the length of time each student would be detained at the facility was not taken into consideration. While there are students at the facility year round, they may not be there the entire year; it is often different student throughout the year. The Partnership for A Healthy Mississippi and the Mississippi...
Goals and Outcomes Achieved. GRAS2P is a comprehensive grower program implementing economic, environmental, and educational production practices. Public confidence and retention of tree fruit consumption will be assured through the development of tree fruit specific food safety and sustainability standards. The objectives of GRAS2P are as follows: • Develop grower-friendly, practical, science-based food safety and sustainability tools. o Growers enrolled in GRAS2P will successfully pass a third party verification audit. o Growers enrolled in GRAS2P will implement tree fruit industry specific sustainability standards proven to be environmentally sound. • Institute effective state-wide communication strategies between growers, packing houses, and markets which support fruit safety and industry economic viability. • Document process, participation, and practices to provide the foundation for proactive political, market, and regulatory responses. Goals:
