Specialty Crops

Workshop Session I: 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Perennial Nut Processing

Steve Larson, Route 9 Cooperative

While newly planted chestnut orchards grow to maturity over the next decade, the seven farm members of Route 9 Coop’s chestnut operation will add acorns and a coffee roaster to their system to help reach their full processing capacity, speed up the drying and roasting process, and increase revenue.

Workshop Session II: 9:45-10:45 a.m.

Flowers Under Cover

Dana Hilfinger, Johnny’s Selected Seeds

Want to learn the basics for how to maximize your high and low tunnel space for flower production? Talk about what varieties and types of flowers would benefit from tunnel production, low cost ways to get started if you don’t have a high tunnel, and how to schedule your plantings so that you hit key sales windows.

Workshop Session III: 11-Noon

Herb Hubs: From Field and Forest to Market

Sara Sevy Tremayne, Andrea Miller, Rural Action

Ohio is home to some of the most valuable medicinal plants in the world, yet a long history of over-harvesting has threatened the populations of many wild botanicals. Meanwhile, the market for high quality herbal medicine is only increasing, and offers an opportunity for local landowners to earn supplemental income. Nonprofit project partners are growing a network of regional Herb Hubs that offer shared use equipment, certified processing space, training, and aggregation opportunities for growers to connect to high-paying bulk buyers. Get an overview of available equipment, an introduction to proper harvest and post-harvest handling, herb crop budgets, fresh to dry ratios, and certification opportunities.