Specialty Crops

Friday

Workshop Session I: 8:45-10 a.m.

Seed Stories: A Deeper Dive into Varietal Production 

Michelle Hochkeppel, High Mowing Organic Seeds 

What happens to seed varieties? Where do they go? Hear about specific organic seed stories, challenges, and triumphs of the multi-faceted process. These stories will offer a glimpse into the importance of building relationships with breeders, farmers, and vendors to develop organic varieties. 

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

Can the Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program Give Peace of Mind to Vegetable Farmers? 

Andy Hupp and Kendyl Meadows, Three Creeks Produce, Jeff Schazhinski, NCAT

A cost-effective and accessible crop insurance program suited to diversified vegetable operations could have a tremendous impact on the profitability and sustainability of specialty crop farms. Unfortunately, the USDA’s Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program (WFRP) has yet to achieve this goal. Leading national WFRP expert Jeff Schazhinski will talk through the program with experienced Ohio vegetable growers Andy Hupp and Kendyl Meadows to investigate why it currently fails operations like theirs and what can be done to improve it. 

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Workshop Session III: 1-2:15 p.m. 

Homemade Fertilizers 

Bryan O’Hara, Tobacco Road Farm 

Preparing your own fertilizers can reduce expenses and produce materials of superior quality. Join this session to learn about methods for preparing fertilization materials to achieve growth and vitality at various stages of your crops. See how to blend composts, side dress fertilizers, and foliar materials, as well as specific preparation of materials like liquid fish extract, liquid calcium extracts, and plant extracts. 

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Workshop Session IV: 2:30-3:45 p.m.

Crop Planning for Success and Sanity 

Nathan Lada, Green Things Farm Collective 

Whether it is your first time or your 30th, crop planning is an essential part of a successful season. In this session, we will explore realistic sales and production driven techniques for crop planning. Looking at different tools for organizing our well laid plans, we will see how to make them transparent and accessible throughout the season. We will also discuss the arc and changes of crop planning over time, and the difference between planning as a new farm and as an established one. 

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Saturday

Workshop Session V: 8:45-10 a.m.

All About High Tunnel Commercial Tomato Production 

Michelle Wallace, CSU Extension 

High tunnel tomato production offers many advantages: higher quality, higher yields, earlier crops, and the ability to manage indeterminate vines over a longer season. Learn management strategies that will help you succeed, including pruning and training the vines, scouting for insect pests, learning to differentiate between abiotic nutrient deficiencies and diseases, and learning new strategies for dealing with soil-borne diseases that can infiltrate high tunnel growing systems. 

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Workshop Session VI: 10:45 a.m.-Noon

Rollin’ Out the Bale 

Mick Luber, Bluebird Farm

Long time organic farmer Mick Luber will share how he adapted Ruth Stout’s gardening methods to make commercial vegetable production easier on his farm. You will explore topics from bale production to vegetable harvest as he demonstrates his mulching system using both large round hay bales and cover crops. 

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Workshop Session VII: 1-2:15 p.m.

Heating the Winter Tunnel: Is It Worth It? 

Dana Hilfinger, Johnny’s Selected Seeds 

Is it worth it to use supplemental heat in a winter tunnel? In a project funded by North Central SARE, the costs versus benefits of using heat in tunnels during the winter was tested. Does the added cost pay off? For what crops? This session will look at scenarios where it makes sense to heat, and share practical information farmers can use to make decisions about infrastructure investment. 

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