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Workshop to be offered on market garden basics
Eastern Kansas
Management issues that can make or break a market garden business will be the focus for an in-depth workshop in September.
The "Harvest and Post-Harvest Handling Practices" workshop will be Monday, Sept. 13, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Buchanan County Extension office and the Nature's Choice Farm in St. Joseph, Mo.
The short course is targeted for aspiring and practicing market gardeners, but also are open to the public. It focuses on organic and sustainable agricultural methods
Market gardeners have traditionally sold their produce at farmers' markets and "u-pick" operations although some have expanded their marketing efforts to more traditional retail stores.
The Kansas-Missouri Growing Growers Program is offering the workshop as part of its goal to expand market garden production in the Kansas City "food shed"--the land within 100 miles of the metropolitan area. The program is a cooperative effort of Kansas State University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Kansas City Food Circle (a growers group).
A study conducted in recent years found the Kansas City area's demand for locally grown produce was close to $100 million per year.
"The business potential has been growing since then, along with consumers' interest in organic foods, ethnic ingredients and truly fresh produce. We simply don't have enough small farm operations in the area to fill the demand. We certainly can't afford to lose any we already have, either, due to problems with productivity or profitability," said Ted Carey, Growing Growers program coordinator and an Olathe-based K-State Research and Extension horticulturist.
Cost to attend the Sept. 13 late-afternoon workshop on harvesting and handling is $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Farms registering three or more people for a workshop will get a 20 percent discount.
More information about the workshops and early registration is available by calling Emily at 913-488-1270 or e-mailing growers@ksu.edu.
The Sept. 13 workshop on harvesting and handling topics and presenters will include:
--Practices for optimum produce: Approaches that help conserve "fresh-picked" quality, Chuck Marr, K-State Research and Extension vegetable crops horticulturist;
--Advantages of fresh produce: How to inform consumers and increase demand, Nancy O'Conner, outreach director of the Community Mercantile food co-operative in Lawrence.
--Nature's Choice Farm: Tour to demonstrate efforts to take produce "beyond organic" to the "highest level of nutrition we can deliver", farm owners Fred and Helen Messner, St. Joseph, Mo.
Funding for the Growing Growers Program comes from a multi-state USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (USDA-SARE) grant.
Date: 8/26/04
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