This October, Rutgers Cooperative Extension is offering the second class in a series of “Ultra-Niche” agricultural seminars with the workshop “Mixed Cut Flowers” on Thursday, October 27, 2016 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. This workshop will be held simultaneously at three locations throughout New Jersey. This second class in the new Ultra-Niche Crops Series of workshops will be held in Bridgewater, Bridgeton and Bordentown. The series, sponsored by a grant from the USDA-NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, will focus on giving new and beginning farmers an introduction to crops that can help them make more money off of small farms.
Ultra-Niche Crops are exceptionally high value crops that can be grown on small acreage. In this session, farmers (and those who aspire to farm) will learn how to make more money with less land and how to grow and market their crop. “Our goal for this project is to help the next generation of farmers achieve both crop and financial success and also assist existing farmers in improving their profitability,” said Jenny Carleo, Rutgers Agricultural and Resource Management Agent for Cape May County and Project Director.
Each workshop in the series will also include a 15-minute “Virtual Field Trip” video on the production and marketing of the crop being highlighted in that session, as well as a speaker’s panel made up of the experts interviewed in the videos. Participants will be led through worksheets to guide them in determining whether or not growing the crop is right for them, their acreage, and their situation.
Whether you’re an existing grower with lots of land suitable to a wide variety of crops and production methods, an aspiring farmer looking to make an impression in the marketplace or even a landowner looking to meet local farmland assessment requirements on your small acreage, this session and series is definitely for you!
The cost for this workshop is $15 and includes a lite supper at 5:30 p.m., followed by the program at 6 p.m. For more information call Jenny Carleo, Agricultural Agent at (609) 465-5115 or email Jennifer Matthews at jmatthews@aesop.rutgers.edu. To register for this workshop, please go online to the Eventbrite link: http://tinyurl.com/UNC2016cutflowers. Deadline to register is October 21, 2016.
To join the mailing list for future workshops in the “Ultra-Niche Crops” series, please go to www.tinyurl.com/UNC2016