Kim Stoner, University of Connecticut Ag. Experiment Station, Organic Land Care
Although there is a substantial literature for IPM in vegetables and fruit, it is generally written for the conventional farmer with acres of land in a single crop to be sold via wholesale markets. This IPM literature is much less useful to the diversity of farmers and gardeners in the urban interface in the Northeast. In this session, we will be looking at the diversity of these farmers and gardeners and their needs for research and extension information: backyard gardeners, community gardeners, organic farmers and gardeners, farmers with highly diversified crops, farmers engaged in direct marketing to restaurants or Community Supported Agriculture, immigrant farmers, and farmers in the centers of cities (where the key wildlife pests are more likely to be rats than deer).
Ed Stockman
Ed will list and very briefly discuss some of the research and extesnion needs of organic crop and organic livestock producers in an urban state.
Jennifer Hashley, Project Coordinator for the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (NESFP) at Tufts University
The New Entry Sustainable Farming Project was started in Massachusetts in 1998 to assist in the development of commercial farming opportunities for an underserved population recent immigrants with farming experience. Our work has focused primarily near the urban centers of Lowell, Fitchburg, and Worcester, Massachusetts because of their population makeup, a high interest in agriculture among residents, and the support of community organizations. To date, participants have primarily been Southeast Asian immigrants with an agrarian heritage and there is a growing interest among populations from diverse African and Latin American countries. NESFP addresse the multiple needs of beginning immigrant and refugee farmers finding farmland, providing training and techcnical assistance, and promoting market-driven production strategies for small-scale producers. The project facilitates farmers to progress gradually over time and build their experience and resources. Most farmers start on a "training farm" where established farmers or other landowners lease land to the NESFP and growers maintain their own plots or work in groups of two or more, but they share equipment, vehicles, greenhouses, and other on-site facilities. The NESFP, project partners such as UMass Extension, and the sponsoring farmers provide on-site technical assistance. Farmers then are assisted to develop individual farm enterprises on non-training farmsites.
Eric Toensmeier and Jaime Iglesias ,
Nuestras Raíces is a grass-roots organization that promotes economic, human and community development in Holyoke, Massachusetts through projects relating to food and agriculture. Nuestras Raíces has operated community gardens for thirteen years, and continues to develop new gardens on vacant urban lots. Their headquarters, the Centro Agrícola, includes attached greenhouse, time-share commercial kitchen, bakery, restaurant, office space, and plaza with tropical edible landscaping. The Tierra de Oportunidades Project is a new initiative of Nuestras Raíces, which recently purchased 4 acres of rich farmland just a few miles from downtown Holyoke. The farm is being developed as an incubator site for new farm businesses. Many residents of Holyoke grew up on farms in Puerto Rico and have extensive farming backgrounds. They would like to farm, but face many challenges, including language and access to land and capital. Many of these aspiring farmers are currently members of Nuestras Raíces’ urban community gardens.