Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The initial planning meeting for SERA 45 was held on February 10, 2015, at the E.S. Good Barn on the University of Kentucky campus. Dr. Tim Woods of the UK Department of Agricultural Economics led a discussion of the SERA 45 proposal objectives, as the participants worked to modify the original project proposal to expand details for collaboration. Discussion focused on: Objective 1) To conduct applied research on several crops that have potential to be profitable for small farms: Rather than focus on specific crops, the participants discussed focusing on production systems, such as protected agriculture (high and low tunnels, greenhouse production), and organic production, as production systems cut across the participating states. The overlap between organic and conventional production in terms of pest management was noted. Participants thought it would be useful to share yield data from their respective research projects among the collaborators. Standardization of data collection from projects already in place was suggested, as was an activity to identify protocols for data collection and variety trials. Participants decided it would be useful to inventory the resources currently available from the group, and collate them on the Center for Crop Diversification website. The Center would provide a searchable contact list of participants with expertise in various crops. Participants also noted that there is a need for small-scale production research to meet the needs of the mini farm movement. Objective 2) To coordinate research and Extension activities among participants: Participants expressed a need for high tunnel trainings and webinars, as well as trainings for beginning farmers. The development of systems to provide farmers with GAP training to allow them to take advantage of wholesale markets was discussed. Development of a registry of growers throughout the participating states who are comfortable sharing what they do and how they do it in regards to record keeping, assessing labor needs, etc., was mentioned as having the potential to be very helpful to new growers. The need to properly credit all contributors to various publications resulting from this project was discussed. Participants felt it would be possible and beneficial to modify existing publications that are state-centric to include caveats to address production and marketing issues that are specific to each participating state. Development of grant proposals that include both research and Extension components, in which researchers and farmers answer questions from other farmers, was suggested. Development of videos that include a mentoring component was recommended, with the main person featured in the video being a farmer. Objective 3) To expand the activities of the Center for Crop Diversification to include price reports from the participating states: The group discussed the advantage of developing an app to allow for expansion of farmers market price reporting. The importance of expanded price reporting was discussed in terms of the need for sources of direct market prices for the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). A benefit of this project could be to centralize information regarding resources for growers to use to determine how to set prices for their products. The participants indicated that collection of Farm to School and retail prices would also be beneficial. Objective 4) To conduct market research in the participating states on consumer preferences and marketing channels that are most effective and profitable for small farms: The benefits of a regional produce planting intentions survey was discussed. Such a survey would allow for documentation of how production and marketing of produce is changing in the region. Development of a report on the economic impact of specialty crop production was recommended. Several needs of growers were discussed, such as packaging guidelines, post-harvest information, and ways to effectively access markets. The group also discussed potential funding mechanisms, including SARE, NIFA, AMS, Extension Risk Management Education, Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, Specialty Crop Block Grants, etc. Participants decided to hold future meetings in February. Six participants from five states took a tour of the Horticulture Research Farm in Lexington, led by Mark Williams. Election of officers Chair – Tim Woods, University of Kentucky Vice-chair – Shubin Saha, University of Kentucky Secretary - Margarita Velandia, University of Tennessee