Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Please see attached minutes.

A website for this project was established in 2016 at http://www.uky.edu/ccd/sera45.

 Objective 1: developing research-based production information about crops and systems that have potential to be profitable for small farms

 Activities: The first year of an organic transition project was conducted in 2016 by Iowa State University in collaboration with the University of Kentucky. It investigated the effect of Protek net on winter squash and melon production. Protek nets are three to four times more expensive than typical row covers but have extended shelf life and reduce temperature stress under low tunnels.

 In 2016, the University of Kentucky, Purdue University and the University of Delaware established a combined multistate watermelon variety trial in an industry-supported project.

 The group intends to develop specific high tunnel resources that would be valuable to growers in the participating states. These resources will focus on:

1. General winter production
2. Planting dates guidance/chart
3. Growing degree days-based information
4. Pricing for early and late season crops (when is season extension worth it?)
5. Alternative high tunnel crops (beyond tomatoes, etc.)

Participants also plan to explore funding sources to conduct more variety trials and coordinate them throughout the region. Participants from Purdue and Kentucky are exploring collaborating on high tunnel melon production research.

 Objective 2: coordinating research and extension activities among participants

 Activities: The University of Kentucky’s Center for Crop Diversification (CCD) has promoted extension activities in other participating states through its website and/or monthly newsletter. These include webinar series (Purdue Small Farm Webinar Series and the Illinois Small Farms Winter Webinar Series, both in 2016), cover crop information (University of Illinois article on buckwheat), and conferences, field days and workshops in the participating states.

The group plans to develop a winter speaker and topic list to allow for better coordination of 2018 events; develop a directory of contact people, facilities and resources from the participating universities to facilitate coordination of activities across the region; share newsletter articles as content for other newsletters in the participating states; and develop a system to regionalize resources such as crop budgets and publications.

 Objective 3: expanding the activities of the Center for Crop Diversification to include price reports (farmers markets, produce auctions, farm to school, retail) from the participating states

 Activities: Participants from Illinois and Tennessee are partnering with the Center for Crop Diversification at the University of Kentucky to provide price reports from farmers markets in their states. Illinois also provides price reports from a produce auction. The CCD continues coordinating price reporting from farmers markets and produce auctions around Kentucky, and the CCD website is used to host price reports from all three states. The CCD began posting farmers market prices from West Virginia in 2016. Purdue is interested in developing a price reporting system in Indiana. The CCD is exploring expansion of its price reporting to include farm to school and retail prices.

 Objective 4: conducting research in the participating states on consumer preferences and marketing channels that are most effective and profitable for small farms

 Activities: The University of Kentucky plans to produce a wine grape price summary based on a survey of the region. The group plans to develop regional versions of CCD publications on marketing channels such as food hubs, farmers markets, community supported agriculture, etc., as these publications undergo revisions.

Publications

Journal articles

Vassalos, Michael, Wuyang Hu, Timothy Woods, Jack Schieffer and Carl Dillon. 2016. Risk Preferences, Transaction Costs and Choice of Marketing Contracts: Evidence from a Choice Experiment with Fresh Vegetable Producers. Agribusiness 32(3):379-396. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/agr.21450/full

Woods, Timothy and Debra Tropp. 2015. CSAs and the Battle for the Local Food Dollar. Journal of Food Distribution Research 46(2):17-29. https://www.fdrsinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/2-113-Tim-Woods.pdf

Woods, Timothy A., Xueting Deng, Lia Nogueira, and Bruce Yang. 2015. Local Wine Expenditure Determinants in the Northern Appalachian States. Journal of Food Distribution Research 46(2):30-50. https://www.fdrsinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/3-108-Tim-Woods.pdf

Extension publications

Lamie, David, Matt Ernst, Tim Woods, Gary Bullen, and Blake Lansford. “Choosing Wholesale Markets for Local Food Products,” eXtension series on wholesaling, September, 2015. http://articles.extension.org/pages/71021/choosing-wholesale-markets-for-local-food-products

Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide 2016

Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers 2016 https://www.purdue.edu/dffs/beginningfarmers/links/midwest-vegetable-production-guide-for-commercial-growers-2016/

Midwest Vegetable Trial Report for 2015 https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/fruitveg/Pages/mvtr2015.aspx

Sample Budget for Small-Scale Commercial Tomato Operations - 2015 http://economics.ag.utk.edu/budgets/2015/Tomato/SampleBudgetforSmallScaleCommercialTomatoOperations2015.pdf

Southeastern U.S. 2016 Vegetable Crop Handbook http://www.thepacker.com/sites/produce/files/SEVegGuide_2016.pdf

Velandia, M., C.O. Trejo-Pech, D. Morris, A. Wszelaki, K. Niewolny, and L. MacAuley. 2016. Evaluating Financial and Economic Factors Contributing to the Sustainability of Beginning Farms in Tennessee and Virginia. Extension Publication, University of Tennessee Extension.