by Molly Jameson | Jan 26, 2017
Are you an avid gardener and looking to step it up a notch? Are your gardening eyes bigger than your dinner plate? If you have ever considered selling your bounty for market, you will certainly need to do your homework! One such step you can take is to attend the UF/IFAS Panhandle Extension Team’s So You Want to be a Farmer? Workshop Series.
There’s a lot to know if you want to get into this business! This series aims to introduce new or potential farmers to innovative and environmentally safe production practices, concepts of soil and water management, integrated pest management, how to grow for a farmers’ market, and farm financial management.
Agricultural professionals are actually in high demand. There is an estimated 60,000 highly skilled jobs in agriculture available annually, but only about half of these positions are being filled by graduates in agricultural fields. Additionally, Florida’s farmers are an aging group, and there was an 8% decrease in the number of farms and 26% decrease in acres of cropland from 2002 to 2012.
Fortunately, demand has greatly increased in recent years for locally produced specialty crops, meats, and dairy. There has also been an increase in the number of direct marketing opportunities and small farmers have been able to adopt new technologies, such as season extension techniques and local online marketing, to generate more revenue on small acreages.
The UF/IFAS Extension Panhandle Agriculture Team is hosting the So You Want to be a Farmer? Workshop Series to assist beginning or novice farmers as they navigate the many challenges of getting started.
If you are interested in attending, please register on the So You Want to be a Farmer? Eventbrite page. The cost is $10 per session, with sessions at multiple locations within the east Florida Panhandle.
Please see workshop dates and further details below:
by Molly Jameson | Jul 19, 2016
Carrots and squash at the Lake Ella Growers’ Market. Photo by Jennifer Taylor.
When you think of farmers’ markets, what is that comes to mind? Is it the customers perusing the tables, the vendors organizing their displays, the variety of colors of the fruits and vegetables, the aromas of many types of baked breads, the pop-up tents forming a loose circle…? Or is it all of these things wrapped up in a sense of community?
Honey from Mac’s Honey and Bee Farm. Photo by Molly Jameson.
If you have not experienced a farmers’ market that evokes such senses, then you should stop by one of the farmers’ markets where vendors selling the produce actually grew it themselves. These markets are often referred to as growers’ markets.
Still not convinced? What is it that you are looking for? Liven up your summer dinner table with fresh blueberries grown in Monticello, sweet corn that hardly needs cooking, flavorful heirloom tomatoes, freshly dug potatoes, lime-green field peas, cucumbers with a crunch, sweet yellow onions, multi-colored oblong peppers, juicy garlic, yellow crook-neck squash, dark green zucchini, shitake mushrooms harvested off oak logs, herbs just picked that morning, edible flowers….
The adjectives used to describe the produce may seem like an exaggeration until you really dive into these flavors and learn about how they were grown, where they were grown, and why the farmer decided to concentrate his or her efforts on the particular varieties. And when you are at a growers’ market, don’t be shy! Ask the farmers what they are growing and the methods they use for farming. What has gone well, what has not. They very well may tell you it’s all in building the soil, conserving the water, and supporting diversity.
Jack from Crescent Moon, selling fresh baked bread. Photo by Molly Jameson.
And don’t just come for the produce. At many growers’ markets, there are so many types of fresh-baked breads and cookies, local wildflower honey, local eggs, grass-fed meats, fruit preserves, hand-made soaps, and dried vegetables and powders.
Some growers’ markets in the Tallahassee area include the Lake Ella Growers’ Market, the Red Hills Online Market, the Frenchtown Heritage Marketplace, and the Sunshine Growers’ Market. If you do not live in the Tallahassee area, visit the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Community Farmers Markets locator to find farmers’ markets near you. Take some time to explore your farmers’ markets to see who is growing their own and what markets are growers’ markets. In this way, you can help support local farmers!
