Lauren Mucha and Oliver Owen own and operate Ascutney Harvest in Ascutney, Vermont. Their half-acre market garden consists mostly of mixed vegetables and herbs which require washing and packing before heading off to two different farmers markets and a few wholesale vendors. They are fairly new to this land, and needed to make a quick …
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Lissa Goldstein runs the farming operation at Wild Work Farm in Keene Valley, New York nestled in the Adirondack Mountains. Wild Work is a diversified vegetable farm with some blueberries and fruit trees. When Lissa heard we were building out examples of wash/pack areas she reached out to share details of her shipping container project, …
Continue reading “Planning Tames the Postharvest Beast at Wild Work Farm”
If you grow berry crops you’ve most likely heard of spotted wing drosophila (SWD, Drosophila suzukii). This invasive pest has caused significant crop losses in the region since at least 2011. While there are chemical pesticides with varied efficacy, one practice that we’ve focused on is physical exclusion with netting. Pioneered in the region by …
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A video version of this case study is available here and a printable PDF is available here. Evan Perkins & Heidi Choate own and operate Small Axe Farm in Barnet, Vermont. Together, they have been farming mixed vegetables for over 20 years and have been running Small Axe Farm since 2008. About Small Axe Farm …
The UVM Extension Produce Safety Team has developed a video series focused on postharvest upgrades for your farm. Whether your project is organizing a relatively simple outside wash station or building a full packshed from scratch, we share the principles and practice with examples to help you make the most of it. An outline of …
While in Pennsylvania for a conference, I made a side trip to Market Farm Implement in the south western part of the state. They are a popular manufacturer, importer and dealer for small scale vegetable crop machinery. Market Farm Implement have ads in publications like Vegetable Growers but their online presence is limited which poses …
Lisa MacDougall has led Mighty Food Farm through start-up, relocation from rented land to owned land, and now through the construction of a brand-new 60 ft x 90 ft wash and pack shed. She’s done this all while producing a diverse mix of organic vegetables, tree fruit and berries on fourteen acres, now, in Shaftsbury. …
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Download the PDF Fact Sheet of this Post Harvest Case Study Here! Taylor and Jake Mendel own and operate Footprint Farm in Starksboro, VT. Starting their own farm in 2013, they now produce pretty much everything except storage potatoes and storage squash with 66 different kinds of vegetables grown in both fields and high-tunnels.
