Farmer’s Favorite: Univerco Barrel Washer

Josh Carter is the manager of the market garden at Shelburne Farms.  They grow three acres of certified organic fruit, vegetables and flowers while supporting an educational mission. They wanted to eliminate a bottleneck in their postharvest systems of hand washing roots with hoses and power washers, turning them around by hand or in crates. …

Farmer’s Favorites: Shipping Containers and Their Use on Vegetable Farms

Farming requires lots of space. Space to grow vegetables, conditioned space to store harvested produce, and a secure space to house tools out of the weather. Barns and tool sheds can be expensive, and building takes time. If you’re farming on rented land, it’s even harder to justify the investment in a permanent building. Shipping …

Patient Pursuit of Packshed Happiness at Ananda Gardens

Patrick Sullivan and Melisa Oliva have been farming for 5 years at Ananda Gardens, a CSA Farm in Middlesex, Vermont. They have been working to grow their farm and improve their wash-pack area as they renovated the 1950s dairy barn that stood on the property. They have 150 CSA members between the fall and spring …

Root Washers for Produce Farms

There are many ways to wash root crops on produce farms. This guide covers a range of options from smaller farms washing by hand to larger operations with fully automated wash lines.  Watch the Webinar Root Washing Systems with Hans Estrin | VVBGA Webinar Series Spray tables Spray tables are commonly used to rinse bunched …

AZS Rinse Conveyor User Guide

The AZS Rinse conveyor is a versatile machine as explained in Innovation in Small Scale Vegetable Washing Equipment which goes through its features and benefits. Now you’ve made the decision to purchase one, or already have one on your farm you don’t know where to start. Little paperwork comes with the machine so we’ve put …

Project Planning for Postharvest Efficiency, Profitability & Food Safety (Free 8-Part Packshed Webinar)

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 …

Last Resort Farm: Post Harvest Case Study (Video Series)

Silas Doyle-Burr is managing Last Resort Farm in Monkton, VT, taking over the operations from his parents on the farm he grew up at. The farm was purchased in 1987, and transitioned from dairy farming to vegetable production in 1993, and now grow 26 different crops split just about evenly retail vs. wholesale. The following …

The BarnHouse: Optimized for Modern Day Vegetable Farming at Footprint Farm

 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.

Bins, Buckets, Baskets & Totes

So you’re starting to farm, or scaling up your production. You hear talk about produce safety and cleanability.  You are checking out what other farms are doing and are looking for harvest crates and storage bins. You probably noticed lots of people use many different things. Some use 5-gallon pails, milk crates, muck buckets, some …

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