The University of Vermont will offer a suite of complementary farm-based summer courses in summer 2015 designed to provide students with applied skills in an educational setting. Course registration begins February 11.
Catamount Farm Summer Experience
http://www.uvm.edu/~summer/catamount-farm/
Learn to Farm and Earn College Credit at the University of Vermont
Dig deep with your education this summer and immerse yourself in the vibrant learning environment of Catamount Education Farm at the University of Vermont. Use your hands and head in these farm-based courses that are simultaneously experiential, innovative and rigorous. Start with the Sustainable Farm Practicum and add up to three more classes for a summer of learning that could earn you a semester’s worth of credit.
Catamount Farm Summer Experience
Instructors: Susie Walsh Daloz and Terry Bradshaw
Dates: May 18-August 5, 2015 (On-line coursework is from May 18-27 and August 3 – 5; On-farm practicum is MW from June 1-July 29)
Time: 9:30am-3pm (MW)
Location: The Catamount Educational Farm at the UVM Horticultural Research Center
Course Description: In this hands-on, experiential course, students will learn principles and practices of sustainable, diversified vegetable production at the Catamount Educational Farm (part of the UVM Horticultural Research Center). Topics to be covered over this twelve-week course include: vegetable crop families, soil management, composting, organic weed, pest and disease control, propagation and planting, crop planning, irrigation and marketing techniques.
The class format will consist of a combination of lectures, hands-on fieldwork, and visits to local vegetable farms. Concepts and skills taught will immediately be applied through participation in Catamount Educational Farm’s five acre vegetable operation that supplies produce to the community through a CSA, a farm stand and multiple wholesale accounts. Students will also have the opportunity to work with participants in the UVM Farmer Training Program. The Sustainable Farm Practicum is open to UVM undergraduates as well as to students from other colleges and universities who are interested in an on-farm for-credit training experience. This course also fulfills credits for the UVM Food Systems minor.
“Awesome summer course, hands on experience is unparalleled especially in agriculture, learned a lot of valuable information.” – 2014 Sustainable Farm Practicum student
Instructor: Lily Calderwood
Dates: TR, May 18 – June 12, 2015
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Location: The Catamount Educational Farm at the UVM Horticultural Research Center
Course Description: This course will cover the nuts and bolts of sustainable hop production. The goal of the course is to give participants all the knowledge they need to start a hop yard of their own. Topics will include agronomic and infrastructure challenges, our mistakes, and current practices. Field prep, planting, stringing, training, pest management, harvest, and storage will be covered in addition to the topics listed below. We will take field visits to three hop yards in Vermont.
Instructor: Kate Finley Woodruff
Dates: TR, May 18 – June 12, 2015
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Location: TBD
Course Description: This course will address various aspects related to marketing products, services, and experiences that are branded “Vermont”. The course will incorporate policy issues as it relates to marketing Vermont (such as GMO, raw milk, Made in Vermont, regulation and enforcement), determine WHO is doing the marketing (including for-profit entrepreneurs, state agencies, regional organizations, even UVM!), discuss WHY we use the Vermont name (what value it might have to consumers, and various consumers from visitors to vegetarians), WHERE the Vermont name is used (packaging to trucking to billboards, etc.)and the WHO and HOW of marketing Vermont products (including the opportunity to visit food manufacturers, artists, wood product producers, etc.). This course provides a comprehensive look at Vermont as a brand, and what value the name represents for farmers, value-added producers, the tourism industry, consumers, and more.
Instructor: Terry Bradshaw
Dates: TR, June 15 – July 10, 2015
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Location: The Catamount Educational Farm at the UVM Horticultural Research Center
Course Description: Students will learn principles and practices of commercial orchard and vineyard crop production, including: site selection and preparation; cold hardiness development; varietal selection; tree and vine training and trellising systems; nutrient, water and pest management; harvest and postharvest considerations. Special emphasis will be placed on environmental and economic sustainability of fruit production systems.
“Super knowledgeable, and super on top of his game. Terry’s class is one of a kind and an invaluable resource for anybody interested in apples or grapes! It really is an incredible class and the real world application is off the charts.” – 2014 Sustainable Orchard & Vineyard Management student
Instructor: Lynn Fang
Dates: TR, July 13 – August 7, 2015
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
Location: The Catamount Educational Farm at the UVM Horticultural Research Center
Course Description: This course explores ecological, physical and chemical principles behind composting, the practical management of the composting process, and benefits of using compost in plant and soil ecosystems. Prerequisite: Three credits in basic biological or ecological science or Instructor permission.
