Christa HartsookFarm, Food and Enterprise Development, Small Farms Program515-294-4430hartc@iastate.edu The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are many, but one thing that hasn’t changed for Iowa’s small farmers is the …
The Fight Against Foodborne Illnesses
Nearly half – 46 percent – of the nation’s foodborne illness outbreaks are linked to eating fruits, vegetables or nuts. An Iowa State University team of researchers and Extension and …
Farmers Market Nutrition Program vendor training
Watch webinar in Waterloo on March 26th or April 15th In cooperation with the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will provide viewing for …
New Survey to Shed Light on Trade-offs Between Food Safety and Conservation Practices on Produce Farms in the Eastern United States
By Daniel Weller, Patrick Baur, and Aaron Adalja Recent studies have suggested that on-farm food safety practices can have unexpected economic and ecological impacts. Despite the potential for negative consequences, …
North American Raspberry & Blackberry Conference
The North American Raspberry & Blackberry Conference will be held March 3-6, in St. Louis, Missouri. This national conference features a Fundamentals of Production workshop March 3, a full-day tour …
Prune fruit trees with care
Fruit trees can be a beautiful and fun addition to any landscape, and they should be pruned to obtain good yields of high-quality fruit. There are three important aspects to …
PFI’s 2020 farminar season starts Jan. 7
Practical Farmers of Iowa’s 2020 winter webinar series, referred to as “farminars,” will start on Tuesday, Jan. 7, with a presentation on an incubator farm model in Minnesota. The event …
Advice to first-time gardeners: Think small. Find your spot.
Another growing season is building momentum with the arrival of the 2020 seed catalogs, and gardeners are drafting plans for new harvests. There’s such a thing as being too enthusiastic, …
A new tomato is ideal for urban gardens (and space)
Farmers could soon be growing tomatoes bunched like grapes in a storage unit, on the roof of a skyscraper, or even in space. That’s if a clutch of new gene-edited …
Iowa Specialty Producers Conference Is Jan. 23-24 in Ankeny
The Iowa Specialty Producers Conference will be held Thursday and Friday, Jan. 23-24, at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny. For the first time, the event is a joint gathering of the …