N.C. MarketReady launches the Tomato Growers Information Portal just as the greenhouse tomato season kicks off. Producers now have a one-stop shop for materials on production practices, business management and market data regarding tomatoes.
Carl Canaluppi stands before an asparagus field in the fern-growth stage. N.C. isn’t known (yet) for its asparagus production. In fact, it’s a relatively new introduction to Southern cuisine. That doesn’t deter Carl Cantaluppi, an N.C. Cooperative Extension area horticulture agent with the Granville and Person County Centers. He has been evaluating asparagus trials in North Carolina since 1994 and suggests that N.C. farmers will find asparagus to be a high-value, low-input specialty crop ideal for direct market.
Farmers in North Carolina have a new online resource to help them establish and grow their blackberry and raspberry operations. The Blackberry & Raspberry Growers Information Portal was developed as a one-stop shop to bring together all the resources pertaining to business management and production of blackberries and raspberries in North Carolina.
One of the first tools released by N.C. MarketReady will be the Fresh Produce Safety – Field to Family training curriculum to help fruit and vegetable growers across the state minimize fresh produce safety risks. The training manual will be distributed statewide in November to Cooperative Extension agents who will offer workshops for growers. The training manual focuses on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), including what it takes to obtain GAPs certification, and managing risks from field to market.
The Program for Value-Added and Alternative Agriculture recently launched two new sections on this Web site. These online resources for the North Carolina Value-Added Cost Share program (NCVACS) and Cooperative Development provide agricultural producers with information about a new funding opportunity for value-added enterprises and outline the steps for creating an agricultural cooperative.
The Produce Lady video series tells farmers and consumers the wonders of locally grown fruits and vegetables – the nutrition they provide, the delicious meals or snacks families can enjoy with each vegetable or fruit and how to prepare them as tasty meals and snacks or freeze them to use throughout the year.
Interested in building or expanding an agricultural business? A series of seven tools for assessing new agricultural business ideas has been developed to help evaluate your business endeavor.
The Produce Lady’s blog provides a personal look at locally grown foods, healthy recipes, N.C. farmers markets, produce videos and food safety practices.
Gary Bullen, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and the Program for Value-Added and Alternative Agriculture, supports new enterprise evaluation, business skills development and direct marketing initiatives at N.C. State University.
Most recently, Gary has developed a set of Business Development Files to assist growers interested in starting or expanding an agricultural business. Please contact your Cooperative Extension agent to begin the step-by-step process in evaluating your agricultural business endeavor.
Dr. Michael Walden, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, provides numerous helpful resources, including the N.C. Economic Outlook Series, You Decide, a biweekly newsletter, and Economic Perspective, a daily radio show. His NC State University faculty page includes information on state and county agribusiness values. Check it out here.
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A grant from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission supports the development of this Web site. |
