Research and Education Grant Examples

Successful new techniques in cold-season production need further development as the demand for year-round access to local food increases. The project manager will explore the use of low tunnels, which cost a fraction of high tunnels, for onions, spinach, and Brassicas, and will also work with farmers to improve low-cost storage capacity for fall-harvested crops, specifically carrots. The project includes using winter farmers markets to evaluate farmer and consumer needs, along with workshops, farm tours, and learning networks to support wider understanding of winter harvests. As a result, 75 vegetable growers will increase their harvest or sales of vegetables from December to April through expansion of their growing season or successful crop storage, increasing their annual income by an average $6750 per farm; key indicators will be tracked through diversity and quantity of crops harvested or sold, increases in markets, revenue, or CSA shares, and decreases in harvest or storage losses.