Massachusetts

$262,440 AWARD TOTAL

CNE10-071
Pioneer Valley heritage grain project
Ben Lester, Farmers and Artisans Association, Amherst MA
Grains, beans, and seeds are staples that can benefit from the rising demand for local food. The project manager will link farmers with a growing community of buyers, build the membership and acreage of an existing grain-and-bean CSA, and encourage the nascent reintroduction of crops like wheat, oats, barley, rye, spelt, emmer, flax, dent corn, dried beans, and sunflowers, this last in coordination with two other open SARE grants addressing heritage wheat and alternative crops. Outreach will be through member networks, a winter conference, tours and field days, a workshop, and a web site.
$14,883

CNE10-078
Enhancing farmer access to sustainable shellfish aquaculture areas:
An ecosystem approach
Owen Nichols, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown MA
Regulatory, site, and policy issues affect aquaculture at the town, state, and federal levels, and the permit process can be daunting. The project manager will provide technical support to two coastal towns specific to aquaculture permitting that should result in streamlined licensing for individual producers and improved ecosystem health through enhanced compliance. Outreach will be through an aquaculture trade society and professional conferences.
$15,000

FNE10-677
Solar and plant properties in cardboard mulch prepared no-till beds
Richard Baruc, Seeds of Solidarity Farm, Orange MA
The farmer has observed that cardboard layered on untilled land attracts earthworms, which boost fertility, support mycorrhizal fungi, and improve resistance to soil pathogens. The farmer will test this observation and quantify its impact; he will also assess soil temperature and moisture to see if cardboard-mulched beds can be accessed earlier in the season because they are warmer and drier. Outreach will be through the agricultural media, extension, and an electronic mailing list, through a how-to video and print manual, and project data will be sent out as a spreadsheet in response to inquiries.
$6,107

FNE10-685
Turfing in renovation of cranberry bogs
Jennifer Friedrich, The Edible Yard/Fresh Meadows Farm, Plymouth MA
Cranberry bog renovation, which involves stripping and replanting, is expensive and often means there will be no crop for several seasons. The farmer will see if she can renovate cranberries by cutting turf strips of vines, with roots intact, that can be replanted and produce fruit in the second year. She will track turf renovation upright density, insect pressure, bloom counts, berry set, weed pressure, yield, and other indicators of vitality; outreach will be through industry trade shows, conferences, the web, and a grower meeting.
$12,700

FNE10-686
Entrust vs. Pyganic insecticide in perimeter and internal trap crops
in organic winter squash
Nancy Hanson, Hampshire College Farm Center, Amherst MA
A previous SARE grant to test perimeter and internal trap cropping with Entrust and Surround led to the observation of an apparent sink effect, and the farmer will study this effect further and compare the efficacy of alternative pesticides in combination to see if they will reduce input costs and slow down the development of resistance. Data on beneficial insect populations is another project component, and outreach will be through conference workshops and an extension newsletter.
$5,207

ONE10-131
Irrigation and nutrient management to maximize vegetable yield and minimize pollution
Jed Waddell, Community Harvest Project, North Grafton MA
As the demand for local food increases, so do issues of agricultural runoff of N and P; these losses reduce fertility, pollute ground and surface water, and add to production costs. The project manager will investigate whether an automated moisture measurement and control system can be used to trigger irrigation and fertilization, thus increasing the efficiency of water and nutrient use, and will make the deployment of the system available in real time over the internet so that others can see its results. Outreach will be via a collaborative wiki, social media, a brochure and technical poster, and through a conference or workshop presentation.
$14,986

LNE10-297
Expanding winter harvest and sales for New England vegetable crops
Ruth Hazzard, University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA
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.
$193,557