HUNT, N.Y. — Cornell Cooperative Extension will be offering field days to aide in understanding how to determine quality and grade of agricultural products. These sessions are designed to prepare farms in NY, both beginning and experienced, to enter new markets.
We will be at the Genesee Valley Produce Auction on Wednesday, May 31st, 5-7PM. We will review concepts of wholesaling marketing and addressing the importance of quality and uniformity. In addition, we will discuss the importance of tracking products, packaging and overview labeling requirements.
Meat Quality will be the focus of our second field day at Grizzly’s Custom Cutting in Hunt, NY on Saturday June 10th form 9:30 AM -12 PM. Participants will be introduced to quality grade and yield of beef carcasses and view a demonstration on meat cutting. We will also discuss what producers can do to control uniformity, consistency and scheduling to meet market demand along with regulations for sale of meat for various market channels.
CCE Wyoming County in Warsaw, NY will be host for High Tunnel Production on Thursday, June 15th from 6:30-8:30 PM. This will be an introductory class on growing vegetables in high tunnels. We will cover basics from choosing structure, potting materials and plant varieties through to marketing produce.
We will be at Toad Song Mushrooms in Varysburg, NY 14167 on Saturday, July 8, 2017 from 9 am-noon. Learning how shiitake mushrooms grow, from selection of logs to sustainable harvesting. The footprint and labor involved in growing clean and marketable shiitake mushrooms will be demonstrated in detail. We will cover laying yard location, set up and organization to maximize production while minimizing labor, when shocking and fruiting mushroom logs, as well as harvesting, packaging, and marketing strategies.
The field days are open to 25 participants; preference given to active or retired NYS Military Veterans on a first-come, first-served basis. Fee is $10/person/field day; veterans may apply for stipend to cover cost of attending. For more information or to apply contact Lynn Bliven, CCE Allegany County at 585-268-7644 ext. 18 or email lao3@cornell.edu.
The Baskets or Pallets is co-hosted by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Allegany, Erie and Wyoming Counties and supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2015-70017-22882.
—Cornell Cooperative Extension
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