Winter Harvest & Sales

UMass Vegetable Program Starts New Project

Expanding Winter Harvest and Sales for New England Vegetable Crops

Public interest in purchasing locally grown food has grown immensely in recent years throughout New England and across the US. Direct marketing of vegetables and other products has nurtured this interest as have ‘buy local’ organizations that educate consumers about the value of local food. The result has been a rapid increase in the number of farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture farms, growth in sales at farmstands, and preferential treatment for local produce at some supermarkets.

Growers have responded by keeping farmstands open longer and offering various forms of ‘winter shares’ at CSA farms. Winter farmers markets showing up throughout New England and are drawing large crowds of eager customers. To take advantage of every growing opportunity the seasons offer, growers need a multi-pronged approach: 1) summer and fall field production with later fall harvest and long-term storage of crops for winter sales; 2) low-cost season extension for late fall harvests of field-grown crops; 3) overwintering field-grown crops established in fall with low-cost protection for early spring harvest; and 4) succession plantings of hardy greens in high tunnels for harvest during winter. Traditional storage practices combined with improved production technologies are needed to generate, store and market more food to satisfy market needs.

With funding provided by a Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education grant, the UMass Extension Vegetable Program is partnering with University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension and two local food organizations, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) in western MA and Seacoast Eat Local (SEL) in eastern NH on a project that addresses the need for expanding winter harvests and sales for various vegetable crops in New England.

This project serves New England farmers who are responding to the steadily expanding public desire for year-round access to local food. The project builds upon successful innovations in cold-season growing, and will focus on aspects of production and storage that need further development to strengthen this aspect of the regional food system. These will include low tunnel production systems, root crop production, winter storage systems, market development, workshops and farmer networking.

Expanding Winter Harvest and Sales for New England Vegetable Crops

New England farmers are gearing up to respond to the rapidly expanding public desire for year-round access to local food by growing and selling from December through April. This three-year project will build on successful innovations in cold-season growing such as high tunnel production of winter greens, and will focus on aspects of production, crop storage, and marketing that need further development to strengthen this aspect of the regional food system. Our central goal is to help farmers expand vegetable harvest and sales from December-April, and thereby increase their winter income.

To take advantage of every growing opportunity the seasons offer, growers need a multi-pronged approach: 1) summer and fall field production with later fall harvest and long-term storage of crops for winter sales;2) low-cost season extension for late fall harvests of field-grown crops; 3) overwintering field-grown crops established in fall with low-cost protection for early spring harvest; and 4) succession plantings of hardy greens in high tunnels for harvest during winter.

The following will be key elements of this project:

Low tunnels protect cold-hardy crops through the winter for early spring harvest at a fraction of the cost of high tunnels. Growers and researchers in NH, MA and neighboring states will explore low tunnel growing methods for onions, spinach, and Brassicas in six locations over three winters.

Winter Storage — Infrastructure and Crops. We will work with farmers to improve winter storage capacity for fall-harvested vegetable crops by combining existing knowledge of post-harvest physiology with low-cost, energy-efficient designs.  We will research varieties, harvest dates, post-harvest handling and storage methods using carrots as a model crop for long-term storage.

Winter Famers Markets. Two local food organizations, CISA in western MA and Seacoast Eat Local in eastern NH, will organize winter farmers markets to link farmers and the public and will study farmer and consumer needs.

Farmer to Farmer Information Exchange and Educational Programs. A lively exchange of knowledge among farmers and researchers will be supported through workshops, farm tours and learning networks.

Website – We will develop and post information about winter growing and marketing.

Expanding Winter Harvest and Sales for New England Vegetable Crops is a
three-year project (2010-2013)funded by USDA/Northeast SARE.

Partners on the project are:
UMass Vegetable Program (Ruth Hazzard, rhazzard@umext.umass.edu, Amanda Brown, brown@umext.umass.edu)
-Univ. of New Hampshire Vegetable and Small Fruit Program (Becky Sideman, becky.sideman@unh.edu);
- Seacoast Eat Local (Kate Donald, kate@seacoasteatlocal.org);
-Communities Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (Claire Morenon, claire@buylocalfood.org).  

Please call 413-545-3696 for more information.