The Common Bond Between Growers And Extension

There is no doubt that the relationship between fruit growers and university Extension, farm advisors, and researchers has changed dramatically over the years. However, the knowledge gained from Extension remains critical. As part of our coverage of cutbacks in Extension, we asked growers across the country about the value that Extension brings to their operation, how they have specifically benefited, and how their farms might be affected by a loss in Extension support. The following is just a sampling of the feedback we received.

Advertisement

Value To Your Business

• Accessibility. Almost every grower we talked to noted that their contacts at Extension make themselves available at any time. “Where else can you get the most recent information on stink bug or brown rot resistance,” says Nathan Milburn of Milburn Orchards in Elkton, MD.

• A resource for small and mid-size growers. “The value of farm advisors is that medium and small growers need someone to turn to,” says Martin Britz, a stone fruit, grape, and almond grower in Fresno, CA. “Even large growers use farm advisors as a sounding board.”

• Unbiased source of information. “Extension has the unique ability to provide specialized third-party information that is difficult to find elsewhere,” says Eric Brown of Brown’s Berry Patch in Waterport, NY.

Top Articles
Have a Plan For Climate Change? Why Fruit Growers Need To Act Now

• Source for information outside your area. “We find Extension has been helpful in providing updates on what’s happening nationally and internationally,” says Ed Weaver of Weaver’s Orchard in Morgantown, PA.

• Meetings. Whether it’s attending industry conferences or field days (or even hosting them), the discussions that take place at these gatherings are critical.

• Profitability. “Extension recommendations for herbicide use have greatly reduced our weed pressure and thus have improved our yields and income,” says Charlie O’Dell, Crow’s Nest Farm in Blacksburg, VA (and “Berries” columnist for American/Western Fruit Grower).

• Dealing with regulations. Growers are faced with increasing regulatory pressure every day. When it comes to anything from water management to food safety to labor, they can turn to Extension for advice on how to cope with a constantly changing landscape.
Specific Benefits

• Participation in trials to develop new production systems. A number of growers have partnered with Extension on systems trials on their farms, to the benefit of both parties. “Maybe Extension can’t do everything from their stations because they don’t have the funding,” says Bob Black, Catoctin Mountain Orchard in Thurmont, MD. “We can easily give them a tenth of an acre.”

For growers, these trials can revolutionize one farm, or an entire industry. “Lynn Long (Oregon State University) has provided up-to-date data on the best cherry varieties, rootstocks, and production systems,” says Tim Dahle of Dahle Orchards in The Dalles, OR. “This has completely changed the way producers operate within our district.”

• Pests. From beetles to rot resistance, and most recently stink bug and citrus greening, growers rely on Extension for constant updates on pest pressure. “A few years ago, Chang-Lin Xiao (of Washington State University) provided insightful solutions on an internal rot issue in Fuji that affected hundreds of thousands boxes of fruit,” says Tom Butler, a horticultural field rep for Washington Fruit and Produce in Yakima, WA.

• Staying in the apple business. “I credit Extension with growers still being in the apple business in our area” says Kenny Barnwell of Kenny Barnwell Orchards in Edneyville, NC. “Without showing us these new varieties, and putting them on smaller rootstocks, our industry would really be suffering. Without Extension, a viable business could easily be destroyed.”

• Gala and other new apples. “I credit our long-time agent Arthur Thompson for getting us started in Gala,” says Black. “Everyone knows how valuable Gala is now, and how it’s gotten people to eat more apples.”

• IPM. “We have cooperated for many years in the Area Wide Mating Disruption Project directed by Larry Hull at Penn State University,” says Brad Hollabaugh of Hollabaugh Bros., Inc. in Biglerville, PA. “That research is just one example of work that was done on our farm that helped prove the value of IPM on farms in our region.”

• Organic. “There’s tremendous demand in our area for organic apples, so I’ve become more interested,” says Gary Mount of Terhune Orchards in Princeton, NJ. “To make it work, it will take a cooperation of our IPM people.”

• Thinning. Heavy rains in parts of the country have led some growers to turn to Extension for thinning advice. “This year I’ve been asking about how to evaluate the effect of nine days of rainy, cloudy weather a few days after bloom, and how to adjust my thinning program,” says Mo Tougas of Tougas Family Farm in Northborough, MA.

What’s At Stake

So what will be affected if Extension continues to face cuts? Here are a few possibilities.

• Bringing in the next generation. Several growers were concerned about how the next generation of growers and scientists will deal with this changing landscape. “If funding is going down, what young person will want to get into a career in pomology if there’s little hope of a positive future?” says Kurt Alstede of Alstede Farms in Chester, NJ.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Some growers are putting their younger family members in charge of coordinating projects. “We’re part of a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) project which is replicated on 12 sites in the area to demonstrate the viability of high-density apple systems on trellis,” says Weaver. “I’ve given my son Justin the responsibility of that project on our farm. It’s been a great way to connect him with Extension and increase his understanding of apple production.”

• Unexpected pest problems. “I think you will see Extension continue to get cut, and then there will be some pest outbreak that goes beyond production agriculture. All of a sudden people will be asking why we aren’t studying this problem,” says Alstede.

Hollabaugh echoes these sentiments. “Research on problems like brown marmorated stink bug might not get done. No research means no data, and growers would be left without resources to support their production efforts.”

• Less localized information. “We’ll have to rely on information that is less specific to our region,” says Ed Robinette of Robinette Orchards in Grand Rapids, MI.

Perhaps Tom Butler sums it up best with his thoughts: “Extension provides a technical bridge to university information that no other entity can. With the changes in agriculture toward higher and higher levels of sophistication in techniques and corresponding decisions and costs, it is this information that is critical.”

0