NEW ENGLAND VEGETABLE AND BERRY GROWERS ASSN. MEETING
FRIDAY JANUARY 5, 2001.

Fairview Knights of Columbus Hall, Chicopee MA.
(I-91 south to Mass Pike east, take exit 5 to Route 33, Memorial Drive, north to K of C Hall across from Abdow restaurant). Registration at-the-door is $10 for non-members. Call Dom Marini by Dec. 29 to reserve lunch (508) 378-2546. Pesticide credits will be available.

10:00  ‘Organic Vegetable Culture'
 John Howell, UMass Extension, Doug Coldwell and Gary Gemme, growers
10:45  ‘Vine Crop Diseases'
 Meg McGrath, Cornell University
11:30 ‘Post Harvest Handling of Vegetables and Berries'
 Bill Bramlage, Umass
12:00 Lunch
1:15 ‘Cultivating Equipment'
 Vern Grubinger, UVM Extension
1:45 ‘Farm Visit Slides'
 Ruth Hazzard, UMass Extension
2:15 ‘Shields for Herbicides'
 Rich Bonanno, Umass Extension
2:45 ‘Weed Management in Pumpkins'
 Todd Mervosh, CT Agricultural Experiment Station

TRI-STATE GREENHOUSE IPM PROGRAM
JANUARY 11, 2000.

University of Vermont, Burlington VT
Pre-registration is required, $40 per person includes hand lens, lunch and handouts. Enrollment is limited to 30. Contact Margaret Skinner, UVM Entomology Research Laboratory, mskinner@zoo.uvm.edu or 802-656-5440. 4 pesticide credits available.
 
8:30  Biological Control: Interactive Case Studies of Real-Life situations.
10:00  Predators to the Rescue: When are they effective for bedding plant IPM?
11:00  pH Testing, Fertilization and Pest Relationships.
12:00  Lunch
1:00  Mighty Microbes for IPM: good fungi, bacteria & nematodes.
2:00  What's the Problem? Learn how to diagnose plant problems accurately.
3:00 What's New? What are Growers Using? The latest chemical and biorational pesticides.

CONFERENCE: BIOTECHNOLOGY: PROGRESS OR PROBLEM?
JANUARY 17-19, 2001. Binghamton, NY.

This event is for community and organization leaders, farmers, government and industry, extension, and others who are wrestling with questions around new biotechnology developments. Discussion sessions will focus on food quality and choices, implications for small farms, and environmental impacts and benefits. Each discussion session will begin with two speakers with differing views. General sessions on consumer decision making, media coverage of biotechnology and government regulation will follow. Speakers include Fred Kirschenmann, Joan Gussow and Tom Lyson, along with representatives from the biotechnology industry,  government and academia. Registration is $145; or $45 with a scholarship. The conference will be at the Best Western Binghamton Regency Hotel (800-723-7676), where rooms are being held until December 27 at $66 single or double, $86 for a quad. Lodging is also available at the Days Inn (607-724-3297). For a brochure or more information, contact NRAES at nraes@cornell.edu, call (607) 255-7654 or visit www.nraes.org. To discuss the scholarship, contact Kathy Ruhf at kruhf@smallfarm.org or (413) 323-4531.

FARMING FOR THE FUTURE CONFERENCE
FEBRUARY 9-10, 2001. State College, PA.

The conference will feature 50 workshops on topics ranging from pastured poultry to composting, seasonal dairy production to biotech issues, high tunnel production to cover cropping, farm training of interns and apprentices to organic grain production. The keynote speaker is Jim Hightower, former Texas Agriculture Commissioner, the author of "Hard Times, Hard Tomatoes," "Theres Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos," and most recently "If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote, They Would Have Given Us Candidates." The conference includes meals featuring locally produced foods, a youth program and trade show. For more information contact at Kate Francis kjf11@psu.edu or  at (814)349-9856 ext. 2, check out the PASA website at www.pasafarming.org.

NEW YORK STATE VEGETABLE CONFERENCE
FEBRUARY 13-15, 2001. Liverpool (near Syracuse) NY.

Registration is $30 per person per day. For a complete conference brochure call Jean Warholic (607) 539-7648. To reserve lodging call the Holiday Inn Conference Center at (315) 457-1122.
Feb. 13: snap bean, labor, cabbage, potato and brassica sessions
Feb 14: sweet corn, onion, beet/carrot, mixed fresh vegetable sessions
Feb 15: Halloween crops, soil quality, tomato and pepper sessions

DEADLINE FOR AGR CROP INSURANCE SIGN UP IS JANUARY 31.
The Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) insurance plan is a non-traditional approach to crop insurance that is now being offered by the USDA Risk Management Agency through private commecial insurance companies. It protects growers of all types against losses of revenue due to unavoidable causes. A huge variety of crops are included in the coverage. Instead of using an estimated value of these crops calculated by someone else, the AGR uses the last 5 years of your Schedule F tax form information as a base to provide a level of guaranteed revenue for the insurance period. This is the second year that AGR is available in Vermont, but few growers took advantage last year (many wish they had!). YOU MUST SIGN UP BY JANUARY 31 TO GET COVERAGE FOR THE 2001 GROWING SEASON. For more information, contact either: Arthur G. Caroll Crop Insurance Agency 800-531-4700 or Rain and Hail, LLC 800-776-4045.

COMING SOON:
Programs for: the VT Vegetable and Berry Grower Assn. meeting at the Vermont farm show on January 24 and the Association's annual meeting at the Rutland Holiday Inn on February 13, as well as the VT/NH Small Fruit School in W. Lebanon NH on March 6. Also, the NOFA-VT winter conference program for February 17 at Vermont Technical College will be available shortly.