Southern Region Small Fruit Center is up and running. The virtual center, begun Sept. 17, was a year in the making." /> Southern Region Small Fruit Center is up and running. The virtual center, begun Sept. 17, was a year in the making." />

CAES Newswire

College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension

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Published on 09/27/99

Southern Region Small Fruit Center Web Site Opens

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Just in time to send out important information to farmers hit by Hurricane Floyd, the Southern Region Small Fruit Center is up and running.

The virtual center, begun Sept. 17, was a year in the making. It's the product of a joint effort by the University of Georgia, North Carolina State and Clemson.

Under a two-year agreement, each institution supported the creation of the Web site and supports its maintenance with a combination of staffing or funding. It costs $100,000 annually to operate the center.

"Our Web site is the CNN of the small fruit world," said Barclay Poling, director of the center at N.C. State. "We're reacting to the hurricane now, putting out advisories to growers almost at the speed of thought."

That speed will be a boon to small-fruit farmers and the county Extension Service agents who serve them in the South. Small fruits include strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and grapes.

The Web site is a repository of the latest research information on horticultural practices, pest control, cultivation techniques, marketing news, weather and activity within the small crop community.

The vision for an on-line information site came from James Fischer, director of Clemson's Agricultural Experiment Station, at a meeting last June.

Fischer said a virtual center would be the best way to keep farmers and extension staff in touch with each other and with land-grant universities.

"With the Southern states working together, we think we can build a stronger small-fruit industry across the region," Poling said.

The center's goal is not only to provide the latest information to commercial growers and extension agents, but to encourage economic opportunities for farmers through expanding small-fruit production.

Mike Bonnette is the assistant information technology manager at the Southern Region Small Fruit Center.

Experts/Sources:

Barclay Poling

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