Browse Sustainable Stories - Page 10

Women own 13.6 percent of America’s active farms and their farms produce almost $13 billion worth of goods each year. Just like male farmers, they need access to business and technical information to help make their farms successful. But while many pride themselves on not needing a “women’s only” class on how to work the land or run a business, many other women simply feel more comfortable learning around other female farmers.

Organic and sustainable agriculture experts from the University of Georgia will host their fourth annual Organic Twilight Tour on Tuesday, June 23 from 6-8 p.m. at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' Durham Horticulture Farm, 1221 Hog Mountain Road, Watkinsville, Georgia.

UGA Extension in Forsyth County is launching a series of intensive summer workshops for those who raise or who would like to raise backyard chickens. The classes will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on June 4, 11, 18 and 25 in Cumming. Pre-registration is required and each class costs $5.

Two College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) students are using their academic experiences to affect lasting change on the University of Georgia’s Athens Campus.

The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia’s food hub, housed in its Rabun County facility, will be the first in the country to leverage a regional food bank’s supply chain to help farmers aggregate and preserve their produce. In partnership with University of Georgia Extension, the organizations will join forces to increase access to local food and local jobs.

Pioneers in sustainable agriculture, backyard gardeners and urban homesteaders gathered in Athens this month to share knowledge gathered over years of working the land and to learn new skills from researchers at the University of Georgia.

Starting in October, a new training program will offer beginning and young farmers crash courses in business planning, vegetable and fruit production and goat husbandry to provide them with a strong foundation to help grow their new businesses.

The market for organic produce increases every year as does the number of farmers stepping up to meet that demand, but the number of seed companies catering this growing market is still relatively limited.

The addition of specialized agriscience and environmental systems courses — precision agriculture, sustainable agriculture and plant breeding/genetics — is expected to bolster already strong academic programs at the University of Georgia Athens and Tifton campuses.

University of Georgia Extension in Spalding County will host a spring workshop focusing on how to maximize production on small, sustainable farms and gardens and how to tap into local markets.