[New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station]Clifford E. and Melda C. Snyder Research & Extension Farm - Rutgers Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Home
Research
[Projects]
People
About Us
Support Us
Directions
Contact
Links

Small Farm Equipment Demonstration

  
[previous page]
Printable Agenda and Flyer (pdf)



Snyder Research and Extension Farm
141 Locust Grove Rd, Pittstown, NJ

Small Farm Equipment Demonstration
Intense One-day Experience

For new/beginning, 1st generation, or part-time farmers

Monday, October 12, 2009 (Columbus Day)
8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Rain or shine
Registration of $45, includes lunch
Pre-registration required
Call (908) 730-9419 for more information
Limited to 50 participants




Participate in an experience to help you make better future judgments about selecting and investing in equipment necessary to enter profitable smaller-scale or part-time farming. Many sources provide information for small-scale farming. This training provides practical comprehensive review of equipment, views of equipment, and demonstrates the varieties of equipment used in successful small-scale farming operations.

A. Primary & secondary tractors and tillage implements

  1. Demonstration, defining power requirements, and cost of ownership.
  2. Soil differences and appropriate tillage in relation to moisture and vegetation.

B. Fertilizer and lime application equipment

  1. Demonstration and discussion of various fertilizer and lime spreader designs, including a rotary and drop spreaders. Cost of ownership.
  2. Basic plant nutrition and soil pH. Calibration of spreaders.

C. Planting equipment

  1. Seeding and transplanting demonstration and discussing cost of ownership.
  2. Review of operating parameters, including importance of straight row procedures, seeding depth, and spacing of vegetable and other seeds
  3. Proper handling of transplants pre-and post-planting.

D. Horticulture/vegetable crop irrigation

  1. Trickle irrigation operation demonstration and discussion. Lower power + lower flow rates = lower capital and operating costs.
  2. Overhead irrigation operation, design, capacity, power requirement.
  3. Demonstration and cost of ownership. How to pick the right irrigation methods for you. New Jersey DEP reporting regulation.

E. Controlling pests and pesticide application and safety

  1. Using backpack sprayers. Utilization, operation, calibration, efficiency and costs compared to tractor-mounted sprayers or ATV mounted sprayers for small farms.
  2. Review of basic herbicide insecticide and fungicide application methods, including products approved for organic crop production.
  3. Demonstrations and discussions of cost of ownership.
  4. Pesticide application workplace safety equipment and demonstration. Review of NJ DEP pesticide licensing requirements.

F. Crop cultivation equipment

  1. Demonstration operating a variety of specialized small equipment.
  2. Discussion on why we cultivate, costs of ownership.
  3. Fertilizer side dressing combined with cultivation
  4. Mechanical cultivation weed control strategies.

    a) Let no weeds go to seed. Labor vs. equipment challenges. Managing time and timing on part-time farms with crop selection, reducing acres, longer rotations, etc.

    b) Tension between mechanical tillage cultivation chemical alternatives vs. improving soil health.

G. Growing and making hay and/or livestock forage

  1. Demonstrate equipment: seeder or drill, mower or mower/conditioner haybine, windrow hay rake or tether, baler, and wagons.
  2. Discuss economy of scale in hay/forage enterprise, used equipment, need for low cost quality organic forages to support alternative livestock.