Mark Your Calendar, Some Sessions Begin March 1

COLUMBIA, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Center for Profitable Agriculture along with UT Extension state and area specialists will conduct an outreach program on specialty crops in Tennessee. The workshop series, “Considerations for Growing and Marketing Specialty Crops in Tennessee,” will address basic production and marketing considerations for producers interested in growing specialty crops.

Specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. The specialty crops to be included in this program are berries, (strawberries, blackberries and blueberries); vegetables (sweet corn, pumpkins and tomatoes); tree nuts (pecans, persimmons, pawpaw and pomegranates) and hops.

“Specialty crops are an important part of the agriculture landscape in Tennessee, and this series of workshops should be helpful to established producers as well as those looking for a start in an agriculture venture,” says Troy Dugger, program coordinator for the Center for Profitable Agriculture, located in Columbia, Tennessee. “These sessions will instruct producers on production practices and budgeting for a variety of specialty crops.”

The meetings begin soon and will be presented at multiple locations across the state by commodity group. The schedule is listed below:

Berry Production (Strawberries, Blueberries and Blackberries)

March 1, 11 a.m. Central Time, Clarksville. Register @ 931-648-5725
March 2, 11 a.m. Central Time, Carthage. Register @ 615-735-2900
March 3, 12 noon. Eastern Time, Clinton. Register @ 865-457-6246

Instructors: David Lockwood, UT Extension professor, Department of Plant Sciences, and Les Humpal, UT Extension area specialist, MANAGE Program.

Vegetable Production

March 8, 8 a.m. Central Time, Ethridge. Tomatoes/Pumpkins. Register @ 931-762-5506
March 8, 2 p.m. Central Time, Fayetteville. Tomatoes/Sweet Corn. Register @ 931-433-1582
March 9, 9:30 a.m. Central Time, Spencer. Tomatoes/Pumpkins. Register @ 931-946-2435
March 10, 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, Maryville. Tomatoes/Sweet Corn. Register @ 865-982-6430

Instructor: Annette Wszelaki, UT Extension professor, Department of Plant Sciences

Tree Nuts Production (Pecans, Pawpaws, Pomegranates, Persimmons and More)

March 11, 10 a.m. Eastern Time, Greeneville. Register @ 423-812-2054
March 29, 1 p.m. Central Time, Linden. Register @ 931-589-2331

Instructor: David Lockwood, UT Extension professor, Department of Plant Sciences

Hop Production

March 29, 10:30 a.m. Central Time, Linden. Register @ 931-589-2331

Instructors: David Lockwood, UT Extension professor, Department of Plant Sciences, and Aaron Smith, UT Extension associate professor, Department of Agricultural and Resources Economics

Each workshop also includes a meal. There is no charge, but preregistration is required, as space is limited in some locations.

Learn more about these workshops and other resources available through the Center for Profitable Agriculture website: cpa.tennessee.edu.

The Center for Profitable Agriculture is a joint effort of UT Extension and the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation. UT Extension provides a gateway to the University of Tennessee as the outreach unit of the UT Institute of Agriculture. With an office in every Tennessee county, UT Extension delivers educational programs and research-based information to citizens throughout the state. In cooperation with Tennessee State University, UT Extension works with farmers, families, youth and communities to improve lives by addressing problems and issues at the local, state and national levels.

Through its land-grant mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu.