Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
The Alabama Beginning Farmers Project is funded by grants from the USDA Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program (Awards 2015-04598 & 2018-02936). The overall project implementation plan involves collaboration with a wide range of institutions, producer groups, and nonprofit organizations for supporting beginning farmers statewide. In collaboration with Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Crotovina, Farmscape Solutions, and The United Christian Community Association, the BFRD Program provides science-based information and consultation to beginning farmers, develops new educational resources, and sustains a statewide network of producers to strengthen the local food movement that is inclusive of low-resource farmers and military veterans.
Project objectives:
- Provide science-based information and consultation to beginning farmers.
- Support and collaborate with third-party educational programs.
- Develop new educational resources (e-curriculum, phone app, printed materials).
- Sustain a statewide network of producers to strengthen the local food movement that is inclusive of low resource farmers and military veterans.
More Information
For more information, visit alabamabeginningfarmer.com.
Program Coordinator: Ayanava Majumdar
Commercial Horticulture Regional Extension Agents, Extension Coordinators, and Specialists
Technical Assistance Providers: Jayme Oates, Karen Wynne, Lee McBride, Andrew Williams
Funding Agency : USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (Phase 1 & 2 Grants) www.nifa.usda.gov/programs
Project Training Events
The Beginning Farmer program offers special training events for all farmers. Look for information on Farmer 101 and 201 in the ACES calendar.
Monthly webinar presentations are available live at 9 A.M. Topics include greenhouse production, insect pest alerts and management, disease diagnosis and more. The calendar for these webinars is shown below. Click here to watch live on these dates.
2020 Commercial Horticulture Team Webinar Presentations
| Date | Topic | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| January 27 | Whole farm revenue protection (WFRP), Fruit chilling accumulation update, So what happened in 2019? An overview of insect pest activity in vegetables across Alabama | Kevin Burkett, Gary Gray and Edgar Vinson, Ayanava Majumdar |
| February 24 | First season yield of ‘Cresthaven’ peach on semi-dwarf, pest resistant rootstocks, Legal pesticide use | Elina Coneva, Katelyn Kesheimer |
| March 30 | Summer weed control in turfgrasses, weed control in christmas trees, cover crop management | Dave Han, Jeremy Pickens, Audrey Gamble |
| April 27 | Agritourism, Irrigation monitoring systems, Overview organic insecticide recommendations for summer crops, Specialty melons for Alabama | Matthew Ulmer, Eric Schavey, Ayanava Majumdar, Joe Kemble |
| May 18 | Advances in pecan production, Use of poultry litter as a source of nutrients for crop, Cowpea curculio IPM update | Doug Chapman, Neil Kelly, Rishi Prasad & Ayanava Majumdar |
| June 29 | Strawberry cultivar evaluation, Hemp insect update, Enhancing conservation while implementing food safety practices | Edgar Vinson, Katelyn Kesheimer, Kristin Woods |
| July 27 | Professional licensing in the landscape, Preparing for fall vegetable crops, Top 10 diseases of ornamentals | John Nabors, Joe Kemble, Amanda Strayer |
| August 31 | Insect pests of turfgrass, Pesticide training program updates, Insect pest updates for vegetable producers | Dave Han, Sonja Thomas, Ayanava Majumdar |
| September 28 | Trellis for blackberries, muscadine's and grapes, Using cover crops to suppress weeds in vegetable plasticulture, Pumpkin production basics | Eric Schavey, Steve Li, Neil Kelly |
| October 26 | Fall turfgrass disease update, Diagnostic lab update, History of Hemp | Jim Jacobi, Kassie Conner, Katelyn Kesheimer |
| November 30 | Weed control in ground covers, Marketing Considerations for Industrial Hemp, Beginning farmer program resources | Jeremy Pickens, Adam Robinowitz, Ayanava Majumdar |
Take the Survey
Did you join us for a commercial horticulture webinar? We want to hear from you! Take just a minute or two and fill out the short survey below and tell us what you think. These surveys not only help better our programs but also help determine federal and state funding. This funding allows us to continue providing affordable, research-based education to you and your family.
Take the commercial horticulture webinar survey.
Check us out on Facebook for more information and events.