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September
2004
Northeast SARE Farmer/Grower Grant Program
applications available. The Northeast Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education Program’s Farmer/Grower
Grant Program “supports Northeast farmers who want to
explore innovative sustainable practices on their farms.”
The program is open to farmers in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine,
Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, or Washington,
DC. It allows farmers to conduct experiments, try new approaches,
and test emerging ideas about agricultural sustainability.
The emphasis is on new ideas that advance good stewardship,
improve farm profitability, and strengthen rural communities.”
The deadline for the 2005 grant round is December
7, 2004. For information and application, click on
http://www.uvm.edu/~nesare/FGinfo.html.
(Source: Pennsylvania Vegetable Grower, July ’04).
Pennsylvania Small Business Advantage
Grants applications available. Small Business Advantage
is a new grant program providing a 50% matching grant, up
to a maximum of $7,500, to enable a Pennsylvania small business
to adopt or acquire energy efficient or pollution prevention
equipment or processes that can help to increase profitability.
Any Pennsylvania small business may apply. Applications for
the Small Business Advantage grant program are being accepted
through June 30, 2005. For information and
application, click
on Small Business Advantage.
Where costs may rise in '05
is reported in a September 16 article on CNN Money online.
“The annual inflation rate, as measured by the consumer
price index, is currently around 3 percent. . . . But when
it comes to a lot of the recurrent and critical costs in your
life, the price hikes are often steeper than inflation. .
. . taken together, the hikes can take a notable bite out
of your bottom line.” The article notes “six areas
where you're likely to see costs rise in 2005”: health
insurance; heating bills; college tuition; homeowners and
auto insurance; interest rates and new home construction.
Read the complete article at http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/15/pf/costrise_2005/index.htm
All in the Family: Keeping the business
in the family and the family in the business is featured
in Digger (Farwest Edition), Aug. 04. “Many
family-owned businesses struggle to survive beyond a single
generation. The statistics are staggering. Two-thirds of family
businesses never survive the passing of the founder, and only
10 percent make it to the third generation of family control.
. . . the issue of liquidity can become a real challenge when
it comes to separating the business value from the estate
value. . . . Dividing the inheritance when there is a business
involved often means having enough other liquid assets to
be able to give the children involved in the business the
business asset and give other assets to children who are not
involved in the business. . . . A team of advisers made up
of an attorney, a certified public accountant, an insurance
agent and a financial planner becomes very important in helping
you address these issues and to plan accordingly.”
Standing Ovation: A new USDA-released
strawberry variety has tested well in terms of fruit quality
in different systems reports the “Crop Focus”
feature in American Vegetable Grower (Aug. ’04).
“Ovation was released to nurseries on Jan. 9, 2003,
for its exceptionally late fruiting season and consistently
attractive, large, firm fruit and high vigor. . . . It performed
very well in plasticulture in New Jersey and is recommended
there as the late season cultivar to follow Chandler. In Pennsylvania
traditional matted-row evaluations, Ovation was the top-rated
late season cultivar. In Ohio evaluations, it was considered
an outstanding late-season cultivar in either the traditional
matted-row or plasticulture production system evaluations.
. . . Ovation also tested among the highest in fruit nutritional
characteristics such as antioxidant capacity. This trait is
important to health-conscious consumers.”
Organic Options: Free information
is available to growers interested in organic production and
marketing (American Vegetable Grower, Aug. ’04).
“The 2004 updated ‘Organic Agricultural Products:
Marketing & Trade Resources’ . . . . To download
or order . . . go to www.nal.usda.gov/afsic.
New guides to organic certification, workbooks for certifiers,
and documentation forms are available from the Appropriate
Technology Transfer for Rural Areas . . . www.attra.ncat.org.
The Sustainable Agriculture Network offers ‘Transitioning
to Organic Production’ . . . at www.sare.org/.
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