UConn IPM

UConn Extension Welcomes New Fruit Educator Evan Lentz

man holding a plastic bag in a gardenHow can UConn Extension help you? Evan Lentz, the new assistant Extension educator of fruit production and IPM at UConn’s Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture wants to know. Lentz, a recent graduate of UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, has expertise in commercial fruit production with an emphasis on small and some niche crops, IPM, farm risk management, plant nutrition and other related topics. He is planning to conduct farm visits and asks Farm Bureau members to get in touch with him to schedule a visit. He’s also planning to survey farmers on programs and trainings they would like from UConn Extension.

 

Email Evan Lentz: evan.lentz@uconn.edu

UConn Extension Internship Application Deadline Extended

woman with UConn shirt smiling, and navy blue & green text over a green background

The application deadline for our summer internships has been extended to March 26th. 

Get paid while learning and working in a career-oriented role. We offer internships in the following disciplines:

  • Food
  • Health
  • Nutrition
  • Sustainability
  • Research
  • Agribusiness
  • Youth Education
  • Community Development
  • Marketing

Click here to view internship descriptions.

Most of these roles are for an average 18-20 hours per week over the 10 week summer period with some requiring a bit of weekend and/or evening hours, although these circumstances vary by position. Some of these positions for employment are contingent upon the successful completion of a pre-employment criminal background check.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to intern with us this summer!

Click here to apply.

 

Programas y Servicios en Español

 

 

Extension banner photo of programs with green and blue hexagons

¿Sabía que la Extensión de UConn ofrece programas y servicios en español?

Si tiene interés en la salud, nutrición, horticultura, manejo integrado de plagas, y el desarrollo personal y comunitario nuestros programas están disponibles para ayudarlo a aprender!

 

UConn EFNEP

El Programa Ampliado de Educación en Alimentación y Nutrición (UConn EFNEP) ayuda a las familias a aprender sobre la alimentación saludable, compras económicas, y actividad física. UConn EFNEP se esfuerza en empoderar a los participantes y mejorar la salud de todos los miembros de la familia. Los educadores han publicado varias recetas en nuestro canal de Youtube. ¡Las recetas de EFNEP lo ayudarán a preparar comidas ricas, saludables y económicas para usted y su familia! 

https://bit.ly/RecetasUConnEFNEP

 

UConn Master Gardeners

El programa Master Gardeners ofrece entrenamiento en la horticultura. Master Gardeners busca participantes que estén listos para aprender y compartir sus conocimientos con la comunidad. El programa ofrece una clase en español sobre los conceptos fundamentales de los vegetales. Puede encontrar más información en el enlace debajo.

mastergardener.uconn.edu/garden-master-classes

 

Programa de Manejo Integrado de Plagas

El programa de Manejo Integrado de Plagas educa a los productores y al público general sobre el uso prudente y seguro de pesticidas orgánicos, sintéticos y métodos alternativos de control de plagas. El programa incorpora todas las estrategias posibles de manejo de cultivos y de plagas a través de una toma de decisiones informadas, utilizando los recursos agrícolas y del paisaje más eficientes e integrando controles culturales y biológicos. Visite el enlace debajo para acceder a las publicaciones en español.

ipm.cahnr.uconn.edu/spanish-resources/

 

UConn PEP

El programa UConn PEP es un programa de desarrollo personal, familiar y de liderazgo con un fuerte enfoque comunitario. PEP está diseñado para aprovechar las fortalezas únicas y las experiencias de vida de los participantes. También enfatiza la conexión entre la acción individual y comunitaria. El programa es conducido por un facilitador capacitado de la Extensión de UConn. Hay varias sesiones para el programa durante el año. Puede encontrar más información visitando la página web.

pep.extension.uconn.edu

UConn Extension Welcomes Dr. Nick Goltz

Nick Goltz was recently hired to direct the UConn Plant Diagnostic Lab. Dr. Goltz moved to Connecticut shortly after graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in Plant Medicine (https://dpm.ifas.ufl.edu). In addition to the plant health experience gained through his degree, Dr. Goltz prepared for this position by working at the UF Plant Diagnostic Center since 2019, and by working at state and federal regulatory laboratories since 2016, performing research to develop biological control options for the management of Megacopta cribrariaAchatina fulica, and Solenopsis invicta. Dr. Goltz has a passion for plant health and integrated pest management and is deeply excited to work with growers and homeowners to find holistic and comprehensive solutions for any plant problem they may be dealing with. He welcomes samples to the lab and notes that additional information and sample submission instructions may be found at https://plant.lab.uconn.edu

Nick Goltz

Suzanne Wainwright Evans talks Biocontrols for Greenhouse Ornamentals

UConn Extension Offers Biological Control Webinar for Ornamental Greenhouse Growers
Monday, July 19, 2021, 12:00 – 1 pm EST

Suzanne Wainwright Evans

Suzanne Wainwright Evans talks Biocontrols for Greenhouse Ornamentals Growers!

Register Here.

One pesticide recertification credit available (PA, 3A) for this online webinar.

For more information contact: Rosa E. Raudales (rosa@uconn.edu) & Leanne Pundt (Leanne.pundt@uconn.edu)

Jude Boucher: A Lasting Impact

By Stacey Stearns

testing soil
Jude Boucher testing soil.

 

The name Jude Boucher is synonymous with vegetable production in Connecticut. Since joining UConn Extension in 1986, Jude has made a profound impact on the industry as the Extension Educator for vegetable crops Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Jude received his bachelor’s degree in Entomology from the University of New Hampshire, his masters in Entomology from Virginia Tech, and then earned his Ph.D. at UConn in Plant Science.

Jude provides cutting-edge solutions to growers on pest management and crop production problems, keeping them competitive on the local, regional, and national level. “Educating farmers in sustainable, profitable and environmentally-sound food production practices benefits every man, woman and child in the country directly, on a daily basis, by helping to maintain a safe and secure food source. Knowledge of effective IPM practices helps prevent excess application of pesticides by otherwise frustrated growers,” he says.

Jude has a multi-faceted approach to his Extension education program that allows him to reach a vast number of growers, not only in Connecticut, but, throughout the Northeast. During the growing season, he works with numerous farms to improve their business and address crop issues as they arise. From conventional to organic farms, new farmers to experienced farmers; Jude works with everyone and improves their economic viability and production. In 2015, he worked with 18 farmers one-on-one throughout the state on a weekly or every other week basis.

As the co-editor of Crop Talk, a quarterly newsletter on vegetables and small fruit, science-based updates reach a circulation of approximately 1,000 people. Crop Talk provides growers with a calendar of upcoming events and workshops, and articles on cutting-edge production practices. Each year, Jude co-chairs the Connecticut Vegetable and Small Fruit Growers’ Conference in January. The conference is widely attended, with over 300 people and 30 exhibitors. He has served on the steering committee for the three-day New England Vegetable and Small Fruit Conference and Trade Show for many years, and as General Chairman from 2013-2016. This biennial conference has outgrown its location twice, and has a reputation as the conference to attend throughout the Northeast, with up to 1,800 attendees.

A weekly pest message is produced and emailed to his list serve, posted on the IPM website, or recorded as a message farmers can call in and listen to. In 2014, Jude was unable to get into the fields to gather crop scouting and monitoring data to share with the hundreds of growers who depend on the pest messages because of a late-season ski accident. His message became reports from the farm, with over 25 of his previously trained IPM farmers contributing throughout the summer.

Jude adopted a hybrid to this plan in 2015, which included his own scouting reports as well as those from his trained farmers. The weekly pest message now includes more photographs, equipment for small farms, trellis systems, and high tunnel production systems.

Diversifying a Traditional Farm

Jude has assisted Fair Weather Acres in Rocky Hill in diversifying and building resiliency to the challenges Mother Nature provided. The farm is over 800 acres along the Connecticut River. Jude advised Billy and Michele Collins on ways to diversify their marketing efforts and the number of crops they grow, after flooding from Hurricane Irene in 2011 washed away much of the crops, and left the farm in debt.

Originally, the farm received IPM training on three crops: beans, sweet corn, and peppers. With diversification, Billy began producing 55 different varieties of vegetables. Jude taught him pest management for his new crops, and the Collins hired an Extension-trained private consultant to help monitor and scout pests and implement new pest management techniques.

“I encouraged and advised Michele on how to develop a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) venture on their farm and introduced the couple to other successful CSA farm operators for additional consultations,” Jude says. “Michele started the CSA with 120 members in 2012, and – through a variety of methods – has exceeded 400 CSA shares, and expects to reach 500 summer shares in 2016. In 2013, they started offering separate fall CSA shares to their customers, and that now has over 400 members.”

Michele and Billy give back to Extension by speaking at state and regional conferences, and by hosting twilight meetings, research plots on their farm, and UConn student tours.

“Jude has been an integral part of the growth and diversification of our farm. His extensive knowledge and passion for agriculture, coupled with his love of people and farmers in particular, make him an unrivaled asset to Connecticut agriculture,” Michele says. “Jude has taught us, advised us, and offered us unlimited guidance in many areas including IPM, alternative farming concepts, marketing, and agribusiness just to name a few. Without Jude’s support and encouragement through our difficult years after the storm, we would not have such a positive outlook on the future of our business. We hope Jude will continue to offer his exceptional assistance for years to come.”

Building a New Farm

Oxen Hill Farm is a family enterprise in West Suffield that began when the Griffin family inherited an idle hay and pasture farm with the intent of creating an organic vegetable and cut flower farm.

“Besides small-scale home vegetable and flower gardens, they had no experience operating a commercial vegetable and cut-flower business,” Jude says. “They signed up for training with me, and the first year, 2009, started with an acre of organic vegetables and cut flowers.”

A deluge of rain during June and July taught the family many hard lessons about late blight on tomatoes and wet season pests, but they also effectively combatted weeds without herbicides, improved strategies to market their produce, and developed techniques to preserve produce with proper sanitation and post-harvest handling.

“Despite the challenges of their first year, they expanded their business in 2010, growing from 36 CSA members to over 150,” Jude continues. “They also enlarged their acreage onto their parents’ home farm, to almost 20 acres of crops, and learned to grow everything from artichokes to zucchini. They learned how to prevent or combat caterpillars on their broccoli, leafhoppers on their beans and potatoes, blights on their tomatoes, and many other pests that all wanted a share of their crops.”

The farm is entering its fifth year of USDA Organic Certification through the Baystate Certifiers, and has expanded to over 120 acres, residing at the home farm and land purchased in 2014. The cut flower business remains at the inherited farm, and also caters to weddings, floral arrangements and retail sales.

Finding a Better Way

Nelson deep zone tillage machineCecarelli of Cecarelli Farm in Northford and Wallingford contacted Jude for advice on transitioning to deep zone tillage (DZT) after multiple severe rainstorms in 2006 left 4-foot deep erosion ditches in his sweet corn fields. Jude, Nelson, and Tom Scott – of Scott’s Yankee Farms in East Lyme – researched the options, and co-wrote a pair of grants to document the benefits and problems of using DZT versus conventional field preparation.

“DZT allows a grower to prepare a narrow seedbed, only inches wide, rather than exposing the surface of the whole field to wind and rain,” Jude explains. “Farms can also till deeply, right under the crop row to loosen any hardpan that has formed after years of using a plow and harrow. This allows the soil to absorb and retain more water and allows the plants to extend their roots deeper into the soil. The system also improves soil quality over time.”

Jude organized conferences, workshops and twilight meetings on DZT and published many articles and fact sheets to help growers get started with this form of reduced tillage. The three of them have made presentations at various state and regional workshops and Nelson and Tom have both continued to seek ways to improve their farms, and worked with Jude to mentor other farmers on DZT. There are now Extension programs in every New England state advocating the use of DZT, and over 45 growers in the region have switched to DZT.

Although the grant has ended, Jude and Nelson are researching soil quality in DZT fields. Jude continues working with different farmers on IPM, bringing economic viability to farms throughout the state, and securing the future of our local food systems