Each year UConn students apply to and compete for paid internship opportunities with the UConn Cooperative Extension Service. Through its offices located throughout Connecticut, UConn Extension connects the power of UConn research to local issues by creating practical, science-based answers to complex problems. Extension provides scientific knowledge and expertise to the public in areas such […]
Agriculture & Farming
Ensuring a vibrant and sustainable agricultural industry and food supply
Connecticut Seeds for Connecticut Gardens
Photo and Article By Dawn Pettinelli About now, many of us gardeners have a stack of seed catalogs several inches high and have started combing through them acquiring all kinds of ideas and a long wish list. Before finalizing you orders, spend a bit of time going through any leftover seeds from the previous year. […]
Reducing Storm Damage to Your Greenhouses
By John W. Bartok, Jr. Agricultural Engineer, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. 2013 39 pounds per square foot – That’s the weight of snow I had in my yard in Ashford after the January 2011 snow and rain storms. The Connecticut Building Code calls for a design load of 30 pounds per square foot (psf) […]
Soil Workshop
UConn Extension‘s Richard Meinert and Dawn Pettinelli attended a soil workshop on the west coast in November. Dawn writes: the 2014 International Annual Meeting of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) was in Long Beach, California. The theme of this year’s […]
A Fair To Remember
Does the winter weather have you missing 4-H Fair season? Relive the 2014 Middlesex-New Haven County 4-H Fair with this video created by Connecticut 4-H volunteer Marianne Beckman and Cheshire Public Access.
Controlled Environment Agriculture
CONNECTICUT FEDERALLY FUNDED STARTUP AIMS TO BRING OUT-OF-SEASON FARMING TO FINANCIALLY STRESSED NEW ENGLAND GROWERS; Connecticut Tech Business To Introduce Year-Round Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) To Area Strawberry Farmers; Recent CBS’ 60 MINUTES Segment Highlights California Drought Impact on Local Food Availability December 15, 2014 — As the outdoor farming season in New England is […]
A Better Way of Farming
Vegetable Farmers Switch to Reduced Tillage/Deep Zone Tillage By Jude Boucher, UConn Extension Educator In 2006, after several 4 to 6-inch rainstorms, and having to contend with 4-foot deep erosion gullies in his sweet corn fields, Nelson Cecarelli of Cecarelli Farm decided he needed a better way to farm the rolling hills of Northford […]
Buy Local When Gift-Giving
By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, RD UConn Extension Educator/Food Safety No, I was not racing to the nearest “big box” or department store on Thanksgiving night to get in line for a 29 cent towel. I was, however, enjoying my family around a table full of Connecticut grown turkey dinner food. Apples from Hindinger […]
Growing Container-Grown Greenhouse Vegetables
UConn Extension is sponsoring, Growing Container-Grown Greenhouse Vegetables on Dec 16, 2014 at the Litchfield County Extension Center, 843 University Drive, Torrington, CT. The speakers featured at this educational program include: 9:00-9:30 Registration 9:30 – 10:30 Growing Greenhouse Tomatoes and Cucumbers in Soiless Media […]
UConn Extension Receives Farmland Preservation Pathfinder Award
The UConn Extension Agriculture Team was the recipient of the Farmland Preservation Pathfinder Education Leader Award at the Working Lands Alliancee Annual Meeting on Tuesday, November 18th at the State Capitol in Hartford. The award recognizes significant contributions in the area of educating the public about the importance of farmland preservation. UConn Extension connects […]
Safe Food Handling from Farm to Table
Written by Patsy Evans for Naturally@UConn and originally posted on October 14, 2014 Hearing the word ‘outbreak’ makes many people anxious. E. coliO157:H7, spinach, 2006. Salmonella, peanut butter, 2009. Listeria, cantaloupe, 2011. Diane Hirsch, UConn Extension educator for food safety, easily lists previous food-borne pathogen outbreaks. But, fear does not paralyze her. Instead, she works in classrooms and […]
Is your garden bursting with fall tomatoes?
By: Diane Wright Hirsch, UConn Extension Educator/Food Safety It has been a great year for growing tomatoes in Connecticut, but the season is rapidly coming to an end with the change to cooler temperatures. As much as we love our delicious vine ripened summer-red tomatoes, it is time for a reality check—summer is over. […]
UConn Extension Centennial Video
UConn Extension Ties Research to Real Life for citizens of Connecticut every day. Join us as we take a tour of some of our UConn Extension programs.
What Every CT Resident Needs to Understand About UConn Extension
I wish UConn Extension was not the best-kept secret in the state. It’s time everybody knew what a tremendous resource Extension is. Congress established the Cooperative Extension System as a national network in 1914 to tie university research to real life. UConn Extension programs have evolved over time, and as our state has changed, so […]
New Guide to Help Fish, Shellfish and Seaweed Growers Manage Risks
New Guide to Help Fish, Shellfish and Seaweed Growers Manage Risks GROTON CT—A new 285-page illustrated manual, the Northeastern U.S. Aquaculture Management Guide, has just been published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Northeastern Regional Aquaculture Center. Edited by Tessa L. Getchis, Connecticut Sea Grant and UConn Extension aquaculture specialist, the manual is a […]
Fighting the Good Food Fight
Connecticut Farmers, UConn Fighting The Good Food Fight By Jessica Griffin On August 24, 2014 As processed foods loaded with fat, sugars and salt, become increasingly cheap and convenient for Americans, the fight to maintain health and nutrition becomes more and more relevant. In the spirit of spreading awareness for the importance of making good […]
Scaling Up Farm Visits
UConn Extension’s Scaling Up Team visited Southbury Farms on July 10th. Left: Kip Kolesinskas checks soil. Center: Kip, Cam Weimar of the Department of Agriculture, and Eero Ruuttila of UConn Extension look at a soil sample. Right: Kip goes over a soil map with the Scaling Up team.
Urban Agriculture Program
A group of 13 Hispanic adults from Danbury and Bridgeport are participating in an Urban Agriculture program. This UConn Extension program has been designed in a way that students learn the science behind agriculture (botany, soils, vegetable production, integrated pest management, etc.), apply their knowledge by producing vegetables, and promotes entrepreneurship by allowing students sell their […]
Cohen Contributes to Tolland County 4-H as State Corn Yield Contest Winner
Ellington, CT – Harris and Louise Cohen of Ellington have contributed $150 to the UConn Extension Tolland County 4-H program as a result of winning first place in the state of Connecticut 2013 National Corn Growers’ Association’s (NCGA) Corn Yield Contest. The contribution was provided by DuPont Pioneer on behalf of first-place winners. Sanford Cohen […]
Should I eat that?
When what your garden produces is less than perfect: Should I eat that? By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, RD UConn Extension Educator, Food Safety It is common practice for the supermarket shopper and the farmers’ market customer to pick up every pepper and head of lettuce for closer inspection. When we buy produce, we do not want […]
Farming with Technology
UConn Extension has taken delivery of a new manure spreader. This spreader is not your typical manure spreader. This spreader has gone hi tech with integrated scales, computer and GPS. Unlike a typical spreader which requires the farmer to guess how much manure is being loaded, and keep handwritten records of how many loads went […]
Monitoring the Weather – For More than 125 Years
By Sheila Foran for UConn Today Every day at 8 a.m. for the last 45,625 days (give or take a day or two), weather information at UConn’s Plant Research and Education Facility on Agronomy Road has been recorded and sent to the National Weather Service. That’s every day for 125 years. It’s a long time […]
Egg Safety
Take Care With Eggs—No Matter Where You Buy/Gather Them By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, RD UConn Extension Educator/Food Safety Spring is here (at least officially) and it is always a good time to remind ourselves of how to safely handle eggs. Whether you are hard-boiling them for an Easter or Passover celebration, or looking forward […]
Community Gardens
By Jiff Martin – Extension Educator Sustainable Food Systems All this talk about checking out the latest seed catalogues, de-wintering the garden and predicting the date of the last frost can be frustrating for the land-poor gardener wanna-be. If you are an apartment dweller, a condo resident or simply garden-plot deprived, you may not be […]
Pest Forecasts Come to Connecticut
It hurts when codling moths riddle your apples, powdery mildew blasts your grapes, or anthracnose takes over your turf. But it’s really nettlesome when growers or groundskeepers mere miles away get off without a snag. Blame it on the weather: on a multitude of variables that we barely notice. Sophisticated weather stations can pick up […]
Eat locally grown, even in winter….
By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, RD UConn Extension Educator, Food Safety After a food-filled holiday season (including, I must confess, raspberries, grown somewhere in South America, in a fruit salad…), it is time that many of us resolve to eat healthier and, perhaps, to attempt to eat more locally grown foods. It sure can be difficult […]
Pruning Blueberries
By Mary Concklin, Visiting Associate Extension Educator – Fruit Production & IPM I have heard the question many times, when is the best time to prune blueberries – fall, winter or spring? To answer that question let’s take a look at what is going on with the plant at these different times. I am […]
Reba Wishes Extension a Happy Birthday
We’re celebrating Extension’s Centennial in 2014! It’s going to be a great year, stay tuned for more details.
Alumni Jennifer Cushman Honored
Jennifer Cushman, UConn Animal Science Alumni with a master’s in education, recently recognized with an “Outstanding Young Member” award by the National Association of Agricultural Educators. This award is one of six hundred given nationwide by the 8,000 member professional group for agricultural educators. Cushman is currently the head Agri-Science teacher at Glastonbury High School’s […]
Successful Year for UConn Dairy Program
Mary Margaret Cole, Executive Program Director of the Kellogg Dairy Center (KDC) at UConn’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has had a very successful year. Cole and the KDC staff are setting the stage for top quality milk for Connecticut dairy producers. At the 2013 Eastern States Exposition Holstein Show, Cole was awarded champion […]
Beginning Farmer Program
During November 13-16th the USDA Beginning Farmer & Rancher Development Program supported by the National Institute of Food & Agriculture (NIFA) held its 4th Annual Director Meeting. Hosted by the University of Texas-Pan American in McAllen, Texas, this year’s theme was: Cruzando Fronteras: Supporting Diversity in Agriculture. Attendees experienced first-hand agricultural issues and opportunities both […]
2013 Green Pastures’ Dairy Farm of the Year for Connecticut
The Green Pastures Award judging team visited three Connecticut farms on Friday, September 13, 2013 before making their decision to choose Arethusa Farm in Litchfield, Connecticut as the 2013 Dairy Farm of the Year. The annual award is presented at the Big E Green Pastures’ banquet where each New England state presents their winning farm. […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 8
Saturday, 8/24/2013 This week has gone by so fast; it’s my last day in Colombia. It has been an awesome opportunity, where I have learned about myself, the Colombian government, culture, nutrition views, entrepreneurship, and where partnerships can begin. I made my last trip to the University of San Buenaventura. Today, the outreach office offered […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 6 & 7
Thursday, 8/22/2013 Today I got to visit la Universidad de San Buenaventura Cali, where Ginna received her degree. I could see Ginna’s pride while she gave me the tour, along with a colleague. The campus was environmentally friendly; it was surrounded by beautiful natural landscapes. I had the opportunity to present to a group of 30 […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 5
Wednesday 8/21/2013 Ginna works as mentor to entrepreneur students at ICESI University. Every year ICESI hosts a competition for entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses’ plans. The winner has the opportunity to showcase his or her business at the national level. The presentations I viewed were very impressive; all of the business plans and concepts were […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 4
Tuesday 8/20/2013 Today I visited Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali, where I met with the director of the university’s social responsibility office. During this meeting, I learned about current programs established to target social issues in different communities throughout Cali. A two-week program has been created in collaboration with Gonzaga University (Washington) to focus on production of agriculture […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 3
Monday 8/19/2013 The day has finally arrived; I was able to visit the San Jorge community. San Jorge is a community composed of displaced families. The community is comprised of 400 peoples, 125 being youth of diverse ages. Ginna has been working with this community to empower the women and children economically. There are three lines to […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 2
Sunday 8/18/2013 I wake to find another gorgeous day in Cali. The clear skies and fresh air made it for a great day to have a walking tour. Ginna and I walk over to a near by lake known as Humedal El Cisne La Babilla Tomasa, where you can sit and feed the ducks or […]
Rineicha Otero – UConn Extension Fellow in Colombia
Saturday 8/17/2013 I finally arrived in beautiful Colombia! After much-anticipation, the visit has come and the expectation of reconnecting to the different cultures around the world has increased even more. As soon as the airplane touched the ground in Bogota the crowed cheered with excitement to be back in their homeland. I remembered the times […]
Gardening Quick Tip: Japanese Beetles
Mary Concklin, UConn Extension Educator for Fruit Production and IPM offers this quick tip on dealing with Japanese Beetles: Using the Japanese beetle traps will actually attract the beetles to your planting. Instead, if you have the traps, place them at least 100 feet from the planting to try to draw them away from the […]