The Practical Horticulturist: Flower Growers-Only Bouquet Workshop + Apply for Farm Business Coaching!

Equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities.

Meet a Co-Hort: Tyson Allchin

Tyson Allchin grows indoor hemp in a 10,000-square-foot greenhouse near Oskaloosa, Iowa. The hemp Ty grows is marketed to an Ames-based CBD processor. The facility is owned by First Resources, a nonprofit that supports dependent adults by providing life and job skills.

The pots shown in the image below grow on top of the Bato bucket system, a water-efficient method of hydroponics, and are top dressed with soil amendments, a task that suits the needs of the dependent adults who work with Ty.

Why you grow horticulture crops, in 5 or fewer words: To use my horticulture education!

Something you’re excited about trying this year: Keeping the THC levels in my crop below 0.3%. Most field-grown hemp undergoes stress due to excessive heat or insufficient water, which causes the THC levels to rise. By growing hemp indoors, I can reduce the stress and manage the levels more effectively.

What you would change about your industry: I feel like the regulations around hemp have driven away business from our state.

Favorite PFI memory: The standing-room-only crowd when I presented at the PFI Annual Conference in 2018.

Favorite crop and why: Modern hemp because of its versatility and wide range of applications. I think there are something like 16,000 products made with hemp, including medicinal, pharmaceutical and paper products of all kinds.

PROGRAM UPDATES

Apply today for SIP & Farm Business Coaching

PFI’s Savings Incentive Program and Farm Business Coaching applications are open now!

Just getting started? The Savings Incentive Program will be a great boost.

Are you an established direct-market farmer interested in increasing your farm’s profitability? Check out Farm Business Coaching. Participants work with coaches to assess their farm businesses, identify key issues to address and develop an action plan to reach their goals.

Applications due Oct. 9, 2022.

IN THE FIELD

A tool for your vegetable farm business toolbox

Veggie Compass is a free farm management tool for diversified fresh market vegetable growers, developed at the University of Wisconsin.

Veggie compass helps you evaluate your cost, sales and labor data to calculate the cost and profitability of each of your crops, allowing you to make the most informed decisions possible about your farm business.

Upcoming flower farming webinar from Cornell University

The Cornell Small Farms Program is offering a web series for aspiring and beginning flower farmers called “Introduction to the Business of Flower Farming.” It provides an overview of the resources you need to operate an economically sustainable flower farm.

Learn more and register on their website. The next series begins Oct. 31.

No-till vegetable production resources

Are you curious about mid-scale, no-till vegetable production?

This web series from the University of Wisconsin features a range of perspectives on no-till and reduced-tillage systems to help inform choices about management on your farm.

SARE Farmer-Rancher Grant applications due Dec. 1

The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE) Farmer-Rancher Grant Program offers competitive grants for farmers and ranchers who want to explore sustainable solutions to problems through on-farm research, demonstration and education projects.

Learn more online or by contacting ISU Extension Small Farms Program Manager, Christa Harsook.

Applications are due Dec. 1.

Iowa Local Food Purchasing Assistance

Program now accepting vendors

The Iowa Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program will buy local food from Iowa’s producers for distribution to Iowans in under-resourced communities.

If you produce local food in Iowa and are interested in selling your products into the Iowa LFPA Program, follow this link to learn more and apply for this program.

Questions? Contact Kayla Koether at kayla.koether@practicalfarmers.org

UPCOMING EVENTS

All events listed in central daylight time

Upcoming Workshop: Flower Grower Bouquet Workshop

Commercial flower farmers are invited to a bouquet workshop hosted by Andrew and Naomi Friend at Friend's Flowers in Story City.

Bring a bucket of flowers from your farm to share for a hands-on bouquet making, and learn from floral industry expert and ISU instructor Dan Brabec about how to get the most out of your bouquets. Then stick around for pizza and conversation.