Improving crop management in NY greenhouses through local hands-on workshops

Greenhouse growers in NYS are looking for educational opportunities to learn more about managing their crops to maximize profitability. A trial hands-on workshop in Ithaca, Summer 2008, was very well received as a method to extend crop management information. However, the impact will be even greater if the workshops travel to the producers rather than vice versa. They can be adapted to local needs and scheduling and may attract growers who will never travel to the Cornell campus. It also gives us the opportunity to tie a hands-on workshop to a grower-led greenhouse tour to put the knowledge into a real world setting. A grower advisory panel will assist us with identifying facilities and greenhouses and topic areas. By giving greenhouse growers the chance to learn crop management techniques in a local, hands-on setting, we hope to improve the profitability of their production through improved product quality and/or reduced losses or input costs. The longer term and broader benefits of extending crop management information are reduced losses of pesticides and fertilizers to the soil and water environment, improved quality of life particularly in regards to pesticide applications, and the potential for marketing a more ‘sustainable’ product