“From Tunnel to Table” Spring Workshop Offers Growers Information for Assessing the Viability of Polytunnels as Strategic Production Tools in Kansas Fruit and Vegetable Operations

Dan Phelps, MAD Farm, offers participants hands-on experience in low tunnel construction and discusses benefits and strategies for incorporating this low cost tool into fruit and vegetable production systems.

Below is the list of the Spring 2014 tunnel to table workshop speakers, and links to their presentations and handouts, where applicable.   Tunnel to Table Resource List – Cole Cottin, KRC Program Coordinator; Farmer at MAD Farm   2014 Kansas High Tunnel Growers Survey Preliminary Results (study not yet completed)– Dan Phelps, Farmer at MAD Farm; Tunnel to Table Activity  Coordinator   Structural Considerations for Polytunnel Producers, Part 1 and Structural Considerations for Polytunnel Producers, Part 2 –  Greg Garbos, Owner and Engineer at Four Season Tools; Owner/ Operator at City Bitty Farm

Greg Garbos, Four Season Tools and City Bitty Farm, presents on structural considerations for polytunnel growers

Crop Selection & Marketing Strategies, Producers Round Table:

• Jill Elmers, Moon on the Meadow (vegetables, year-round)
• Frank Gieringer, Gieringer’s Orchard (fruit, vegetables)
• John Pendleton, Pendleton’s Country Market (flowers, vegetables, agritourism) – Slideshow Presentation
• Rex Rees, Rees Fruit Farm (fruit, vegetables)

Frank Gieringer, Gieringer’s Orchard, discusses how trialing multiple crops and varieties in his early years using tunnels led him to focus his under-tunnel production to just a few crops and varieties, and why. Other panelists, on the other hand, indicated that producing a larger variety of crops worked well for their farm operations and markets.

Crop Planning, Record Keeping, Financial Analysis of Tunnel Production – Scott Thellman, Owner / Operator at Juniper Hill Farms

Scott Thellman, owner of Juniper Hill Farms (Spring workshop farm host), displays clear enterprise budgets he’s used to hone in profitability on his growing mid-scale vegetable farm.

The day ended with outdoor activities, for which there were not electronic presentations. Click here for an article discussing key themes and outcomes of the Spring 2014 Tunnel to Table workshop. — Sincere thanks to our Spring workshop sponsors: Cottin’s Hardware and Rental: http://www.cottinshardware.com/ Hummert International: http://www.hummert.com/ The Merc, Cooperative Grocery Store: http://www.themerc.coop/ — Registration for fall “Tunnel to Table” workshops, and a call for applications for free low tunnel equipment, will open later this July. In addition to the workshop series, in late 2014 the Kansas Rural Center will publish Tunnel to Table education materials, including a Resource Guide, Decision Making Tool, and virtual workshop to support beginning and advanced polytunnel production in Kansas. For further information about the Tunnel to Table project and upcoming workshop opportunities – made possible with grants funding from the Kansas Department of Agriculture and Farm Aid – visit http://kansasruralcenter.org/t2t/ or contact Cole Cottin at ccottin@kansasruralcenter.org or (785) 992-4572.