March 9, 2017 - NJAES Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County Office is hosting a specialty crops course for beginning farmers interested in commercial vegetable production. Following the success of the first RU Ready to Farm™ program, this specialty crops course will be worthwhile for anyone interested in farming. All are welcome to register and those who took part in the first are eligible for a discount. Read on to learn who else is eligible for discounts.

 This program is comprised of three days of classes: Saturday, March 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; Tuesday, March 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday, April 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The classroom portion will take place at the EARTH Center in Davidson’s Mill Pond Park in South Brunswick, NJ. Experiential farm field trips are also included.

 Based on feedback from the first RU Ready to Farm™ series, this three-day course will focus on production methods and systems for commonly produced specialty crops. This class will include both classroom and hands-on instruction at two local farms in Middlesex County. Instruction will focus on visits to two very successful and diverse farms whose farmers were both awarded the Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year award for their excellence in farm production and creative farming methods. In addition, the program will delve into some of the specifics needed to farm small to moderate acreages of crops efficiently.

 Anyone is welcome to register. Rutgers students can register for course number 11:020:490 through WebReg: https://sims.rutgers.edu/webreg/. Others can register through the Office of Continuing Professional Education: http://www.cpe.rutgers.edu/readytofarm/. Discounts are available for business partners, families of two or more, previous RU Ready to Farm participants, Master Gardeners, Veterans, Non-Rutgers students, FFA Members, and NJ Farm Bureau YF&R Members.

 Call 732-398-5262 or contact Bill Hlubik, hlubik@aesop.rutgers.edu or Gillian Armstrong, armstrong@aesop.rutgers.edu, with any questions about RU Ready to Farm™: Specialty Crops. Registration is required and no walk-ins will be permitted. For more information and for the link to register: http://www.cpe.rutgers.edu/readytofarm/

 Middlesex County’s Extension Office is part of a nationwide network that brings the research of the state land-grant universities to local people. Rutgers Cooperative Extension offices throughout New Jersey are cooperatively funded by the County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Rutgers University- New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 Directions: http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/Government/Directory/Pages/Directions/EARTH%20Center%20Directions.aspx

 Rutgers Cooperative Extension, NJAES, and SEBS educational programs are offered to all without regard to race, religion, color, age, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.