UMass Extension Assists Farmers Search for Fruit Perfection

The quest for the finest sweet, mouth-watering strawberries, blueberries with the richest antioxidants, and raspberries plump and tasty is underway at UMass Amherst. Researchers from UMass Extension are working with small fruit farmers to grow nutritious berries using best management practices.

Nourse Farms, which grows premier small fruit plants on 400 acres in western Massachusetts, is a partner with UMass Extension, a program of UMass Amherst Outreach. That partnership began in 1987 when Extension scientists worked in Nourse Farms strawberry fields on an experiment that lead to Integrated Pest Management. IPM is now a mainstream principle of agriculture around the globe.

The farm also supports the UMass Extension mission by making financial gifts that help cover the cost of the “Berry Notes” newsletter. The gift allows wider distribution of the newsletter, published 16 times last year. It contains valuable information on growing disease-free plants and best management practices for ecological sustainability, as well as announcements about conferences and workshops.

“Our family farm benefits enormously from the expertise of UMass Extension. I would like to see other Massachusetts berry farmers kept abreast of the latest research on growing berries,” says Tim Nourse, president of Nourse Farms which has its headquarters in Whately, Mass.

UMass Amherst Outreach engages the campus with the community in economic, social, cultural, environmental, and educational issues. Extension’s primary objective is to help farmers learn about and adopt new research findings. Objectives are achieved by seeking out opportunities for research, involving farmers in identifying research priorities and then testing results in the fields, and disseminating findings.

UMass Extension needs support to continue to serve as a resource for farmers.  Make a gift to help make these nutritional stars even better.