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Ag Professionals Receiving Training on Accessible Beekeeping through SARE Grant
Front Royal, VIRGINIA Justin Ruger, a beekeeper and founder of Accessible Beekeeping was granted a $75,589 Southern SARE Professional Development Program Grant to provide the historically underserved community of people with disabilities the knowledge and skills to participate in apiculture to increase their quality of life and independence. He uses YouTube videos and trains organizations at multiple universities and state extensions. Justin lost his […]
Getting the Most Sap from Each Tap in Black Walnut Syrup Production
MCDOWELL, Virginia – Long before the Civil War, land on the mountainous slopes of the Allegheny Mountains in western Virginia had been cleared for logging and cattle grazing. Today, agriculture is still prominent, but in the form of syrup tapped from hardwoods – maple, hickory, elm, black walnut – that have retaken the landscape. Syrup […]
Texas Beekeeper Rethinking Bee Hive Boxes for More Honey and Better Bee Health
MABANK, Texas – Texas beekeeper Daniel Brantner has a simple and economical solution for increasing honey production and improving the health of honey bees: redesigning the industry-standard bee hive boxes. Brantner, owner of Texas Honey Company and a certified Texas master beekeeper, is using his skills as an architect to turn the typical standard 16”X22” […]
Recycling Mushroom Waste for Value-added Structure in Rural Tennessee
JOELTON, Tennessee – David Wells’ long-time interest in bioremediation through mycology (the study of fungi), has mushroomed into a farming operation whose foundations are balanced on building diverse ecosystems, while growing healthy foods. Henosis, located in the small rural town of Joelton just west of Nashville, utilizes local by-products from wood mills and coffee shops […]
Closed Loop Mushroom Production on Waste Substrate
Asheville Fungi is a mycological supply, sterile lab and grow facility whose goal is to grow edible and medicinal mushrooms on waste substrates that would otherwise end up in landfills. In a SSARE-funded Producer Grant project, the company compared four waste substrates (coffee grounds, cacao shells, soy dust and husks and malt grain fines and […]
Some Invasive Trees are Good for Mushroom Production
TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Some non-native invasive trees in the Southeast have proven to be ideal substrates for growing edible mushrooms, according to the results of a USDA Agricultural Research Service study funded by a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) On-Farm Research Grant. USDA-ARS researcher Stephen Hight, in collaboration with small farmers in southern […]
Producing Mushrooms on 100 Percent Waste Substrates
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina – A mushroom production and supply facility in Asheville, NC has had success in growing tree oysters on 100 percent waste stream substrates in a closed loop system. Though not as productive or biologically efficient as the commercial standard substrate, the waste substrates may provide a more cost-effective alternative for mushroom growers […]