Webinar Schedule and Participants' Guide
Webinar Dates
Live instruction for 2025 has concluded. You are welcome to complete this course on a self-paced schedule and join our next live session in 2026. All webinars from 2025 have been recorded and are posted in your online classroom to watch anytime. Once enrolled in this course, you will retain access to all materials indefinitely and may return to participate in future live offerings of the course as well. We hope you enjoy this course and join us next year!
Weekly Topics
Week 1: Site Assessment
This week will feature a brief discussion with Jim O'Connell on site selection/assessment, an extremely important topic for the successful establishment of a perennial crop. He will give an over view of what makes a good site, and some some available online tools (e.g. Google Earth, Web Soil Survey, etc.), for a first look at a potential site from the comfort of their home. Jim will then turn it over to our guest speaker from Callisto Farms.
Callisto Farm is located in High Falls, NY, part of Ulster County and the Hudson Valley Region. They are a diverse operation, growing a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, all in a no-till system. They even produce wildflower honey from their bees. Many of us know that starting a business is challenging, and even more so as a new or beginning farmer. We invited Callisto Farm to talk about some of the challenges they faced, how they worked through them, and what the future holds.
Week 2: The Business of Berry Production
We will start this course with some introductions and then talk with Farm Business Management Specialist, Liz Higgins, on some of the basic business/finance necessities for the new berry farmer to consider.
How do you decide if berries are right for you? In this session we will learn to use data to make informed decisions about profitability, marketing channels and crop selection. We will also cover the components of a business plan
Week 3: Blueberries
Jim O’Connell will provide a brief overview of blueberries (types, soil needs, etc.), and then guest speaker Kevin Clark of Rose Hill Farm in Red Hook, NY, will give an overview of the farm operations, focusing on blueberries.
Week 4: Brambles (raspberries) and Ribes
Jim O'Connell will focus on cultural systems of raspberries, including pruning, recommended varieties, and pest management. Then Anya Stansell, Regional Berry Specialist will review how to grow Ribes (currants and gooseberries)
Week 5: Strawberries
Heather Kase is the berry specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension's Eastern New York Team. She will lead the discussion on strawberry production.
Week 6: Lesser Known Berry Crops
In this last week, Western New York Berry Specialist Anya Stansell will focus on some of the lesser known berry crops and their culture.
How to Join Zoom
Review the document below for more detailed instructions on how to use the webinar technology.