January is a time to reflect on the past year and think about how to improve and grow in the coming year. While many are doing this with farms and business plans, The University of Massachusetts Amherst is also reflecting and summarizing its work for its annual reporting. The vegetable team at UMass Extension is comprised of four full-time and two part-time staff members who are funded by a mix of state and federal "hard" funding (currently 42%) and grant funding (58%). All of these funding sources require us to submit annual reports demonstrating our impacts.
Individual event attendance for educational programs ranged from small, intensive workshops of fewer than 20 participants to large regional conference audiences of 150–250 growers and agricultural professionals. Key topic areas included integrated pest management (IPM) for vegetables in the field and in greenhouses and high tunnels; weed identification and management; food safety and FSMA compliance (water quality, traceability, compost use, and PSA trainings); climate adaptation and soil health; greenhouse and biocontrol systems; cut flower IPM; emerging pests; and urban agriculture production.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst Vegetable Program relies on donations and sponsorships, in addition to grants, to support its annual operations. This funding enables farm visits, monitoring activities, workshops, student employment, applied research, and the continued availability of free resources such as Veg Notes and most educational events.
During the reporting period, the program delivered 44 presentations and organized 20 educational programs, reaching more than 2,700 participants combined. These activities ranged from small, hands-on farm workshops to large regional conferences and covered topics including integrated pest management, food safety and FSMA compliance, climate adaptation, soil health, greenhouse production, emerging pests, and urban agriculture.
The team provided extensive technical assistance, including over 375 one-on-one consultations and more than 118 farm visits. In partnership with NRCS–MA, they supported IPM implementation by developing conservation practice guidance and preparing multiple IPM plans for farms seeking EQIP support.
Educational resources remained a core focus. The program published 25 issues of the Vegetable Notes newsletter, reaching over 3,400 subscribers, and released 12 new articles. An updated New England Vegetable Management Guide was distributed in print and accessed widely online. The program's website received hundreds of thousands of visits, and staff produced new factsheets, academic publications, a web-based decision support tool on wildlife contamination and food safety, and recorded webinar videos.
Applied research included nine field trials conducted at UMass and on commercial farms, addressing crop varieties, pest resistance, weed management, and climate-related production challenges relevant to Northeast growers.
Finally, staff participated in ongoing professional development through trainings and workshops and pursued external funding, securing two grants with additional proposals pending to support risk management education and organic produce safety research.
