UNCE NEWS RELEASE
By Robert Mills
What commercial crops grow well in Nevada? How do successful niche growers throughout the Silver State make money on those crops? These and many other topics will surface when producers throughout Nevada gather at their local University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE) offices for the 2012 Great Ideas from Growers series.
Beginning Monday, Jan. 23 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., veteran and novice commercial growers will share their successes and failures in the first of many town-hall style meet-ups. As part of the UNCE, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute for Food and Agriculture and Beginning Farmers & Ranchers Program, video conferences will stream throughout 15 Nevada cities and towns – connecting commercial growers throughout the state.
UNCE serves as a connecting hub for Nevada producers, providing meeting spaces and high-tech video conferencing so an established farmer in Caliente can share hoop-house tips with a novice in Elko.
“The growers themselves will largely guide what will be discussed,” said UNCE’s Holly Gatzke, the Extension Educator for Lincoln County. “That’s why it’s called ‘Great Ideas from Growers.’ It’s the growers explaining what they’ve learned. With that, hopefully they’ll help newer growers avoid previous failures and jump on successes they’ve found.”
Nevada’s niche-crop producers are encouraged to share their knowledge at the series. After the first classes on Jan. 23, new workshops will be held every second and fourth Monday until the end of March. Classes may extend past March, depending on the needs of Nevada growers. The form and function of the classes is truly in the hands of Nevada growers.
Great Ideas from Growers will be live-hosted in Caliente and available by video conference in Extension offices in Eureka, Pahrump, Reno, Round Mountain, Fallon, Lovelock, Yerington, Hawthorne, Tonopah, Logandale, Ely, Elko, Battle Mountain and Gardnerville.
To confirm the locations, attend the workshops in person or by videoconference or for more information, call Holly Gatzke at (775) 962-1300 or (775) 726-3109 ext. 106 or email her at [email protected].
