News from the Center

UMass Extension has recently taken the opportunity to collect and update information about Nutrient Best Management Practices.

Master Plan Update for UMass Amherst Agricultural Learning Center It all starts with a vision. Several years ago, Dr. Stephen Herbert, Director of the UMass Amherst Center for Agriculture, began considering how to create a place for students interested in agriculture to “learn by doing” in a living outdoor laboratory. As the new ALC gains momentum, the university’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP) has contributed by developing a Master Plan for the Learning Center.

With memories of the April groundbreaking ceremony still in mind, the stakes are (literally) in the ground as farm work gets underway at the new Agricultural Learning Center (ALC) at the north edge of the Amherst campus. The purpose of the ALC is to train the next generation of farmers and other agricultural entrepreneurs by using a hands-on approach: translating classroom knowledge into practical experience in the fields.

Against the backdrop of a picture perfect spring day, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for UMass Amherst’s new Agricultural Learning Center on April 25 on the former Adams-Wysocki field at the north end of the campus.  The guests included farmers, students, university officials, legislative representatives, neighbors, current and former staff and agricultural dignitaries.

Former faculty member wins World Food Prize The World Food Prize, often referred to as the ‘Nobel Prize for Agriculture’ was awarded to Dr. Daniel Hillel in 2012. Dr. Hillel was a professor of soil physics at UMass Amherst from 1977 to 1993.

This fall, beginning farmers and established growers from across the state have gone back to school to learn the science of sustainable vegetable production.

Cold Spring Orchard Farm Stand Prospers During Challenging Year Despite the challenges of a very late spring frost, the orchards, farm stand, and wholesale sales at Cold Spring Orchard Research and Education Center in Belchertown have had a good season.

Farming Finds a New Home at the Agricultural Learning Center The 40-acre parcel of land formaly known as the Adams-Wysocki field is in the process of being transformed into the new Agricultural Learning Center, a working farm designed to give students hands-on training in everything from running a tractor to transplanting trees to making cheese from the milk of the cows they’ve raised.

Researchers at the Center for Agriculture are using their expertise to help combat one of the most serious pest infestations in recent memory—the local colonization of the spotted wing drosophila, a type of vinegar fly.