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Bard students visit Farm Hub

Students tour the farm and get an inside look at farming

Students from the “Re-imagined Farms in Re-imagined Spaces” class taught by Katrina Light, Bard’s Supervisor of Food and Agricultural Programs as part of the Environmental and Urban Studies program, recently paid a visit to the Farm Hub to learn about organic farming practices and a variety of initiatives.

Highlights included:

  • An overview of the small grains trial, an ongoing collaboration between the Farm Hub, Cornell and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, that involves research of small grains varieties.
  • ProFarmer Jayne Hanson shared the challenges of growing hops noting certain diseases such as downy mildew, and also shared why growing hops are her passion.
  • Raul Carreon, post-harvest coordinator, discussed the importance of farm and food safety during a tour of the wash and pack.
  • Students received a multilingual experience when Adriana Pericchi and Carreon, members of the Farm Hub’s Language Justice team, demonstrated simultaneous interpretation. “Language Justice is something I think is important and I haven’t seen it in similar instances. It is interesting to see it in a working environment,” says Jess Belardi, a Bard student. 
  • Jay Goldmark and Jeff Arnold, head of the field crops and vegetable production team, gave an overview of the vegetable fields, corn fields and the greenhouses.
Bard students take a peek at the greenhouse.

Farm Hub’s Associate Director of Programming Sarah Brannen led and organized the tour.

Light says many of the students have an interest in food and farming and are exploring careers in food and farming.

As part of the class, students visit a variety of regional non-profit farms throughout the semester including Soul Fire Farm, Hawthorne Valley Farm, Kingston YMCA Farm Project, and the Poughkeepsie Farm Project at Vassar College. The Farm Hub’s Farmscape Ecology team works in tandem with Hawthorne Valley Farm.

– Amy Wu 

 

 
 

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