MN Fruit & Vegetable IPM News - Vol. 1, No. 1

The field day will start at Wilson's Organic Strawberries south of Garfield. Laura and Brian Wilson have been working with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to study the feasibility of certified organic strawberry production in Minnesota. Brian and Laura will talk about their three years of hard work, weather troubles and the experience of certifying organic. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agriculture and IPM program is cosponsoring our time at Wilson's farm.

Next, we will travel to Walker's Berry Farm just north of Villard. Jeff and Cynthia Walker have been successfully growing one to two acres of strawberries for many years. Jeff and Cynthia started with Dell's cut and dried flower program, and they still raise and sell flowers in addition to strawberries. We will have a meal at Jeff and Cynthia's.

Directions to Wilson's: Take the Garfield-Lowry exit 6 miles west of Alexandria on I-94. Go north 1/2 mile to Sethney Lane. Take a left on Sethney Lane and drive to the top of the hill.

Directions to Walker's: From West: Take main Alexandria exit onto MN 29. Drive South 4 miles and take a left on Cty Hwy 4. Hwy 4 ends on Cty Hwy 27. Take a right. Drive 2 1/2 miles to 110th St (gravel road). Turn left.

From East: Take Sauk Centre Exit from I-94. Go east on MN 28 to Villard. Turn N on Cty 28. Take a left on the gravel road where the Cty 28 curves to right.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSCo-Editors: Bill Hutchison, Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, hutch002@umn.edu
Jeanne Ciborowski, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Ag. Resources Division,jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us
Suzanne Wold-Burkness, Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, woldx018@umn.edu

The Newsletter is published weekly from May through August, cooperatively, by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the University of Minnesota (U of MN). Reports are posted on the U of MN and MDA web sites on Fridays. If you have suggestions and/or comments, please send your contributions by 4 p.m., Tuesday to Jeanne Ciborowski, 651-297-3217, jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us , MDA, 90 W. Plato Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55107-2094. You can access the Newsletter at the U of MN web site in htm. format at: www.vegedge.umn.edu/MNFruit&VegNews/mnindex.htm and at the MDA web site in pdf. format at: www.mda.state.mn.us/biocon/fruitreports/default.htm

Partial funding for this publication is provided through partnership agreements with the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and the United States Department of Agriculture – Risk Management Agency (RMA) and the RMA Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program. These institutions are equal opportunity providers.DISCLAIMER

References to products in this publication is not intended to be an endorsement to the exclusion of others which may have similar uses. Any person using products listed in this publication assumes full responsibility for their use in accordance with current manufacturer directions.

Last Revised August 26, 2004.
The University, including the Minnesota Extension Service, is an equal opportunity educator and employer. ©1999-2004 Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Contact copyright@extension.umn.edu for information on reproduction or use of this material.