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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Federal government spends millions on hoop houses
  • Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:10:23 -0700



Federal government spends millions on hoop houses
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1110ap_us_food_and_farm_high_tunnels.html
By STEVE KARNOWSKI ASSOCIATED PRESS

MINNEAPOLIS -- The federal government has spent millions of dollars to help
farmers nationwide buy greenhouse-like structures called high tunnels that
can add valuable weeks and even months to their growing seasons by protecting
produce from chilly temperatures.

About $13 million has gone to more than 2,400 farmers in 43 states to help
pay for the low-tech tunnels that look like a cross between Quonset huts and
conventional greenhouses. The structures, also known as hoop houses, have
been particularly beneficial in the north, where they allow farmers to plant
as much as four weeks early and keep growing later in the fall.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture touts the tunnels as environmentally
friendly and a way to help meet the demand for local and sustainable produce.
Experts say high tunnels employ efficient drip irrigation systems and reduce
pest problems, diseases and fertilizer costs.

One of the biggest advocates is Terry Nennich, an extension educator at the
University of Minnesota-Crookston, who first learned of them on a 1999 trip
to Normandy in northern France. Few U.S. farmers were using high tunnels
then, he said.

The French are "kind of light years ahead of us," Nennich said. "People there
are more concerned about their food and pesticides and quality and freshness.
Their climate isn't as severe in the wintertime but they don't have a lot of
heat up there in the summer."

High tunnels typically consist of a series of hoops covered with plastic that
can be rolled up on the sides to allow air circulation. Prices vary by size,
but they often cost just a few thousand dollars. The USDA does not keep
statistics on their use or how much produce is grown in them.

They have been a "game changer" for Earl Snell, who grows organic heirloom
tomatoes in two tunnels near Skipperville in southeastern Alabama.

Snell said he now can grow the tomatoes year-round and compete with southern
Florida farmers, who usually produce most of the nation's winter tomatoes. An
usual, severe freeze in Florida this year has damaged crops and pushed up
produce prices.

"I got some nice looking tomatoes right now. And of course everything is up,
so we're hitting the market just perfect here," Snell said.

To promote high tunnels, the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service
started a three-year pilot program through its "Know Your Farmer, Know Your
Food" initiative. It provided $13 million in the fiscal year that ended last
Sept. 30, and more money is available this year.

USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said the program supports the
agency's mission in helping small- and mid-sized farms thrive and in
encouraging sound conservation practices. She said interested farmers should
contact their local NRCS offices.

"It really is a great opportunity for farmers who want to extend their season
and add some money to their bottom line," Merrigan said.

Tomatoes are probably the most profitable high tunnel crop, but cucumbers and
peppers also generate good return, said Karl Foord, a University of Minnesota
extension educator in Farmington. Farmers and researchers nationwide also use
high tunnels for strawberries, raspberries, melons, salad greens, onions,
sweet corn, ginger and flowers.

Mark Boen just added his eighth high tunnel at his farm near Fergus Falls in
northwestern Minnesota, where he describes the weather as "winter, winter,
winter."

He plans to use his newest tunnel to start growing romaine lettuce far
earlier in the spring than he could otherwise. He said the tunnels have
increased his tomato production, and the fruit is ready at least a month
earlier than normal. Boen can harvest cucumbers almost two months early.




  • [Livingontheland] Federal government spends millions on hoop houses, Tradingpost, 01/17/2011

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