Southwest Florida Small Farmers Network

SW Florida Small Farmer Network is the 2009 National Winner (Southern Region) of the Search for Excellence Award in the Sustainable Agriculture Program of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents.

• Next Meeting- June 27, 2011

About SWFSFN

in Southwest Florida can now network about diversified and sustainable farming systems with a new outreach project of the UF/IFAS/FAMU Small Farms and Alternative Enterprise Program.  Started in July 2007 the Southwest Florida Small Farmers Network (SWFSFN) includes growers in the region from Hillsborough to Collier county.  This farmer group is facilitated by the county UF/IFAS Agriculture Extension agents of Sarasota, Lee and Collier counties.  The goal is education to meet small farmer-identified priorities, issues, and needs.  The format of the meetings is a farm visit that provides a farmer-led walk and description of the farm operations in conjunction with extension presentations on topics pre-selected by the membership. Additional activities include a growers meeting, pot-luck lunch and seed swap.  The intended audience is the small farmer who wants both to develop a regional network of producers with similar interests and to evaluate first-hand alternative enterprises, as well as for the beginning farmer. Membership is open and at no cost. (Contact: Robert Kluson, Sarasota County Extension, at rkluson@scgov.net).

• Extension Education Programs From Past Meetings

  • Marketing - A Special Sense
  • Farmscaping Small Farms
  • Fruit Tree-based Agroforestry
  • Pesticides and IPM Concepts
  • Florida Vegetable Disease Resistance

Outreach of SWFSFN Activities

Posters at Florida Small Farms and Alternative Enterprise Conferences

2011:

• Onfarm Research of Photoselective Shade Cloths in Parsley and Basil Herb Production

2010:

• The South West Florida Small Farmers Network - a Participatory and Regoinal Approach to Sustainable, Diversified Agriculture Extension
• The South West Florida Small Farmers Network (SWFSFN) Spawns Multicounty Workshop Seminars

Next Meeting:

Hello members & supporters of the SW FL Small Farmer Network (SWFSFN)!   I am very pleased to send you this announcement and invitation to the next meeting of SWFSFN on June 27, 2011.  Following up our very successful April 25th meeting at the Roy Batty Nursery and Inyoni Organics Farm in Naples, we are continuing to provide you another opportunity for a farm visit to a sustainable, small farmer in SW FL.  It will be hosted by Grove Manager Steve Cucura at the Treehouse Nursery on Pine Island. Treehouse offers a wide variety of tropical fruit tree seedlings and is a great location to see the mature trees and even taste some exotic fruits, given that summer is here.

       
Photo Galleries of Previous Meetings (click here)

Meet a SWFSFN Farmer (click links below)

• Meet Pam and Hank Sindlinger of Gateway Farm in Pinellas County.
• Meet Bill Pischer of Jessica's Organic Farm in Sarasota County and Chris & Eva Worden of the Worden Farm in Charlotte County.
• Meet Lynn Steward "Mr. Citrus Organics & Vegetables"
• Meet Tim and Sandra Eland
• Meet Ted Burt
• Meet Vincent Dessberg
• Meet Lynn Steward “Mr. Citrus Organics and Vegetables”