To recognize startup businesses implementing innovative solutions to address traditional ag challenges, the American Farm Bureau, in partnership with Farm Credit, aims to award $145,000 in startup funds to 10 businesses from across the country through the Ag Innovation Challenge.
LaJoie Growers, LLC, started growing beets in 2006 and were impressed with how the vegetable thrived in Maine’s cool climate. One test kitchen and many trials later, this family has turned the ordinary vegetable into a unique value-added product.
Sap from a maple tree is about 98% water and 2% sugar – so what happens to all the water after making maple syrup? Sprague’s Maple Farms of Portville, NY, partnered with a conservationally-minded entrepreneur to turn this byproduct into a value-added product.
Solar power is already a very clean, renewable energy source that serves an important role in reducing our carbon footprint. Yet, one forward-thinking farmer has found a way to make solar initiatives even more sustainable. This second post in our series highlighting innovation in Northeast agriculture explores the grazing of sheep on the grassy fields that lie below solar arrays.
