The 3rd annual IATFA conference took place on Dec. 3-4 at the Doubletree Hotel in Henrietta.  A large group of producers, academics, manufacturers, distributers and software developers gathered to discuss the challenges facing  Specialty Crops.  After spending the morning listening to a variety of speakers from IBM, John Deere Corp, Cornell University and Penn State University, the group broke out into smaller groups.  The first session was divided by commodity, the second by technology.  These enthusiastic groups determined the greatest concerns and discussed possible solutions to these issues.  When presented on Friday morning, the issues were remarkably similar regardless of commodity.  Cooperation among the producers seemed to be the biggest challenge but also the one that will provide the best outcome if achieved. The video and powerpoints from this conference will soon be on this site.    The date and location for the 4th annual conference will also be announced very soon.  Watch for the date.

  A very interestingwebsite for those of you who are growing a small business is SCORE Rochester. SCORE is a non-profit association composed of volunteers who share their management and technical expertise with owners/managers of small business and those who want to start their own small businesses.  Helping business men and women has been SCORE's goal since its founding in 1964.  SCORE has over 389 locations/chapters with 11,500 members and operates in the USA. SCORE volunteers hail from every facet of the business community.  Some have worked at large corporations such as Kodak, Xerox or Bausch & Lomb.  Some have served in our military or worked for the local or federal government.  Others have spent years cultivating their own small business.  They’ve made mistakes and enjoyed business success – they are ready to give their time and business insights back to emerging and existing business owners. Periodically the Rochester SCORE chapter recognizes some of its members or other contributors to the SCORE programs at one of our monthly meetings. As a resource partner with the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA), SCORE operates in cooperation with the agency to provide business owners with information, resources and tools vital to their success.  This includes counseling on financing options, business strategy, marketing tactics, product development, cash flow, management and much more.

  East Lansing, Mich. -- Researchers at Michigan State University are working to turn the rutabaga into an oil-producing powerhouse that could make the turnip-like vegetable a better source of biofuel than other food crops.

  Fishers, NY -- A group of New York apples growers has formed a new company to grow, pack, market and sell new apple varieties created by Cornell Univesity's Apple Breeding Program.

  Since 1990, the combined population of the four largest metro areas in Upstate New York(Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, and B...

  Space For Rent - Posted by on 3/9/2009