South Dakota Ag News Headlines Workshop on High-Tunnel Specialty Crops Set for Nov. 13 South Dakota Ag Connection - 10/15/2009 The South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service will host a workshop on how high tunnels can be used in growing specialty crops on Nov. 13. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the Extension Resource Center, located in the Swiftel Center in Brookings. It costs $25 for those who register before Nov. 9 and includes materials and lunch. The cost is $35 for late registration. Call the Minnehaha County Extension office at (605) 367-7877 to register, or e-mail mbuller@minnehahacounty.org. Registration payment may be mailed to High Tunnel Workshop, in care of Minnehaha County Extension, 220 W. Sixth St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104. Make checks payable to “Horticulture Extension Operating.” South Dakota Cooperative Extension Horticulture Specialist Rhoda Burrows said high tunnels are an innovative way for specialty producers to improve yields. “High tunnels are basically unheated, plastic-covered, relatively inexpensive structures in which high-value crops are generally grown directly in the soil,” Burrows said. “They can help extend production and marketing windows for South Dakota specialty crop growers, and because they also protect crops from rain, wind, and other stresses, they can allow growers to produce high yields of quality produce earlier than field-grown crops, thus commanding a higher price at market.” Participants will learn about high tunnel design, construction, and management during the workshop. Some of the specific topics to be addressed during the program include high tunnel setup, fertility, irrigation, and crop selection and management. Commercial fruit or vegetable growers currently in business, as well as those with an interest in expanding into commercial production, will find this workshop to be a valuable resource, Burrows said. Speakers will include Terrence Nennich, a horticulturist from the Minnesota Cooperative Extension Service, who is an experienced grower familiar with high tunnel growing; Becky Kirby, a commercial tomato high-tunnel grower from Newell; a representative from the South Dakota Department of Agriculture; horticulturists from the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service; and others. The South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service is sponsoring the workshop with partial funding provided by the South Dakota Department of Agriculture For further information, contact Rhoda Burrows at Rhoda.burrows@sdstate.edu or (605) 394-2236. Copyright © 2010 - USAgNet.com. All Rights Reserved.