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General Farming Research

How to Grow and Harvest Dry Beans Overview: Dry beans are easy to grow and can be stored after harvest for a healthy, delicious meal all winter long. There’s a lot of satisfaction in producing your own low-cost, vegetable-based protein on the farm. Combine beans with corn, rice, or other grains to make a complete protein. Beans are rich in B vitamins and folic acid, contain minerals including iron, selenium, potassium, magnesium and calcium, and are high in fiber. Planting Time: Plant beans after the last frost date in your area, and ideally, wait until the soil is well-warmed (70-90 degrees F). Beans should be direct seeded into the soil. Spacing: Space seeds 1 1/2 inches apart. Space rows 14 to 36 inches apart depending on your equipment. If growing a small amount of beans to hand harvest, space rows closer together. If using a tractor, space 36 inches apart. Growing Notes: Beans do best in moderately rich soil but they will thrive even in somewhat depleted soils, as they have the ability to fix their own nitrogen. Beans do not respond very well to added fertilizer. If your soil is acidic, add some lime before planting. If this is the first time you’re planting beans in this soil, make sure to coat your bean seed with inoculant, a specific species of Rhizobium that beans need for sprouting (you can get this from the seed company or farm store where you purchase your seed). Once in the soil, the inoculant will stay there and multiply almost indefinitely, so this is just a first-time planting task. Mulch during early growth to keep weeds down. Once plants are well-established, they are excellent at shading out weeds. Pests and Problems: Cutworms and root maggots sometimes attack seedlings. Thin plants to allow for good air circulation. Too much rain can lead to rusts, molds, and blights. Avoid working among wet plants. Turn under bean debris at the end of each season and practice crop rotation. If fall weather is very wet or if frost threatens the harvest, pull plants early and finish drying under cover, such as in a shed, barn or basement. Beans will continue to mature in the pods even after they are picked, so don’t worry too much if you have to harvest immature beans. As tender annuals, beans are very sensitive to frost. Plant once you’re sure all danger of frost has passed, and harvest early if needed, as described above, to avoid frost damage in the fall. Maintenance: Beans are quite easy compared to other crops. Just weed, water and mulch as needed through the growing season. Beans are fairly drought tolerant, but you must make sure they have enough water while they are forming pods and seeds for a good harvest. Harvesting: Dry beans are harvested when they rattle in the pod. Pull up the plant by hand and hang from the roots. Traditionally, bean plants are lashed to a 5- to 7-foot high pole. You can harvest up to 5 acres of beans by hand but more than that will need specialized harvesting equipment for your tractor. Dry beans require threshing – getting the beans out of the pods. For small amounts, you can do this by hand by squeezing the pods open. A traditional method is to hold the plant by the roots and bang it against the inside of a barrel. For more than about a half-acre of beans, you might want to invest in threshing equipment. After threshing, beans must be cleaned and sorted. For small amounts, do this by hand, using a screen and a hair dryer to blow off debris (or an air compressor if you have it). Split beans can be fed to farm animals. For large bean harvests, you can buy a seed cleaner. If beans are soft (bite one and see), continue drying them until they feel firm to the bite before moving them to storage. Freezing beans before storage kills any potential insects such as the pesky bean weevil. Storage and Preservation: Store dry beans in a dry, cool, airtight container away from sunlight. Beans are best used in the season after they have been harvested, but they will last for several seasons if needed. Seed Saving: Beans are self-fertilizing, so you don’t have to space different varieties apart from each other. Just save your best and earliest-maturing seeds for next year.

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Growing Nut Trees Nut trees can be a nutritious and delicious way to improve your diet, an easy source of income, and a valuable farm legacy... It’s said that you don’t plant nut trees for yourself; you plant them for generations to come. But you may not have to wait long to enjoy your crop—some grafted trees start bearing fruit within one year of planting. Once nut trees are established, their generally low maintenance makes them an attractive addition to any hobby farm. Success with nut trees depends on factors that include topography and climate; the type, pH and fertility of your soil; the availability of moisture; and the prevalence of pests and diseases in your region—even the whims of local squirrels, chipmunks and jays, who can decimate your orchard but leave your neighbor’s untouched. Before purchasing and planting nut trees, ask yourself these questions: How much space do you have? How impatient are you to taste your first crop? How quickly can you harvest more than a handful of nuts? How much work are you prepared to do throughout the year to keep your trees healthy and pests at bay, and how much work at harvest time? What’s your favorite nut? In addition to answering these questions, Sandra Anagnostakis, PhD, a chestnut scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, suggests, “Find out what kinds of trees will grow in your climate and in your soil. Look around to see what grows well in your area.” A local soil-testing lab can test your soil’s pH (your county extension agency might be able to, too), and employees at state departments of agriculture and agricultural colleges might be able to offer advice and share their enthusiasm for their favorite trees. Nut-tree breeders shipping across the U.S., as well as your local nursery, should know what nut-tree varieties perform well in your region. Nonprofit organizations, such as the Arbor Day Foundation and the Northern Nut Growers Association, provide news about the latest cultivars (plant varieties that have been deliberately selected for specific desirable characteristics) and information on the best techniques for planting and successful cultivation. Preventing Pests in Nut Trees “If you’re only growing 1/2 to 5 acres of trees close to a woodlot, squirrels will be your biggest nightmare,” says Molnar, and other growers agree. Nut kernels go from liquid to jelly to a dough-like stage when they’re still green—mid-July for walnuts and mid-August for pecans. That’s when squirrels start cutting them down from the trees. “But if you have one or two dogs that run free,” says Molnar, “that’ll do the trick.” Cats can also help with a squirrel problem. Playing recorded bird distress calls or predator cries in your orchard will help scare away blue jays, which also love nuts. Harvesting Nuts Once nut trees are established, the biggest input of time and effort is at harvest—gathering, preparing and preserving the nuts. Even if you’re using a machine to shake the tree, “rubber fingers” to pick the nuts off the ground and a mechanized cleaner to remove debris, you’ll still need to inspect the hulled nuts. If you put them in water, damaged, diseased or old nuts will usually float to the top. The nuts should be dried in their shells to reduce moisture content to less than 10 percent, which discourages potentially dangerous molds and improves flavor and texture. Lay the nuts in a single layer in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place or on a screen so air circulates around them, says Reid. It may take a week to three weeks until the kernels rattle in their shells, lose their rubberiness and snap when bent. To speed the process, use blowers or dryers. Once they’re dry, store in-shell nuts in a cool place. To extract the kernels, commercially available specialty nut crackers may be worth the investment for speed and control, but even a common bench vise will crack the hardest shells. Most nuts are very high in protein and in heart-healthy oils—pecans and hazelnuts can be almost 75 percent oil. Freezing shelled nuts will stop their oils from oxidating, which is what causes rancidity. They keep well for years if frozen in airtight glass or hard-plastic containers, preventing the nuts from absorbing off flavors from their surroundings. Chestnuts are the exception. The nuts are almost entirely carbohydrate, and unlike other nuts, dried chestnuts are “rock-hard and useless,” says Anagnostakis. At harvest, Anagnostakis recommends dipping the nuts in hot water to control a weevil that lays its eggs in the nuts as they ripen or as the burrs open. She says weevil control is not difficult: Soak the nuts at 122 degrees F for 30 minutes, then immediately cool to 32 to 34 degrees F to kill weevil eggs before they hatch. Because of their high moisture content—about 25 percent—fresh chestnuts must be kept cold after harvesting to prevent mold and, like other fresh produce, should only be sold from a refrigerated case. Whatever nut trees you’re most fond of, the most important thing is to “Grow what your land is really suited for, and grow what grows well,” says Reid. About the Author: Barb Feldman has written and illustrated children’s books, and her stories, essays and articles appear in magazines, newspapers and online. She believes lightly-toasted, skinned hazelnuts are nature’s perfect food.

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Farm control and ownership has traditionally been a key indicator of status and power, especially in Medieval European agrarian societies. The distribution of farm ownership has historically been closely linked to form of government. Medieval feudalism was essentially a system that centralized control of farmland, control of farm labor and political power, while the early American democracy, in which land ownership was a prerequisite for voting rights, was built on relatively easy paths to individual farm ownership. However, the gradual modernization and mechanization of farming, which greatly increases both the efficiency and capital requirements of farming, has led to increasingly large farms. This has usually been accompanied by the decoupling of political power from farm ownership. Forms of ownership In some societies (especially socialist and communist), collective farming is the norm, with either government ownership of the land or common ownership by a local group. Especially in societies without widespread industrialized farming, tenant farming and sharecropping are common; farmers either pay landowners for the right to use farmland or give up a portion of the crops. Farms around the world Australia Farming is a significant economic sector in Australia. A farm is an area of land used for primary production which will include buildings. Where most of the income is from some other employment, and the farm is really an expanded residence, the term hobby farm is common. This will allow sufficient size for recreational use but be very unlikely to produce sufficient income to be self-sustaining. Hobby farms are commonly around 5 acres (20,000 m2) but may be much larger depending upon land prices (which vary regionally). Often very small farms used for intensive primary production are referred to by the specialization they are being used for, such as a dairy rather than a dairy farm, a piggery, a market garden, etc. This also applies to feedlots, which are specifically developed to a single purpose and are often not able to be used for more general purpose (mixed) farming practices. In remote areas farms can become quite large. As with estates in England, there is no defined size or method of operation at which a large farm becomes a station. United Kingdom In the UK, farm as an agricultural unit, always denotes the area of pasture and other fields together with its farmhouse, farmyard and outbuildings. Very large farms, or groups of farms under the same ownership, may be called an estate. Conversely, a small farm surrounding the owner's dwelling is called a smallholding and is generally focused on self-sufficiency with only the surplus being sold. North America Farming near Klingerstown, Pennsylvania Many farms have fallen into disrepair such as the ruins of Higher Hempshaw's in Anglezarke, England Traditional Dutch farmhouse The land and buildings of a farm are called the "farmstead."[citation needed] Enterprises where livestock are raised on rangeland are called ranches. Where livestock are raised in confinement on feed produced elsewhere, the term feedlot is usually used. In 1910 there were 6,406,000 farms and 10,174,000 family workers; In 2000 there were only 2,172,000 farms and 2,062,300 family workers.[10] The share of U.S. farms operated by women has risen steadily over recent decades, from 5 percent in 1978 to 14 percent by 2007.[11] In the United States, there are over three million migrant and seasonal farmworkers; 72% are foreign-born, 78% are male, they have an average age of 36 and average education of 8 years.[12] Farmworkers make an average hourly rate of $9–10 per hour, compared to an average of over $18 per hour for nonfarm labor. Their average family income is under $20,000 and 23% live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level.[13] One-half of all farmworker families earn less than $10,000 per year,[14] which is significantly below the 2005 U.S. poverty level of $19,874 for a family of four. In 2007, corn acres are expected to increase by 15% because of the high demand for ethanol, both in and outside of the U.S. Producers are expecting to plant 90.5 million acres (366,000 km²) of corn, making it the largest corn crop since 1944.

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