The Cornell Small Farms Program is offering a variety of courses, but notable for beginning farmers is the Getting Started with Berry Production course led by Jim O’Connell, a former Resource Educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Ulster County, NY, and Anya Stansell, the Western New York Small Fruits Extension Specialist. If you’re exploring the idea of adding berries and bramble fruits to your farm, this course will help you consider all the aspects of this decision, from varieties and site selection all the way through profit potential and marketing. In 2026, this course will be offered live for 6 weeks on Wednesdays from 7:00 – 8:30 PM (Eastern) from November 4 – December 9.
If you’d like to learn more about controlled environment agriculture (CEA), The Ohio State University if offering a completely online Strawberry School. The Strawberry School Online offers all the keys to learn soilless production of strawberry under greenhouse and indoor controlled environment. Contents include strawberry physiology, cultivar selection, production practices, and systems. Students will have access to six lectures recorded previously. Additionally, students will be invited to live QA & discussion sessions scheduled during the course access period as needed (October 1 through January 10, 2027). Deadline to enroll is November 30th.
The University of New Hampshire is putting on the New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference on December 15-17th in Manchester, NH. The conference will feature 31 educational sessions over three days, providing growers with the latest research, practical production strategies, and business management tools for vegetable, berry, and tree fruit operations.