REGIONAL - The Department of Agriculture is looking for more local farmers to take advantage of a decade-old program to extend the growing season on the Iron Range. The “high tunnel” program provides government funds to growers to install covered areas on their property to protect crops during the early spring and fall.

The program could provide a boost to area growers hoping to take advantage of the increasing interest in locally-grown foods.

“They are like a greenhouse,” said Michelle Gunderson, owner of Dirt Lady Greenhouse, north of Virginia. Gunderson has been participating in USDA-funded programs for two decades and recently added high tunnels to her property.

The tunnels trap heat and allow certain crops to be planted in early April instead of May or later. In turn, when the weather turns cold, rather than harvesting in September or early October, the crops can stay in the ground until early November.

Gunderson said she is currently growing perennial flowers in her tunnel but plans to put fruits and vegetables in place during the next growing season.

To be part of the program, farmers apply through the USDA offices in Virginia. It’s a cost-share program, which means the government provides matching funds determined by the scope of the farmer’s plan.

According to Jen Faint, a USDA program associate in Virginia, the application takes between three and six months to be approved depending on how much money has been set aside for the year.

If approved, Faint said farmers create a stewardship contract with the USDA that lasts anywhere from one to ten years. The contracts lay out specific goals that the farmer plans to meet in certain timeframes.

Gunderson said even though the tunnels extend the growing season, she said growers should be careful not to get one too large since snow accumulates on them quickly in cold weather and they need to be kept clear in order for them to be effective.

She added that some growers have been able to grow products from other, warmer, growing zones, though she said she hadn’t tried it herself and didn’t want people to get their hopes up if warm-weather crops don’t thrive as intended.

For more information on the program, call the Virginia USDA office at 218-305-3592.

Gunderson said interested parties can call and ask for her first-hand experience at 218-741-0174.