Cross pollination. Spring is a time when trees need bees, but that lesson of give and take that is so beneficial also applies for humans and information, ideas and platforms, events that teach and entertain. Learn something new every day.

So, new ways to accept payments at an event or on a tour – technology applies to farm markets, small business, entrepreneurs – a report aimed at farmers (but applies to any business) via Farm and Dairy.

Excerpt: “New technology for small businesses allows farmers to process payments anywhere sales happen — at the market, on the farm or online. Companies like Square, PayPal Here and Payline Data offer mobile credit card processing to fit farmers’ needs. Plug a mobile card reader into your smartphone or Wi-Fi enabled tablet and then swipe, insert, tap, or key-in credit card numbers. Contactless chip readers securely process EMV (Europay, Mastercard, and Visa), and NFC (Near Field Communication) like Apple Pay. Card readers cost anywhere from $0 to $149 depending on the host company and technology. The average per transaction fee is 2.7 percent per swipe, insert or tap. Key-in fees average 3.5 percent + .15 per transaction.

“Shopify provides an online platform for farmers to build an e-commerce website from scratch. Shopify also provides tools to help farmers sell products and process credit card payments from sales on social media.”

For more information, here is the link.

Now for some notable events and happenings.

The Friends of Hammonasset Plant Sale is ongoing to May 23 (or when sold out), Madison. Good variety of premium hanging baskets, perennials, plus – weather permitting – 4-inch annuals and flats of bedding plants and vegetables. Look for the sale .3 miles east of the main entrance to Hammonasset Beach State Park on Route 1. Folks are invited to contribute potted perennials from their own gardens to the sale, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, 7 days a week. For additional information call (203) 245- 9192. The sale supports Friends of Hammonasset environmental education and year-round work to preserve the park’s natural resources and as an advocate for Hammonasset Beach State Park. This year’s proceeds will be committed to fund exhibits and furnishings for the new nature center constructed at Meigs Point.

Learn about herbs at Prescott Farm with Master Herbalist Melissa Morrison. The Herbal Pathfinder Series is a series of classes (once a month, May through October) to learn how to identify herb medicine plants of the fields and forest, how to harvest and then use the herbs. Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center, 928 White Oaks Rd., Laconia, NH; fee is $35 per class (one has already taken place); for information (603) 366-5695.

Tickets still available to Textile Treasures II Digging Deeper tour hosted by Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, Saturday, June 3, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 211 Main St., Wethersfield. Go behind-the-scenes to view a rare and remarkably well-preserved collection of 17th-and 18th-century clothing, shoes, and textiles. Event information via Facebook, linked here.

Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation and Nourse Farms in Whately are planning ‘Camping for a Cure‘ on June 10. This is a fundraiser for the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation’s Pan-Mass Challenge team. Currently, five farmers are set to ride more than 750 miles combined on Aug. 5 and Aug. 6 to provide cancer patients, who can’t ride in this bike-a-thon, with hope and support.

Unlike most charities, the PMC donates 100 percent of the funds raised.

Last year the organization raised more than $47 million for Dana-Farber Cancer Research Institute, which is more than 80 percent of the institute’s annual funds. For this reason, the PMC is much more than a ride, it’s a source of hope for those whom may have little to none. You can learn more at www.pmc.org or see http://profile.pmc.org/TM0329.
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