Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the Protecting America’s Orchardists and Nursery Tree Growers Act, which would reform the Tree Assistance Program (TAP), a critical farm safety net program. The legislation would expand eligibility for TAP by lowering the mortality threshold and allowing farmers to use TAP funding to replant alternative breeds of trees or bushes. In a June Agriculture committee hearing, …
Whitefly Populations Remain Low
By Clint Thompson Whitefly populations remain low across the Southeast. Fall vegetable growers have the Christmas freeze event last December to thank for that, believes Stormy Sparks, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension vegetable entomologist. “I think that’s a lot of it. We’ve had some wet weather, too, but I think that’s a lot of it. It knocked them way back. …
Biggest Need for Georgia Citrus is Research
The Georgia Citrus Commission members have been selected to serve the state’s up-and-coming industry. Now it is time for those five individuals to determine the pathway for the industry to be successful for the foreseeable future. Commission member Lindy Savelle believes research is the key component in advancing the state’s citrus industry. She said that is why the Georgia Citrus …
Chlorpyrifos Clarification: Insecticide Can Be Applied to Non-Bearing Peach Trees
By Clint Thompson Chlorpyrifos can legally be used to manage peachtree borers in late variety orchards that are not being harvested or were harvested early. Brett Blaauw, assistant professor at the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, confirmed the news in the UGA Extension Peach Blog. “As long as they don’t expect to harvest fruits within …
Members Appointed to Georgia Citrus Commission
By Clint Thompson Georgia’s newly established Agricultural Commodity Commission for Citrus Fruits, known as the Georgia Citrus Commission, has its five members that are tasked with steering the course of the state’s citrus industry. The Commodity Commission Ex Officio Committee appointed the following members to the Georgia Citrus Commission: Each commission member has a minimum of 5 acres of citrus …
Fungicide Resistance Testing Available for Georgia Grape Producers
By Clint Thompson Georgia grape producers should be aware that the University of Georgia has resources to test for fungicide resistance of multiple pathogens in wine grapes. These pathogens include powdery mildew, downy mildew, ripe rot and Botrytis. But only in certain instances should growers send samples to the Plant Molecular Diagnostic Lab in Tifton, Georgia. Phil Brannen, University of …
Sen. Ossoff Introduces Legislation to Strengthen Georgia’s Citrus Industry
Washington D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is leading the charge to support Georgia’s farmers and strengthen the state’s growing citrus industry. Sen. Ossoff introduced the Georgia Citrus Development Act of 2023 to ensure Georgia citrus growers have a seat at the table when guiding key decisions for the industry. Sen. Ossoff’s bill would add a new Georgia member to …
Georgia Citrus Growers Get Valuable Resources
Since Georgia’s citrus industry is still in its infancy, leaders are determined to educate growers about the resources that are available to them. With help from Lindy Savelle, president of the Georgia Citrus Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently hosted an event to share many of those resources with growers. The meet-and-greet workshop took place July 12 at …
Perfect Storm: Weather Events Impacted Georgia’s Watermelon Season
By Clint Thompson Intense heat in recent weeks quickly led to the conclusion of this year’s watermelon harvests in most of South Georgia fields. The two-week deluge of rainfall in June also contributed to the crop’s shortened harvest window this year. “The extreme weather events really beat the vines up and it also introduced disease. That coupled with, once they …
Same Story: Imports Impacting Georgia’s Specialty Crops
By Clint Thompson The more things change, the more they stay the same. Another spring vegetable season for Georgia producers was marred by rising imports that deflated market prices. “While we were in D.C. (recently), one of our growers was talking about $4 a box was the market price for squash. It was what it had fallen to when imports …