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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Specialty Crop Grower Magazine”
By Frank Giles There have been a few issues percolating on the federal policy front over the summer. One of the biggest has been the new farm bill and its prospects of getting passed into law. Last month, AgNet Media hosted the Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo in Tampa at the Florida State Fairgrounds. The event was a success, and …
By Frank Giles One of the missions of land grant universities is helping farmers to learn better ways to produce their crops. But another is seeking alternative crops, which might help growers to diversify their business operations. Some alternative crops work; others don’t. Research efforts might pay off when a crop catches on. A recent of example of this is …
By Frank Giles Technology applications in agriculture have blossomed in recent years. In irrigation, moisture sensors, weather stations and system control software are making applications much more efficient and well timed. From Citrus to Sweet Corn Several smartphone applications have been developed that can allow specialty crop growers to up their irrigation game. The University of Florida Institute of Food …
By Clint Thompson A $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection pilot grant program will continue to help Pacific Tomato Growers be a destination workplace for H-2A workers. “When we applied for the grant, we had an extensive list of things we were going to use it for. The H-2A program is …
By Clint Thompson For some specialty crop producers, production is no longer confined to a specific season. If growers are to achieve financial success and stay sustainable for the foreseeable future, they need programs like the Value-Addition Institute for Business Expansion (VIBE) to help extend their farming operations to include new products via process development. The University of Georgia (UGA) …
By Frank Giles A rally cry in agriculture that rings true in recent years is: “Food security is national security.” This mantra is often used in relation to trade disruptions caused by imports of agricultural products from foreign countries that cut into the profitability of U.S. farms. This is especially true for Southeastern specialty crop growers who have seen their …
By Frank Giles When the Supreme Court of the United States makes a ruling, the results and interpretation are sometimes straightforward. Other times, rulings are nuanced and less clear, like in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. On June 28, the Supreme Court ruled on the case, which overturned the legal standard known as the “Chevron deference” doctrine. …
By Michael Schadler Suspension Agreement Purgatory The never-ending story of the United States-Mexico Tomato Suspension Agreement added a new chapter over the last year when the Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE) issued a request to the Biden administration to terminate the 28-year-old agreement. So far, FTE has received no response. The Tomato Suspension Agreement is an agreement between the U.S. Department …
By Frank Giles The Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo is scheduled for Aug. 21–22 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. This year’s event will be the second at the fairgrounds — a venue which was well received by attendees of last year’s Expo. The event features an expansive trade show providing growers with an opportunity to learn about the …
By Clint Thompson Agricultural pests are sometimes not just bugs and diseases but include animals looking for a food source. Unfortunately, for Georgia’s specialty crop producers, that food source is often their crops. Georgia’s legislative leaders are arming state agencies with substantial funding in next year’s budget to tackle this problem. Included in the budget was $150,000 directed to the …
