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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 European farmers have taken to the streets to protest government actions that they believe will threaten their viability. The farmers over there are saying much the same thing as the farmers here when regulatory challenges impede their ability to grow food in a reasonable and profitable manner. Food security is national security — without one, you can’t …
By Clint Thompson It was a typical mid-summer scene in South Georgia: scorching temperatures, dusty fields and farm work in progress. For youngster Jaime Patrick, it was just another day at Patrick Farms in Omega, Georgia. “Working here on the farm in the summers, we were growing sweet potatoes at the time. We always had people walk behind the transplanter; …
By Stanley Culpepper Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), a member of the mustard family, has historically been known as a winter annual weed primarily infesting winter crops grown throughout the Southeast. Just like many other weeds, wild radish competes aggressively with crops for light, water, nutrients and physical space. It also can harbor troublesome pests, including various insects and diseases. For …
By Edmar Ramos de Oliveira Filho As the transition away from fossil fuels occurs, efforts to move from a linear to a circular economy are necessary. Biotechnology can provide sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions. This includes new processes for biomanufacturing innovative products from renewable sources, thereby avoiding the use of petroleum-based feedstocks and helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Agricultural …
By Clint Thompson The Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference drew a large attendance in early January. The annual gathering provides a plethora of educational breakout sessions focused on key fruit and vegetable crops. Here’s a few highlights from those sessions. Peach Presentations Fungicide preservation is the key for Southeast peach producers in managing brown rot disease long term. Demethylation …
By Cathy Burns Last year, what the specialty crop industry received in terms of legislative and regulatory policies from federal lawmakers was a mixed bag. While we did see a few positives in terms of investment opportunities in innovation, technology and sustainability, we also saw negatives such as proposed cuts to the fruit and vegetable benefit in the Women, Infants …
By Ramdas Kanissery Battling weeds is a real struggle in vegetable plasticulture production — not just in the plastic mulched planting beds but also in the row-middle spaces between beds (see Figure 1). Weeds in the row middles can compete with the main crop while playing host to insect pests, nematodes and pathogens. Tackling row-middle weeds comes with its own …
By Frank Giles There have been two major forces driving innovation in specialty crop agriculture. No. 1 is the challenge growers have in sourcing a dependable workforce to grow and harvest crops. No. 2 is the push to become more efficient and profitable by reducing production costs. Robotics and automation are developing rapidly with promises to help growers address those …
The March issue of Specialty Crop Grower Magazine puts weed management in the spotlight. Amid concerns over a lack of a dependable workforce and need to reduce input costs, growers need to be more efficient in their production strategies like weed control. Nathan Boyd, weed scientist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), along with …
By Frank Giles Specialty crop farms across the Southeast have faced myriad challenges over the past few decades, but many farms have embraced new market opportunities and enjoyed growth. One of those operations is L&M. The farm was founded in 1964 by Joe McGee in Johnston County, North Carolina. In the years since its founding, L&M has grown into a …
