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AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. — The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is offering two irrigation field days in February. The workshops are designed to provide support to farmers as they implement precision agriculture technologies to strengthen preplanting, in-season and harvest management strategies. Brenda Ortiz, an Alabama Extension precision agriculture specialist, said the topics will allow producers to make plans for irrigation use …
By Clint Thompson More emphasis should be placed on risk mitigation in the next farm bill, believes U.S. Representative Austin Scott (R-GA). He discussed the farm bill and the support needed for specialty crop growers at the University of Georgia Ag Forecast meeting on Jan. 26. “While we have projected to be a $1.5 trillion farm bill, the largest in …
By Frank Giles For brassica growers, the diamondback moth reigns as the biggest pest problem they must fight. This is particularly true where the crops are produced year-round, like in Georgia. The pest is estimated to cause as much as $5 billion in crop losses every year worldwide. In the Southeast, cabbage, broccoli and collards are the preferred hosts of …
By Clint Thompson Neopestalotiopsis disease in strawberries remains a concern for Southeast growers. Natalia Peres, professor of plant pathology at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, provided producers tips on how to control the disease during her presentation at the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, Georgia. …
By Clint Thompson An economic slowdown is expected for Georgia, but not a recession. Gopinath (Gopi) Munisamy, Distinguished Professor of Agricultural Marketing at the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, talked about Georgia’s economic outlook during the UGA Ag Forecast meeting on Jan. 26. UGA estimated the probability of a recession for Georgia at 33% and …
Georgia’s vegetable growers are voting this month on whether to continue the Georgia Vegetable Commission marketing order which allows assessment of one cent per marketing unit of vegetables as described in the current marketing order. The marketing order applies to producers with at least 50 acres of the total annual production of vegetable crops. These include beans, bell pepper, specialty …
By Clint Thompson Water requirements for blueberries was highlighted during the Southeast (SE) Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Wes Porter, University of Georgia Extension Precision Ag and Irrigation Specialist, focused his presentation on water needs for one of the Southeast’s most important fruit crops. “In the springtime when we start getting ready to put on buds and flowers, our water …
By Clint Thompson Foreign ownership of agricultural land is a controversial topic that some states have already tackled. Expect Georgia to be the next. A discussion was held during the University of Georgia Ag Forecast meeting on Jan. 26 in Tifton, Georgia. Attendees addressed panelists, including Will Bentley, president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, about the concern of an adversarial …
By Frank Giles Brassica crops have become an important crop in the Southeast. When it comes to disease management, black rot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris) is one of the biggest problems that growers fight. Black rot can affect all major brassica crops, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, collards and kale. The disease causes the most damage in the leafy …
By Clint Thompson A costly but effective option for watermelon producers hoping to overcome fusarium wilt disease is the use of Carolina Strongback rootstock. Bhabesh Dutta, University of Georgia Extension vegetable pathologist, spoke about the rootstock during the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference. He talked about its success in research trials on the UGA Tifton Campus. “This is our …
