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Vidalia onion producers and industry leaders should mark their calendars for next month’s Vidalia Onion Update, scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 20, at the Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center in Lyons, Georgia. The event will start at 10 a.m. and concluded at noon. The agenda for the event will include talks on variety evaluation, disease management, a precision agriculture update …
By Clint Thompson Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to enhance the agricultural landscape. How specialty crop producers farm today may look different from how they farm five years from now. The potential future of specialty crop production in the Southeast was on display during the Southeastern Specialty Crop Technology Conference & Show in Tifton, Georgia, in early May. Ag companies and …
This year’s Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo has a lot to offer vegetable producers. A session on pest management will cover challenges growers face in fields, including whitefly, thrips, pepper weevil and more. Talks will be given on whitefly-transmitted viruses. A presentation on nematode management with reduce-risk nematicides and cover crops will be given during the pest management session. Speakers …
Florida fruit and vegetable farmers are reminded that registration for the 52nd annual Agricultural Labor Relations Forum will close on Friday, July 31. The Florida Specialty Crop Foundation presents the forum every year, which is slated for Aug. 12-14 at the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida. Every year the forum informs agricultural employers, which includes producers, …
By Clint Thompson Pumpkin production season is officially under way in North Georgia. Producer Drew Echols, owner of Jaemor Farms in Alto, Georgia, has about 130 acres this year. He talked about his pumpkin crop in an interview with AgNet Media. “Most everything’s been in the ground about two weeks, and they’re up about 10 inches tall already,” Echols said. …
By Clint Thompson Labor reform is hopefully on the way. It would be a long time coming for Southeast farmers, industry leaders and specialty crop organizations, who have advocated for H-2A reform for years. That includes John Hollay, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE). He expressed thanks to U.S. Representative GT Thompson and his labor …
By Clint Thompson A potential outbreak of the Cyclospora parasite impacting lettuce should serve as a reminder to Southeast farmers about the importance of food safety protocols and keeping good records of food safety activities. Keith Schneider, a professor in the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) food science and human nutrition department, talked about food safety …
By Clint Thompson Ralstonia research is one of the topics highlighted at this summer’s blueberry meetings hosted by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. While it is not as problematic as other blueberry diseases as Florida growers contend with every year, it has the potential to wreak havoc on one of the state’s major fruit crop, …
The Last Word By Wilton Simpson If you’ve spent any time in agriculture, you’ve learned a simple truth: We’re not really farming for ourselves. Every seed planted, every fence repaired, every grove, pasture and field we care for is an investment in what comes next. Agriculture has always been about leaving something better behind for the next generation than what …
By Clint Thompson One familiar insect pest is starting to rear its ugly head this summer. Unfortunately, its arrival is earlier than expected. But that’s the grim scenario facing vegetable farmers preparing for their fall crops. Stormy Sparks, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension vegetable entomologist, said whiteflies have started showing up in cotton, according to conversations he has had with …
