 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
By Clint Thompson The specialty crop sector scored major victories with recent court and legislative rulings regarding labor. There’s hopefully more to come for Southeast growers, with Florida and Georgia being the top two users of the H-2A program. Georgia Agribusiness Council (GAC) President Will Bentley discussed the recent developments during last week’s Georgia Ag Labor Forum in Tifton, Georgia. …
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The co-chairs of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) urged President Trump this week to ensure specialty crops be included in any emergency economic aid initiatives for the agricultural sector. Fruit, vegetable, tree nut, and landscape plant growers across the country are facing an immediate and mounting economic crisis. The group’s letter to the President highlighted …
By Clint Thompson Just because a hurricane or tropical system has not impacted the Southeast so far this year doesn’t mean that they won’t. Not with tropical season lasting until Nov. 30. Not with water temperatures still favoring development. Pam Knox, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension agricultural climatologist, discussed the current tropical season and reminded farmers in Florida, Georgia and …
By Clint Thompson The current focus of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Crop Transformation Center is the development of citrus varieties that are resistant to citrus greening disease. The effectiveness of the Center is it’s not just isolated to citrus. Other fruit and vegetable crops will also be studied, says Scott Angle, UF/IFAS Senior …
By Clint Thompson Fruit and vegetable growers who hope to control weed growth with cover crops during the fallow period must remember that this management strategy is not totally effective with every weed, particularly yellow and purple nutsedge. Nathan Boyd, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) professor of horticulture and weed science, focused on the topic …
The October issue of Specialty Crop Grower Magazine highlights blueberries and how global blueberry production is challenging the domestic market. Increased production in other countries challenges Southeast production to supply the demand. Zhengfei Guan, associate professor of economics with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences says over the past 15 years, global blueberry production has more …
Agriculture, forestry and fishing combine to make for the most hazardous industries in the United States, with 23 fatalities per 100,000 full-time workers annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. One of the most dangerous tools in farming is the tractor. A new series of videos from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) provides …
By Clint Thompson Specialty crop growers scored another significant win this week when the Department of Labor (DOL) released an interim final rule revising the methodology used to determine the Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for H-2A workers. Under the new interim final rule, the DOL will base AEWRs on state-level wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational …
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide more than $38.3 million in Congressionally mandated recovery assistance to South Carolina agricultural producers through a block grant agreement with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) to help producers recover from Hurricane Helene. “Farmers and ranchers across the Southeast are …
By Clint Thompson Alabama Pecan Growers Association (APGA) President Bran Futral predicts a crop load this year of about 3 million pounds. That’s if the state does not encounter a tropical storm or hurricane type of event. Futral made the declaration following the organization’s annual conference in mid-September. He said growers have high hopes for this year’s crop as they …
