Florida Blueberry Management Tips for September

Clint ThompsonBlueberries, Florida

Florida blueberry management is a year-round job for the state’s growers. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) provides producers with reminders about what management options they need to remember for September. Producers should be actively scouting for algal stem blotch as well as monitor and manage leaf diseases. On farms where there is active management …

Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Projects Announced for Alabama

Clint ThompsonAlabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) $495,000 to fund projects that strengthen Alabama’s specialty crop industry through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). The program will fund 12 projects to enhance competitiveness of specialty crop growers by using marketing, education and research for Alabama’s specialty crop …

Specialty Crop Grower Magazine: Jordan Carter is a Voice for Watermelon Producers

Clint ThompsonSpecialty Crop Grower Magazine

By Clint Thompson Growing up in Cordele, Georgia, the “Watermelon Capital of the World,” Jordan Carter never imagined working in agriculture and being a voice for watermelon growers across the Southeast. She was, after all, selling insurance as recently as 2013 before joining Leger & Son as director of sales and marketing. Eleven years later, she is the vice president …

Fall 2024 Florida Agritourism Events

Clint ThompsonFlorida

There is a hint of fall in the air, and that means Florida farms are preparing to open their gates for fun. In addition to family fun, many farms offer hands-on educational demonstrations and farm product tastings as part of their agritourism events and tours. When you support a family farm who hosts agritourism activities, you help to ensure that …

Dry Weather’s Impact on Alabama Pecans

Clint ThompsonAlabama, Pecan

By Clint Thompson Any rainfall at this point in the production season will benefit Alabama pecan farmers, especially considering the prolonged dry period in August. That’s why the potential rain amid Hurricane Francine’s trek northward last Thursday had Bran Futral, Alabama Pecan Growers Association president, excited. “I would tell you probably, this summer, we’ve got irrigation, and early in the …

Florida Ag Expo Scheduled for Nov. 7

Clint ThompsonFlorida, Florida Ag Expo

Registration is ongoing for this year’s Florida Ag Expo event, scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 7 at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) in Wimauma, Florida. The Florida Ag Expo has served as the premier event for small fruit and vegetable growers in Florida and the Southeast for more than …

Citizen Scientists Help UF/IFAS Researchers Find Best Tasting Tomatoes

Clint ThompsonFlorida, Tomatoes

People with a green thumb for growing tomatoes are giving University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers data to help them find tastier tomatoes. Through a citizen science program, Denise Tieman, a UF/IFAS research associate professor of horticultural sciences, and her lab are retrieving viable data from residential gardeners about which tomato varieties grow and taste …

USDA Announces September 2024 Lending Rates for Agricultural Producers

Clint ThompsonUSDA

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for September 2024, which became effective Sept. 1, 2024. USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide access to capital to help producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs.           “I encourage our lenders and borrowers alike to work with our …

NPC to Advocate for U.S. Fresh Potato Access During U.S.-Japan Bilateral Meeting

Clint ThompsonFlorida, potato

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) are scheduled to host plant health technical bilateral meetings with their Japanese counterparts in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Sept. 17-19, to continue mission-critical work on phytosanitary topics. National Potato Council (NPC) CEO Kam Quarles and others from the U.S. potato industry will attend …

Clemson Extension Agents Provide Updates

Clint ThompsonSouth Carolina

Weekly Field Update Clemson Extension agents provide updates in The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state. Midlands Phillip Carnley Pee Dee Christiana Huss Upstate Briana Naumuk Andy Rollins