Dry Weather Update: Extreme Drought Observed in North Alabama

Clint ThompsonDrought

Extreme drought is spreading in two areas in North Alabama. Most of Georgia is either abnormally dry or moderately dry, while Northeast Florida is abnormally dry. These are the latest conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Extreme drought is seen in Alabama counties like Lamar, Fayette, Marion and Walker, in the northwest part of the state; along with Lauderdale, …

UF/IFAS Scientists Studying Whether Cover Crops, Compost Can Increase Tomato Efficiency

Clint ThompsonFlorida

Specialty crop producers are always looking for ways to increase their yields and boost the ability of their crops to resist pests, diseases and heat spurred by climate change. That’s particularly the case when you grow crops in a high-intensity production system, which farmers use to produce tomatoes in Florida. Such systems require a lot of water, nutrients and chemicals …

Sneak Peek: July 2024 Specialty Crop Grower Magazine

Clint ThompsonSpecialty Crop Grower Magazine

The cover story of the July issue of Specialty Crop Grower Magazine puts the spotlight on DiMare Company, one of the largest field-grown tomato producers and packers in the U.S. Tony DiMare, president of DiMare Fresh and DiMare Homestead, recounts the company’s history, which spans 96 years and started with Tony’s grandfather, Anthony, and his two brothers. Deer and feral …

Free Business Planning, Tax Management Workshop for Farmers in Miami-Dade

Clint ThompsonFlorida

Successfully operating any agribusiness such as a farm, ranch or nursery requires strong financial skills to ensure profitability and sustainability. Too often, agribusiness owners don’t survive due to key knowledge gaps in business planning and tax management.  “A business plan is critical to the financial sustainability of any agriculture business,” said Fredy Ballen, a University of Florida Institute of Food …

Tomato Diseases Impacting Alabama Crop

Clint ThompsonAlabama, Tomatoes

By Clint Thompson The ongoing drought is slowing disease pressure among Alabama vegetables, says Ed Sikora, professor and Extension plant pathologist in the department of entomology and plant pathology at Auburn University. But that doesn’t mean disease pressure is quiet across all vegetables, especially tomatoes. Sikora outlined what tomato diseases are present across the state and what can be done …

Agricultural Safety Center, UF/IFAS Release Heat-Related Illness Toolkit

Clint ThompsonFlorida

The Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (SCCAHS) and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have partnered to create an online toolkit to help protect agricultural workers from the summer heat. Last year’s sweltering summer temperatures convinced SCCAHS leadership that additional promotion about heat-related illness education could save lives. Even before the summer …

Drought Intensifying, Expanding Across SE

Clint ThompsonDrought

By Clint Thompson Abnormally dry conditions have become more widespread across the Southeast (SE), due to the lack of rainfall over the past couple of weeks, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Most of northern and central Florida is abnormally dry. The dry conditions start in Leon and Wakulla counties, stretch east to Nassau and Duval counties and southward to …

Snail’s Pace: Impact Being Seen in Georgia Vegetables

Clint ThompsonGeorgia

By Clint Thompson Snails are already impacting citrus in Florida. Georgia vegetables experts are concerned their crops could be next. Stormy Sparks, University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension vegetable entomologist, talked about the dangers that snails pose to all vegetable crops in South Georgia. “It’s a growing concern, absolutely,” Sparks said. “We’ve got some in the squash fields over in …

Active Atlantic Hurricane

Extremely Active Atlantic Hurricane Forecast Maintained

Dan CooperCitrus, Specialty Crops, Weather

Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane researchers in June maintained their April forecast for an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season in 2024. The maintained forecast for the 2024 season, with the average for 1991-2020 in parentheses, is: The researchers also maintained the probabilities for at least one major hurricane landfall on each of the following coastal areas: “This forecast is of …