Will 2021 Be Any Different?

Web AdminExports/Imports, Georgia, Top Posts, Trade

This year was a season unlike any other for produce farmers in the Southeast. Not only did COVID-19 strike at the worst time, but lingering international trade issues with Mexico resulted in diminished market prices for producers like Tifton, Georgia farmer Bill Brim. If something isn’t done soon, 2021 will be no different than 2020. “We’ve been fighting Mexico since …

Wish Farms Expands Florida Strawberry Farm

Web AdminFlorida, Strawberry, Top Posts

Plant City, FL – International grower and year-round marketer of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, Wish Farms, is adding acreage to its Florida strawberry farm operation. Founded in 1987, G&D Farms is named as a tribute to the original founders of the company, Gershon and Daniel. Before the land addition, it was already widely considered to be the largest contiguous …

Clemson Extension Agents Provide Crop Updates

Web AdminSouth Carolina, Top Posts

Clemson Extension agents provide updates in the The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state. Weekly Field Update This will be the final update of 2020. We will pick back up on Jan. 4, 2021. Be sure to keep an eye on the upcoming events tab give us a call if …

UF/IFAS Findings Show Less Need for Pesticide to Control Strawberry Pest

Web AdminFlorida, Strawberry, Top Posts

By: Brad Buck, 352-875-2641 (cell), bradbuck@ufl.edu It’s harvest season for Florida’s $300 million-per-year strawberry season, so those who grow this fruit need help to control pests such as the tiny (up to 2-millimeters long), destructive chilli thrips. Farmers often use pesticides to control thrips, but they would like to use minimal chemicals. University of Florida scientists may have found a …

Congressional Support Helps Lead to Potential Investigations of Imports of Cucumbers, Squash

Web AdminCucurbits, Georgia, Top Posts

Congressional support of Georgia’s vegetable and specialty crop sector has helped lead to potential investigative action regarding imports of cucumbers and squash. Letters from both Georgia U.S. Senators; David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler; as well from four Georgia Congressmen; Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02), Austin Scott (R-GA-08), Buddy Carter (R-GA-01) and Rick Allen (R-GA-12), were sent to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert …

USTR Calls for Investigation of Imported Squash, Cucumbers

Web AdminCucurbits, Top Posts

On Friday, December 4, 2020, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer issued a letter to the Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) requesting investigations into the import of cucumbers and squash and the effect on the domestic seasonal markets.  The request is to investigate the monthly price trends, including an analysis and comparison of the prices of domestically produced products …

Marketing: The Next Challenge for the White Strawberry

Web AdminFlorida, Strawberry, Top Posts

Producing a white strawberry was the first challenge for University of Florida/IFAS strawberry breeder Vance Whitaker. The next is figuring out how to market it so it could be a viable option for Florida producers in the future. Whitaker said there are 12 acres test marketed in different chain stores this year. They will have a better grasp on how …

Clemson Extension Agents Provide Crop Updates

Web AdminSouth Carolina, Top Posts

Clemson Extension agents provided updates in The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state. Weekly Field Update 11/30/20 Coastal Zack Snipes reports, “After a long Thanksgiving nap, I was able to waddle out in the fields and look at some strawberries. We have had some really good strawberry growing weather especially considering most folks …

White Strawberry One of Two New UF/IFAS Varieties Ready for Harvest Season

Web AdminFlorida, Strawberry, Top Posts

December 1, 2020 By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224, bradbuck@ufl.edu, 352-875-2641 (cell) BALM, Fla. — A white strawberry? Not red? Yes, you “read” that right. And it smells a little like a pineapple. It’s also novel in that it’s the first white strawberry to go to market in the United States. Just in time for the west-central Florida strawberry harvesting season, which …

Neopestalotiopsis Disease Confirmed on Georgia Strawberry Plants

Web AdminFlorida, Georgia, Strawberry, Top Posts

Georgia strawberry producers need to be wary of Neopestalotiopsis; a disease that has already devastated Florida production and could have wide-ranging impact on Georgia’s crop if farmers are not proactive. Phil Brannen, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Fruit Disease Specialist, cautions farmers that while the disease has been found in just one Georgia location and only as leaf spotting, there …