Paul Allen, chairman of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, encourages farmers to prepare now for next growing season with respect to worker safety.
FFVA strongly urges every grower and farm labor contractor to implement these measures to the utmost of your ability. Download the checklist, review it, print it out and begin working now to designate a workplace coordinator responsible for COVID-19 assessment and control. Growers who work with a farm labor contractor should require that these measures are followed. I plan to make this a priority for my operations and you should, too.
In addition, your county health departments and emergency management offices are prepared to help with testing, sanitizing supplies and PPE. We’ve included a list of each county’s health department contact information in the packet for your convenience.
FFVA also is discussing the development of training videos and materials with some industry partners to serve as additional tools and resources. The association continues to be in almost daily contact with state agriculture and public health officials and stands ready to help you in any way it can.
This is not optional. If we can’t reduce the spread of COVID-19, we may not have a workforce to harvest our crops next season. Our grower/shipper community must be united on the importance of worker safety during COVID-19. If even one employer or farm labor contractor fails to meet his or her responsibility, the entire industry feels the impact.
Thank you in advance for doing your part.
Sincerely,
Paul Allen
FFVA Chair
By Andre Luiz Biscaia Ribeiro da Silva for UGA CAES News
As we approach the harvest season for watermelon, bell pepper, tomato, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumber, sweet corn and other crops, Georgia vegetable growers can move ahead and prepare seasonal workers to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 during harvest time.
According to the National Watermelon Association, there was an increase in the incidence of COVID-19 among seasonal workers in the watermelon industry of north Florida during harvest, and positive coronavirus tests were reported in 75% of seasonal workers. That means that 3 of every 4 workers tested were positive for COVID-19.
Florida is a few weeks ahead of the Georgia watermelon industry for harvesting, and similar numbers can be expected in our state if agricultural operations don’t take action. Prepare for the possible transmission of coronavirus on your farm, packinghouse or other agricultural operation by stocking proper personal protective gear, instituting social distancing measures, and protecting the health of your employees, workers and customers.
Regardless of the crop and how long or short the season may be, growers can do their part and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is here to help. Below is a list of actions recommended by the National Watermelon Association:
For more resources on COVID-19 from UGA Extension, visit extension.uga.edu/emergencies. Contact your local Extension office by calling 1-800-ASK-UGA1.
According to the The South Carolina Grower, downy mildew disease was found Wednesday in one watermelon field in Bamberg County, South Carolina.
Justin Ballew, Clemson Extension commercial horticulture agent, said all growers should immediately spray watermelon with Ranman, Revus, or Gavel to protect their crops from the disease. In addition to direct yield loss, loss of vine cover can expose fruit to sunburn. Growers who find downy mildew in a field should apply Orondis Ultra or Orondis Opti in a weekly rotation with Ranman or Gavel.
According to a previous UGA news release, the downy mildew pathogen thrives in wet, humid conditions and needs moisture on the surface of the plant for successful spore germination and further infection.
Cucurbit crops — like cucumbers, melons, squashes and pumpkins — are susceptible to the disease.
By Clint Thompson
Leaf scorching and dieback on some young pecan trees is common this year with high temperatures, according to Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist. But Wells assures growers the problem can be corrected.
“We see that this time of year pretty much every year; young trees where they’re growing so fast that the root system can’t keep up with what the top is trying to produce. This time of year, it turns off hot and soil temperatures warm up some,” Wells said. “Water demand goes up and those young trees with the root system not fully developed yet have a hard time keeping up. They tend to grow out of it. It’s a scary thing for growers to see. But they do tend to grow out of it fine.
“Anytime you have a tree like that, that’s struggling and you start seeing some shoots dying back and stuff like that, it’s a sign that’s something’s going on in the root system. If you prune back some of that top and bring the top of that tree back more in line with what the root system can support, that usually is a big help to it.”
Wells cautions growers to maintain consistent soil moisture or apply water every other day. The longer irrigation is applied, the deeper the water runs. This allows the root system to develop deeper through the soil profile. This also prevents the soil from getting too hot. Soil temperatures that exceed 95 degrees F inhibit root growth.
In the UGA Extension pecan blog, Wells also said that growers will get more vigor and healthy first-year growth if they plant before March.
By Clint Thompson
Georgia peach workers are staying safe and nobody has been stricken from the coronavirus pandemic yet, says Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources agent for Peach and Taylor counties.
“Nobody’s having any real hiccups with this virus. I guess everybody’s staying far enough away from each other to be safe,” Cook said.
Cook said all the precautions and safety guidelines that are already in place jive with the safety practices that are necessary with the current coronavirus pandemic.
“In the packing sheds and in the close proximity, all of the ladies and gentlemen, they’re all wearing masks. They started wearing gloves in the past anyway packing, just for food safety sake. All of their food safety side of stuff, it just translates over to public safety, too.
“Every day, at the end of the day, they clean the packing shed and then they disinfect it. Then they come back in the morning and do the same thing in the morning. They’ve all got stores, and all have got retail space where they sell products. They’ve got all of the regular signage up.”
Cook said in April that farmers are trying to keep their peach crews a little more separated this year. Farmers limit the workers to the amount of time they’re exposed to other people that are not part of their specific crew.
It would be extremely challenging if a worker got sick from COVID-19.
“If they lost one guy on a crew or had one with it, they’d probably have to lose that crew for at least a two-week quarantine period,” Cook said.
By: Ruth Borger, 517-803-7631, rborger@ufl.edu
LAKE ALFRED, Fla. — Water is essential to Florida farmers. They scrutinize the amount available, its quality and when and how they should use it to grow crops, feed animals and sustain their livelihood.
University of Florida soil and water sciences assistant professor Davie Kadyampakeni works tirelessly with Florida citrus growers to ensure that they have access to the most current research in water use and soil nutrient management to promote good environmental stewardship and crop production efficiency.
Kadyampakeni, working at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, combines a research portfolio with a UF/IFAS Extension appointment to bring the latest information to growers. His work has been so effective that he is being recognized by his colleagues with the 2020 Outstanding Extension Specialist award.
Kadyampakeni’s Extension philosophy is to address the immediate and long-term needs of citrus growers (and growers of other horticultural crops such as peach and blueberries) in Florida by establishing himself as a “go-to” researcher with information provided as needed. The majority of Florida citrus is grown in sandy soil, and growers need thoughtful nutrient and water management strategies to be successful. Educational activities to achieve his goals in Extension include talks, publications, phone calls and demonstrations. His Extension program takes a three-pronged approach by focusing on:
“Dr. Kadyampakeni deserves this award because of his relentless drive to get information to growers,” said Juanita Popenoe, a UF/IFAS multi-county commercial fruit production agent and the person who nominated him. “He is focused on promoting optimal irrigation and nutrient application rates for citrus affected with huanglongbing (HLB), something that is absolutely needed.”
Over his time with UF/IFAS, Kadyampakeni has processed over 5,000 samples and analyzed for pH or nutrient content and reached out to more than 1,200 participants in workshops.
Nationally, he is the past chair for the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) Sensor-based Water Management Community and organized a symposium on “Optimizing efficiency with sensors for irrigation scheduling and water management” at the ASA Annual Meeting in November 2019. Davie was also the 2019 Leader for the W4128 Multistate Project: Microirrigation: A sustainable technology for crop intensification and improved water productivity, with participants from more than 20 Universities in the US and several USDA scientists. He was chair and moderator of a symposium at the 2019 ASA-CSSA-SSSA meetings. He is current Chair for the Citrus Working Group for the American Society of Horticultural Science (ASHS) and chairs the 2020 panel for selecting the International Horticulturalist of the year. He is also the organizer of the Citrus ASHS Workshop on “Novel Practices for Sustaining Citrus Production in the Era of Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing)” scheduled for August 2020 in Orlando, Florida with invited speakers from across the US at the ASHS annual conference. He is also the 2020 Citrus Section Vice President for the Florida State Horticultural Society.
Alabama: A session unlike any other
By Ashley Robinson
Alabama lawmakers have never seen a legislative session like the one that took place this year. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forced lawmakers to end Alabama’s 2020 legislative session early, causing several issues to fall by the wayside.
Legislators took a nearly two-month break during the COVID-19 outbreak, returing to Montgomery on May 4to pass state budgets and a few other bills before the regular session concluded May 18. Wearing masks and sitting apart, lawmakers gathered without lobbyists in the hallways or members of the public filling the galleries.
“Once lawmakers came back, the building was not open to the public … which was pretty unusual, especially taking on something as important as the budgets,” says Leigha Cauthen, Alabama Agribusiness Council executive director.
FUNDING FOR AGRICULTURE
Due to the shortened timeframe, Education Trust Fund and General Fund budgets and local legislation were lawmakers’ top priorities.
The General Fund budget, at almost $2.4 billion, will greatly benefit the state’s agriculture industry. Under the proposed plan, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) will receive almost $15 million, including $100,000 in new appropriations for the North Alabama Agriplex, $130,000 for the industrial hemp program and $120,000 allocated to the Farm to School program. In addition, the new Sweet Grown Alabama state agricultural brand received $250,000.
Sweet Grown Alabama, which launched on March 13, is a non-profit organization that connects farmers in the state to retailers and consumers. Growers can market their produce anywhere in the state. The online database allows consumers to find farmers in their area. Farmers’ profiles include their location, products grown, social media links, website links and how consumers can buy their products.
In addition, the Soil and Water Conservation Committee will receive $2.9 million, including more than $81,000 in matching funds for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program to increase on-farm irrigation.
“I think the ADAI was pleased with this year’s funding. At the beginning of the session we were all optimistic about the budgets, but as COVID-19 unfolded, the budgets fell back to the same funding levels as last year,” Cauthen said. “But, some new money made its way to the ag department, so that’s great that those needs were met even as the budget was being scaled back.”
BILLS LEFT HANGING IN THE BALANCE
Unfortunately, none of the bills that were of particular interest to Alabama agriculture were passed by the Legislature during the session.
“We lost a couple of good bills that were left hanging in the balance, but it also kept some bills from passing that could have been detrimental to the agriculture industry,” said Cauthen.
She expects special sessions later this summer or into the fall to take up additional important issues of the state. But, for the most part, she expects to see the bills she was tracking reintroduced during next year’s session.
For a complete list of the bills being tracked by the Alabama Agribusiness Council, visit www.alagribusiness.org.
By Clint Thompson
COVID-19 was a challenge of pandemic proportions for farmers this spring. Adding insult to injury were the influx of Mexican produce that undercut American producers trying to sell their own product.
Florida vegetable farmer Sam Accursio has a potential solution.
“The only solution I know is to vote, get the people that are like-minded and want to support our nation in office. That’s all we can do. I don’t have any other solution besides that at the moment. We have to keep lobbying,” Accursio said. “Growers, we’re very unique people. We work 100 hours per week, and that’s our problem. We’re working when all of these problems arise, and we don’t have time to go to Washington and sit down with these politicians. We have to talk to them one by one when they’re in our area coming around to us.”
It was especially tough for Accursio this spring. Like other farmers in Florida, Accursio lost produce when the coronavirus pandemic struck in mid-March. In early April, he voiced frustrations about the impact of Mexican imports were having on American farms. He remains frustrated.
“While we were dumping and stopping harvest, I was monitoring what they were shipping in the way of squash per day. It was 2 to 3 million pounds per day, closer to 2.7 to 3 million pounds per day coming across the Mexican-U.S. border of squashes, while I’m stopping harvest; harvesting and throwing on the ground; harvesting and sending to Farm Share,” Accursio said. “The cooler’s empty and we crank back up again. It was a trying time. Then to see Mexico still importing into our nation just seemed so wrong.”
Things could potentially get worse as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is set to enter into force on July 1.
“While we are in season, we need some sort of protection. Right now they’re in the talking phases again. Hopefully, we’re going to have enough influence to make some changes,” Accursio said.
According to the Florida Farm Bureau, Florida’s specialty crop producers will continue to experience loss of market share due to high volumes of dumped Mexican produce. Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried voiced her concerns, as did U.S. Secretary of Ag Sonny Perdue.
Accursio encourages consumers to continue supporting American farmers. He can’t fathom the alternative.
“If you take Florida and California away in the winter, what do you have? You have third-world countries feeding this great nation and I’m not going to eat it. I’m not going to do it,” Accursio said.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) received a proposal from the National Pecan Federation (NPF) requesting the establishment of a research and promotion program to strengthen the position of pecans in the marketplace, maintain and expand markets for pecans and develop new uses for pecans.
USDA is currently analyzing the proposal. If USDA finds the request justified, the department will publish in the Federal Register a proposed rule with a public comment period seeking input from the industry and interested stakeholders. A copy of the NPF proposal can be found here.
The proposed program would be established under the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996 and would be financed by an assessment on domestic producers and importers of pecans and administered by a board of industry members nominated by the industry and selected by the Secretary of Agriculture.
The proposal by the NPF calls for an initial assessment rate of two cents per pound of inshell and four cents per pound of shelled domestic and imported pecans. Handlers would collect assessments from producers based on the pounds of pecans received and importers would pay assessments on pecans when they enter the U.S. for consumption. Domestic producers and importers of less than 50,000 pounds of inshell pecans (25,000 pounds of shelled pecans) on average for four fiscal periods would be exempt from paying assessments.
NPF proposed that the board consist of 17 members to include producers representing different pecan-producing regions within the United States and importers of pecans.
