By Clint Thompson
Today’s talk with U.S. Secretary of Ag Sonny Perdue focuses on imports of Mexican produce. It’s been a concern for farmers who are trying to compete against Mexico.
It was especially concerning this year as growers, especially in the Southeast, also had to overcome challenges with the coronavirus pandemic.
For other testimonials of unfair competition with Mexico, click here.
By Clint Thompson
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments are already starting to be issued across the country to farmers impacted by COVID-19.
Some specialty crop growers in the Southeast have already started receiving funds.
As of June 8, in Florida, 95 specialty crop applications have been submitted with $11.5 million in payments issued by the USDA. In Georgia, 91 specialty crop applications have been submitted with $340,938.92 in payments. In Alabama, six specialty crop applications have been submitted with $40,102.30 in payments.
In North Carolina, 13 specialty crop applications have been submitted with $33,898.82 in payments. In South Carolina, nine specialty crop applications have been submitted with $27,780.48 in payments.
Specialty crops include: Fruits-apples, avocados, blueberries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, kiwifruit, lemons, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, tomatoes and watermelons; Vegetables-artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, dry onions, green onions, peppers, potatoes, rhubarb, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, taro; Nuts-almonds, pecans, walnuts; Other-beans, mushrooms.
The FSA has already processed $1.4 billion in payments to 80,261 producers.
CFAP applications will be accepted until Aug. 28.
U.S. Secretary of Ag Sonny Perdue talked about CFAP.
According to UGA Extension Viticulture blog, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Fruit Disease Specialist Phil Brannen says powdery mildew is just starting to show up on untreated plants in the research grape vineyard at Blairsville, Georgia.
“I hope you will not see it yet in well managed vineyards, but recent rains and other difficulties may have hampered spray programs,” Brannen said.
Spray programs need to be applied on a 7-to-10 day interval when rain events occur as often as they are. Growers also need to use the more efficacious materials at critical infection periods such as bloom and early cover sprays.
It’s important to scout your vineyards and make sure to contact your local county agent should you have questions concerning this disease or others. The 2020 Southeast Regional Bunch Grape Integrated Management Guide can be found at small fruits. It contains valuable information related to the timing and efficacy of fungicides for powdery mildew.
Farmers are currently submitting applications for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). In some instances, checks have already been issued to producers impacted by COVID-19.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue talked about CFAP with Clint Thompson, multimedia journalist with AgNet Media. In particular, he discussed the cap placed on the payments issued to each eligible grower.
For more information about CFAP, see https://www.farmers.gov/cfap.
By Clint Thompson
Less than half of hemp producers in Alabama have the go-ahead from the Alabama Department of Agriculture to plant this year’s crop, according to Auburn University Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist Katelyn Kesheimer.
“A lot of people are still waiting on, can’t even get your seeds or your clones until you get approval from the Department of Ag. It seems to be weeks to get that. It’s not a quick turnaround time,” Kesheimer said. “I would have liked to have seen more plants in the ground now, just because it’s going to get real hot and the soil temperatures are going to jack up. But the Department of Ag is processing hundreds and hundreds of applications.”
Kesheimer said producers must have their green plants up and out of the ground by July 31. She expects planting to pick up over the next month or so.
“I think in the next four to six weeks, I’m hoping we’re going to get a lot more plants in the ground. We’re a little behind, just because waiting on paperwork and everything’s so new,” Kesheimer said. “It just takes forever to do stuff.”
Planting conditions are currently ideal for hemp producers in Alabama.
“We have enough moisture in the soil to give the plant a good start. People need to make sure they fertilize like they would any other plant. They don’t want to go in when it’s super hot. They’ll just burn up if it’s hot and they don’t have moisture; they’re just not going to last,” Kesheimer said. “We saw some plants go in, maybe July last year, and they didn’t last more than a couple of days. I think conditions are good right now while we still have some moisture and it’s not too hot.”
United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday. He attended a farmers to families food box event. It’s a new program that the United States Department of Agriculture launched to purchase $3 billion in excess food from farmers and distribute to families in need.
He talked about the program with Clint Thompson, multimedia journalist with AgNet Media.
To learn more about the program, click here.
According to the UGA Extension Viticulture Blog, Japanese beetles are starting to become more widespread in west Georgia vineyards. University of Georgia entomologist Brett Blaauw says the pests are only beginning to emerge but expects the populations to increase exponentially over the next few weeks.
“In large enough numbers, Japanese beetles can be a severe pest of grapes during the summer, feeding mainly on foliage and (thankfully) rarely on the berries,” Blaauw said. “More problematic is Japanese beetles feeding on new plantings. Older, established vines can withstand some feeding damage, but young vines can quickly become defoliated from these beetles. Special attention should be given to newly-planted vineyards.”
As temperatures continue to heat up as we progress throughout the summer, this is ideal weather conditions for beetles to be active. They love warm, sunny days and congregate in groups on vines to feed and mate near the top of the canopy.
There are no thresholds for Japanese beetle leaf damage. However, management is required when feeding damage is below the top trellis wire or about 15% of the leaves are damaged.
“Growers should rely on their judgment and experience to determine whether beetle abundance and/or injury warrants chemical control,” Blaauw said.
For more information, see UGA Extension Viticulture Blog.
By Clint Thompson
Pepper weevils are once again a problem for pepper growers in the Southeast. Weevils are a problem wherever present, whether it is in high populations or low populations.
“Anytime you have pepper weevil it’s a problem and in very low populations because of the contamination. High populations can cause fruit abscission. It can hurt your yields considerably. But even low populations just because the potential contamination causes marketability problems,” University of Georgia Cooperative Extension vegetable entomologist Stormy Sparks said. “We’ve had some fields where we’ve had enough to collect populations which is pretty bad.”
Sparks said there are a limited number of pesticides available that are relatively effective.
“Pepper weevil is difficult to control just because it’s a weevil, its biology. The only stage you can control is the adults. Once it lays an egg, you don’t get a shot at that particular insect until it’s an adult again,” Sparks said. “The egg is inside the fruit. The larvae is inside the fruit. It pupae inside the fruit. It emerges inside the fruit. Then when it comes out looking for a mate, you’ve got to try to kill it before it mates and starts laying eggs,” Sparks said. “With pepper weevil, it’s basically preventative. You try to prevent establishment in a field. Once they become established in a field, it’s almost impossible to spray your way out of it.”
According to a prior story on pepper weevils, they were out of control in Florida vegetable fields along the East Coast.
“Pepper weevil, which five years ago was not a consistent problem, but it’s been a consistent problem the last three years. We’re overwintering them,” Sparks said. “Pepper growers are fighting pepper weevils on a consistent basis.”
By Clint Thompson
Hemp producers in the Southeast need to be mindful of fire ants. They will damage the stems of hemp plants if not treated, said Katelyn Kesheimer, Auburn University Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist.
“My phone has been ringing off the hook with fire ant problems the last seven days, really. A couple of weeks ago, we had all of those storms that came through; a lot of rain and temperatures are increasing. We started seeing fire ant swarms about two weeks ago. All of those swarms led to newly mated females that became queens that started mounds and now are chewing on the stems of hemp,” Kesheimer said. “It’s very quick because these seedlings are no more than 20 centimeters tall in some instances. They’re just a couple of inches, not that big. The fire ants make a mound at the base of the plant and start stripping the bark and tunneling through the stem.
“I don’t even know if I was onboard with hemp this time last year, but this just seems kind of early for fire ant problems in hemp. I was caught off guard with how many issues we were having.”
Growers have already started planting this year’s crop. Fortunately, there are management practices growers can implement to control fire ant issues. But they need to do them.
“I’ve been recommending people get out there and bait because that’s going to take at least a couple of weeks but also do individual mound treatments. We have some products approved for hemp by the Department of Ag. I think a lot of growers did not heed my warning to put out bait in the fall,” Kesheimer said.
By Clint Thompson
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will enter into force July 1. Unfortunately, it’s still without much protection for vegetable and specialty crop producers, according to economists and industry leaders.
Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association President Mike Joyner hopes that will change soon.
“When Congress passed USMCA, we unfortunately did not get the provisions we were hoping for in USMCA. The Florida delegation, to the person, hung together. Because they hung together, we were able to get a commitment from Ambassador (Robert) Lighthizer to come up with a plan as to how we’re going to address this issue,” Joyner said. “We felt like that was a strong commitment. It’s in writing. We trust Ambassador Lighthizer. Right now, all indications are USMCA will go into effect July 1.
“If you go back and look at the letter, the commitment that the delegation was able to get, that within 60 days of entry into force, Ambassador Lighthizer has to have a plan. Probably within the next few weeks, we’ll present some information to the U.S. trade Representatives Office that they need to consider. It’s data that clearly shows what’s happening with Mexican produce. We’re hoping that over the next two or three months, we can work with Ambassador Lighthizer and his team and come up with something that will help solve this issue.”
According to the USMCA press release, the agreement marks the beginning of a historic new chapter for North American trade by supporting more balanced, reciprocal trade, leading to freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth in North America. However, Southeast farmers still will compete against imports of Mexican produce.
“The concern with the USMCA, in terms of specialty crops, is that there are a lot of lower priced crops, low cost labor in Mexico that are coming into the U.S. and competing with southeast fruits and vegetables,” UGA Cooperative Extension Ag Economist Adam Rabinowitz said. “There was hope that there would be some restrictions or some assistance that would help with the ability to compete with those Mexican imports. But there was nothing within that. As a result, it’s looking like there’s going to be a challenge in terms of being able to compete on price with the southeast fruits and vegetables with the imports from Mexico.”
The influx of Mexican produce was especially discouraging this year for farmers. They had to deal with the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic at a peak time of spring harvest.
In a prior VSCNews story, Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Association, said “it’s insulting to the specialty crop growers who are suffering with COVID-19. It’s taken away markets. Then on top of that, we’ve got Mexican products coming in on top of us to drive the prices even further down.”