Photo submitted by Ellie Watson/Gov. Kay Ivey declared July 22, 2020 as Sweet Grown Alabama (SGA) Day. The proclamation recognizes the state’s new branding program and honors farmers who grow food across the state.
Ellie Watson, Sweet Grown Alabama Director, believes when consumers support local farmers, it provides them with a source of high-quality produce that helps growers remain sustainable.
“It’s so important for consumers to support local farmers because not only does that money help the local economy; we know that about 60 cents of every dollar stays in the local community when you support local, so not only do you support your local economy when you buy from local farmers but you are also receiving the highest quality, freshest product available,” Watson said.
“It’s really important for consumers to continue to support our farmers so they will be sustainable into the future and will be able to provide these high quality, local products to us for years to come.”
Sweet Grown Alabama Day
Watson and other industry leaders used Wednesday’s celebration of Sweet Grown Alabama Day to stress the importance of Alabama agriculture and launch the Sweet Grown Alabama’s online searchable database. It connects consumers with sources of locally grown produce which has garnered much interest in the last few months amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have seen an increase in interest for locally-grown products since COVID-19 has hit. We really find that consumers are so much more interested in knowing how their food has been grown and most importantly whose hands have been on their product,” Watson said.
“When you buy local and shorten your supply chain, you are able to know that the hands that have touched your food are right there local. It really just shortens that supply chain and takes out a lot of risk for disease and other things that we’re all so worried about in these unusual times.”
Picture submitted by Ellie Watson/Gov. Kay Ivey declared July 22, 2020 as Sweet Grown Alabama (SGA) Day. The proclaimation recognizes the state’s new branding program and honors farmers who grow food across the state. Gov. Ivey was joined by SWG Director Ellie Watson, Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell, Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate, PowerSouth’s Horace Horn, and Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed.
Sweet Grown Alabama Day will forever be July 22.
Kay Ivey, Alabama Governor; Rick Pate, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries; and other agriculture leaders and farmers joined forces at the Alabama State Capitol on Wednesday to celebrate the launch of a new online searchable database, which connects Alabama farmers and families.
The celebration was highlighted by a special farmers market and Gov. Ivey issuing a proclamation that declared July 22, 2020, Sweet Grown Alabama Day.
“Alabama’s farmers have a significant impact on our great state with over 580,000 Alabamians working in agriculture and related industries,” said Ivey in a press release. “Connecting with local farmers through Sweet Grown Alabama is a great opportunity to show your support for our neighbors and enjoy the wonderful products grown right here at home.”
Picture submitted by Ellie Watson/Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate speaks during Sweet Grown Alabama Day.
Membership Database
Originally launched in September 2019, Sweet Grown Alabama’s online membership database includes more than 150 farmers and businesses that sell Alabama-grown products directly to consumers.
Nearly 30 vendors and Sweet Grown Alabama members joined the celebration on Wednesday with a farmers market on Bainbridge Street. They sold produce, meat, honey, pecans and other locally produced items.
“We feel like we had a great morning. We just wanted to serve those farmers and do everything we can to make sure they had a good morning. That was the whole goal,” Sweet Grown Alabama Director Ellie Watson said. “We were glad to have them all in Montgomery today.”
Industry leaders continue to preach the importance of buying locally grown produce and supporting Alabama farmers.
“People are asking different kinds of questions about their food. They want more information about where it’s grown; who grew it; how it’s grown. We knew that’s what people wanted,” Pate said. “You don’t talk to anybody that doesn’t say, they want to know that the tomatoes that they’re buying at the grocery stores or the tomato they’re buying at the road-side stands are actually from Alabama.”
Consumers can go to the Sweet Grown Alabama website and find local farms in their area. It also lists a harvest calendar so consumers can know when specific fruits and vegetables are ready to be picked. Anything from satsumas and watermelons on the fruit side to bell peppers and kale on the vegetable side are listed.
We are now exporting more fruit from the United States than we were last year. According to a story from Gary Crawford, we are also importing much less fruit.
Clemson Extension agents provided updates in The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state.
Statewide
Dr. Matt Cutulle reports, “It is always good to control goosegrass even if it is past the critical period for competition with the crop. Lack of late-season control made hand-harvesting tomatoes difficult. Also, there will be a huge deposit of goosegrass seeds into the soil seed bank for next year unless the seeds are destroyed after the harvest.”
Coastal
Wilting of hemp is very common and often sporadic throughout fields. Photo from Zack Snipes
Zack Snipes reports, “We experienced a nice hot week of weather in the Lowcountry. Most crops are finishing up with the heat and recent rains. On later season tomato I have seen bacterial leaf spot on the fruit which makes fruit unmarketable. I am seeing this on the second cluster of fruit set and not on the first or third clusters. Hemp seems to be off to the races and looking pretty good so far. There are within every hemp field occasional wilted, stunted and yellowed plants. These plants always have a weak root system and most of the time have girdling and interveinal discoloration. Peppers and eggplants are loving this heat and are producing in high volumes.”
Midlands
Justin Ballew reports, “Last week was hot and mostly dry, though we did have some scattered thunderstorms come through over the weekend. Field prep for fall crops continues. We’ve had some fall tomatoes, peppers, and brassicas transplanted already and more to come this week. Everything is growing pretty fast right now and we’re still picking spring crops. Keep an eye out for spider mites, as they love the hot, dry weather we’ve had lately.”
Sarah Scott reports, “We are still ahead of schedule on peach varieties being harvested. Early August Prince and August Prince are being picked now which is over a week earlier than usual. The fruit quality is still good with slightly smaller than ideal fruit. With the extreme heat and lack of rain in the past week, summer crops like tomatoes and cucumbers are looking rough. Bell peppers are doing well.”
Pee Dee
Bruce McLean reports, “Sweet potatoes are looking good. Establishment seems to be very good for the most part. Long green cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, peas, okra, and sweet corn are harvesting well. Condition is good to very good. Sweet corn will be wrapping up shortly. Blueberries are pretty much finished, with only a few remaining fruit on Powderblue. Fruit condition is fair to good. Muscadines are coming along nicely and appear to have an excellent crop. Fresh muscadines should be beginning harvest soon, with wine/juice grapes still a few weeks from harvest. Be on the lookout for Grape root borer moths. They are starting to emerge. They were being caught in traps placed in vineyards in Marion and Horry counties.”
Tony Melton reports, “Harvested first crop of processing peppers. Continuing to pick and plant pickles. Processing greens are over for the spring crop. Harvesting the first crop of processing and seed peas and planting fall crop. Getting processing tomatoes out of the field as quickly as the plant can take them. Things are drying out, hope we don’t go into drought with the heat.”
Upstate
Kerrie Roach reports, “Spotty rain and high temperatures have left many small growers scrambling for irrigation options throughout the Upstate. Peaches and nectarines are still being harvested. Blueberries are just about finished, and farmers’ market produce is starting to wind down with the heat. Apples should begin next week with early varieties like ‘Ginger Gold’ and ‘Golden Supreme’.”
Andy Rollins reports, “Plenty of early blight, bacterial spot/speck on tomatoes this season, but some of the more troublesome problems have been various tomato virus problems. When diagnosing virus problems it is important to get lab verification because herbicide injury can look very similar when just going by visual symptoms. If you suspect herbicide drift from a neighboring farm. Look for damage to other broadleaf plants in the area in between the suspected source and the damaged plants. Follow the wind direction. You should have more severe damage on the leading edge. Also, herbicide residual from a previous crop like sunflowers can also give you herbicide damage that you did to yourself. Read and follow all pesticide label directions. There are plant back restrictions on some herbicides so be careful. If this is the case the damage should be fairly consistent/uniform throughout the area that was planted in the other crop.
Unlike both of these other situations, virus problems may come from your seed source, the greenhouse where plants were grown or from weeds in the field. Pokeweed is commonly a source, as are many other broadleaf weeds. Thrips, aphids, and whiteflies are all known to vector viruses into plants. Symptoms are what you see below with “shoestring” looking leaves, leaves with distorted veins, and mosaic yellow and green coloration. There are many viruses that infect plants. Each of them can show different symptoms and also they can each look different on other plants as well. It’s even possible for a healthy-looking plant with no symptoms to be infected with several viruses.”
It is never too early start thinking about next year’s Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference. In the age of the coronavirus pandemic, industry leaders like Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, must start thinking about an event still several months away.
“We’re operating on the premise that we’re going to have a show in January in Savannah (Georgia). But we’re looking at, if the outbreak doesn’t calm down, if the requirements are such that we can’t hold the show, we’re looking at what the options are,” Hall said. “We’re just trying to do some preliminary, looking at different ways of doing that and whether we have virtual shows, live presentations. We’re just hoping that things calm down enough that we can have the show and get things going from there.”
Scheduled for Jan. 7-10
The conference is slated to be held in Savannah, Georgia on Jan. 7-10. It’s one of the largest events in the Southeast. It attracts 3,200 attendees and 280 companies that have booths to showcase their agricultural products.
Hall believes a final decision will be made in the fall on whether the conference will be in-person or virtual. A lot will depend on the availability of companies being able to travel for meetings at that point.
“If some of the national companies make the decision that their employees can’t travel in January, that will begin to affect our decision of whether we do with the conference,” Hall said. “We will have a conference. The real question is, hopefully, we’ll have an in-person conference and not a virtual conference.”
The other dilemma is if the conference proceeds as normal, how will social distancing guidelines be followed with that many people expected to attend?
“Right now, if we had that conference in Savannah, you would have to be at a 50-person maximum in a room. I think is what the requirements are, and then they have to be social distancing. Those classrooms have been wall-to-wall people and they’re standing along the sides, you can’t have that many people in a classroom right now,” Hall said.
The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) did not get all of its wishes granted with the recent revisions to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) by the United States Department of Agriculture. FFVA President Mike Joyner confirmed that there are two commodities that his organization hopes the USDA will include in Category 1.
Watermelons on display at a farm on the UGA Tifton campus. Watermelons are a commodity that the FFVA hope will be added to Category 1 of CFAP.
“The two commodities that we also submitted for consideration also in column 1; we had blueberries, but we also had celery and watermelons. We’re hoping that in that second round, the USDA approves those two commodities for column 1,” said Joyner, who added that 13 of the 29 commodities that FFVA petitioned for were revised by the USDA. “We submitted information in the NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) that clearly made the argument that the losses for watermelons for about a four-week period, the price just dropped off the table.
“We appreciate the decision on the 13 of the 29. We hope that when the second round comes, they will approve the others.”
Had crops that suffered a five percent-or-greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Had produce shipped but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channel, and
Had shipments that did not leave the farm or mature crops that remained unharvested.
According to the USDA press release, additional commodities were added to CFAP and that the USDA made other adjustments to the program based on comments received from producers and organizations and review of market data.
The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting applications for CFAP through Aug. 28.
Florida’s fruit and vegetable (FFVA) growers were big winners in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision last week to amend certain commodities to the list covered under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
FFVA President Mike Joyner said almost half of the commodities that his organization petitioned the USDA for were accepted.
FFVA President Mike Joyner
Joyner
“We’re pleased with the decisions that the USDA made. We submitted 29 additional crops for consideration in that NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability), 29 additional crops, working with our members and 13 were approved,” Joyner said. “But we understand that there’s going to be a second round of decisions that are going to be made. We don’t know if those that we didn’t get a decision on, we don’t know if they looked at those and rejected them. Our hope is that this will be in the second phase. I think as important as that, the decision that the USDA made to include blueberries in column one was a big decision.”
According to the prior VSCNews story, blueberries were one of seven eligible commodities added to Category 1 of CFAP. According to the USDA press release, the USDA found these commodities had a 5% or greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, these commodities were only eligible for marketing adjustments, which Florida blueberry farmer Ryan Atwood believes would not have helped growers like himself at all.
“Not many individuals qualified for 2 or 3. But everyone in Florida is going to qualify, just about for Category 1. That’s why it is a big deal,” Atwood said.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The UF/IFAS Extension Family Nutrition Program (FNP) is among the organizations partnering on a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)-led grant project to fight food insecurity in several rural Florida communities.
Nikki Fried Florida Agriculture Commissioner
In a virtual press conference last Thursday, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced the project, funded by a $100,000 Walmart Foundation grant and benefiting selected food banks in Flagler, Highlands, Levy, Putnam, Walton and Palm Beach counties.
“Despite Florida growing over 300 commodities and enough fresh produce to feed 150 million Americans, nearly 3 million Floridians suffer from food insecurity, including 850,000 children – and this was before the public health and economic crises of COVID-19,” Commissioner Fried said. “We’ve had to get creative to help fight chronic hunger, and that includes public-private partnerships, particularly in rural areas. That’s why we’re so grateful to the Walmart Foundation for their generous support, providing $100,000 to rural food banks and farmers that will help Florida’s families in need. This partnership is a great example of government, the private sector, and nonprofits coming together to serve our neighbors during a crisis.”
Karla Shelnutt, UF/IFAS Extension state program leader for nutrition and principal investigator of FNP, spoke on the call in her capacity as vice president of the (UF-unaffiliated) Living Healthy in Florida board, which is a direct support organization of FDACS.
Karla Shelnutt
“This work aligns perfectly with the Living Healthy in Florida mission,” Shelnutt said. “COVID-19 has resulted in a significant increase in the unemployment rate in Florida, which has led to more and more families visiting food banks and pantries for assistance. Many of these programs have been unable to meet this increase in demand. This grant initiative is going to make a huge impact for several rural food banks and pantries to obtain the infrastructure needed to help meet this demand and increase their capacity to serve.”
Shelnutt explained that the project merges her roles, as UF/IFAS Extension FNP public health specialists will partner with the recipient food banks to provide a consultation to determine infrastructure and nutrition education needs.
“The Family Nutrition Program will lend the expertise of our public health specialists to provide one-on-one consultations to each participating organization to help them assess their space and identify ways to not only expand their infrastructure but also to encourage families to make healthier eating choices,” she said. “This work also aligns perfectly with UF/IFAS Extension priorities to increase access to healthy food for all Floridians.”
Another way the project is accomplishing that access is by connecting Florida-fresh produce to food-insecure families. A nonprofit farmer network, the Center for Sustainable Agricultural Excellence and Conservation (CSAEC), will provide pre-made produce boxes to the selected food banks for distribution to families.
“Partnering with these food pantries will make a difference in many lives, and we are honored to play a small role in it,” Shelnutt said. She also expressed gratitude to both the Walmart Foundation for supporting the “innovative solution that will help feed hungry Floridians, decrease commodity waste, and increase the operational capacity of rural food banks and pantries,” as well as Commissioner Fried for “her commitment to bringing more awareness to food security issues throughout our state.”
Find more information on the program in FDACS’s press release at tinyurl.com/y73pdkby. Video of the press conference, courtesy of FDACS, is also available at tinyurl.com/yb3joul4.
Advanced formulation of the only Group 22 insecticide for agricultural use delivers improved control and performance consistency.
Squash is one of the crops that respond well to Avaunt eVo insect control.
PHILADELPHIA, July 14, 2020 – FMC has just released and made available for immediate use a new insecticide formulation, Avaunt eVo insect control, in a range of crops including brassicas, pome and stone fruits, cucurbits, leafy vegetables, low-growing berries and dried and succulent beans.
Avaunt eVo insect control is an advanced formulation of Avaunt insecticide that provides improved mixability and rainfastness, an expanded label and an updated package size for easier handling.
“This is the next evolution of our indoxacarb-based insecticides for specialty crop growers. Avaunt insecticide has been a proven tool, and now we’ve evolved the formulation to enhance its capabilities,” says John McCool, FMC insecticide product manager. “Strengthening existing technology is another way FMC is continuing to bring innovation to the market and advance agriculture.”
Avaunt eVo insect control delivers effective control of labeled Lepidopteran pests, including several species of weevils, beetles and other chewing and sucking pests. Its expanded label also allows for higher application rates in certain crops, as well as new crop additions including dried and succulent beans, low-growing berries and small fruit vine climbing subgroups.
The new formulation delivers significantly improved residual control, mixability and rainfastness. Avaunt eVo insect control is completely rainfast once it has dried on vegetation.
“Enhancing these three attributes directly translates to better overall performance in the field,” explains Hector Portillo, insecticide product development manager for FMC. “For example, when we look at Avaunt eVo insect control trials nine days after the initial application, we’re still getting 80-90% control; a 10-20% improvement in control over the original Avaunt insecticide during the same post-application window.”
In addition to better performance, the improved mixability of Avaunt eVo insect control equates to less downtime and greater flexibility for growers. The product dissolves faster in the tank than the original Avaunt insecticide and other wettable granular insecticides. It also has a reduced mixing process, which alleviates the requirement for a set mixing cadence.
Strong, Resilient Rotational Tool
Indoxacarb, the active ingredient in Avaunt eVo insect control, belongs to the unique and proven oxadiazine class of chemistry in IRAC Group 22. Indoxacarb is the only Group 22 insecticide labeled for this crop and pest spectrum, making Avaunt eVo insect control an ideal rotational partner for growers.
“Being this is the only mode of action registered for use in this segment, it’s a strong fit in crops where growers make multiple insecticide applications per season. It provides rotational flexibility to help growers manage resistance and protect existing chemistries from resistance development,” Portillo states.
Avaunt eVo insect control is a resilient option for growers operating under hot, intense environmental conditions since it is unaffected by pH, UV, high sunlight and temperature, which are the primary factors for insecticide breakdown and failure.
For more information about Avaunt eVo insect control, visit your FMC Star Retailer or ag.fmc.com to learn more.
The first round of revisions made by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the commodities covered under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) benefited Georgia’s vegetable producers.
Kale was one of the commodities added to CFAP.
Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) Executive Director Charles Hall was appreciative of the consideration given to the crops his organization petitioned for.
“Some of our January to April crops, GFGVA petitioned for the mustard, kale, collards and turnip greens to be added to that. We provided the documentation,” Hall said. “We’re very grateful that along with several other states that were in the same situation as we were to be able to show that there was a 5% drop in the pricing during that time. We’re glad of that.”
In a press release, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced an initial list of additional commodities that were added to CFAP on Thursday, and that the USDA made other adjustments to the program based on comments received from agricultural producers and organizations and review of market data. Producers can submit applications that include these commodities today, July 13, 2020.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting through Aug. 28, 2020, applications for CFAP, which helps offset price declines and additional marketing costs because of the coronavirus pandemic. USDA expects additional eligible commodities to be announced in the coming weeks.
“There’s still a problem with watermelons, primarily the Florida watermelons. Florida Fruit and Vegetable and the National Watermelon Association filed comments on the watermelon. Georgia Fruit and Vegetable didn’t because we did not have crop there at that time,” Hall said.
One crop that benefited from last week’s decision was blueberries. Based on the USDA’s original assessment of the impact of coronavirus on the industry, blueberries were eligible for Categories 2 and 3 for CFAP relief payments. The crop was one of seven currently eligible commodities to be added to Category 1 of CFAP.
Hall said since Georgia blueberry farmers did not start harvesting until April 12, the impact will be felt more with Florida growers.
“There was really only about three days that our blueberries were on the market before we got past the deadline of April 15. Florida had blueberries in that timeframe and did file the NOFA comments and definitely added to the benefit of blueberries,” Hall said.
