AgNet DEMO

Category: South Carolina

  • Potato Industry Feels Left Out of CFAP

    Like other commodities, the potato industry has been hurt by COVID-19.

    The National Potato Council and state grower organizations wrote Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue recently to talk about potatoes that have nowhere to go for processing.

    The Hagstrom Report says the council noted more than “1.5 billion pounds of fresh potatoes for processing and potato products are trapped in the supply chain with no likely customers.” Mountains of potatoes were being given away or left to cow feed as surplus crops are piling up despite government efforts to distribute the potatoes as part of food boxes being given to needy families.

    The potato industry feels like the USDA’s new Farmers to Families Food Box program, as well as other initiatives, aren’t enough to dent the losses in a sector that depends heavily on foodservice sales.

    Kam Quarles (Quarrels), CEO of the National Potato Council, says, “It was clear the people who were doing well in retail could probably take more advantage of this than the impaired side of the business, which is food service.” The NPC sent a letter to USDA saying, “This oversupply has impacted both the 2019 and 2020 crop for U.S. family farms that grow potatoes. Some of these farms will have no ability to sell their 2019 or 2020 crop.”

    The industry suggested several enhancements regarding eligibility and payment rate adjustments that will help USDA help the industry.

    (From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)

  • Blueberry Industry Leaders Hoping for Category 1 Status

    By Clint Thompson

    Blueberry industry leaders were disappointed its farmers were not included in category 1 of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. They hope to rectify the situation during the 30-day comment period that the USDA has allowed for feedback.

    “Where we landed with the direct payment program, obviously we learned (two weeks ago), it was disappointing because the one category that would really capture the impact on the U.S. grower was category 1,” said Alicia Adler, vice president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC). “Obviously, categories 2 and 3, we were included with direct payment rates in those categories, but it was really category 1 that would capture the impact.”

    According to specialty crops in CFAP, producers of specialty crops are eligible for CFAP payments in three categories:

    1. Had crops that suffered a 5%-or-greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
    2. Had produce shipped but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channel, and
    3. Had shipments that did not leave the farm or mature crops that remained unharvested.

    Comment Period

    When the USDA issued CFAP on May 21, it allowed for a comment period. This could lead to amendments being made to the guidelines set forth for blueberry producers. That is what industry leaders are hoping for.

    “We submitted comments that still show decline in 2020 was steeper than in 2019 but also capture that daily price data which shows a 60% price decline between mid-March and mid-April. That was directly a result of the COVID crisis and literally the market closure,” Adler said. “We know that they are reviewing comments as they come, and we are anxious to learn if we’ll be included in category one and what the next steps are for that category.”

    Adler said the earliest blueberry production is from mid-March to mid-April which showed decline due to the coronavirus pandemic. Florida represents more than 85% of production during that timeframe.

    USDA is accepting applications through August 28, 2020. Learn more at farmers.gov/cfap.

  • Pest Alert: Mummy Berry Disease in Blueberries

    Mummyberry
    Mummy berry disease is caused by the fungus Monilinia vacciniicorymbosi and is an important fungal disease of blueberries.

    Posted by Elina Coneva and Ed Sikora (Alabama Extension)

    Current wet and cooler than normal conditions are conducive for mummy berry disease in blueberry, according to Alabama Extension. Mummy berry disease is caused by the fungus Monilinia vacciniicorymbosi and is an important fungal disease of blueberries that can cause yield losses of up to 50% when conditions are favorable for disease development.

    The pathogen can infect shoots, flowers and fruit. The fungus overwinters in the previous year’s berries that have fallen to the ground. In early spring, a mushroom-like spore cup emerges from the infected berries near the soil surface. Fungal spores are released from these structures when bud swell begins and green tissue is present. Spores are spread via wind and rain. Early detection and control is necessary to reduce the impact of this disease on a crop.

    Symptoms and Disease Development

    Early season infection of flower buds and stems is promoted by wet conditions and cooler than normal temperatures. The earliest symptoms of mummy berry include drooping of developing leaves and shoots in the spring followed shortly by browning of the upper side of bent shoots, midribs and lateral veins of leaves. The bend in twig tips can resemble a shepherd’s crook. Vegetative shoots, leaves, and infected flowers are killed within four days after discoloration begins.

    After initial infection, the pathogen produces conidial spores that appear as tan-gray tufts on blighted shoots. Conidia are then dispersed by wind, rain and insect pollinators to healthy flowers. Once the fungus has been introduced to the flower, it will germinate with the pollen and infect the developing fruit. Evidence of blossom infection does not appear until the fruit begins to ripen. As normal berries ripen, the infected berries begin to shrivel and turn a pinkish color. Shriveled berries drop to the ground.

    Control Strategies

    An integrated pest management program including both cultural and chemical control strategies is needed for best results. For new orchards, select resistant varieties or late blooming cultivars, if available. Also avoid wet sites and/or improve drainage to reduce conditions that favor mummy berry development. Remove wild blueberries or unwanted plants from the vicinity of the orchard to reduce overwintering inoculum.

    If mummy berry is detected in an orchard, try to remove or destroy infected fruit at the end of the harvest season. This could include covering mummies with at least 2 inches of soil or mulch.  Limit or delay overhead irrigation until petal fall during the growing season.  Follow a fungicide spray program that is effective for controlling mummy berry from green tip until petal fall.

    For additional information consult the Southeast Regional Blueberry Integrated Management Guide. Apply all pesticides according to label rates and instructions.

    For more information, see Alabama Extension.

  • UGA Economist: Submit Your CFAP Application Sooner Rather Than Later

    By Clint Thompson

    University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Ag economist Adam Rabinowitz encourages farmers to submit applications for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) sooner rather than later.

    Adam Rabinowitz

    The application process for CFAP started this week. The program provides relief to American farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

    When details of CFAP were announced, the first guideline for eligibility requirements was a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. With so many producers projected to participate in the program that will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments, there is a chance of not having enough funds available.

    “The USDA has estimated that there may be insufficient funds. As a result, they’re making payments in two phases. The initial payment is 80% of what the producer will be eligible for. Only if funds are available, (will) the remaining 20% will be paid,” Rabinowitz said. “There is that chance that additional funds will be allocated in the future. That certainly could help but it’s certainly not a guarantee.

    “My recommendation is to get it in sooner than later. This way your paperwork is there.”

    Specialty Crops Covered

    For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. This has created some concern among farmers in Georgia and Alabama that their crops will not be covered based solely on the dates outlined in the program.

    Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, almonds, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap. Additional crops may be deemed eligible at a later date.

  • New Charitable Effort Will Help South Carolina Farmers Amid COVID-19

    South Carolina Department of Agriculture

    COLUMBIA – The nonprofit South Carolina Advocates for Agriculture will buy food from South Carolina farmers and distribute it to local food banks as part of a new charitable effort to ease COVID-19 strains on the food system.

    Certified South Carolina and South Carolina Advocates for Agriculture are partnering on Farmers to Food Banks, an initiative to support farmers and needy South Carolinians. They aim to raise $500,000, with several generous donors already having made commitments.  

    As schools, restaurants, and other businesses and institutions closed earlier this year in an attempt to curb the pandemic, many farmers scrambled to find markets for their products. And with unemployment soaring, many South Carolinians have had to seek food assistance.

    “Farmers to Food Banks solves two problems with one charitable effort: helping the needy while supporting the South Carolina farmers who work hard to feed us all,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers, who serves as an advisor to South Carolina Advocates for Agriculture. “People want to lend a hand during these difficult times, and this is one simple way they can do so.”

    The South Carolina program will complement the federal Farmers to Families Food Box program, a COVID-19 response effort to use tax dollars to buy and distribute commodities. With a quick launch and brief fundraising period, South Carolina’s Farmers to Food Banks program aims to rapidly address local needs by buying food and distributing it to Feeding America food banks, potentially filling gaps in the federal effort. The program will accept applications from distributors, 15 of which have formally expressed their interest already.

    Launched in 2006, Certified South Carolina is the South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s branding program to promote South Carolina-grown food to consumers.  

    South Carolina Advocates for Agriculture is a 501(c)3 created in 2005 to help promote agriculture in the Palmetto State. Previous successful partnerships between Certified and Advocates include the 2015 flood relief effort Plant It Forward SC and fundraising campaigns to provide scholarships for the South Carolina Commissioner’s School for Agriculture.

    Those who wish to donate to or participate in Farmers to Food Banks can contact Cristina Key at ckey@scda.sc.gov or 803-734-2190 for more information.

  • Persistent Rains in South Carolina Cuts Short Strawberry Season for Some Growers

    File photo shows a strawberry field. Strawberries in South Carolina have been impacted by excessive rainfall.

    By Clint Thompson

    Excessive rainfall in South Carolina has cut short strawberry season for parts of the state, says Bruce McLean, Clemson (S.C.) Extension area commercial horticulture agent for Dillon County, Horry County, Marion County and Malboro County in the Pee Dee Region.

    “Last week, in certain spots was just torrential rains,” McLean said. “A lot of the fruit that I saw looked really good, but that rain, it wiped it out. There was just so much water damage on it. It really took out a lot of that late fruit that was coming on.

    “There’s still some fruit coming on but it’s to the point now, everybody’s basically having conversations now as far as is it worthwhile and is it time to go ahead and terminate the crop and go ahead to try to plant something else?”

    Rain is Everywhere

    Rain has been persistent in other parts of South Carolina as well. According to the South Carolina Grower, Justin Ballew, Clemson Extension agent in the Midlands, reported that rainfall has slowed strawberry picking and there were plenty of fruit that experienced water damage.

    “Botrytis is loving all the moisture. Most fields look like they will keep producing for a few more weeks. Just stay on top of fungicide programs. The moisture and warm temperatures have most other crops growing rapidly and looking good. Keep an eye out for disease,” Ballew said in the South Carolina Grower.

    According to McLean, rain is becoming widespread.

    “We’ve seen one place, even on some heavier ground, the grower was still able to go through and do a little plowing and run the cultivator a little bit and was having real good success trying to clean up some fields. But yet, you go a mile or two down the road and there would be water running out the ditches,” McLean said. “It’s one of those weird things that we’re having. It seems like the following day, the rain pattern shifts around a little bit and some of the areas that weren’t getting the heavy rains from the day before, all of a sudden they’re seeing heavier rains. It’s becoming more widespread.”

  • Diversification Key for Nutsedge Control in Vegetable Fields

    An overhead view of a plasticulture vegetable bed shows nutsedge weeds emerging through the plastic.

    By Clint Thompson

    University of Georgia Cooperative Extension weed specialist Stanley Culpepper encourages vegetable growers to diversify their management programs against nutsedge. This protects against potential resistance and provides adequate control.

    “In general, I would say with our guys, I’m not overly concerned because our fields with our most nutsedge, they get fumigation, they get tillage and they get herbicides,” Culpepper said. “My guys are quite diverse. Will we have resistance one day? Sure, we will, but we are quite diversified in our management approach. We’re not selecting for resistance, say compared to an agronomic guy who goes out and sprays roundup or dicamba three times.”

    According to Alabama Cooperative Extension, purple nutsedge and yellow nutsedge are prevalent in most areas where vegetables are grown. Both are perennial weeds that propagate mainly by the production of tubers. While growers maintain control of nutsedge, it comes at a cost, says Culpepper.

    “That pest is still the most problematic. Doesn’t necessarily mean we’re not controlling it, but we’re spending a lot of money to control it that we wouldn’t have to spend if it wasn’t so problematic,” Culpepper said. “The one that’s causing us the most money without a doubt in the plasticulture system is nutsedge.”

    Why Is It So Problematic?

    Farmers who implement plasticulture still struggle with nutsedge because it can penetrate mulch.

    “Even if you haven’t poked a hole in the mulch, nutsedge can penetrate it itself. It can damage the mulch and be there before you plant. It can come at any time even if your plant is shading out the plant hole. It’s very unique that way,” Culpepper said. “Is it killing us? Is it hurting our guys? No, I think we’re doing a pretty daggum good job. It’s a repetitive challenge and costing us a lot of money to try to manage.”

    Diversification is key since there are very few herbicides that are effective regardless of the vegetable crop being grown. It is not like peanuts where farmers can apply Cadre or cotton where Roundup can be applied. Nutsedge control in vegetables is limited to a couple of products.

    “It’s there and probably in every single field but they’re doing a really good job controlling it. It’s not like some disease that jumped on us last week and is going to wipe us out. That’s not it at all,” Culpepper said. “But that’s the one I still say is most challenging for our vegetable growers in plasticulture systems.”

  • Sneak Peek: June 2020 VSCNews Magazine

    By Ashley Robinson

    Policies and regulations can impact a farmer’s ability to make a living. The 2020 Florida, Georgia and Alabama legislative sessions have officially wrapped up, and the June issue of VSCNews magazine will tell readers how agriculture fared in each state.

    Adam Basford, director of state legislative affairs for Florida Farm Bureau, discusses the successes and progress that has been made this legislative session.

    Mary Ann Hooks, director of governmental affairs with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), gives an update on how the UF/IFAS budget fared this year.

    Georgia Lawmakers pressed the pause button on the 2020 legislative session due to COVID-19.

    Georgia Agribusiness Council President Will Bentley discusses the Ag bills that were still in play when the session paused.

    Furthermore, Ashley Robinson, AgNet Media communications intern, dives deeper into the Alabama session based on an interview with Leigha Cauthen, executive director of the Alabama Agribusiness Council.

    Farmworker safety is also highlighted in the June issue. Amy Wolfe, president and CEO of AgSafe, discusses precautions that farm owners and managers should implement to ensure the safety of their farmworkers as the industry navigates through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Wolfe warns not to trade out one risk for another. On top of additional COVID-19 precautions, growers shouldn’t overlook other tried-and-true general farm safety measures.

    Hemp interest is still strong in the Southeast. Clint Thompson, AgNet Media multimedia journalist, looks at the impacts of COVID-19 on the hemp industry. Thompson also addresses the rules and regulations for producing hemp in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

    Lastly, Jaya Joshi, a postdoctoral associate at UF, discusses the future of meeting the demand for meat with plant proteins. According to Joshi, there is rising interest among consumers who want to eat less meat and dairy and more fruits and vegetables without compromising their protein intake. Plant-based protein may be the answer for these individuals.

    To receive future issues of VSCNews magazine, visit click here.

  • Connecting the Watermelon Industry with Retail and Foodservice Buyers

    File photo shows a watermelon in a field ready to be harvested.

    Winter Springs, FL — May 20, 2020 – The new National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB) Watermelon Supplier Database is the perfect platform to connect retail and foodservice buyers with suppliers as the summer season takes off for America’s favorite melon.

    Each year the NWPB staff promotes watermelon to retail and foodservice audiences, both in person and digitally. When a contact asks where they can get watermelon, this new database with help connect the dots. The new Watermelon Supplier Database is based on the new watermelon.org in the Industry, Retail and Foodservice sections and at watermelon supplier database, so all interested groups can easily access the database.

    The Board is still working to populate the database so if a member of the watermelon industry is interested, please visit watermelon supplier database. Multiple roles in the industry are encouraged to be a part of the database including wholesalers, growers, importers, brokers, processors, seed, transportation companies and more.
    Please reach out to supplierdatabase@watermelon.org with any questions.

  • CFAP Includes Specialty Crops

    Broccoli is one of the specialty crops covered under CFAP.

    Details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) were announced this week. It’s a program that will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to this direct support, USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program is partnering with regional and local distributors to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat and deliver boxes to Americans in need.

    According to Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach, CFAP does include specialty crops. 

    For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, almonds, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap.  

    Beginning Tuesday, May 26, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), will be accepting applications from agricultural producers who have suffered losses.