AgNet DEMO

Category: Top Posts

  • Plan in Place?

    USTR Sets Sept. 1 Date for Response to Hearings

    Florida and Georgia seasonal produce farmers who testified in hearings regarding unfair trade practices the past two weeks should not have to wait long to see how the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office will respond to their concerns with Mexico.

    Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and who testified in the virtual hearing on Aug. 20, said Ambassador (Robert) Lighthizer has provided Sept. 1 as the date he would have a plan available to begin implementing.

    “They are to announce a plan Sept. 1. I don’t know that we’ll have it on Sept. 1 or not but I think certainly within the next 2 to 4 weeks; we should have a plan based on what their recommendations are as far as how they plan to address the issues that were discussed during the hearings. We’ll wait to see what that plan is,” Hall said.

    Action Needed

    Florida farmers and Georgia farmers agree that action needs to be taken. The major concerns for seasonal producers are with the government-funded subsidies and cheaper labor that allow Mexican farmers to flood the U.S. market and drive down prices. U.S. growers can’t compete when Mexican farmers only have to pay less than a dollar per hour as a minimum wage.

    Producers who testified also agreed that a Section 301 Investigation needs to happen. This provides the United States with the authority to enforce trade agreements, resolve trade disputes and open foreign markets to U.S. goods and services.

    “That’s what we recommended although they may have other tools available through them through the USTR or Commerce or some other area. They may see some other areas which they could work in different than a 301 but would help us with a solution to the problem,” Hall said.

    “I think based on the hearings, they clearly understand what the problem is and what we feel like is causing the problem. Hopefully, they will have some tools available where they can look into and give us some relief.”

  • Producers Be Aware of Phony Peach Disease

    Phillip Brannen

    Peach producers need to be mindful of Phony peach disease. According to the UGA Peach Blog, Phil Brannen, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension plant pathologist, cautions growers that if a tree is diagnosed with the disease, they need to destroy the tree immediately. They also need to remove it from the orchard to prevent further spread of the Xylella fastidiosa bacterium by sharpshooter insects, the predominant vector of the pathogen in the Southeast.

    Infected trees are initially stunted due to shortened internodes between the leaves and limited growth. Less fruit are produced over time, and the fruit size diminishes as well. Given enough time, the tree will die as a result of the pathogen or indirectly due to stress and other factors.

  • Extend the Growing Season of Blueberries, Other Summer Fruits

    blueberry
    File photo of blueberry production.

    By Mary Leigh Oliver

    AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. – As blueberries and other summer fruits begin to grow out of season, gardeners may be looking for ways to extend the growing season. While there are many factors that affect the output of fruit crops, there are several things people can do to put their plants in the best situation possible for a long, bountiful growing season.

    Proper Growing Conditions

    Chip East, an Alabama Extension commercial horticulture regional agent, said a key component that can potentially extend the growing season is making sure the plant is subjected to the proper growing conditions.

    “For the success of the plant, ensure that proper planting, weed management, disease management, insect management as well as adequate irrigation is in place,” East said.

    The first step to extending the growing season happens before the season even starts. Planting blueberries and other fruits in the proper environments is crucial to overall success. While it is too late to perform this now, East said people can always plan ahead for next year’s fruit crops.

    “The best way to help extend the season is by first choosing a planting location that is in full sun and where the soil is well drained,” he said.

    During the growing season, management practices, such as proper irrigation and insect and disease management, comes into play. For proper irrigation, most crops require 1 to 1.5 inches of rain per week during the growing season. Drip irrigation is recommended for summer blueberries and many other crops. This method is affordable and can make a huge difference in production for the plant.

    When it comes to managing insects, one of the first steps is scouting the crop. Knowing and identifying which insects are common on the particular fruiting plant helps to know how to manage the insects.

    “It is much easier to manage insects earlier before they do damage to the plant or fruit,” East said. “This same concept applies to diseases and weeds as well.”

    Recommended chemicals to manage these pests is in the 2020 Integrated Orchard Management Guide for Commercial Apples in the Southeast.

    Know When to Harvest

    Knowing when to harvest a particular fruit is also an important factor in extending the growing season. Picking a fruit too early can not only affect the taste, but will affect the timeline of the growing season. The longer the fruit hangs on the plant, the sweeter the taste. However, the shelf life of the fruit will be shortened.

    Different blueberries ripen at different times, depending on the species. This is the case for peaches, apples, blackberries and other fruits as well. In order to measure the ripeness of the fruit and know when they’re ready to harvest, some farmers invest in a refractometer. This instrument measures the sugar content of the fruit. East said another way to determine if the fruit is ready to harvest is by looking at the color of the fruit as well as eating the fruit to see how it tastes.

    Mix it Up

    East said by planning ahead, people can make it where as one fruit is going out of season, they have another one coming in season.

    “I like the idea of extending the picking season by adding different crops,” East said. “If one fruiting season is about to end, I can look forward to another fruit about to begin.”

    As the blueberry season comes to an end, people can begin to transition to harvesting muscadines. Some of the other common fall fruit crops include apples, pears, figs and persimmons. Kiwi and citrus fruits are less common but can also be grown during the fall season.

    More Information

    There are many fruit-related resources available on the Fruit and Nut section of the Alabama Extension website. For more information on fruit crops, contact the commercial horticulture regional agent serving your area.

  • Insect Pressure in Alabama Concerning for Producers

    Insect pressure is high right now throughout Alabama. Ayanava Majumdar, an Auburn Extension Professor in Entomology and Plant Pathology, wants producers to be aware of the difference between squash vine borer larvae and pickleworm larvae. Complaints have increased significantly for both insects.

    Squash vine borer larvae are found inside hollow stems at the soil surface. Eventually, they pupate in the ground. Squash vine borer larvae are creamish in color and plump. They spend their entire time in the stem tunnels filling them up with a profuse amount of excreta. Vines that are infested with the squash vine borers will suddenly droop in dry weather conditions, which leads to yield loss.

    Pickleworm larvae are found in flowers, fruits and upper stems. Larvae have spots when they are small, and the large ones eventually pupate in leaf fold.

    Other IPM observations:

    • Insects on the rapid rise: Fall Armyworm, Corn earworm, and Soybean Looper, Squash Vine Borer (cucurbit vegetables). Moth numbers have increase 1.5 to 2 times for these species.
    • This is one of the lightest years for tobacco budworm on row crops in recent years, whereas we have experienced very high levels of corn earworm moth activity and larval numbers in vegetable crops in Alabama.

  • New Ways to Promote Watermelon

    Winter Springs, Fla. – Watermelon continues to find its place on menus throughout the country despite the rapidly changing foodservice landscape. Partnering with both quick service and full service national chains in the spring and summer months, the National Watermelon Promotion Board (Board) focused on takeaway-and delivery-friendly options to not only include watermelon on the menu, but keep it top of mind with their customers.

    Juice and smoothies played a prominent role in all of these promotions, allowing operators to experiment with watermelon’s flavor profile, while understanding that away from home, consumers most enjoy watermelon raw, as a snack or with lunch.

    The Board worked with the following foodservice outlets:

    •Another Broken Egg – Chain wide usage in 74 outlets included a fruit side and Watermelon Cucumber Cooler. This year, the promotion started earlier in the year (March 17) and, for the first time, the chain tested a savory application, Tacos Verano with Watermelon Salsa.

    •First Watch-Running June 1 through the end of August in 380 locations, the Watermelon Wake Up juice scored a 96/100 for frequency of ordering desire on Datassentials SCORES, a monthly report that tracks and ranks new menu items tested with consumers. Promotions included in-store chalkboards, e-blast, blog post and social.

    •Nektar -Expanded social media promotional elements including Instagram Live and Stories withNektar founder Alexis Schulzeand Board beverage consultantTony Pereyra, amplified on Board channels. Offeringsin 165 unitsincludeda smoothieand juice, running from June 15 until Labor Day weekend.

    •Robeks – Custom graphics on Instagram and Facebook promoting the Wailea Watermelon Smoothie, a customer favorite,in 84 locations.

    “Adjusting to operators’and consumers’ needs was a top priority this year,” said Megan McKenna, Senior Director of Marketing and Foodservice. “Additionally, leveraging existing relationships with past partners has made executing programming straight forward and incredibly successful.”

    “You know you have a hit when guests ask for more watermelon salsa on an already generous portion or my favorite, when a guests asked how much for a container to take home because they know a dozen other things that the bright, sweet, spicy, crunchy, salty goodness would go with!” said Jason Knoll, Vice President of Culinary, Another Broken Egg of America Franchising, LLC.

    Looking forward to fall/winter programming, the Board will continue to monitor foodservice needs and consumer trends. For more information about the Foodservice program, including how NWPB can support watermelon usage in the foodservice sector, visit watermelon.org/foodservice or contact Megan McKenna at mmckenna@watermelon.org.

  • Top 5 Lessons Learned From a Newly Certified Organic Grower

    Tiffany Bailey, owner of Honeyside Farms, with her brother and business partner, Paul Bispham Jr.

    By Tiffany Bailey

    At Honeyside Farms, we have been growing produce using organic practices for over 10 years. When we needed to move farm locations, we found a piece of farmland that could become certified organic. So, we decided to go for it. These are the top lessons we learned in our first year as a fully certified organic farm.

    1: RECORDS ARE YOUR FRIEND

    Before deciding to become certified organic, we spoke with many growers about the benefits and challenges of becoming certified. One of the constant negatives we heard about was intense recordkeeping. The recordkeeping has proven to be intense, but the information we have collected has been extremely valuable. We quickly discovered that we needed to plan recordkeeping into every day.

    We use a series of Excel spreadsheets on a computer to keep track of all our records. At the end of every day, our farm manager cools off in the air conditioning while updating all the spreadsheets with information from that day. This usually takes about 30 minutes. When the season is wrapping up, it has been well worth the time to sit down and analyze how the information we collected can be used to make future decisions.

    2: YOU CAN’T GROW EVERYTHING

    While it may seem obvious that different crops have different costs, it is important to evaluate the costs involved with everything from seeds to post-harvest and handling. Especially on a small scale, not all crops can bring in enough revenue to justify growing and handling them.

    This can be hard, especially when you have an item that is a customer favorite. But it is important to understand all the different types of costs so you can grow what makes sense financially. If you don’t make the money you need, you won’t be able to sell anything to your customers.

    3: NEW GROUND BRINGS NEW CHALLENGES

    If you are going to grow something on a new piece of ground, expect to deal with some new challenges. Sometimes there is just no way of knowing how something will grow until you have your first crop there. Consider growing a lower risk type of crop on the first go-around. This will give you an opportunity to assess things like drainage, nutrient retention and soil insects.

    On one of our new blocks, we discovered a heavy population of mole crickets that fed on our seedlings. It was an expensive discovery, but we did gain knowledge on how to approach new ground.

    4: CAREFULLY SOURCE YOUR LIQUID FERTILIZER

    These days, there are so many Organic Materials Review Institute products to choose from. Many liquid fertilizers have good numbers on the label but can come with some challenges related to clogging filters and drip tape. Make sure you know another grower who has used the product successfully before you commit to using it.

    You may not get everything you need in one liquid blend. You may have to apply certain nutrients through foliar applications or from a dry mix.

    5: THE WORK IS NEVER ALL DONE

    Organic farming is more work — period. You can’t just spray something and have 21 days of control. So, the field is always needing some sort of attention. And let’s not forget about the office work and recordkeeping that come along with complying with organic standards.

    It is important to make an actual list of your priorities. Manage your time well and try to create routines out of repetitive tasks so you can be as productive as possible. Make sure you are taking time to do important things instead of only doing what is urgent. Sometimes, you have to allow some little fires to burn, and that’s OK.

  • Georgia Ag Commissioner: One of the Vulnerabilities This Year Was Blueberries

    Gary Black

    Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black testified last week in a hearing with the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office that his state’s fruit and vegetable producers had a decent spring of production amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, one commodity group had its challenges especially when competing against Mexican imports.

    “I think one of the vulnerabilities this year was blueberries. We had some good weeks, but then we had an enormous influx of blueberries from Mexico. It was a little disheartening. You go to the middle of the blueberry belt and see in the big box stores, you see blueberries from Mexico right in the middle of our season,” said Black.

    Georgia Grown

    He also admits, though, more work can be done by his team to promote the value of Georgia Grown.

    “We can still do a better job of working with some of the retailers to enhance our brand; a lot of work to do still on consumer demand because consumers are going to drive what happens at the retail level,” Black said.

    Marketing was a key part of the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s (GDA) “Buy Georgia Grown, Now More Than Ever” campaign, which was launched during the early months of the initial pandemic. Georgia Grown partners with local governments to connect produce farmers directly to consumers in highly populated areas throughout the state.

    Georgia Grown To-Go was a series of pop-up markets, primarily in metro Atlanta, that provided customers an opportunity to purchase fresh produce directly from farmers with limited contact, drive-through service.

    Hearings

    Georgia producers and agricultural industry leaders testified in a virtual hearing last Thursday, Aug. 20. The hearings provided the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and United States Department of Agriculture an opportunity to hear from growers in Georgia about the urgent need for federal action regarding unfair trade, specifically with Mexican imports.

    This was the second of two virtual hearings to be held. The first involved Florida growers and industry leaders on Aug. 13.

  • Clemson Extension Agents Provide Crop Updates

    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. Tony Keinath reports, “For the past few years, Orondis Opti on cucumber and cantaloupe and Orondis Ultra on pumpkin and watermelon have been the best fungicides to manage downy mildew. Based on results from a spring 2020 cucumber experiment at Coastal REC, Orondis is no longer the “silver bullet” it was 2 years ago. In my experiment, Orondis Opti rotated with Bravo controlled downy mildew in the early part of the season, but disease increased significantly during the latter part of the season and ended up higher than expected. Part of the shortcoming of the Orondis Opti/Bravo spray program was the Bravo rotation. Bravo sprayed by itself every other week did not control downy mildew at all. So spraying Orondis Opti/Bravo acted like Orondis Opti sprayed every other week, which was not enough. The labels for Orondis Opti and Orondis Ultra say they must be rotated with another fungicide. For the rest of the 2020 season, use Orondis Opti/Ranman + chlorothalonil on cucumber and cantaloupe, and Orondis Ultra rotated with Gavel or Ranman + chlorothalonil on pumpkin and watermelon. Always use the high rate (2.5 pints/acre) of Orondis products. Note that the mancozeb in Gavel or adding chlorothalonil helps to manage other foliar diseases like gummy stem blight and anthracnose. Yield data and input costs from my experiment are being analyzed to see if spraying Orondis leads to a higher net return despite the higher cost of this fungicide. Results will be presented at the virtual Cucurbit meeting in February 2021 to help growers plan downy mildew fungicide programs for the 2021 season.”

    Cucurbit downy mildew continues to spread across the state.

    Coastal

    Rob Last reports, “Fall crops continue to grow well in the area.  Given the current weather patterns, pests and disease are active in some crops particularly where there are volunteers remaining from previous crops.  Vigilance will be required in scouting and pesticide management programs.  If in doubt scout.”

    Midlands

    Justin Ballew reports, “It’s been cool, cloudy, and kind of pleasant outside this past week, though, that has the vegetable crops growing a little slower. We’ve gotten some decent rains in most areas around the midlands as well. Bacterial spot is really showing up on fall tomatoes as a result of all the recent rain. It could be a bad fall for bacterial spot if the weather stays like this. Caterpillars are already out there on fall brassicas. It doesn’t take long once they’re planted. Start scouting, scout often and rotate insecticides. Remember to contact one of us about screening your farm for insecticide resistance in diamondback moths once you start seeing populations build up.”

    Bacterial spot and speck start on the bottom of the plant and can be splashed onto higher leaves and fruit by rain drops. Photo from Justin Ballew.
    Start scouting for caterpillars as soon as your fall brassicas are planted. Photo from Justin Ballew

    Pee Dee

    Bruce McLean reports, “Both fruit and vegetable development have slowed a bit due to cloudy conditions. Sunny conditions needed. Sweetpotatoes are sizing well and will be ready for harvest soon. Fall cucumbers and squash should soon be ready to start harvesting. Fall brassicas are being planted now. Muscadine crop is getting close to harvest. Noble is around 90% ripe; Carlos is around 60%; Doreen is still around 25%. Brix (sugar content) is off due to rain and cloudy conditions. Noble and Carlos brix are averaging around 11% with a low of 9.2% and a high of 15.0%. Doreen is averaging less than 10%. Did find a few Doreen that brix was over 19%… candy. Sunny conditions definitely needed.”

    Noble muscadines around 90% ripe. Photo from Bruce McLean.

    Tony Melton reports, “Beginning to harvest processing sweet potatoes but some have been stunted and delayed by excessive rain. Spraying processing peas for cowpea curculio.  Starting to plant processing greens by seed. Even though lots of rain and having to mud through fields, cucumbers for pickles are being harvested and still being planted.”

    Upstate

    Andy Rollins reports, “Blueberry pruning is best served for the dormant time of year, late January-late February.  I met with a commercial grower who was anxious about getting started early partly because he has many plants completely unproductive for the second year in a row. I like to call this revenge pruning as that is the primary motivation. Be careful, you could end up hurting yourself more in the long run. In his case, it was all about light and proper pruning to encourage light down through the canopy. The original spacing of Rabbiteye type varieties was very close so we also considered killing every other plant to get more light into the bushes but this would not replace the need for removing a few of the oldest canes each year, spacing them out so there is better light penetration. For a detailed explanation, please see NCSU Blueberry specialist Bill Cline’s presentation.”

  • Alabama Growers Be Mindful of Deadline Extension for CFAP

    lettuce
    File photo shows lettuce being grown in a field.

    Auburn University Assistant Professor and Extension economist Adam Rabinowitz wants Alabama non-specialty crop and specialty crop producers to be aware of the deadline being extended for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) and what crops in the state are most impacted.

    In the Alabama Extension blog, Rabinowitz reminded producers that CFAP provides financial assistance to growers of selected agricultural products. Initial payments of 80% of eligibility were made to producers who filed claims by the initial sign-up deadline. The USDA has since announced an extension of the deadline to Sept. 11.

    The USDA also announced that payments for the additional 20% of eligibility will be processed automatically for those who have already enrolled. Farmers producing eligible crops should visit their FSA office to enroll in this program. More information is available on the USDA website.

    Adam Rabinowitz

    Alabama Impact

    CFAP assistance is available to specialty crop producers, including selected fruits, vegetables, nursery crops, and cut flowers. Those crops that are most relevant to Alabama producers that are harvested before April 15 include but are not limited to:

    • Broccoli
    • Cabbage
    • Greens, collard, kale, mustard, and turnip
    • Lettuce
    • Peas
    • Potatoes, fresh and other
    • Squash, including zucchini
    • Strawberries

    As of Aug. 17, 33 specialty crop applications in Alabama were approved by the USDA Farm Service Agency, resulting in payments of just over $800,000 to Alabama producers.

  • 2020-’21 UF/IFAS Citrus Production Guide Available

    UF Glow variety of citrus. Photo taken 11-17-17

    By: Ruth Borger, 517-803-7631, rborger@ufl.edu

    LAKE ALFRED, Fla. — While the coronavirus pandemic has changed much of the University of Florida citrus programming, one annual tradition continues, albeit with some changes. The 2020-2021 UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Production Guide is now available to growers, just as it has in years past.

    The difference is that growers usually would have the first chance to pick up their copy at the annual Citrus Expo held in Fort Myers. With that show going virtual because of the pandemic, distribution plans for the guide have been adjusted.

    What is the same is the publication which includes the latest technical advice on citrus greening disease, tree nutrition, grove management and other aspects of Florida citrus cultivation. The 264-page document is a comprehensive reference meant to assist growers in development and management of citrus groves in Florida, said Lauren Diepenbrock, a UF/IFAS entomology assistant professor and a member of the guide’s editorial team.

    Topics covered in the guide include planting, irrigation, fertilization, weed control, insect management and disease management, she said. It was previously known as the Florida Citrus Pest Management Guide, but the name was changed a few years ago, after the content was expanded, she said. About 50 UF/IFAS personnel contributed to the latest edition.

    “Each year, we update the guide with new information as it becomes available, so that we can continue to meet the needs of our growers as we learn about and/or develop new tools and strategies for citrus production,” Diepenbrock said.

    Hard copies of the guide are now available at local UF/IFAS Extension county offices (please see chart)

    Hillsborough, Polk Counties Polk Office in BartowChris Oswalt

    		wcoswalt@ufl.edu (863) 519-1052
    Charlotte, Glades, Lee, Hendry, Collier Counties: Hendry Office in LaBelleMongi Zekri


         		maz@ufl.edu (863) 674-4092
    Highlands County Office in SebringAjia Paolilloajiacunningham@ufl.edu 863-993-4846
    DeSoto, Hardee, Manatee Office in ArcadiaAjia Paolillo  ajiacunningham@ufl.edu 863-993-4846
    St. Lucie, Indian River Office in Ft. Pierce

    		Amir Rezazadehamir2558@ufl.edu
    (772) 462-1628

    Orange, Lake, Marion Lake Office in TavaresJuanita Popenoe


         		jpopenoe@ufl.edu
    (352) 343-4101 ext. 2727

    Sumter County Office in BushnellMatt Smith

         		 smith197@ufl.edu
     (352) 569-6862
    Jefferson County Office in MonticelloDanielle Sprague

    		dsprague@ufl.edu
    (850) 342-0187

    Taylor County Office in PerryLisa Strangelstrange@ufl.edu (850) 838-3508  

    While Extension offices are open, it is always best to email or call the agent ahead of time to check that the office is open and ensure that they have the guides waiting for you. For a directory of citrus agents, visit  http://citrusagents.ifas.ufl.edu/locate/index.shtml.

    Another way to access the guide is on-line through the UF/IFAS Extension Electronic Data Information Source library at the EDIS website. It will also be available at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center and the cirtrusresearch.ifas.ufl.edu websites.