Specialty Crop Industry https://specialtycropindustry.com/ Vegetable and Specialty Crop News Wed, 18 Oct 2023 21:06:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.1 116110416 Farmer’s Mental Health Highlighted During Press Conference at Sunbelt Ag Expo https://specialtycropindustry.com/mental-health-dbhdd-uga-georgia/ Thu, 19 Oct 2023 11:45:00 +0000 https://specialtycropindustry.com/?p=23318 By Clint Thompson “It’s okay not to be okay.” That’s the mantra shared by various organizations, including the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Development Disabilities (DBHDD), Georgia Department of Agriculture and University of Georgia Extension. The three organizations united during a press conference on Wednesday at the Sunbelt Ag Expo to discuss mental health and encourage farmers to vocalize ...

The post Farmer’s Mental Health Highlighted During Press Conference at Sunbelt Ag Expo appeared first on Specialty Crop Industry.

]]> 23318 Survey Says: Georgia Growers Asked About Impact of Deer https://specialtycropindustry.com/survey-says-georgia-growers-asked-about-impact-of-deer/ Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:30:00 +0000 https://specialtycropindustry.com/?p=23308 Deer can be a destructive pest across all growers of the agricultural industry in Georgia. The Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia Department of Agriculture and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension want to know how destructive. The three organizations are collaborating on a deer impact survey to help determine the financial losses due to deer in Georgia over the past five years. ...

The post Survey Says: Georgia Growers Asked About Impact of Deer appeared first on Specialty Crop Industry.

]]> 23308 Season in Review: Blueberry Growers Can Learn More About Last Year During Annual Conference https://specialtycropindustry.com/season-in-review-blueberry-growers-can-learn-more-about-last-year-during-annual-conference/ Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://specialtycropindustry.com/?p=23300 By Clint Thompson One of the featured presentations at the upcoming Florida Blueberry Growers Association Fall Conference and Trade Show will be a recap of the past season as well as what producers can look forward to next year with regards to pest and disease management and labor concerns. Doug Phillips, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences ...

The post Season in Review: Blueberry Growers Can Learn More About Last Year During Annual Conference appeared first on Specialty Crop Industry.

]]> 23300 Chilli Thrips: Primary Pest of Florida Blueberries https://specialtycropindustry.com/chilli-thrips-primary-pest-of-florida-blueberries/ Thu, 19 Oct 2023 09:30:00 +0000 https://specialtycropindustry.com/?p=23295 By Oscar Liburd and Doug Phillips Over the past few years, chilli thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis) have become the most important insect pest of Florida blueberries, causing substantial injury to plant foliage and typically requiring significant and costly chemical control measures. Chilli thrips have been an economically important pest of vegetable, fruit and ornamental crops throughout Asia, Africa, Oceania the Caribbean ...

The post Chilli Thrips: Primary Pest of Florida Blueberries appeared first on Specialty Crop Industry.

]]> 23295 Sweet Grown Alabama Under the Spotlight at Expo https://specialtycropindustry.com/sweet-grown-alabama-sunbelt-ag-expo-georgia/ Wed, 18 Oct 2023 19:28:14 +0000 https://specialtycropindustry.com/?p=23303 By Clint Thompson Sweet Grown Alabama is under the spotlight this week at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia. Alabama is the spotlight state during the three-day event, which has allowed attendees, numbering close to 50,000, the opportunity to explore the diverse agricultural landscape that is Alabama production. Marlee Jackson, publications director at Alabama Farmers Federation, described what it ...

The post Sweet Grown Alabama Under the Spotlight at Expo appeared first on Specialty Crop Industry.

]]> 23303 Back in the Game: China Resurfaces as Purchaser of U.S. Pecans https://specialtycropindustry.com/back-in-the-game-china-resurfaces-as-purchaser-of-u-s-pecans/ Wed, 18 Oct 2023 11:00:00 +0000 https://specialtycropindustry.com/?p=23287 By Clint Thompson Harvest season is well underway for pecan producers in the Southeast. Growers of pecans are harvesting or are about to harvest the earliest varieties like Pawnee, Elliott, Oconee, Creek and Caddo. Farmers can be encouraged that market prices should not dip below the levels they are currently at. That is due in large part to a familiar ...

The post Back in the Game: China Resurfaces as Purchaser of U.S. Pecans appeared first on Specialty Crop Industry.

]]> 23287 Pumpkin Popularity: North Georgia Farmer Reflects on Fall Crop https://specialtycropindustry.com/pumpkin-popularity-north-georgia-farmer-reflects-on-fall-crop/ Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://specialtycropindustry.com/?p=23284 By Clint Thompson An increase in pumpkin acreage has netted Drew Echols income he hadn’t largely counted on prior to 2020. But as demand for the fall-based crop has increased in recent years, so has Echols’ acreage. He produced about 50 acres in 2020, 120 in ’21, 150 in ’22 and has peaked at 175 this season. “I don’t know ...

The post Pumpkin Popularity: North Georgia Farmer Reflects on Fall Crop appeared first on Specialty Crop Industry.

]]> 23284 Drought Impact: Northeast Florida Experiencing Dry Conditions https://specialtycropindustry.com/drought-impact-northeast-florida-experiencing-dry-conditions/ Wed, 18 Oct 2023 09:30:00 +0000 https://specialtycropindustry.com/?p=23281 By Clint Thompson The lingering drought has spread across the Southeast and impacted various parts of Florida, specifically in the northeast part of the state. Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, discusses the impact the dry weather is having in his area. “We’re very dry, and ...

The post Drought Impact: Northeast Florida Experiencing Dry Conditions appeared first on Specialty Crop Industry.

]]> 23281 Thrips Update: Populations Vary in Central, Southern Florida https://specialtycropindustry.com/thrips-update-populations-vary-in-central-southern-florida/ Wed, 18 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000 https://specialtycropindustry.com/?p=23290 Thrips pressure is low across central and southern Florida, according to the South Florida Pest and Disease Hotline. Scouts are observing low numbers in pepper in central Florida, with thrips only found in the bloom. Dak Seal, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences entomologist at the Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, Florida, reports low ...

The post Thrips Update: Populations Vary in Central, Southern Florida appeared first on Specialty Crop Industry.

]]> 23290 Getting Their House in Order: Farm Bill Legislation on Hold Amid Government Upheaval https://specialtycropindustry.com/farm-bill-government-speaker-house/ Tue, 17 Oct 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://specialtycropindustry.com/?p=23265 By Clint Thompson The waiting game for specialty crop producers eager for new Farm Bill legislation is going to be a longer wait than expected. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as Speaker of the House a couple of weeks ago means legislators must find his replacement before any progress on a new Farm Bill can take place, says Adam Rabinowitz, Alabama Extension ...

The post Getting Their House in Order: Farm Bill Legislation on Hold Amid Government Upheaval appeared first on Specialty Crop Industry.

]]> 23265