Squelching the Heat
Mid-summer marks a busy season for many direct-marketing businesses, so discussing taking on even more heat may sound illogical – especially if the heat refers to crisis management. (more…)
AmericanHort hosts another successful show
COLUMBUS, OHIO — The green industry’s leading trade association, AmericanHort, hosted Cultivate’18 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center July 14 – 17, 2018. As the premier annual event for the entire horticulture industry, Cultivate’18 brought in over 10,000 visitors and included more than 650 national and international exhibitors who displayed the newest live plants and green industry materials at the show.
A farmer’s niche
by Karen Van Wyk
Each farm has a unique flavor and strength. Farms all across the United States provide many of our food staples and some farms develop unique ways to provide creative expressions of agriculture. The Richardson story is an example of this. (more…)
Returning to the farm
by Sally Colby
On a summer morning, Marco Patzer is teaching a new employee how to wash freshly picked produce while his wife Laura trims the stems of fresh-cut flowers. The vegetables and blooms will be added to the produce offered in the farm store at Cherry Rock Farms in Brandon, SD. (more…)
Stay ahead of Christmas tree health and vigor issues
by Sally Colby
Christmas tree growers devote considerable time and effort to bringing a crop to harvest, but even the most seasoned growers have periodic issues with fertility, disease and insect pests. (more…)
USDA and FDA announce key step to advance collaborative efforts to streamline produce safety requirements for farmers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ongoing effort to make the oversight of food safety stronger and more efficient, USDA and FDA announced the alignment of the USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices Audit Program (USDA H-GAP) with the requirements of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act’s (FSMA’s) Produce Safety Rule. (more…)
Teams for Autonomous Greenhouses Challenge selected after hackathon
A 24-hour hackathon on Friday, June 1 at research location Bleiswijk of Wageningen University & Research, featuring 14 international teams, has determined which five teams will continue in this year’s Autonomous Greenhouses Challenge, organized by Wageningen University & Research. (more…)
Gillibrand proposes amendment to ban public schools from serving fruits and vegetables sprayed with Chlorpyrifos
Toxic Chemical Chlorpyrifos was Banned from Household Use Nearly 20 Years Ago, But is Still Widely Used as a Pesticide on Fruits and Vegetables (more…)
The continuing story of impatiens downy mildew
by Jill M. Calabro, Ph.D.
The more we learn about impatiens downy mildew (IDM), the more intriguing and cunning this disease seems. It came to light in 2004 after widespread infections were reported in several states throughout the U.S. but then receded from the spotlight for several years. (more…)
Managing greenhouse crops through lighting
by Sally Colby
Christopher Currey, assistant professor of horticulture at Iowa State University, says that with the right strategies, growers can manage light throughout greenhouse production. (more…)
Grower Guidelines: Learn how to accurately observe and diagnose plant problems
by Carl Cantaluppi
Being a good fruit or vegetable grower means becoming a good observer of plants and knowing how the culture, insects, diseases and weather all interact in producing the final outcome as to why the plant doesn’t look or function in a certain way. (more…)
Today’s Marketing Objective: What did you learn today?
Do you remember when your parents asked you, or when you asked your children, “What did you learn today?” The question becomes a way to connect with a person as well as gain information. And, the question has relevance in the business world as well as in our personal lives, too. (more…)
