Exploring natural solutions

Dr. Kelly Hamby, associate professor and Extension specialist, University of Maryland, is determined to help growers of brambles and other soft fruits understand and manage spotted wing drosophila (SWD). Measures such as cooling fruit as soon as possible after harvest to prevent SWD larvae from developing can help preserve quality in harvested fruit, but it doesn’t stop the problem in the field.

News

Blue Ridge partners with Hossler for Christmas trees

by Laura Rodley

September 1, 2026

Rod Wert has been growing Christmas trees since 1986. He named his operation Blue Ridge Christmas Tree Farm as it was in the Blue Ridge Mountains in P...

News

The organic big picture

by Sally Colby

September 1, 2026

The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), organized by USDA’s National Organic Program , has helped farmers navigate the transition proces...

News

Be bonfire smart this autumn

by Enrico Villamaino

September 1, 2026

A farm bonfire has a certain magic. Hayrides roll in from the fields, boots crunch across the ground and a crackling blaze gives families a warm place...

News

Practical, up-to-date social media marketing

by Sonja Heyck-Merlin

September 1, 2026

“One thing I’m not going to tell you today is that as a founder or as a producer that you need to start recording more videos and being on social medi...