ROSEVILLE, NC — This past winter was no lightweight, with a number of storms visiting the Eastern seaboard with cold temperatures and precipitation. At J & B Farms, in the north central part of North Carolina, in the middle of the Piedmont, the extreme weather presented challenges unusual for their ...

“We have to manage soil nutrients and irrigation together, because the two are intertwined,” stated Dr. George Hochmuch, Professor at the University of Florida, whose research focuses on developing Best Management Practices for plant nutrient use to protect water quality. “A grower can do a visual d...

October 2015 will mark the first time an FDA court mandated rule will affect producers of fresh produce in the marketplace. “This is coming!” said Produce Safety Alliance Program Director Elizabeth A. Bihn, Ph.D. “Don’t panic, but do something now so it doesn’t hit you like a freight train when it h...

Marketing. Everyone has heard how important it is but implementing it can be intimidating. Carsha Lapp has devoted her career to educating business students on this very topic, working as a marketing instructor at Northwest Technical College in northern Minnesota for 27 years. When it comes to marke...

Rachel Armstrong led an informative webinar on the legal considerations regarding unpaid and compensated volunteers. “Ag. law is incredibly complex,” said Rachel Armstrong, lawyer and former grower. Farmers should carefully distinguish between a volunteer and employee. A volunteer must not displace ...

Farm ponds can be both beautiful and functional as irrigation reservoirs. In addition, having a pond can save you about 10 percent on your farm insurance premium, if you install the right type of fire hydrant hookup for your local fire department. “These hook ups cost only a couple hundred dollars t...

Although Drew Norman wasn’t raised in a farming family, his high school aptitude test indicated that he should be a farmer. More importantly, that’s what he wanted to do. Drew started working on farms as soon as he was old enough to work and eventually studied agronomy at the University of Maryland....

A variety of topics were covered at this year’s Virginia Tree Fruit Schools, held on five occasions around the commonwealth, in the southern Blue Ridge, the Roanoke Valley, at two locations in central Virginia, and in Winchester. The first four meetings drew crowds of about 50 or more, with the fina...

A recent webinar, “Lighting Systems: Analysis, Performance, and Energy Conservation Opportunities,” described agricultural lighting system functions and how new systems can improve efficiency and performance. Dan Ciolkosz of Penn State described lighting system vocabulary, design and its impact on p...

Of all the complicated and uncomfortable topics that arise in the farming industry, discussing finances often makes the top of the list. It is an issue that affects farms of all types and sizes and as the legal waters get more and more complicated, seeking professional financial assistance has becom...

Some businesses direct sales people to meet and greet a customer almost immediately when she enters the store. Others direct employees to hang back and either observe and offer help after a customer has shopped a bit, or don’t ask at all and meet her only when she comes to the check-out counter. I e...

NRCS recently hosted a webinar about encouraging beneficial insects for pest control. Over 300 people from around the country logged on to hear Eric Lee-Mäder speak about biocontrol. Lee-Mäder is the Pollinator Conservation Program Co-Director at The Xerces Society, which is dedicated to invertebrat...

Wayne Sawyer had a taste of the nursery business when he was in high school, and it didn’t take long before he realized that it was what he wanted to do. Today, Sawyer is president and CEO of Bennett’s Creek Nursery, headquartered in Suffolk, VA. Sawyer explains how Bennett’s Creek evolved. “Art Lan...

“I would like to speak today about a question that keeps me awake at night,” stated Russell Redding, Keynote Speaker at the 2015 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Hershey, PA, who was recently nominated to become the next PA Secretary of Agriculture. “Our biggest challenges in agricultu...

Beginning farmers can secure their first farm loan if they develop a plan for how the money will be spent, and how the loan will be repaid. A plan can allow a farmer to purchase equipment using a low interest cash flow loan instead of building expensive credit card debt to finance farm operations un...