It’s one thing to have a great idea for a farm business, but an entirely different thing to bring that idea to market. Bonnie Nelsen, business management specialist with Cornell’s Lake Ontario Fruit Program , recently presented “From Seed to Success: Turn Your Idea Into an Actionable Plan – Developi...

“Our mission is to connect Maine cut flower growers, florists and designers through an online marketplace and build a community of abundance to strengthen all our businesses, and to do it in ways that are mindful of our impact on our environment and our wider world,” said Sofia Oliver, the operation...

Organic agriculture is a vital aspect of the ag sector’s bottom line, and the industry is working to ensure continued efficiency. Scott Rice, senior director of regulatory affairs for the Organic Trade Association (OTA), described updates to the organic rule at the recent USDA Ag Outlook Forum. “ St...

Biopesticides have garnered a lot of attention recently as farmers turn to alternatives to chemical applications for keeping pests and diseases from damaging their crops. McKenzie Schessl and Samantha Willden, both representing Cornell AgriTech, recently presented “Biopesticides & Controlled Environ...

Safety is one of many reasons to include appropriate signage for farms engaging in agritourism, explained Laura Biasillo, an agricultural economic development specialist at CCE Broome. “It’s your way of setting expectations for customers as to what can and should or should not happen on the farm. It...

Doing whatever it takes to give yourself a competitive edge as a grower may mean the difference between a successful crop or the loss of time, money and produce. As horticulture advances, that means (possibly) trying out new tests and technologies. Fortunately, Extension agents and land grant univer...

As farmer services director with the Organic Farmers Association (OFA), Julia Barton serves transitional, organic and sustainable producers as a certifier, inspector and provider of technical services. Barton and her family operate an organic farm in Ohio. The OFA is a membership organization for or...

“I’m excited to walk you through some of our approaches of really starting to lay the groundwork for building your brand thoughtfully and strategically,” said Sara Rosario-Gray. Rosario-Gray is creative director at Pulp+Wire , is a Maine-based creative agency that specializes in consumer packaged go...

Chris Gerlach, vice president of insights and analytics, U.S. Apple , recently discussed how tariffs will affect the apple industry. However, it isn’t clear what the rates will be, who will retaliate or to what extent. “USDA says the top production year for apples was in 2014 with 282 million bushel...

Because there’s so much information to share in a short amount of time, at the most recent Great Lakes Expo , Kari Peter, Ph.D., associate research professor of tree fruit pathology at Penn State, combined her presentation on brown rot and rusty spot in stone fruit. We shared her research on the for...

“Many farmers tend to invest in assets instead of showing or paying themselves wages, utilizing the tax code to reflect as little taxable income as possible – but they run the risk of not qualifying for retirement benefits,” Jodi Gauker, business development Extension educator with Penn State Extens...

The wine industry has made significant strides in sustainability, finding innovative ways to address environmental, social and economic challenges. Chris Gerling, senior Extension associate at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, NY, spoke about efforts of sustainability at the 2025 Ohio Grape & Wine Confere...

Earlier this year, the Rhode Island Fruit Growers Association hosted their annual meeting at the Rhode Island Farm Bureau offices. Market Mobile Program Director Cayne Cabral presented an overview of Market Mobile and its parent organization, Farm Fresh RI. The organization’s inspiration came from a...

Take heed, farmers and ag workers: May marks National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection & Prevention Month . Farmers are among the most sun-exposed professionals, often working outdoors during peak sunlight hours. According to Dr. Vinh Chung , a dermatologist specializing in the diagnosis and treatment...

Biennials are misunderstood. They are a small group of plants with a very specific lifecycle that is often mimicked by hardy annuals and tender perennials. The name alone causes so much confusion – some people think that they bloom two years in a row or only every other year. The reality is they do ...