The manner in which people seek for and purchase what they want has forever changed, noted John Kennedy, speaker, author and strategist of BoomerWrangle LLC . The COVID shutdowns accelerated everything. But the way people shop now is not a replacement for human interaction. Leading a session at the ...

The bane of any grower’s work outdoors, from planting to germination to growth to harvest, is weeds. They can be rather determined when it comes to competing for light, water, space and nutrients. There are people out there who focus solely on how to manage them. Jared Hoyle, Ph.D., a turf and ornam...

“I’m sure that when you started farming, you were really excited to also become social media managers, right?” Erika Tebbens opened her joint marketing session at the 2024 Great Lakes Expo to laughs around the room. Tebbens is the director of impact for Taste the Local Difference , a local food mark...

Everything moving forward needs a source of power to do so. For growers raising a variety of vegetables, Ben Phillips of MSU Extension thinks broccoli “pulls the train.” This is true because growers can plant early it early and harvest it late with successive plantings. “This leads to a quest to pro...

Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t a new concept, but it’s getting more advanced every day. As AI gains popularity, more education is needed to responsibly use the programs in everyday life. Jessie Wright, a University of New Hampshire Extension field specialist, is a big advocate for using AI. She ...

Most growers are familiar with the term IPM (short for integrated pest management). While it is crucial, pests aren’t the only enemy growers face. Speaking specifically about diversifying weed management strategies for improving weed control in cole crops – but with a larger message about all weed c...

Everyone in agriculture has either managed a cash crunch or will eventually deal with one. Jodi Gauker, Extension educator, business development at Penn State, defines a cash flow crunch as the result of insufficient money in an account to pay bills. “Some may have the philosophy that if there’s mon...

If you’re new to growing, growing in a new field or simply wanting to improve what you’re growing, you need to get to know your soil better. Vicki Morrone, an organic field crop and vegetable outreach specialist at Michigan State, talked about soil matchmaking at the most recent Great Lakes Expo wit...

The American Floral Endowment hosted a webinar recently to help growers prepare for changes in trends in 2025. Dr. Melinda Knuth, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University, focused on the long-term trends they’ve seen with customers in the industry. Knuth was happy to announce that t...

In a presentation for Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, financial advisor Henry Mondschein, Connect Financial Group LLC, provided farmers with information on estate planning. Mondschein’s admonition was “a will does not make a transition plan.” “Today, there are about two million family farms across the nat...

It can feel impossible for one person to make a difference when it comes to a large problem, but every voice  matters. Pasa Sustainable Ag recently hosted a webinar to help agricultural enthusiasts find their voice in ag policy. In this virtual training session, Noah Erwin, a policy specialist at Pa...

There’s a reason agronomists and Extension educators are constantly urging growers to have their soil tested. Sometimes it contains things they definitely do not want in their crops. Consider root crops especially. The part of the plant that’s in the soil is the part consumers will eat. If those roo...

Celosia is the workhorse of summer flower farmer fields. It’s prolific, responds well to pinching and fulfills both the spike and filler categories for bouquets. As a dependable field-grown crop, it leaves space in tunnels for higher value focal flowers. As it can be used as both a fresh and dried f...

There were multiple reasons Lissa Goldstein of Wild Work Farm , a diversified vegetable farm, needed a new wash/pack station. The outdated barn she was using was difficult to clean, the lighting insufficient, the ceilings too low and it was difficult to move produce efficiently in and out of the bui...

Snowmobile tourism brings significant income to northern states – but depends on the goodwill of landowners and snowmobile club members. The two entities must cooperate to maintain thousands of miles of trails. New York State alone has 10,500 miles of trails maintained by 250 clubs. Sharon Pathfinde...