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 ...

In October 2018, Scott and Jennifer Joray closed on a neglected 20-acre farm in Pittston, Maine, about seven miles south of Augusta. They’d already spent three years searching, and although the USDA maps deemed it undesirable farmland, they fell in love with the classic New England timber frame buil...

Wine production is deeply intertwined with climate, and as global temperatures shift, understanding how grapevines respond to environmental stressors is more critical than ever. Dr. Jason P. Londo, an associate professor of horticulture at the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell Universit...

Earl Ray and his family, of Conestoga Nursery in Lancaster County, PA , have been in growing perennials, shrubs and trees for retail and wholesale for more than 40 years. Today, the third generation of the family is involved in the business, growing and helping with the retail segment. Ray shared wh...

The same way humans need vegetables to survive, growers need bees for their operations to thrive. In light of that, a team from Michigan State University Extension put together a Pollinator Stewardship Guide to help us help our six-legged friends. Ana Heck, Ron Goldy, Benjamin Philips and Benjamin W...

Since its arrival in 2008, spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) has spread and wreaked havoc on soft fruit. To provide organic growers with updates on ongoing studies on SWD management, several researchers recently discussed the NIFA-OREI funded project “On-Farm Integration of Organic Management of Spotted...

“Don’t let yourself be boxed in,” Brooke White of Don’s Dairy Supply closed her session at the 2025 Ag Solutions and Networking Expo at SUNY Cobleskill. The expo, hosted by the college, CCE Schoharie & Otsego, New York Farm Bureau and others, was focused on local and regional agricultural interests....

The dictionary definition of fate is “the development of events beyond a person’s control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power.” When it comes to determining how much of your crop actually receives the water you provide it, sometimes it can seem rather mysterious what goes where. Discussi...

Growers and landscapers are concerned about boxwood blight and are determined to prevent its spread. Dr. Nina Shiskoff, Foreign Disease Weed Science Research Unit , USDA-ARS, admitted managing boxwood blight is complicated. “The pathogen can be spread on tools, by water splash, wreaths, vehicles, bo...