With the Halloween season quickly approaching, pumpkin sales are thriving – but what do we do with the jack-o’-lanterns after the holiday? Pumpkin smashes, where people can donate their pumpkins, smash them for entertainment and use the pieces for composting or animal feed, are rising in popularity....

From the soil to the seed to the blossom to the ripe vegetable, everything a grower does happens under a watchful eye. Once harvest is complete and the produce is sold, however, it seems like they have no input on how the fruits of their labor (literally) are used. Luckily, more consumers – and rest...

The exciting times of apple picking, pumpkin patches and fall harvests are coming up quickly, and participating farms need a solid marketing plan to pull off a successful event. NAFDMA , the international agritourism association, hosted a webinar to give farmers some tips on how to successfully mark...

Freshly picked apples from the orchard are smooth and shiny – does that make them “clean”? According to Carol Allen, University of Maryland Plant Science, it’s easy to think apples are clean based on appearance, but there are plenty of opportunities for them to become contaminated before reaching th...

Spring Ledge Farm, a vegetable and potted plant farm located in New London, NH, provides a great example of how crops can be physically protected from climate stressors. Olivia Saunders, a field specialist with UNH Cooperative Extension, recently hosted a session at the operation to provide New Engl...

New technology is being developed all the time for all kinds of applications. And new uses are constantly being considered too. Look at the laser. Defined, a laser is “a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation.”...

Finances can be a sensitive topic. However, tracking your finances is essential in all industries, including agriculture. When it comes to farming, there are a lot of expenses to take into consideration, whether you are a new farmer or have been in the industry for decades. Shannon Dill, an agricult...

Consumers want to know what they’re purchasing, and many seek labels that claim food items are sustainable, fair trade or organic. A common misconception about organic is consumers who purchase something that’s certified USDA organic and believe they’re getting a product that has never touched by a ...

“We all heard growing up plastics were the future.” That’s how Tom Marting, director of sustainable solutions for the HC Companies and Classic Home & Garden , began his presentation on upcoming regulations for plastics use and sustainable solutions on the horizon at this summer’s Cultivate expo . “T...

Have you ever wondered about on-farm trials? Louis Longchamps, assistant professor of digital agronomy at Cornell University, recently explained how it works as he presented “On-Farm Experimentation and Biologicals” as part of the Soil Health & Climate Resiliency Field Day at Rodman Lott & Son Farms...

Pollinators are essential to the lifecycle of most flowering plants, and they play a role in improving the quality of crop yields on a farm. USDA-NRCS recently hosted a webinar to discuss their conservation efforts to support pollinators and explained the importance of pollinators in agriculture. Iz...

Lately I’ve been thinking about those that till the land and produce the crops that feed our population. When I was actively involved working with farmers, I noticed that as I grew older so did the growers. Each year, grayer hair and more wrinkles looked back at me. I believe the terms farmers, grow...

The take-home message that Matt Mika, vice president of advocacy and government affairs at AmericanHort , gave to the hundreds of attendees at Cultivate ’s annual State of the Industry address, was to get engaged to move issues forward. Mika was speaking specifically about the progress – or lack the...

Nestled off busy Route 6 in Dennis, MA, is Cape Abilities Farm. As a part of the Cape Abilities nonprofit organization, the farm is one of two social enterprises (the other being a thrift store in Yarmouth). The farm has offered jobs to people with disabilities since 2006, providing them with liveli...

There’s a lot of focus on keeping plants healthy – and keeping pests away – while they’re growing, but there are dangers post-harvest as well. One of major concern is listeria. Tackling the topic of listeria in cold storage is Teresa Bergholtz, Ph.D., associate professor in food science at Michigan ...