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 ...

There’s a balance everyone must find between doing too much and not doing enough. Sunnycrest Farm in Londonderry, NH, is a great example of what you can achieve with that balance. When Country Folks Grower pulled into the farm’s parking lot to interview Dan Hicks III, there were dozens of cars parke...

Dr. Kari Peter, Penn State tree fruit pathologist, has seen trees in apple orchards declining over the past 10 years. These declines have resulted in fruit rots, a serious issue for packers. In 2023, Peter and her colleagues saw issues primarily with G 11 and Bud 10 rootstock as well as with pear tr...

Over the past few years, farmers in the Northeast have experienced both ends of the rain spectrum: too much and too little. Much of the time, farmers don’t find out about these extreme weather conditions until right before they occur, when it’s already too late. What can you do so your crops don’t g...

For as long as growers have been seeding, germinating and propagating plants indoors, they’ve been doing their best to give their plants perfect conditions. But what’s better than raising them as closely as possible to what nature intended? Greenhouses are great, up to a point, and that point is oft...

While rapid genetic improvements have been made in livestock and numerous plant species, the most elusive and positive traits of Christmas trees can take decades to improve, and that’s too long for growers to see good economic returns. However, research with problems in other tree species, such as t...

Normally, the process of converting organic waste into organic matter (OM) is a slow and often unseen one. Organisms as large as earthworms and as tiny as bacteria break down dropped leaves, cornstalks and more at an almost glacial pace. However, one particular insect is really, really good at creat...