A study from the Innovation Center for U.S Dairy states 7% of adult Americans (16 million people) believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Research from the past few decades indicates that adults and children alike are becoming further and further removed from food systems, and therefore the fa...

Chances are that if you’re growing pumpkins on your operation, you’re growing them mostly for aesthetic value. Visitors want to visit the pumpkin patch come autumn for family photos and front porch decorations. But there’s more to a pumpkin than just a pretty rind. Researchers from the University of...

Wearable tech in ag can help keep farmworkers safe. According to Dr. Aaron Yoder, wearable devices can help keep people safe, but only if folks listen to the reminders and heed the warnings. Yoder is an associate professor at the University of Nebraska and also works with AgrAbility , a Purdue Unive...

I love and appreciate the health benefits of consuming small fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, elderberries, currants and gooseberries. (Grapes are in a class of their own, with grapes for fresh consumption and others specifically for wine making.) The nice thing a...

Governor Kathy Hochul announced on July 18 the winners of the 38th Annual New York Wine Classic, a nationally recognized competition highlighting the best of New York’s wine industry. Weis Vineyards, located in the Finger Lakes region, took home the two top awards in the 2024 Competition. They were ...

We’ve said that it wasn’t a matter of if spotted lanternfly would start to establish in the Finger Lakes, but rather of when. When has arrived. In the third week of July, a member of the public notified the New York State IPM Program and the Finger Lakes Grape Program that they had found spotted lan...

Join Purdue Extension for their Small Farm Education Field Day on July 25 at the Purdue Student Farm in West Lafayette, IN. Registration for the field day runs from 8 – 9 a.m. and demonstrations are scheduled for 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Demonstrations will include: “Insect Dynamics in High Tunnels” – Sa...

This year marks the 41st anniversary of Pinelands Nursery and Supply in Columbus, NJ – sometimes known as the topaz anniversary. It’s an apt celebration, as this operation is a gem in the world of native plant landscaping. Pinelands Nursery began in 1983 with Don and Suzanne Knezick at the helm. “My...

It doesn’t seem fair. You are just catching your breath as this year’s spring bedding plant season winds down – and it’s already time to start thinking about next spring. Your business model may be a combination of spring bedding plants and vegetable crops or a stand-alone greenhouse operation that ...

Throughout the reworking of the H-2A Farmworker Protection Rule, the AmericanHort team has been instrumental in guiding the language, including filing comments with the DOL last November. AmericanHort members and staff have also explained to those in Congress and the Senate how H-2A is used in the g...

As part of the 2024 NOFA-VT and the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (MOFGA) Climate Forums, Becky Maden discussed nutrient management within the context of a changing climate. Maden is a vegetable nutrient management specialist for University of Vermont Extension. Maden cited a survey ...

Whether you are growing in a greenhouse, high tunnel or operate a hydroponic greenhouse, you have experienced firsthand how temperature variation impacts plant growth. Growers know all too well that temperatures need to be regulated for best crop growth and development. Doctor Krishna Nemali of Purd...

Keeping plant disease out of a nursery is always a management goal. In the case of boxwood blight, a fatal disease of a popular, high-dollar woody plant, maintaining clean stock through a variety of practices is a challenge. Boxwood blight was first confirmed in North America in 2011, and it’s now p...

Bigger, stronger, faster growing, more resistant to damage… Dr. Justin Whitehill is creating the Captain America of Carolinas Christmas trees. Whitehill is an assistant professor at North Carolina State’s College of Natural Resources. He is working to advance the Tar Heel State’s Christmas tree indu...

One of the greatest miracles in nature is that plants turn flowers into fruits. Petals morph into pears; blooms become blackberries. That only happens if conditions are right, though. This is especially true for blueberries. Blueberry pollination is sensitive to extreme heat – which growers are seei...