Creating unity with New York Grown and Certified There were few vacant seats in the west ballroom at the OnCenter Convention Center on Jan. 18 during the Empire State Producers Expo. Marketers, Agricultural specialists, and farmers gathered to hear Richard A. Ball, Commissioner of the New York State...

The historic Publick House located on the Sturbridge town green in Sturbridge, MA was the site of the Greenhouse Management and Production Meeting for 2017 presented by the UMass Extension Service. Tina Smith acted a moderator for the event which began with a presentation by Dr. Ryan Dickson from th...

“Marketing should be as painless and as labor efficient as possible,” Matt LeRoux, Ag Marketing Specialist, Cornell Cooperative Extension stated. He proceeded to elaborate by explaining that effort put towards marketing should result in something. Furthermore, he insisted marketing shouldn’t be comp...

It may be mid-winter, but caterpillars were the topic of a December grower meeting held in North Scituate, RI. The event was held at Knight Farm Café and was sponsored by the University of Rhode Island’s Risk Management and Crop Insurance program. University of Massachusetts Agricultural Risk Manage...

Each year Cucurbit Downy Mildew (CDM) causes severe yield loss in northeast pumpkin, squash, melon and cucumber crops. Understanding the origin of the pathogen and the conditions that encourage its spread can help farmers better prepare for and contain the spread of CDM in their fields. The webinar,...

Resolutions swirl around us at this time of year. We resolve to pay more attention to our businesses by setting goals and planning how we will meet them. We make lists, calculate budgets, strategize marketing objectives, and, if all else fails, cross our fingers. It is difficult to predict what will...

I have a friend who just landed a very impressive job at one of the biggest companies in the country. I won’t name the business, but trust me — it’s a place that is a very big deal, that could set my friend up for life. He’ll have everything: a starting salary that is more than I’ll make by the time...

Organic producers and handlers may apply for certification cost share reimbursements; expanded eligibility for transition and state certification cost WASHINGTON, DC — On Dec. 21, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that starting March 20, 2017, organic producers and handlers will be...

Managing Spotted wing Drosophila doesn’t have to mean applying insecticide every week; in fact, Miguel Gomez, PhD, believes that other methods can work as well or better. Gomez, an associate professor at Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell Business School, is a fac...

The Christmas Tree Farmers Association of NY has announced that their 2017 Winter Convention will be held Jan. 26-28, at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Binghamton, NY. The program kicks off on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. with an informal Taste of Binghamton reception in the exhibit hall. More than 20 vend...

Farmer Jim Laine is an innovator. He farms about 800 acres in central New Jersey, growing grains and mixing feeds for everyone from gentleman farmers and horse owners to commercial livestock farmers. The farm grows corn, spelt, soybean, rye, barley, wheat, oats and hay. It also grows sunflowers. Sev...

“Pests can be managed, they cannot be controlled,” said Dr. Lily Calderwood during a recent presentation. Dr. Calderwood, Cornell Cooperative Extension Commercial Horticulture Educator, explained different ways to implement insect pest management (IPM). The first and most important task when underta...

What if every assumption or stereotype our culture has about millennials in the workforce just isn’t true? What if most millennials aren’t entitled overachievers who expect more than they are worth while doing less work than everyone else? There have been countless studies regarding the millennial g...

Banker plants are those in which beneficial insects may reside, eat and reproduce even when there aren’t many pest insects to feed on. This is a key part in maintaining a successful integrated pest management system because without them the beneficial insects would leave once they accomplished their...

When Mike and Gayle Thorpe started farming in East Aurora, NY as first generation farmers in the early 1980s, organic operations in western New York weren’t common. “They started switching to organic in the 1990s,” said Abigail Thorpe, one of Mike and Gayle’s six adult children who are now on the fa...