The winter moth defoliates leaves of oaks, maples, apple, and other deciduous trees and can be responsible for failure of blueberry and apple crops. A green inchworm-like caterpillar was discovered in the 1990’s to be defoliating such host plants in communities in eastern Massachusetts. Initially, i...

We’ve all noticed the recent push to eat, drink and buy local. Dedicated farmers market shoppers have realized the benefits of local food for decades, and today we see chain grocery stores and restaurants advertising local offerings, right alongside the specialty markets which have been selling loca...

Recently the 2017 winners were announced for the Conservation Legacy Awards. One of them was Keith Masser of Sacramento, PA. The alert came from the American Soybean Association. The irony here is, though the congratulations came from ASA, Sterman-Masser is probably recognized more for their role in...

The Extension Service of the University of Connecticut covers almost every aspect of produce production in its ongoing effort to ensure producers in the state are made aware of that which is at the cutting edge of knowledge in their particular field. Not only does it strive to bring this knowledge t...

Everyone know the statistics: a case of salmonella in Mexican cucumbers in 2015 affected 341 people, the well-publicized 2011 case of Listeria in cantaloupe sickened 147 people, and E. coli 0157:H7 in romaine lettuce in 2011 affected 58 people. Lee Stivers, Penn State Extension educator, said althou...

In today’s marketing world, it has become common to segment society into categories. We do this by income, gender, location and religion. We especially love to segment by age, the very concept of generations being a tool that attempts to categorize based on only one aspect of a person’s identity. We...

Following a delivery truck, I became intrigued with the beautiful advertising on the vehicle’s back panel. Luscious green apples on a gleaming kitchen counter certainly caught my eye. What was this an advertisement for? Was it a food delivery service, a new café, a kitchen makeover business? I could...

Hops growers in the Northeast have a strong emerging craft brewery market to help spur crop demand. While hops are native to the United States, and have historically been grown commercially in the region during the 1800s, modern production has been concentrated in the western states, in more arid re...

Elias Bloom, PhD candidate in entomology at Washington State University, is in the middle of a five-year study of wild bees on diversified farms in western Washington State. The project began in 2014 with a study of urbanization and how it impacts bee diversity and bee pollination services. Bloom sa...

Farmers are eager to talk about the weather, the growing season and the market, but they’re usually reluctant to talk about their physical limitations or ask for help with tasks they can’t perform. Everyone is familiar with the statistics for the average age of a farmer — around 56 or perhaps 59 dep...

BINGHAMTON, NY — After the rush of the holiday season Christmas tree growers from across New York and Pennsylvania gathered at the annual CTFANY Convention and Workshop to meet with other growers and stay up to date in the industry. This trade show has previously been held in Syracuse but was moved ...

Sometimes it takes a certain set of circumstances to put a man on course to do what he really wanted to do. This is the story of the beginnings of Lilypons Water Gardens which was founded in 1917 as Three Springs Fisheries and owned by the great-grandfather of current owner, Margaret Koogle. Ms. Koo...

Trade growth and enhanced commerce have aided many invasive organisms in their spread to new ecosystems. Human mediated introduction is the way invasive insects and pathogens have entered and continue to enter the U.S. Ninety percent of the recent wood-boring insects arrived in the U.S. via solid wo...

When a farmers market for the Greenville, SC area was proposed, farmer Deb Potter went to the original meeting. She recalls the conversation that led to what the market is today. “Two independent business people in Greenville said, wouldn’t it be cool if we could have a farmers market like the one t...

Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation awards its 2017 grant to “Paint the Town Pink” for The Hormel Institute ROCKY FORD, CO — The Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation would like to formally congratulate Executive Director Zigang Dong, M.D., Dr. P.H. and Gail Dennison, Director of Public Relations and Development ...