GARLAND, NC – Billy Augustine looked around one of the high tunnel grow complexes on his farm in Bladen County in eastern North Carolina, surveying three acres’ worth of romaine lettuce. “Who else’s got green produce in North Carolina in early February?” he asked. Augustine is under 40 and already a...

The manner in which people seek for and purchase what they want has forever changed, noted John Kennedy, speaker, author and strategist of BoomerWrangle LLC . The COVID shutdowns accelerated everything. But the way people shop now is not a replacement for human interaction. Leading a session at the ...

The bane of any grower’s work outdoors, from planting to germination to growth to harvest, is weeds. They can be rather determined when it comes to competing for light, water, space and nutrients. There are people out there who focus solely on how to manage them. Jared Hoyle, Ph.D., a turf and ornam...

“I’m sure that when you started farming, you were really excited to also become social media managers, right?” Erika Tebbens opened her joint marketing session at the 2024 Great Lakes Expo to laughs around the room. Tebbens is the director of impact for Taste the Local Difference , a local food mark...

Everything moving forward needs a source of power to do so. For growers raising a variety of vegetables, Ben Phillips of MSU Extension thinks broccoli “pulls the train.” This is true because growers can plant early it early and harvest it late with successive plantings. “This leads to a quest to pro...

Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t a new concept, but it’s getting more advanced every day. As AI gains popularity, more education is needed to responsibly use the programs in everyday life. Jessie Wright, a University of New Hampshire Extension field specialist, is a big advocate for using AI. She ...

Most growers are familiar with the term IPM (short for integrated pest management). While it is crucial, pests aren’t the only enemy growers face. Speaking specifically about diversifying weed management strategies for improving weed control in cole crops – but with a larger message about all weed c...

Everyone in agriculture has either managed a cash crunch or will eventually deal with one. Jodi Gauker, Extension educator, business development at Penn State, defines a cash flow crunch as the result of insufficient money in an account to pay bills. “Some may have the philosophy that if there’s mon...

If you’re new to growing, growing in a new field or simply wanting to improve what you’re growing, you need to get to know your soil better. Vicki Morrone, an organic field crop and vegetable outreach specialist at Michigan State, talked about soil matchmaking at the most recent Great Lakes Expo wit...