http://stationerytrendsmagazine.com/index.php/article en dsigler@greatamericanpublish.com Copyright 2012 Fri, 04 May 2012 17:50:11 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/specialty-crop-groups-working-to-preserve-farm-bill-gains/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/specialty-crop-groups-working-to-preserve-farm-bill-gains/#id:17083#date:17:50 Congress was working on the 2012 farm bill in April, and it could conceivably become law this summer or fall. Of course, there are a “million ifs” in the process of putting a farm bill together, said John Keeling, executive vice president of the National Potato Council. NPC is a member of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA), a coalition of more than 120 organizations that helped specialty crops get a bigger chunk of the 2008 farm bill and is working to do the same in the 2012 version. The 2008 farm bill was… Fri, 04 May 2012 17:50 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/making-traceability-work-is-target-of-industry-fda-initiatives/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/making-traceability-work-is-target-of-industry-fda-initiatives/#id:17082#date:17:40 It can be a long journey from farm to table. And a lot of things can happen along the way. With the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) calling for an effective protocol to track and trace foods in the entire supply chain, traceability is the word of the hour. Label on every case Even as FDA has initiated pilots to examine the practices, processes and types of technology that might be available to help better trace foods in the event of a foodborne illness outbreak, the industry’s Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) is trying to stay… Fri, 04 May 2012 17:40 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/returning-vets-to-get-agriculture-training/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/returning-vets-to-get-agriculture-training/#id:17081#date:17:34 The unemployment ratio of returning veterans is higher than the national average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. Currently it stands around 12 percent. Enter AgWarriors. Based in Tulare, Calif., the organization is committed to identifying, training and placing veterans with an interest in and aptitude for agriculture in jobs, said Stacey Beachy, AgWarriors co-founder. "We believe the agriculture industry community is well suited to provide jobs to many returning soldiers," Beachy said. "Many of our friends in agriculture have expressed a need for bright, motivated and hard-working individuals to join their teams. AgWarriors… Fri, 04 May 2012 17:34 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/wisconsin-cranberry-growers-celebrate-125-years/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/wisconsin-cranberry-growers-celebrate-125-years/#id:17080#date:17:30 The Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association (WSCGA) has had a lot to celebrate lately. This year, the organization is celebrating its 125th anniversary. To note the occasion, Feb. 8 was named “Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association Day” by the governor. Wisconsin’s cranberry growers met a group on Feb. 8, 1887, in Tomah, to discuss the value of a state organization representing cranberry growers, according to WSGCA. WSCGA has grown from its original 20 members to represent about 250 growers in the state, many of whom are fourth- and fifth-generation growers, according to the association. Tom… Fri, 04 May 2012 17:30 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/scout-and-spray-to-control-mummyberry/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/scout-and-spray-to-control-mummyberry/#id:17079#date:17:27 For blueberry growers, mummyberry can lead to frightening losses if not managed properly. Mummyberry is a fungus that overwinters in the previous year’s berries that fell on the ground, according to Washington State University’s blueberry IPM website. When it starts to warm up and there is enough moisture, a small, mushroom-like spore cup emerges on the fallen berries. The mummyberry spores are released and spread by wind. The “mummies” are the infected berries that fell to the ground, which look like tiny black pumpkins that are about three-eighths of an inch in diameter, said Annemiek… Fri, 04 May 2012 17:27 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/ice-can-save-your-blueberries-during-a-freeze/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/ice-can-save-your-blueberries-during-a-freeze/#id:17078#date:15:39 When the mercury drops below freezing, blueberry growers may want to try turning on the sprinklers, said Mark Longstroth, a small fruit Extension educator with Michigan State University (MSU). Like other plants, blueberries responded to the early warm spell across the country and started to bud out and bloom. Like other farmers, blueberry growers worried about possible freezes and damage leading to loss of crops and income, Longstroth said. On April 5, Longstroth gave a talk at MSU’s Trevor Nichols Research Complex, during the 2012 Extension Kickoff Meeting, about using sprinkler irrigation systems to protect… Fri, 04 May 2012 15:39 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/an-old-dog-teaches-growers-new-tricks/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/an-old-dog-teaches-growers-new-tricks/#id:17077#date:15:33 Readers of FGN are undoubtedly familiar with Paul Friday – if not from his peaches, then from his farm market columns that reflect on his 52 years of experience. In addition to running a farm market in the past, Friday is widely know for the Flamin’ Fury series of peaches he started breeding over 30 years ago in Coloma, Mich. “I wasn’t happy with the choices we had available for growing peaches in Michigan,” he said. “It didn’t seem like they would compete with California. I thought I’d see what I could do.” Friday has… Fri, 04 May 2012 15:33 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/achieve-the-right-ratio-of-wood-and-buds-in-cherry-trees/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/achieve-the-right-ratio-of-wood-and-buds-in-cherry-trees/#id:17074#date:15:20 As with apples, researchers have found that dwarfing rootstocks for sweet cherries and higher-density planting systems can lead to increased profit margins for growers, said Greg Lang, a horticulturist with Michigan State University (MSU). Cherries are Lang’s specialty. He recently demonstrated proper pruning of high-density cherry trees at Coloma, Sparta and Traverse City, Mich., with Lynn Long, a horticulturist from Oregon State University. Long is a sweet cherry specialist who conducts work in The Dalles, Ore., the most concentrated sweet cherry-growing area in North America, Lang said. The highest-density system is super spindle axe (SSA),… Fri, 04 May 2012 15:20 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/spring-running-hot-and-cold-for-fruit-growers/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/spring-running-hot-and-cold-for-fruit-growers/#id:17073#date:15:06 States across the Midwest and East Coast experienced warmer-than-average temperatures in March. On average, temperatures were 15˚ F to 20˚ F warmer than normal for the month, said Tom Moore, coordinating meteorologist of Global Forecast Services at The Weather Channel. Moore said that you’d have to go back to 1910 to find any record of a March similar to 2012. The biggest difference is that in 1910, it covered the entire country. This season’s warm spell only seemed to affect areas east of the Rocky Mountains, Moore said. “This weather is really unprecedented,” he said.… Fri, 04 May 2012 15:06 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/expert-says-this-decade-is-pivotal-for-the-apple-industry/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/expert-says-this-decade-is-pivotal-for-the-apple-industry/#id:17071#date:15:03 The apple industry’s “real competition” isn’t between producing states or nations. No, it’s all of the other fruits and snack foods competing for consumer attention – and dollars. That was the message Desmond O’Rourke brought to the annual meeting of the Michigan Processing Apple Growers, held recently in Grand Rapids, Mich. President of the Pullman, Wash.-based Belrose Inc., world apple market analysts, O’Rourke said that apple growers are up against domestic and worldwide trends and market changes that are creating a perfect storm of challenges. While not insurmountable, they will require vigilance, strategic planning, diversification,… Fri, 04 May 2012 15:03 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/world-is-marketplace-for-these-california-farmers/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/world-is-marketplace-for-these-california-farmers/#id:17070#date:14:44 If you were growing fruit in California during the last several years, Asia was a good place to be. Richard Taylor, who with his brother, John Taylor, owns and operates Taylor Brothers Farms in Yuba City, Calif., said exports and operations in Asia and Poland made weathering the rough economy back home more manageable for their operations.  “These emerging markets have really helped California dodge whatever recessionary bullets that are out there,” Richard Taylor said. “If we were hanging sheetrock or building homes in California, we wouldn’t have done anything for the last five years.”… Fri, 04 May 2012 14:44 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/save-ir-4/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/save-ir-4/#id:17068#date:14:39 The Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) – which works with EPA to register pest control products for specialty crops – might not live to see its 50th birthday. In February, the Obama administration released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2013 (which starts in October 2012). As part of the proposal, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) plans to consolidate its IR-4 funding with that of five other pest management programs, creating a new entity called Crop Protection. IR-4 supporters say NIFA’s plan could lead to the end of the project as… Fri, 04 May 2012 14:39 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/labor-supply-probably-adequate-in-2012/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/labor-supply-probably-adequate-in-2012/#id:17067#date:14:14 Will growers find enough workers to harvest their crops in 2012? It’s tough to predict, but based on information from a smattering of different crops in different regions, it looks like the labor supply should be adequate – probably. Here’s how things were looking in April: The apple harvest is still far away, but last year’s labor shortages could be an indicator of what might happen this fall. Shortages weren’t massive then, but growers definitely felt the effects of newly enacted state E-Verify laws, which will still be in place this year, said Diane Kurrle,… Fri, 04 May 2012 14:14 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/accurate-i-9-forms-are-more-vital-than-ever/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/accurate-i-9-forms-are-more-vital-than-ever/#id:16693#date:19:29 When Blair Babcock, an agent with the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, spoke to attendees of the West Michigan Ag Labor meeting Feb. 15, he was running a little late. He was out that morning on an audit, and being I-9-compliant was fresh on his mind. "I have bad news," Babcock told his audience of growers. "With this being an election year and immigration reform in the news, there is added pressure on compliance coming down from the top." The pressure comes in the form of increased audits. Higher-profile candidates for audits… Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:29 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/weather-determines-the-thinning-window/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/weather-determines-the-thinning-window/#id:16692#date:19:24 Chemicals thinners can be applied over a wide range of times, and depending on the year, this may be from bloom until fruit reach a diameter of 25 mm. The weather largely determines the length of the thinning window of opportunity. If the weather following bloom remains relatively cool and sunny, fruit growth may be slow and developing fruit are placed under little stress, so thinning can be carried out over a longer period of time. Conversely, if the weather is warm to hot and sunlight limited, fruit growth is rapid, fruit are stressed by… Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:24 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/new-york-farm-still-recovering-from-hurricane-irene/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/new-york-farm-still-recovering-from-hurricane-irene/#id:16691#date:19:20 Richard Ball, the farm's owner, talked about the hurricane and its aftermath in January, during The 2012 Empire State Fruit & Vegetable Expo in Syracuse, N.Y. Ball's grows about 200 acres of vegetables and small fruit in New York state's Schoharie Valley, which is about 40 miles southwest of Albany, the state capital. As August was drawing to a close last year, Ball and millions of others were tracking Hurricane Irene as it moved up the East Coast. New York City was preparing for a direct hit, while Ball and others in his area expected… Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:20 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/fowler-nurseries-a-century-in-fruit-growing/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/fowler-nurseries-a-century-in-fruit-growing/#id:16690#date:18:46 Fowler Nurseries has been growing fruit trees for 100 years. It started in 1912, when Gene Fowler grew 20,000 pear trees in Newcastle, Calif. He worked for a farm supply company at the time, but eventually took over the nursery operation. Gene’s grandmother, though partially blind, was the one who taught him to bud and graft fruit trees, according to the nursery. The nursery quickly grew beyond pear trees. By 1914, it was growing an additional 150,000 trees of various types, sold for 12 cents apiece. Today the Fowler family is still growing fruit trees… Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:46 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/state-office-can-help-michigan-farms-find-labor/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/state-office-can-help-michigan-farms-find-labor/#id:16689#date:18:43 Last year marked the first time Michigan farms had difficulty finding enough labor to harvest their crops, said Belen Ledezma, division director for Migrant, Immigrant and Seasonal Worker Services with the state of Michigan. With job openings in ag abundant, finding the right kind of skilled labor can be difficult. That is where Ledezma's office comes in, she said in a presentation given at the West Michigan Ag Labor meeting in Grand Rapids, Mich., in February. Ledezma's office runs the Agricultural Recruiting Service (ARS) out of Michigan Works!, the job fulfillment office of the Michigan… Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:43 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/painting-tree-trunks-protects-against-rodents-borers/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/painting-tree-trunks-protects-against-rodents-borers/#id:16688#date:18:40 Painting fruit tree trunks with white latex paint can prevent the bark from splitting and cracking off. Splitting can happen when the tree is exposed to freezing evening temperatures, followed by a daytime thawing. The painted white trunk will help reflect sunlight during the daytime hours and keep the tree warmer at night, according to a University of Missouri Extension website. Painting is also one of the ways growers can protect their trees from rodent damage. In northern climates, mice and voles can girdle a tree under the snow cover. Rabbit damage can also be… Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:40 GMT http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/blackberry-crops-have-expanded-worldwide/ http://fruitgrowersnews.com/index.php/magazine/article/blackberry-crops-have-expanded-worldwide/#id:16687#date:18:36 Blackberries are native across much of Eurasia and North America. This presence, combined with their tendency to colonize disturbed areas, has made them a food source for humans for thousands of years. The various members of the genus have had a multitude of uses throughout human history, as documented in archaeological studies and in art and herbals. For most of their history, they were a fruit to be gathered from the wild. It wasn’t until the mid to late 1800s that people started to select for better or, more typically in the early stages, novel… Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:36 GMT