Midwest

Michigan apple growers approve continuing apple committee

Michigan apple growers have approved a referendum to continue the Michigan Apple Advertising and Promotion Program (MAAPP). The vote also included approval of implementing proposed changes presented by the Michigan Apple Committee (MAC). The MAAPP... more »

APHIS updates Spotted Lanternfly Control Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has completed a supplemental environmental assessment (EA) for the spotted lanternfly. The EA is required under the National Environmental Policy Act for its Spotted... more »

Water access essential to Michigan’s fruit industry

The letter said the irrigation well permit application was denied because water wasn’t available. I shook my head and looked at my Fitbit. Yep, it was 2023. I was in Michigan and not in western... more »

Be prepared for the inevitable H-2A labor audit

In the waning days of the lame-duck session of Congress, there was still hope in some corners of the fruit and vegetable industry that legislators would include immigration and ag labor in the omnibus bill.... more »

Weed, pest resistance a universal crop concern

Weeds and insects forming resistance to pesticides that haven’t even been developed yet sound like science fiction story plot, but that possibility exists, according to Jed Colquhoun, professor and IPM director at the Department of... more »

Michigan State University mourns shooting victims

Less than a quarter mile from Michigan State University’s Ag Hall, a gunman opened fire Monday night, killing three students, wounding five more, and forcing many students to “run, hide, fight” following an emergency alert... more »

Purdue Extension presents pruning demonstrations

Purdue Extension specialists are presenting a demonstration of pruning grapes, apples, peaches and brambles. The fruit pruning workshop is set for 1-4 p.m. Eastern March 1, at the Meigs Horticulture Research Farm at 9101 S.... more »

Midwest grain growers add aronia berries

Some Midwest grain growers are diversifying their crops by adding a different type of berry. Aronia berries, also known as chokeberries, grow on a deciduous woody shrub native to the eastern U.S. [caption id="attachment_36949" align="alignright"... more »