Crop Management
Climate change effects on agriculture vary
In an effort to forecast how climate change may affect agriculture, University of California agricultural economists looked at how climate has affected crop acreage in the past. The effect of temperature changes on plants depends... more »
US Senators call for review of Syngenta acquisition
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, has led a bipartisan letter co-signed by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) – members of the... more »
USDA announces $5.2 million for nanotechnology research
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an investment of more than $5.2 million to support nanotechnology research at 11 universities. The universities will research ways nanotechnology can be used to improve food safety, enhance renewable fuels,... more »
West Michigan degree days ahead of schedule
Degree day totals for the general west Michigan area jumped ahead of the normal average at the beginning of March, but have slowed recently, according to Amy Irish-Brown, Extension educator with Michigan State University. Irish-Brown... more »
Riveridge adds asparagus to produce offering
Riveridge Produce Marketing announced it will market and sell Michigan asparagus. Asparagus, like apples, is a crop that does very well in Michigan thanks to the climate provided in part by the proximity to Lake Michigan,... more »
Climate change may redraw map of where cold-sensitive crops grow
Oregon almonds and Louisiana oranges? It could be if future projections in hardiness zones come to fruition. A new study by University of Idaho (UI) researchers uses climate models to assess how the coldest temperature recorded... more »
Ground-nesting bees on farms grow smaller
According to a recent study, the size of a common ground-nesting bee — an important crop pollinator — has grown smaller in heavily farmed landscapes. The link between intensive agriculture and the size of Andrena nasonii... more »
CDFA expands fertilization guidelines for irrigated agriculture
The California Fertilization Guidelines on the Fertilizer Education and Research (FREP) website have been expanded to include recommendations for 18 crops, representing more than half of the irrigated agriculture in California. The recent additional recommendations... more »