Water
UC Davis releases estimates of irrigated cropland idled due to drought
On August 15, a team from UC Davis, ERA Economics and the UC Agricultural Issues Center released an economic impact report related to the California drought of 2016. Several commentaries have indicated that land fallowing... more »
WGA’s AgTech Innovation Arena competition now open
Western Growers (WG) officially launched the second annual Innovation Arena Competition, which will offer six agtech start-up companies an opportunity to compete for two winning prizes. Applications are now open and will be accepted until... more »
FDA extends compliance dates, issues guidance for FSMA
FDA has extended some of the compliance deadlines for parts of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and has issued draft guidance for a key portion of the law, the Produce Safety Rule. The changes... more »
Recommendations for water sampling under FSMA
This document is meant to provide simple, easy to follow recommendations for water quality sampling under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule for Agricultural Water testing. The methods described here are not meant to be prescriptive,... more »
Sprinkler demos to highlight irrigation at Empire Farm Days
Live sprinkler demonstrations at the Empire Farm Days, Aug. 9-11, will highlight irrigation options for all types of fruit, berry, vegetable and crop producers. The demonstrations are part of the outdoor agricultural show hosted on 300 acres... more »
Taller, thinner crop beds save money, water
Looking out over thousands of acres of tomatoes, Miguel Talavera, director of East Coast growing operations at Pacific Tomato Grower, marvels at the narrow lanes of fruit that are thriving in the hot Florida sun.... more »
Purdue, MSU provide irrigation scheduling tools
For over 25 years, Michigan State University and Purdue University have been developing and improving tools to assist in irrigation management. “Checkbook” irrigation scheduling is still a key factor in irrigation management. MSU and Purdue have... more »
Lower Michigan in ‘abnormally dry’ status
Lower Michigan has been receiving less rain and now parts of the state are close to being in drought status, reports MLive. A recent USDA drought status report shows parts of Michigan in “abnormally dry”... more »