Water

Drew Bledsoe scores touchdown with winery

Football fans know Drew Bledsoe as former quarterback of the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. Wine connoisseurs and growers are getting to know him as owner of Doubleback Vineyards and Wines. Doubleback... more »

Researchers working on orchard of the future

Imagine an apple or cherry orchard that can be fertilized, watered and sprayed for pests with the push of a button. Researchers have been imagining this for years, but now they are working to create... more »

Arsenic, lead found in leading fruit-juice brands

Health officials with Public Health – Dayton and Montgomery County are encouraging parents to talk with their pediatricians in the wake of a Consumer Reports investigation released Wednesday that found arsenic and lead levels that... more »

Drought hurts yield, but helps quality of Texas grapes

West Texas grape grower Neal Newsome went from grappling with a killing freeze to watching his fruit suffer from the state’s worst single-year drought.“You can’t win for losing in a year like this. Nothing clicks,”... more »

MSU studying high-density tart cherries

The tart cherry orchard of the future may still be a few years away, but Michigan State University (MSU) researchers have moved a few steps closer to growing high-density tart cherries. In fruit-growing regions around... more »

Orchard makes organic apples work in Britain

The demand for organic apples is fairly high in the United Kingdom – higher, in fact, than native growers can supply. Only about a tenth of the organic apples consumed in the country were actually... more »

Growers say E-Verify will destroy the ag industry, but Congress has yet to offer a fix

With quick strokes of the blade, workers cut romaine heads from a Gonzales field on a brisk October morning. They precisely shave off the greenest exterior leaves and pass the crisp romaine hearts to an... more »

Welch seeks USDA funding for farms damaged by Irene

Tropical Storm Irene dumped 7 to 11 inches of rain on central and southern Vermont and left many farmers with mud-covered fields, dead livestock and drowned crops. Out of concern for contamination, the U.S. Food... more »

U.S. offering loans for buying and running farms

USDA's Farm Service Agency is offering Socially Disadvantaged and Beginning Farmer Loans designed to help some people purchase and operate farms.Socially disadvantaged groups include women, blacks, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, Latinos and Asian and... more »

California wine grape growers whacked by wet weather

Local wine grape growers were dealt a double whammy Monday when an unexpected rain doused harvest plans for the second time in days, lowering sugars in fruit and jamming area wineries. If rain continues this... more »