(USDA) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the establishment of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program. This program, as required by the 2018 farm bill, creates a consistent regulatory framework around hemp production throughout the United States. “At USDA, we are always excited when there are new economic opportunities for our farmers, and we hope the ability to …
Alicia Adler Joins NABC, USHBC as Vice President
Resume Includes Securing Over $10 Million in Grant Funds for Specialty Crops (NABC) — Alicia Adler, an experienced grant writing and marketing executive who’s secured over $10 million in state and federal grant funds for U.S. specialty crops, has joined the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) and the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) as vice president. Adler brings a wealth …
Roasting Pumpkin Seeds for Health Benefits
Don’t throw those seeds out! Cathy Isom explains all of the great benefits to roasting pumpkin seeds for a healthy snack. Pumpkin seeds have a lot to offer. They not only taste amazing, but they can be souped up with all different kinds of flavors. They’re also jam-packed with nutrition known to improve heart health. They’re full of good fats, zinc, …
U.S. Sugar Applauds Governor DeSantis’ Support of C-43 Reservoir Project
(U.S. Sugar) — “We applaud Governor Ron DeSantis for his commitment to completing Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) projects that are critical to stopping the damaging freshwater discharges and advancing restoration. As a partner in Everglades Restoration for nearly 25 years, the people of U.S. Sugar share Governor DeSantis’ strong desire to complete all projects that will increase storage and …
Plant Pathologist to Study Blueberry Disease
A plant pathologist at the University of Georgia (UGA) Tifton campus is using a grant to study a bacterial disease affecting blueberry crops. According to a story from the UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences (CAES), Assistant Professor at UGA-Tifton, Jonathan Oliver, says the $7,000 grant from Georgia Farm Bureau will fund his studies of a new strain of the bacterial …
Plum Pox Virus is Still Nearby
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced there’s no more Plum Pox disease in the country. The disease impacts stone fruit like plums, almonds, and peaches. No other countries where the disease has occured have been able to eradicate it. And while it doesn’t kill infected trees outright, it does cause severe yield losses and greatly reduces the marketability of stone …
Tips for Growing Baby Vegetables Successfully
In her third installment on baby vegetables, Cathy Isom has some tips for growing baby vegetables successfully. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. There are a few techniques that will help growing baby vegetable yields easily. Plant more baby plants in the same space or less than you would full-sized plants. Closer plantings means more leaf mass to …
CoBank: Hemp Offers Big Risks, Big Rewards to Agriculture
(NAFB) — Since the 2018 Farm Bill removed industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, agriculture has never been more interested in adding hemp to its crop rotations. A lot of available information says there’s a large financial upside to the industry. Producers responded to that by tripling hemp acreage between 2017 and 2018. However, CoBank says that false, outdated, …
Great Reasons to Grow Baby Vegetables
Cathy Isom continues her series by giving you some great reasons why you should grow baby vegetables. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Now that you have some ideas of what can be grown to be harvested young vegetables, here are a few reasons why it’s a great idea to do this. First, you will enjoy multiple harvests. A full-sized …
Hemp, Hops and More Crops Highlight Florida Ag Expo
BALM, FL (UF/IFAS) — Farmers, nursery managers and others can get a glimpse of the latest and greatest UF/IFAS research into tomatoes, strawberries, hemp, hops and ornamental plants at the annual Florida Ag Expo at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. Informative sessions will fill the day, with events running from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Nov. 21, …