News

H-2A temporary ag worker demand surges

Recently released data from the U.S. Department of Labor reflects surging demand for temporary agricultural employees under the H-2A program. DOL data for the first two quarters of Fiscal Year 2022 indicate that program applications increased 17.5... more

Watermelon association seeks successor to long-time executive director

Bob Morrissey, executive director of the National Watermelon Association since 2005, is planning to retire in 2023. Morrissey officially retires Feb. 26 at the end of the NWA’s annual convention in Asheville, North Carolina. [caption id="attachm... more

GLOBALG.A.P. releases new version, schedules webinars

GLOBALG.A.P. North America Inc. is releasing a new version and scheduling webinars to discuss the updated product range. The revised Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard Version 6 and the GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP)... more

Rupp Seeds sells grain and forage division to focus on vegetables

Rupp Seeds, Wauseon, Ohio, has sold its grain and forage seed business to Rob-See-Co, of Elkhorn, Nebraska, to focus investments and research on its vegetables seed business. “We have great opportunity to expand our product line, our research an... more

Board renews water curtailments for Russian River in California

Farmers with water rights along the Russian River in Mendocino and Sonoma counties may be subject to further curtailments of water diversions after the California State Water Resources Control Board readopted emergency actions from last year. This... more

USDA-ARS working to boost nutritional bounty of carrots, onions

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are looking to beef up your salad – not with complementary slices of tender chicken, steak or other meat but rather new, improved varieties of carrot and onion. Philipp Simon, research leader of the... more

Strawberry growers globally could benefit from UF/IFAS powdery mildew research

Strawberry farmers worldwide may get help from new University of Florida research that shows a way to battle one of the fruit’s fiercest foes. The key: combine genomic data with phenomics. The genome amounts to all the DNA in an organism. Phenom... more