Labor
Obama actions ‘not expected’ to ease farm labor concerns
A call for a more targeted approach to help improve the farm labor environment marked early reaction from the agriculture community to President Barack Obama's issuance of a series of executive actions to grant as... more »
Ag interests await impact of Obama’s announcement
The agriculture community was awaiting details on Thursday night's announcement by President Barack Obama in which it's anticipated he will issue a series of executive actions to grant as many as 5 million unauthorized immigrants... more »
Labor, food safety, transportation priorities for new MVC president
Joe Pirrone will be the next president of the Michigan Vegetable Council (MVC). He'll start his two-year term in 2015, replacing outgoing president Ralph Oomen.Pirrone, 59, is the former owner of Mike Pirrone Produce, a... more »
Association seeks to unite Colorado’s fruit, vegetable growers
A small but expanding group in Colorado is carefully nurturing a new association that brings together fruit and vegetable growers from all the key growing regions in the state.The Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association... more »
Farm Bill funds labor survey
USDA recently announced that, through authorizations of the 2014 Farm Bill, it would invest nearly $118 million dollars to support America's specialty crop producers.Following that announcement, Gov. Rick Snyder, along with Michigan Department of Agriculture... more »
Take steps to integrate safety, agritourism
Safety should be at the top of every agritourism operation's business plan, and there are resources available to identify areas of concern and ways to effectively address those issues.Marsha Salzwedel, agricultural youth safety specialist with... more »
Food safety starts with washing your hands
The most important food safety measure in processing plants, fields and orchards may also be the simplest: wash your hands.All too often, those hands serve as a pathway to future trouble.FDA estimates 3.1 million illnesses... more »
Plastic aids strawberry growth in Kansas
Kansas isn't known as a strawberry-producing state, but some innovative growers, helped by a couple of strategic research grants, are figuring out the best way to adapt annual plasticulture methods in a state where production... more »