Leafy Greens

Indoor vertical grower touts concept’s benefits

Emerging concepts that enable food producers to thrive in more sustainable ways continue to take shape.One of those approaches is known as vertical farming, and the operators of an indoor system being fine-tuned in a... more »

Robots to revolutionize farming, ease labor woes

On a windy morning in California's Salinas Valley, a tractor pulled a wheeled, metal contraption over rows of budding iceberg lettuce plants. Engineers from Silicon Valley tinkered with the software on a laptop to ensure... more »

Food safety a high priority for California farm

Farming and food safety keep Ryan Talley busy. Talley, a third-generation grower, is also chairman of the board of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement (LGMA).With his brother, Todd, and cousin, Brian, Ryan... more »

Guatemalan valley visit unveils unique watering system

The Valley of Almolonga in Guatemala is staggeringly gorgeous. Especially to a vegetable grower: an irregular checkerboard of small fields, all verdantly green, framed on both sides by the steep, mist-whispered mountains as the valley... more »

Freewheelin’ farmers ready to move on

After spending the past decade growing a sustainable small farm from a half acre of old farmland to a thriving eight-acre organic enterprise, the owners of Freewheelin' Farm in Santa Cruz County, Calif., are ready... more »

System allows whole-chain traceability of produce

A system developed by Top 10 Produce for smaller farms is now being rolled out at one large Salinas Valley, Calif., operation, using labels that enable whole-chain traceability.Fresh Roots, which provides produce, branding and logistics... more »

Fontelis registered in California

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has completed the 30-day public posting process for DuPont Fontelis fungicide in California. Federal registration for Fontelis was granted in 2012. “The introduction of Fontelis to the California market... more »

Sandy causes market closures, wind damage

Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, was a tough blow to growers who already had to deal with a rough spring.Sandy was the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane in history, only surpassed by Katrina in... more »