Water
Keeping muck soils sustainable takes monitoring
Muck soils are an economically important, non-renewable resource for Michigan agriculture. Satisfactory soil conservation and nutrient management practices are needed to sustain these soils for future crop production.Muck soils are the result of a transformation... more »
New MVC president wants to tackle labor, public relations
Ralph Oomen is in line to become the next president of the Michigan Vegetable Council (MVC). Currently the vice president, he'll start his two-year term as president in 2013.Ralph's family has been farming in western... more »
Tomatoes at the center of growing trade dispute
The 1996 tomato suspension agreement between the United States and Mexico is at the center of a growing trade dispute between the two counties. The agreement has governed the price of tomatoes imported from Mexico... more »
Processing pumpkins boost illinois acreage
For growers around Morton, Ill., the so-called Pumpkin Capital of the World, fall is a very busy time of year, said Mohammad Babadoost, a researcher with the University of Illinois who studies pumpkins and other... more »
Healthy living and buying local still driving seed trends
When it comes to vegetable seed trends, the story continues to be buying locally grown fruits and vegetables and knowing where your food comes from. Food trends expert Phil Lempert said that consumers have become... more »
Editorial: Reduce spray drift
In the August 2012 issue of VGN, I wrote a story that discussed pesticide drift and volatilization and the damage they can do to specialty crops like fruits and vegetables ("Herbicide-tolerant crops spark concerns," front... more »
California seeks to distinguish its cantaloupes
California melons will begin bearing a "Buy California Grown" sticker in an effort to distinguish the state's crop from others.Steve Patricio, president of Westside Produce and the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board, and a grower himself,... more »
Central Illinois farm market going strong despite drought, frost
Tanner's Orchard is celebrating its 65th year as a family-run business. The 80-acre, Speer, Ill., farm and market was founded in 1947 by John Tanner. The original family farm was started in 1906 in Deer... more »