…can help plants resist abiotic stress—such as drought, heat, and salinity—by boosting their natural defense mechanisms. This resistance is crucial for maintaining crop productivity under challenging growing conditions, which are…
Biologicals in Agriculture: Benefits and Challenges
…the presence of biologicals in agriculture, growers are hopeful of their efficacy especially as conventional methods for crop protection are lost to changing regulations in the state of California. “Having…
RMA Continues Making Improvements for Specialty Crops
Image by kristo74/DepositPhotos image The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) continues making improvements for specialty crops. RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger says recent crop insurance changes give specialty crops some of…
Bringing Growers Together to Advocate for Crop Protection Solutions
…effective crop protection materials. Morgan said that requirements from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) can often be prohibitive to advancing new crop protection solutions. “It’s really challenging with…
House Agriculture Meets to Examine Consequences of EPA Actions
…administration’s own U.S. Department of Agriculture expressed significant concerns with these actions,” he said. “The Biden Administration’s attacks on American agriculture do not stop at crop protection tools. Earlier this…
In the Wake of the Fruit Fly Invasion, CDFA Assesses Crisis Response
…local crop production and threatened economic stability. COURTESY: USDA/APHIS “It was a very frightening situation and still is,” Secretary Ross said, “It was all hands on deck: county, state, and…
Insurance Options for Specialty and Organic Growers Expanded
…enterprise units for organic practices and additional eligibility for several crops. This expansion includes coverage for crops like almonds, citrus, walnuts, and avocados, and introduces policies for younger almond trees….
Almond Update: Looking to the Future with Biologicals
…of product developers. “It’s a chance to really get the attention of not just the big companies that we all know, the Bayer Crop Sciences, the Corteva’s of this world,…
Protecting Your Operation from Damaging Fire Ants
Fire ant infestations pose a significant threat to people, pets and in production agriculture’s productivity and crop quality. From the damage they do to infrastructure including equipment, groves and pastures,…
Wildfire Smoke a Risk to Crews in the Field
…to a different field or ending shifts early if feasible for production. Cal/OSHA offers fact sheets and FAQs on its website to support agriculture employers during seasons with heavy wildfire…
Almond Matters: Ant Management Approaches with Harvest Around the Corner
…pavement ants can cause considerable harm. Burkdoll said that during high crop years like the current one, nuts are typically smaller and have tighter shells. “That may be an advantage,…
Addressing INSV in Leafy Greens Has Been A Herculean Effort
…pretty horrible for us across the board, with continual crop losses. In some cases what we actually did was move product to more edge areas. Trying to be out of…
Funding Opportunities Expanded for Specialty Crop Growers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced additional funding opportunities for specialty crop growers. USDA’s Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops program is expanding to include medium-sized businesses, in addition…
Collaboration Between Industry and Researchers at the Heart of the Salinas Biological Summit
…the research and development processes, especially as farmers are losing access to synthetic crop protection tools. President and CEO of Western Growers, Dave Puglia Karen Ross, Secretary of the California…