6th Annual South Carolina Organic Growing Conference: Cultivate

Posted on February 15, 2017 by rhallberg

This year’s Cultivate conference will take place on March 4 from 8 AM to 4 PM at the Greenville Technical College NW Campus in South Carolina.

REGISTER HERE

Highlights include:

  • Buz Kloot’s 2-class soil series (Soils: why we have to start here and Soil Health and why we think it’s turning traditional soil fertility on its head)
  • Michael Lalich’s (Low Country Labor Finders) presentation on H2A visas and the impending agricultural labor shortage
  • Building Roof Trusses with Jay Pearson and Joshua Snyder, Greenville Technical College
  • Basic Tractor Maintenance
  • Cory Mosser’s (Natural Born Tillers) Avoid Mistakes – 25 things that I did starting out that you shouldn’t!
  • Tradd Cotter’s (Mushroom Mountain) The business of mushrooms

Continue reading →

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USDA Announces $1.7 Million to Support Research at Tribal Colleges and Universities

Posted on February 15, 2017 by rhallberg

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced $1.7 million in funding to build research capacity at land-grant tribal colleges and universities. Funding is made through NIFA’s Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program (TCRGP).

“1994 land-grant universities represent a critically important part of our nation’s construct of academic institutions providing the leadership to address nutritional security amongst tribal populations while protecting our environment and natural resources, and at the same time ensuring young people are receiving education that prepares them for the workforce,” said NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy. Continue reading →

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School IPM Roundtable meeting creates linkages, resources

Posted on February 15, 2017 by rhallberg

by Janet Hurley, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

On May 25, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) convened 29 representatives of 17 national school, health and pest management associations and federal government agencies in Washington, DC to discuss ideas for implementing a set of principles promoting the adoption of IPM practices in the nation’s schools. A meeting summary documents the event, captures key discussion and presentation points, and provides links to resources referenced. A blog by EPA Assistant Administrator Jim Jones, Endorsing a Path to Healthier Schools, provides context for the event and highlights its importance to the school community.

The 2016 School IPM Roundtable brought together disparate groups to pursue a voluntary enterprise that addresses pest problems proactively and reduces unnecessary exposure to pesticides.  These organizations provided their endorsement of a Principles of Agreement on school IPM.  They also committed to disseminate the endorsement, along with information on resources available to support school IPM implementation, to their members and associates. The event included an exchange of ideas on how the participants could track implementation of school IPM as a result of the endorsement. Continue reading →

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Flood recovery management for pastures

Posted on February 15, 2017 by rhallberg

by Dr. Matt Poore, NC State University Animal Science

We have a lot of questions recently about pasture renovation due to damage caused last year by the drought in the western and central North Carolina and the flood in eastern North Carolina. The drought caused stand damage on many farms across the western region, and also in the east on pastures that stayed under water for ore than a week.   As the weather warms up you should be able to tell which fields have severe long-term damage, which are weakened, and which are in good shape. As you assess your pastures, keep in mind that you really need to be thinking in terms of how much bare ground there is, how much of the cover is desirable forage species, how much is undesirable species (weeds), and whether legumes are present. Your local advisors including your extension agents and conservationists have training on assessing pasture condition, so make sure you seek their guidance as you approach your pasture evaluation. Continue reading →

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Combination of tactics important to control nematodes

Posted on February 15, 2017 by rhallberg

In Southeast Farm Press

Both Clemson University and North Carolina State University are issuing warning bells for nematodes in the Carolinas.

The nematode issue was front in center at both Clemson’s corn and soybean production meeting in Dillon, S.C., Feb. 8 and at N.C. State’s Road Show production meeting the following day in Plymouth, N.C. A concern in both states is the Southern root knot nematode and the soybean cyst nematode. Continue reading →

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