Author: Dave Alexander

  • Deere Making Face Shields for Health-care Workers

    Deere Making Face Shields for Health-care Workers

    John Deere, in collaboration with the UAW, the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, announced today it is producing protective face shields at John Deere Seeding Group in Moline, Illinois. Deere employees will initially produce 25,000 face shields to meet the immediate needs of health-care workers in several of its U.S. manufacturing communities.

    Materials and supplies are on order to produce an additional 200,000 face shields. The company is using an open-source design from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the project and leveraging expertise, skills and innovation of its employee base.

     “Our manufacturing and supply management teams, along with our production and maintenance employees, the UAW and our partners have worked tirelessly to ensure we could lend our support and protect our health-care workers during this crisis,” said John May, Chief Executive Officer, Deere & Company. “By working closely with the communities where our employees live and work, we can help support the needs we’ve identified close to home and, as the project expands, address additional, urgent needs across the country.”

    John Deere Seeding Group employees are supporting the special project and are utilizing extensive and robust safety measures adopted across the company to safeguard employees.

  • Produce Industry Supports Proposed $5 Billion Produce Market Stabilization Fund

    Produce Industry Supports Proposed $5 Billion Produce Market Stabilization Fund

    Several produce organizations have signed onto a letter urging the USDA to develop a $5 billion Produce Market Stabilization Fund to help U.S. produce growers and shippers, and licensed PACA Produce Dealers affected by the sudden collapse of their business due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The seven-page letter details the specifics of the assistance sought from March 1 to June 30. Here are the highlights:
    • Help U.S. growers with documented economic losses during this period.
    • Create a stabilization program for PACA Licensed Produce Dealers who service restaurants, schools and the hospitality industry. They seek economic assistance to help pay their contracts and their growers.
    • The money would provide emergency economic assistance to the produce supply chain during this time.
    The letter also urged the USDA to use already funded stimulus plans ($500 million for WIC and $450 million for child nutrition programs) to prioritize nutrient-dense fresh fruits and vegetables in feeding programs. Finally, the letter urges USDA to create an ongoing assessment of the COVID-19 economic impact to the produce industry. To read the letter in full, go here.
  • Ag Groups Urge SBA to Include Ag Businesses in Disaster Loan Program

    Ag Groups Urge SBA to Include Ag Businesses in Disaster Loan Program

    Thirty agriculture organizations and businesses yesterday calling on the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to include agricultural businesses in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, as intended by Congress in the CARES Act.

    The notice on the SBA website currently states applicants must certify they are “not an agricultural enterprise (e.g., farm), other than an aquaculture enterprise, agricultural cooperative or nursery.” Yet, the actual text of the CARES Act does not exclude agriculture producers and states all businesses with fewer than 500 employees can participate in the program.

    In a letter to SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza, the agriculture organizations wrote, “Agricultural producers and businesses are critical elements of this nation’s economy and food system. Prior to COVID-19, farmers and ranchers had already experienced a drastic 24-percent decline in net farm income from highs experienced just six years ago. With the further downturn in the economy, agricultural businesses are at risk of closure and may be required to lay off employees.”

    The full letter is available here.

    For more information on SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, visit covid19relief.sba.gov/#/.

  • Used Carrot Harvesters for Sale

    Used Carrot Harvesters for Sale

    Jamor Farms in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba has retired from growing carrots, parsnips, horse radish and red beets and is selling off its equipment.

    Four carrot harvesters and one horse radish harvester are now for sale.

    Contact Scott for more information at 204-857-8274 or jamorfarms@gmail.com


    2-Row ASA LIFT Self-Propelled

    • 2001 Model SP200E
    • Hedge Hog, StarRoll Dirt Eliminator

    AsaLift harvester


    1-Row Custom-Built Self-Propelled

    • 3208 Diesel Engine
    • StarRoll Dirt Eliminater
    • Grow Pac [SIMCO MTI] Hydraulic System
    • Topping Bars, Power Points

    Carrot harvester in field


    1-Row FMC Pull-Type (2 available)

    • All Updates Done, StarRoll Dirt Eliminater
    • Grow Pac [SIMCO MTI] Hydraulic System
    • Topping Bars, Power Points

    2 carrot harvesters


    Horse Radish Harvester and Piece Planter

    Horse radish harvesterHorse radish harvester

  • CARES Act Allocates $350B to Small Business

    CARES Act Allocates $350B to Small Business

    The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocated $350 billion to help small businesses keep workers employed amid the pandemic and economic downturn.

    Known as the Paycheck Protection Program, the initiative provides 100% federally guaranteed loans to small businesses.

    Importantly, these loans may be forgiven if borrowers maintain their payrolls during the crisis or restore their payrolls afterward.

    DOWNLOAD this useful tool from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce entitled, “Coronavirus Emergency Loans:  Small Business Guide and Checklist” that explains which companies are eligible for these new loans, what lenders will be looking for from your organization, how much you can borrow, how to have the loan forgiven etc.

  • $5000 Available For Student Scholarships

    $5000 Available For Student Scholarships

    The Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association (PNVA) is offering up to $5,000 in scholarships for the 2020/21 school year.

    This scholarship can be used in any area of study in agriculture, with preference given to areas specifically related to vegetable production.

    Eligible applicants must be high school graduates planning to attend an institution of higher education (university, college, or technical program), current undergraduates, or graduate students.

    The scholarship committee and board of directors of the Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association will select the scholarship winners.  Announcement of the scholarship winners will be made in June, 2020.

    Applications must be received in the PNVA office by April 30, 2020.

    DOWNLOAD SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION HERE

  • How Does Flooding Affect Farms?

    How Does Flooding Affect Farms?

    Patience is a virtue for on-farm flood recovery

    Severe flooding caused devastation for farmers across the Midwest in the spring of 2019. The March 7th Sustainable, Secure Food blog explores the effects flooding has on farms and the steps taken to recover.

    Blogger John Wilson explains, “In the spring of 2019, a perfect storm of conditions led to severe flooding across the Midwest. Farmers in many states had to delay spring planting because fields were too wet.”

    Rapid snowmelt, precipitation and flooded waterways played into the problem. “The results were catastrophic; some farms still had standing water 6 months later,” says Wilson. “Floods have long-term impacts.”

    Issues farmers must address after flooding include:

    1. Sediment and debris
    2. Erosion repair
    3. Soil repair and nutrient management
    4. Crop repair

    “Repairing farm fields after floods is possible, but it can be time-consuming and labor-intensive,” says Wilson. “Patience is a virtue when bringing flood-damaged cropland back into production. Inventorying what needs to be done and planning your course of action is critical for flood recovery.”

    To learn more about how flooding impacts farmers, read the new Sustainable, Secure Food blog: sustainable-secure-food-blog.com/2020/03/07/how-does-flooding-affect-farms

  • Cover Crops Can Benefit Hot, Dry Soils

    Cover Crops Can Benefit Hot, Dry Soils

    The Southern High Plains of the United States have low annual rainfall. When it does rain, though, intense storms can cause severe soil erosion. Strong winds also strip away valuable topsoil.

    Enter cover crops.

    Usually grown during seasons when primary crops aren’t cultivated, cover crops can include legumes such as pea and hairy vetch, or grassy crops like oats and barley.

    Cover crops do more than just cover fields between growing seasons. They help soils retain rainwater and reduce erosion from wind and water.

    In a new study, researchers from New Mexico State University and the United States Department of Agriculture show that cover crops can increase soil health in a semi-arid region of New Mexico.

    “There was a lot of skepticism on the effectiveness of cover cropping in the hot, dry environment of the southern High Plains,” says Rajan Ghimire. Ghimire is a researcher at New Mexico State University.

    “Our research shows that cover crops increased the biological health of soils in the study area within two years,” says Ghimire.

    To determine soil health, the researchers measured soil carbon dioxide emissions. These emissions were higher in test plots with cover crops compared to fallow plots.

    Soil microbes are tiny creatures that live and breathe in healthy soil.  Carbon dioxide is released from soils during plant root and soil microbial respiration. “The higher the biological activity is in soils, the greater the carbon dioxide emissions,” says Ghimire.

    The plots were located in Clovis, New Mexico – about 200 miles east of Albuquerque. Ghimire and colleagues tested a variety of cover crops over two growing seasons. They also tested combinations of cover crops, such as growing peas and oats together.

    Plots with peas alone, and a combination of peas and canola, showed the highest soil carbon dioxide emissions during one of the study years. However, the emissions trend was not consistent in the second year, making results difficult to interpret.

    The researchers showed that the interaction of soil temperature and rainfall play a major role in determining how much carbon dioxide is emitted. Therefore, those factors influence soil health.

    But unchecked soil carbon dioxide emissions can be a problem. That’s because carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. “Soil carbon dioxide release needs to be balanced with soil carbon storage,” says Ghimire. Luckily, cover crops help take that gas from the atmosphere and store it in the soil.

    Cover crops increase soil carbon storage in two ways. First, their root and above ground biomass are largely made of carbon, which will eventually decompose into soil organic matter.

    They also provide housing and food for the soil microbes. These microbes, especially fungi, are associated with even more carbon storage.

    Biological activity also improves soil structure, and microbes can release nutrients crops need. “These changes greatly benefit both the environment and farming,” says Ghimire.

    Microbes living in the roots of legumes can fix atmospheric nitrogen to make it available to crops. However, this activity can also increase soil carbon dioxide emissions when legumes are grown as cover crops.

    Grassy cover crops, such as oat and barley, contribute well to soil carbon accumulation without the extra emissions from fixing nitrogen. But that means plants will need to get nitrogen elsewhere, and these grasses also tend to need more water than legumes.

    “Finding a balance is key,” says Ghimire. “Mixing grasses with legumes may help increase soil carbon and nitrogen while minimizing carbon dioxide release.”

    The researchers plan to continue this experiment as a long-term study.

    “Cover crops are a great way to sequester carbon, reduce global warming and increase agricultural resilience,” says Ghimire. “But there is still a lot to learn about cover cropping, especially in semi-arid environments.”

    Learn more about this research in Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment. Funding for this work was provided by New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station and United States Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

  • Thymox Biopesticide Now Available in U.S.

    Thymox Biopesticide Now Available in U.S.

    Kemin Crop Technologies, the Kemin Industries business unit focused on providing crop protection and crop health solutions for specialty crops and commercial greenhouses, has announced a strategic partnership agreement with Laboratoire M2, a Canada-based technology and science company, to distribute Thymox Control, a thyme-oil-based biopesticide, effective immediately.

    Thymox Control is an innovative, broad-spectrum, contact fungicide-bactericide concentrate designed with Laboratoire M2’s breakthrough patent-pending, proprietary nano-emulsion technology. Thymox Control’s unique formula delivers the highly efficient and stabilized antimicrobial power of thyme oil’s active ingredient to control fungal and bacterial plant pathogens – including powdery mildew, grey mold (Botrytis cinerea) and fireblight (Erwinia amylovora) – via cell membrane disruption. Multiple trials have proven efficacy on a wide variety of specialty crops including carrots. With no re-entry interval, a zero-day pre-harvest interval and no maximal residue limit, Thymox Control offers great benefits to growers.

    “We are very excited to partner with Laboratoire M2 to expand their commercial reach and offer a novel product like Thymox Control to U.S. growers,” said Marsha Bro, General Manager, Kemin Crop Technologies. “At Kemin, we believe in the power of essential oils to control pests on crops. Laboratoire M2 has embraced the power of thyme oil as a very effective fungicide-bactericide with Thymox Control, making it a natural fit with our biopesticide portfolio. Based on our technical experience with horticultural oils, we are confident that U.S. growers will be able to incorporate this product seamlessly into their integrated pest management programs for disease control.” 

    Kemin Crop Technologies will be the distributor of Thymox Control in the U.S. It is exempt from registration with the U.S. Environmental Protection and is minimal risk FIFRA 25(b)-exempt pesticide. The product is registered and available for sale in more than 34 states in the U.S.

    Learn more about Thymox Control HERE.

  • Vive Crop Protection Adds to Board of Directors

    Vive Crop Protection Adds to Board of Directors

    Vive Crop Protection has added Joe Dales to their Board of Directors.

    Dales has extensive business and corporate governance experience with over 35 years serving in various leadership, agri-marketing and management roles in the agriculture industry. He is the co-founder of The RH Accelerator Inc., a value adding investment company that mentors early stage innovative startup companies.

    Darren Anderson, CEO of Vive Crop Protection says, “Vive is fortunate to have Joe join our board. He brings a wealth of agricultural and entrepreneurial knowledge to the table, both of which will help drive Vive’s aggressive growth over the next five years.”

    According to Dales, “I joined the Board of Directors at Vive Crop Protection because I’m passionate about helping introduce new innovation to farmers. Vive has great technology that will improve the crop protection capabilities in the US and Canadian marketplaces, as well as many others around the world.”

    Along with the addition of Dales to the Board of Directors, Vive also added Amy Yoder, President and CEO of Anuvia Plant Nutrients as a Strategic Advisor and Franck Hivert, President & CEO at Oculys Health Informatics Inc. is also working with Vive as a Strategic Advisor.