While Hurricane Harvey has cleared out, the tragic aftermath will be dealt with for years. For those looking to help, Amazon has setup an effortless system to donate.  Simply go to amazon.com/redcross, log in to your Amazon Pay account and make a donation. It’s quick, easy and secure.

There is also the Amazon Wish List Program to donate items the Red Cross needs for Harvey shelters and to support ongoing operations and cleanup. The Red Cross said “Because it takes so much time and money to store, sort, clean and distribute donated items, the Amazon Wish List Program is the most effective way to donate commodities to help.”

The Wish List contains snacks, coolers, storage totes, first-aid kits and disinfectant wipes.

CLICK TO DONATE

Volm Companies, Inc. has opened a new 90,000-square-foot facility in Pasco, Washington, less than two miles from the company’s former location. The facility includes warehouse space for inventory and manufacturing equipment, an equipment and parts area, as well as office space.

Volm, headquartered in Antigo, Wisconsin, provides the produce industry with packaging equipment and materials.

“It’s important that our customers know our level of commitment to providing them with the level of service they deserve,” said Matt Alexander, Volm’s vice president of sales and marketing. “We are committed to their success and through this investment are able to show them that Volm is here to stay.”

Texas-based Hardie’s Fresh Foods employees took to the streets of Houston this week to support fellow Texans who had to evacuate as a result of Hurricane Harvey. They were among the first to respond by providing 3 truckloads of food to the American Red Cross for evacuees at the George R. Brown Convention Center, local hospitals, hotels, and to first-responders – many of whom were personally impacted by flooding.

“We’re humbled to serve people impacted by these storms and full of pride for our team and others throughout the state who braved the roads to get to the Hardie’s warehouse, hospitals, and major hotels to help wherever was needed,” said Brian Preiss, General Manager at Hardie’s Fresh Foods, Houston.

Dallas-based Hardie’s Fresh Foods employees also stepped in to support their fellow Texans by driving truckloads of fresh food down to the Houston area. Donation boxes in all of their locations continue to fill quickly, and is an example of the heart of people all over the state and across the country who are ready to lend a helping hand during this devastating time.

“I’m really proud of how our Houston team came together for the care and compassion of the people in Houston,” said Mark Austin, CEO of Hardie’s Fresh Foods. “It’s humbling to learn of the hardships that some of our employees have experienced, and yet people showed up to ensure that others who were even worse off had something to eat.”

Hardie’s Fresh Foods encourages companies and individuals to get involved by supporting Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, whether through monetary donation, volunteering at a local shelter or warehouse, or providing supplies. Resources and information on how to support can be found at the American Red Cross and Trusted World websites.

If you couldn’t make the 38th International Carrot Conference, here’s a blow-by-blow account of what you missed.

Be sure and click the links to see the actual presentations.

WELCOMING COMMENTS
8:10 Welcome and opening comments -Joe Nunez
8:20 Welcoming comments by – Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh
8:40 Agriculture in Kern County – Beatris Espericueta Sanders, Kern County Farm Bureau
9:00 Carrot production in California – Joe Nunez, UC Cooperative Extension

PLANT PATHOLOGY SESSION
Moderator — D.Corey Noyes, Michigan State University
9:20 Selecting carrots with increased resistance to cavity spot. M. R. McDonald,
K. Vander Kooi, and P.W. Simon
9:40 Distribution of Xanthomonas hortorum pv. carotae in Commercial Carrot Seed Lots. Jeremiah Dung
10:00 Break—View posters; presenters will be at posters to answer questions
10:20 Pythium diseases of carrots. Joe Nunez
10:40 Carrot viruses in the UK – an agronomic challenge! Howard Hinds
11:00 Understanding the ecology and epidemiology of Pythium violae causing cavity spot on carrot.
Kathryn Hales
11:20 Pest management in California fresh carrot from 1995 to 2015. Jim Farrar
11:40 Evaluation of Flea Beetle Phenology and Damage to Carrot Production in California. David Haviland
12:00 PM Lunch!

NEMATOLOGY SESSION
Moderator—Mary Ruth Mc Donald, University of Guelph
1:30 Managing root-knot nematodes in organic carrot production – an overview of California studies.
Antoon Ploeg, J.O. Becker, and J. Nunez,
1:50 Evaluation of new nematicides for control of nematodes in carrots, in Ontario, Canada.
K. Vander Kooi, D. Van Dyk, and M. R. McDonald
2:10 New nematicides provide effective protection against root-knot nematodes.
J. Ole Becker, Antoon Ploeg, and Joe Nunez
2:30 Root-knot variability in response to carrot resistance.
Philip A. Roberts, William C. Matthews, Philipp W. Simon and Tra T. Duong
2:50 Effects of a commercial soil amendment on plant parasitic nematodes. Amanda Hodson
3:10 Break
CARROT PRODUCTION SESSION
Moderator— Jim Farrar, UC Davis
3:40 Effects of biotic and abiotic stress on carotenoid content in carrot. Geoffriau Emmanuel, Perrin Florent, Dubois-Laurent Cécile, Huet Sébastien, Suel Anita, Le Clerc Valérie, Briard Mathilde, Peltier Didier
4:00 Cover crops effects on nitrogen and weeds in MI processing carrots. D. Corey Noyes, Zachary D. Hayden, Haddish Melakeberhan, Ben Werling, and D.C. Brainard
4:20 Adjourn

BREEDING AND VARIETY EVALUATION—SESSION I
Moderator—Phil Simon, USDA/ARS University of Wisconsin
9:00 The Search for Salinity Tolerance in Diverse Carrot Germplasm.
Adam Bolton and Phil Simon
9:20 Characterization of a genomic region under selection in cultivated carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) reveals a candidate domestication gene.
Alicja Macko-Podgórni, Gabriela Machaj, Katarzyna Stelmach, Douglas Senalik, Ewa Grzebelus, Alicja Macko-Podgórni, Gabriela Machaj, Katarzyna Stelmach, Massimo Iorizzo, Philipp W. Simon, Dariusz Grzebelus, Alicja Macko-Podgórni, Gabriela Machaj and Katarzyna Stelmach
9:40 New carrot germplasm from Spain and its use in breeding, genetic, and taxonomic studies.
David M. Spooner, Philipp W. Simon, and Fernando Martínez-Flores
10:00 The influence of organic and conventional production environments on breeding for carrot top size. Charlene Grahn, Erin Silva, Philip Simon
10:20 Break—View posters; presenters will be at posters to answer questions

BREEDING AND VARIETY EVALUATION—SESSION II
Moderator—Emmanuel Geoffriau, University of Angers, France
10:50 Elicitation of anthocyanins in hairy root cultures of black carrots.
Shih-Ti Chen, Gregorio Barba Espin, Trine Bundgaard Andersen, Renate Müller, Henrik Lütken and Bjarne Jørnsgård
11:10 Phenotypic, Genotypic, and Freedom to Operate Variation in US Carrot Cultivars.
Claire Luby, Julie Dawson and Irwin Goldman
11:30 Genetic Analysis of Carrot Root Shape and Top Size Measured by Image Analysis.
Sarah Turner, Nathan Miller, Edgar Spalding and Phil Simon
12:00 Lunch

BREEDING AND VARIETY EVALUATION—SESSION III
Moderator— David Spooner, USDA/ARS University of Wisconsin
1:30 Population Structure in domesticated Carrot (Daucus carota) from USDA NPGS, Historic and Modern Cultivars.
S. Ellison, K. Corak, C. Luby, I. Goldman, P. Simon and J. Dawson.
1:50 Utilizing 2D Imaging to Map Root System Architecture QTL in Carrot (Daucus carota L.)
Shelby Ellison and Philipp Simon
2:10 Sources of Genetic Variation for Early Plant Growth in Diverse Carrot Germplasm.
Adam Bolton and Phil Simon
2:30 Deploying Meloidogyne incognita Nematode Resistance in Carrot.
Phil Simon, Joe Nunez, William Matthews and Phil Roberts
2:50 Marker development for genes of the carrot terpene biosynthesis.
Thomas Nothnagel, Holger Budahn, Detlef Ulrich, Jens Keilwagen, Thomas Berner, Heike Lehnert and Frank Dunemann
3:10 Planning for the 39th International Carrot Conference and other Items
3:30 Adjourn

38th International Carrot Conference Agenda