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SweeTango lawsuit settled
An out-of-court settlement of the lawsuit challenging the exclusive marketing arrangement for the SweeTango apple
Picker and sorter
Miguel Geronimo found himself testing the new harvester during his first season as an apple
Single audit standard on the books
Produce growers are getting closer to being able to follow one standard set of food
Southeastern peaches enter Mexican markets
H-2A workers in the Titan Farms packing plant cheered when they found their peaches were
Buy local gets a boost
Many growers have children in school and have been frustrated that their taxes have been
Put us to work for you
I am fortunate to travel the country meeting with apple growers, packers, and other USApple
In the box
Dawson Moore loves apples. Apple fan Dawson Moore, pictured on his first birthday last fall,
Good point
This spring, the Social Security Administration reinstituted its annual reality check for employers, “SSN No-Match
Malaysian labeling will be required
Mark Powers is vice president of the Northwest Horticultural Council. Jim Black Fruit exporters should
The end of earmarks?
Earmarks are often considered equivalent to pork barrel legislation, but the two are not necessarily
H-2A changes add cost, difficulty
The McDougall & Sons housing camps are made up of manufactured units for 12 people.
DriftWatch shows sensitive crops
These pushpin-like balloons identify sites that are sensitive to ill effects from spray drift. Growers
Good Point – Save “Lassie”
In late March, Elizabeth Taylor died at age 79 after a long career in front
Fumigant regulations keep coming
Soil fumigation, like this broadcast application, now requires that fumigation management plans be developed to
Old pesticides wanted
Bins should not be used for storing pesticides. The Department of Agriculture can bring all
New food safety law could swallow GAP programs
When provisions of the new food safety law (the American Food Safety Modernization Act) are
Buffers would make orchards vulnerable
If no-spray buffers proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency go into effect, orchardists will
Rainfastness of pesticides varies
John Wise carries out his rainfastness work on grapes and apples at Michigan State University’s
Education for migrant families
Coordinators of a migrant education program in Yakima, Washington, are hoping that fruit growers will
Good Point
At this year’s Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers’s annual meeting, we have a special
Fumigation improves productivity
Published January 15, 2011 Over the past 25 years, 130,000 acres of orchards have been
Task force to tackle food safety
Published January 15, 2011 The Pacific Northwest tree fruit industry is forming a special task
How to get paid for your grapes
The down economy has had a ripple effect on the wine grape industry. Fewer restaurant
Specialty crops will be on center stage
David Schweikhardt predicts a lively specialty-crops– centered Farm Bill debate will start in Congress soon.
Legislative outlook shifts for ag employers
There is great concern and interest in what the outcome of the midterm elections means
Fruit region is electric vehicle hub
The days of 30-cents-per-gallon gasoline are long gone, but new electric vehicles can run on
Farming THE SUN
Sol Orchard installed this one-megawatt solar panel project for California’s Victor Valley College. Imagine a
How do platforms impact workers?
Kit Galvin of the University of Washington explains how she is studying the health impacts
Orchards designed for efficient harvest
Michael Zingler stands next to a planting of SweeTango in its third leaf and describes
Use glyphosate with caution
This stunted apple tree, which has a large basal canker, is in an orchard where
Symptoms of glyphosate damage
Young trees can show injury after glyphosate application the previous year. One symptom of glyphosate
Answers to food safety questions
The Center for Produce Safety held its first produce research symposium in June to review
Good Stuff
Owners change at Burrows Tractor John Riel, who joined Burrows Tractor Company in Yakima, Washington,
Farmworker housing opens in Othello
Lugar Seguro is designed as a safe place for farmworkers to house their families.
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EMPLOYMENT AVAILABLE Washington State University (WSU) Extension invites applications for an Area Extension Educator (E2
Pox-resistant plum registered
The HoneySweet plum is sweet and flavorful and highly resistant to the plum pox virus.
Antibiotic on organic sunset list
Organic tree fruit growers in the Pacific Northwest are concerned that the National Organic Standards
In My View – Chris Schlect
The continued availability of agricultural chemicals used to protect crops from harmful pests and diseases
Good Point – Kevin Moffitt
A recent study shows how successful the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development
Good Stuff
Voliam label expansion The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has approved a label expansion for
Good Point – Frank Gasperini, National Council of Agricultural Employers
Fruit growers are challenged every season by weather, pests, and unpredictable input costs along with
New rules govern Michigan irrigators
Last July, new rules in Michigan required most would-be irrigators to get permission to withdraw
NW questions cherry fruit fly quarantine
The western cherry fruit fly has not been found in California's cherry-growing districts. State officials
Foremen learn to supervise
The Washington Farm Bureau, through Dan Fazio, sponsored a couple of two-day foreman training seminars,
Tracking labor costs
This labor tracking program uses a scanning device to read a worker's bar coded identification.
Do you know your labor costs?
Labor tracking programs help growers know their labor costs in near real-time, instead of after
Tracking prevents favoritism
The real advantage that University of California’s Gregorio Billikopf sees from labor tracking programs is
Growers surveyed on pest practices
Washington apple growers are adopting new pest management strategies and technologies including safer chemistries, in
Fumigation rules delayed
New regulations on the use of agricultural fumigants, due to go into effect at the
Long wait for immigration reform
Every year, the Valicoff Fruit Company in the Yakima Valley dutifully sends off W-2 tax