ADVERTISEMENT
Forum on immigration reform
The North Central Washington Immigration Reform Roundtable will present a forum on immigration reform at
Deadline approaching for Affordable Care Act
The Washington Farm Labor Association reminds all agricultural employers, regardless of the number of their
New safety program looks for feedback in Pasco
The Opportunities Industrialization Center of Washington announcement. A new program to educate and
Good Stuff
Closer receives registration Dow AgroSciences has received federal registration of its sulfoxaflor insecticide, sold under
Performance report
The solid-set spray system was shown in action last year at field days attended
AVAs get smaller
In wine marketing, an appellation or American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a way to differentiate
B.C. growers hope for compensation
A review of the Columbia River Treaty, which the United States and Canada entered in
Surround might deter stinkbugs
The brown marmorated stinkbug is a challenge to control for any fruit grower, and organic
The NOSB’s ‘lose-lose’ decision
A decision by the National Organic Standards Board not to extend use of a key
Food safety mistakes
This creative, portable handwashing facility meets GlobalGAP requirements. Water is clearly labeled. PHOTO COURTESY OF
Great expectations
Milinda Dwyer Mega retailer Costco Wholesale has high expectations when it comes to food safety
Leading by example
Servando Rodriguez manages the production of 400 acres of apples and cherries and 450 acres
SWD challenges growers
Unlike the common drosophila flies, spotted wing drosophila will attack cherries before they are ripe.
Last Bite
1 True or false? The Z-Trap is a device for killing Zetzellia mali? 2 How
Meet Washington State’s new agriculture director
Bud Hover’s road to directorship of the Washington State Department of Agriculture began in 1938
Your management program matters
LEFT: Above left: Adult A. mali are affected by most of the tested reduced-risk pesticides.
Choose your poison carefully
A barn owl nesting box at Omeg Orchards. Notice the metal underneath the box that’s
Food Safety
● The May 16 deadline looms for public comments on two of the proposed rules
An urgent plea for immigration reform
Devout Christians will tell you God works in mysterious ways. So, perhaps it was divine
Last Bite: FruiTrivia
1. An experimental Solid Set Canopy Delivery System is designed for: a. Applying pesticides b.
What Tier 4 standards mean
Fuel requirements. New engines will require ultra-low sulfur diesel that has no more than 15
Ladder falls top accident list
Employers are required to have an accident prevention plan.
Start working on health care now
Health care reform will add to employers’ costs and complicate their business when regulations take
Are you over 50?
To find out if you will be required to provide a health benefits plan for
New off-road emission standards coming
Clean diesel technology has been making its way off the highways and into farms and
How integrated mite control works
One of the keys to integrated mite control was that the western predatory mite Typhlodromus
Calculating the value of biological control
Washington State University entomologist Dr. Stan Hoyt developed integrated mite control in the late 1960s
Return from Barcelona
● This past Sunday I arrived back from Barcelona, Spain. There, I had attended the
One last Guthion spray
Fruit growers in Michigan can use existing stocks of the insecticide azinphos-methyl (Guthion) one more
Speak out
Proposed regulations to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act could bring dramatic changes to the
Certification not unique to produce
Agriculture, with its various food safety and sustainable production standards now required by many retailers,
Food Safety Committee guides research
The Pacific Northwest Food SafetyCommittee, an industry advisory group representing tree fruit growers, packers, and
Why the National Organic Standards Board made its decision
In 2011, when the National Organic Standards Board made a formal recommendation to the National
Behind the scenes at the NOSB
Harold Austin In April, the National Organic Standards Board will decide whether organic apple and
National Organic Standards Board members
Producers: Carmela Beck, organic program manager, Driscoll’s Strawberry Associates, Inc., Watsonville, California. Colehour Bondera, owner,
How the NOSB makes decisions
The National Organic Standards Board is a federal advisory committee that makes the decisions on
Who’s on the NOSB
The National Organic Standards Board has 15 members who serve five-year terms, though the terms
Fireblight, antibiotics, and the NOSB
Antibiotics have long been key disease control materials for fireblight, one of the few uses
Growers urged to make themselves heard
Jon Wyss, government affairs analyst for Gebbers Farms, urges tree fruit growers to make their
Ag groups united
Tree fruit industry advocates believe the timing is right for Congress to pass an immigration
The Top 5
Is yours a family-first business or a business-first family? Iowa farmer and author Jolene Brown
Good Point: What can we expect from Congress in 2013?
After the November election, the first question from members of our association, other growers, and
WATCH: Feds hold “Listening Session” on new food safety regulations
FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor talks with Clinton Wissel, farmer and president of the
Worried about labor
Steve Hunt, the incoming president of the Michigan State Horticultural Society, grows only one kind
Farm labor solution critical
Just before the November elections, there was a flurry of farm labor-related activity in Washington,
GAO report documents, but doesn’t fix, H-2A
Adding new fuel to the growing fire over farm labor reform, the Government Accountability Office
Cold is hot topic at Expo
Great Lakes region fruit growers won’t soon forget 2012, the year that Mother Nature, for
Grape growers to visit Capitol Hill
Washington State diversified farmer Brenton Roy wants to see more of the state’s wine grape
Planning for continued success
David Douglas will hand over the presidency of the Hort Association to Jeff Cleveringa
Looking for a bipartisan solution
Apple harvest season last year brought home to Dale Foreman just how important a reliable