Winter is coming to a close in about a month, and the coldest of the days should be behind us at this point. Here in Indiana, El Nino usually points to a warmer, drier kind of winter. With the past El Nino being considered one of the strongest on record, how much did the warm…Read more about Weather Update Winter 2016[Read More]
Vegetable Crops - General
This is the final issue of the Vegetable Crops Hotline for 2015. Now is the time for subscribers who receive a paper copy in the mail to renew. A renewal form is included with this issue. Email subscribers will remain on the subscription list as long as the email address works. IVGA members will have…Read more about End of the Season, Time to Renew[Read More]
Recently the USDA announced the addition of a new third-party auditing service that will be available through the Ag Marketing Service (AMS). The service, called “GroupGAP”, will be available in the spring of 2016. The expansion of the service follows multi-year piloting and testing of the program. Under the GroupGAP program, independent farms may organize…Read more about USDA Announces the Addition of “GroupGap” to its Audit Services[Read More]
Consumers have many choices in today’s marketplace. Whether they are shopping in the your farm market, roadside stand, community farmers’ market or the local grocery store it makes no difference…busy shoppers can choose to buy fresh fruits and vegetables or any number of frozen or otherwise preprocessed (value added) foods. FoodLink, a FREE tool developed…Read more about Foodlink – A New Tool to Increase Farm Sales and Improve Shopper Knowledge about Specialty Crops[Read More]
There is still time to submit a proposal to this grant program. The 2016 Farmer Rancher Grant Program of NCR SARE offers grants for farmer-initiated projects of up to $7,500 for individuals, $15,000 for partners, and $22,500 for groups. Grant applications are due in the NCR SARE office on Thursday, December 3, 2015. To learn…Read more about SARE Farmer Rancher Grant Deadling Coming Up[Read More]
The Southwest Indiana Melon and Vegetable Growers Association will hold their technical meeting and variety trial showcase on Thursday, December 3rd at the Southwest Purdue Ag Center, 4369 N. Purdue Road, Vincennes, IN. The meeting will start at 6:00 P.M., dinner will be served. At approximately 7:00 P.M., the variety trial discussion will begin. Any…Read more about SW Indiana Melon and Vegetable Growers Meeting[Read More]
Beginning Farmer Tour. Saturday, November 7, 2015. 9:00 A.M. – Noon CST. Perkins Good Earth Farm, DeMotte, IN. Breakfast, networking session, lunch, tour. Soil health, cover crops, vegetable and high tunnel production. Sponsored by Purdue Extension and Local Growers Guild. For more information and to register contact the Purdue Extension Education Store at https://www.edustore.purdue.edu/ or…Read more about Upcoming Events[Read More]
Crop production, decomposition of organic matter, using ammonium-producing nitrogen fertilizers, and rainfall all lower soil pH. To maintain soil pH in the optimal range (6.5 to 6.8) for vegetable production, periodic application of lime is needed. The primary form of agricultural lime is calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is the carbonate (CO3^2-) part that brings up…Read more about Liming[Read More]
Do you have an idea that might help your farm stay in business for the long run? Be a better place to work or contribute more to the community? Conserve or improve natural resources like soil and water? Reduce use of fossil fuels? The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (NCR SARE)…Read more about SARE Farmer Rancher Grants Available for 2016[Read More]
Arthritis and Agriculture. Thursday, September 24, 2015. 12:00 P.M. – 1:00 P.M. EDT. Presenter: Amber D. Wolfe, M.S., from the National AgrAbility project. To participate, register at https://goo.gl/R8Eq1I. You will then receive a confirmation email with the link to participate in the webinar. You will also receive a reminder 24 hours before the webinar begins….Read more about Upcoming Events[Read More]