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EXPO Day 2: Distinguished service awards
The Michigan State Horticultural Society presented two Distinguished Service Awards during the 2023 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO banquet on Dec. 6. The awards were given to Greg...
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Prengaman: Scale and speed bumps for technology in tree fruit
Kate Prengaman The first time I watched a camera sensor scan an orchard row and size every apple, I was amazed. The second time, I wondered what the value of such data would be to the grower. Turns...
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Farm finds strategies for welcoming back workers
Ben Vermeulen, left, and his father, Andy, under their covered strawberries in Nova Scotia, Canada, in July. They also grow vegetables and will plant their own apples soon. They choose crops and...
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Filling the blueberry gap
An unreleased southern highbush blueberry variety developed by the University of Florida. A new research agreement with Berry Blue, a subsidiary of MBG Marketing, will test this and other varieties in...
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Expanding from vineyard to winery
A row of Traminette grapes at Arrowhead Vineyards in Baroda, Michigan, in October. The vineyard’s owners, the Nitz family, are expanding their winery and winemaking capacity. (Matt Milkovich/Good Fruit...
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Washington Winegrowers welcomes new executive director, Colleen Frei
In the new year, the Washington Winegrowers Association will welcome a new executive director. Colleen Frei Colleen Frei, an attorney with deep experience in agriculture, water rights and succession...
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Family farming strategy: Divide, conquer and communicate
The International Fruit Tree Association visited Spurr Bros.’ new farm market in Wilmot, Nova Scotia, in July. The family farm owners decided to venture further into retail sales last year. (TJ...
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It’s time for growers to speak up on ag tech needs
Jennifer Marston, global ag tech editor for AgFunder, delivers the keynote speech at the FIRA USA automation conference in September in Salinas, California. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower) Agricultural...
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Ag tech industry botting for apples
Tim Bucher, CEO and founder of Agtonomy, explains his company’s self-driving tractor and software package to spectators at the 2023 FIRA USA specialty crop automation conference and trade show in...
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Washington’s FirstFruits Farms acquires Applewood Orchards of Michigan
In a rare acquisition reaching across apple country, FirstFruits Farms of Washington announced this week that it acquired Applewood Orchards and sales company Applewood Fresh Growers of Michigan. The...
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Tech talks to bring together ag industry and innovators
Manoj Karkee, the new director of Washington State University’s Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems, talks about agricultural robotics research during the 2023 FIRA USA conference...
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Colleges helping to tech-proof workers in the ag industry
Alexandra Garcia, left, and fellow ag tech workforce students review for an exam in September in the workshop at Hartnell College in Salinas, California. The state’s community colleges, universities...
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Noah Roth, a young grower from Lowell, Michigan
family background/Noah is a fifth-generation farmer who graduated with a horticulture degree from Michigan State University. He’s married to Zoe Roth and is the son of Barb and Aaron...
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Small purchases, big payoffs for family-owned vineyard
Horse Heaven Hills wine grape grower Oliver May hedges his Cabernet Sauvignon vines with a tractor-mounted ID David X Factor hedger in June at his Discovery Vineyard near Alderdale, Washington. (Ross...
View ArticleGood Stuff, January 1, 2024
Ceres water recommendations aim to maximize grower profitability Ceres Imaging recently unveiled its water recommendations, designed to prescribe exactly how much water to apply every week for each...
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Wiggs: Consider the costs for crop insurance
Pollination relies on bee activity, which is influenced by weather conditions, but wind or high temperatures can dry out the pollen. (Courtesy Jennifer Wiggs) Lots of things can go wrong in a cherry’s...
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Indian market reopening for apples
Red Delicious apples harvested in Naches, Washington, in October. Red Delicious is popular in Indian markets, but with so many Washington growers replacing their Red Delicious blocks with other...
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Compressed cherry crop crisis
Black Pearl cherries are harvested in a Roosevelt, Washington, block on June 21, 2023. About 35 percent of the total Northwest cherry crop that followed was left unharvested. (TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit...
View ArticleUSDA agrees to purchase more apples
A deadline for shippers to sell “extra” apples to the U.S. Department Agriculture is coming up. The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service will accept bids until Jan. 11 for a total of $60 million in...
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Pruning planar pear systems
Growers, researchers and industry representatives walk through Mount Adams Fruit’s orchards in January 2023 for a pruning tour near White Salmon, Washington. Pears were a big topic, as managers showed...
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