Like every other sector of agriculture, fruit and vegetable producers are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic response. Many farmers around the country have experienced devastating losses from the shutdown of the foodservice supply chain and slowdown at retail. Farm Credit held a webinar panel discussion last week with specialty crop producers on the challenges they are facing. Participants included …
FMC Grows Presence in Fruit, Vegetable Market
Since the 2017 acquisition of DuPont assets brought the diamide chemistry over to FMC, the company has continued to increase its presence in the fruit and vegetable market. “We’ve been in this market, but not to the substantial efforts we have today,” said Bubba Stripling with FMC. “And with the pipeline that’s coming we’re looking for tree, fruit and vegetable …
New BASF Insecticide Performs on Vegetables
BASF offers a wide portfolio of fungicides for use in fruits and vegetables, but it was a new insecticide getting the attention of growers at the 2020 Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, Ga. Sefina is the new product offering white fly and aphid control, according to Joe Mitchell, BASF technical service representative for Florida and South Texas. …
Conference Provides Valuable Education, Interaction
The annual Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference is an opportunity for companies like Crosby Equipment to gain some knowledge and interact with customers. “The biggest value for our company to exhibit here is just it’s a little more local,” said Jay Crosby, who was showcasing Oxbo blueberry harvesters at the 2020 event. “We see a lot of our customer …
Bayer R&D Supports Produce Growers
Bayer continues to serve produce growers in the southeastern part of the country with the Seminis vegetable seed brand and a strong crop protection portfolio. Research and development continues to be a focus, according to Jonathan Mein, Eastern U.S. Commercial Lead. “If you look at fruit and vegetable variety development, it requires a lot of work, a lot of data,” …
Miravis Family Offers Long Residual Control
The Miravis brand from Syngenta is one that is making an impact on growers in the southeastern region of the United States. Syngenta Agronomy Service Representative Wilson Faircloth was at the 2020 Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference, where he shared information about three different Miravis products. “2019 had a lot of challenges,” said Faircloth. “For those of us …
Association Leaders Advocate for Produce Industry
A veteran of the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, Bill Brim of Lewis Taylor Farms continues to feel passionate about engaging in the industry and helping fellow growers along the way. “Board members put a lot of effort into it, and people don’t really realize what we do. And we’re doing it for them,” said Brim, who …
Produce Association Feels Like Family
The president of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Association said the association is strong and growing, which is important for producers as they maintain a voice within the industry. “I just enjoy the atmosphere. I enjoy the people. The agriculture industry is made up of some unbelievable people. I enjoy being around them. I enjoy learning from them,” said Aries …
Georgia Ag Commissioner Concerned About USMCA
Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black is optimistic about the agriculture industry in his state, and shared a priority to open markets in new places for Georgia-grown products in the months ahead. At the same time, he has some concern regarding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) as it stands currently, because of hardships it may bring to produce growers. “With …
‘American Grown’ Campaign for Produce Growers
A new campaign to encourage consumers to buy “American Grown” produce was launched at the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference last week. The American Grown campaign was started with a mission to “empower growers and consumers to fight for the American farm, making our country strong economically and environmentally.” Speakers introducing the campaign included Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers …