Innovation, Growth & Productivity To Highlight 20th PMA Foundation For Industry Talent Leadership Symposium

This is a leadership retreat for top execs in the produce industry. Check the press release here: 
http://www.perishablenews.com/index.php?article=0018834

or go straight to the PMA conference website here:
http://www.pma.com/leadership/2012/

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Rick VanVranken

Last Call for FEMA & SBA Hurricane Irene Disaster Assistance

Application deadline: Wednesday, November 30

NJ residents whose homes and properties sustained damages as a result of Hurricane Irene have through tomorrow, November 30, to register for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

To register with FEMA, click here   or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY: 800-462-7585, 7 AM to 10 PM daily.

Individuals must register by the deadline or face losing the opportunity to be considered for federal assistance. Though FEMA will not duplicate insurance benefits, expenses not covered by insurance may be eligible for federal grants after an insurance claim has been paid.

The deadline to submit loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is also November 30. Completing and returning the SBA application is an essential step in the process. If you are a homeowner or renter and SBA determines you cannot afford a loan, you may be referred for other possible assistance. Additional information is available at www.sba.gov or by calling 1-800-659-2955.

--Rick VanVranken

Changes in Third Party Audits in the Future

More audits will be moving to harmonized food safety standards. This hopefully will reduce the need for multiple audits and reduce grower costs. Not all audit firms or retails will necessarily accept the harmonized audit. It is suggested that a grower work with their retailer to implement these standards, but remember who you sell to dictates the audit used.

Wesley Kline

2012 New Mexico Chile Conference

The Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University will be hosting the 2012 New Mexico Chile Conference on February 6 & 7, 2012 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The conference will take an intensive look into technological advances, disease and pest management and organics for chile pepper production. For more information call 575-646-3028 or see http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/

Michelle Infante-Casella

How Healthy Is Your Soil?



A simple assessment of your fields on an annual basis can help determine if the soil building practices you are implementing are actually working.  Use the Soil Quality Card, linked below from University of Illinois Extension and NRCS, as a easy annual tool to evaluate progress towards a healthier soil. 

http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/assessment/files/IL_card.pdf

-Meredith Melendez

Mississippi Greenhouse Tomato Shortcourse

The next MS Greenhouse Tomato Short Course will be held at the Eagle Ridge Conference Center, 1500 Raymond Lake Road, Raymond, Mississippi on March 6 and 7, 2012.
More information: http://greenhousetomatosc.com

-Rick VanVranken

Asparagus Production Advisory, Looking to 2012 from 2011 Conditions

Prof. Steve Garrison

Due to widespread foliar diseases on asparagus fern growth this summer, in many field blocks the fern died back BEFORE slowly yellowing and translocating its food stores in the fern to the asparagus storage roots required to support next year’s 2012 crop load.

Our asparagus sage, Professor Emeritus Steve Garrison, gave us his observation and recommendations this week for not over-cutting or over-harvesting affected weak asparagus fields in 2012. Steve recalls the 1970 growing season shared similar conditions to those seen this year. Over-cutting in the subsequent year weakened the beds permanently, and set the stage for years and years of Fusarium asparagus crown and root rot decline in NJ fields.

Steve advises monitoring your asparagus beds very closely during the 1st week of cutting in 2012. If daily bed yields are weak, or spear diameter starts falling off quickly during early harvest, he advises shortening the harvest season dramatically to protect the future investment in life of the production field.
- Jack Rabin, Michelle Infante-Casella

Fleshy storage roots need to receive adequate carbohydrates
from the previous year's fern to support healthy yields.