Strawberries entice shoppers. Their brilliant hue and inviting shapes promise tantalizing taste. Food processors, too, capitalize on the appetizing color and distinctive flavor imparted by strawberries for an array of products. Strawberry production, however, presents a host of challenges. Due to the favorable climates, California produces the majority of strawberries, with Florida providing the second-largest … Read more
Grape growing in the South continues to grow as farmers look to supplement their incomes, or people interested in getting back to nature try their hand at planting varieties they believe will bring them a unique value-added product. Recognizing the interest among farmers in North Carolina to seek out alternative crops, Horticultural Extension Agent Carl … Read more
Tending pistachio groves in Arizona is about as different from raising corn and soybeans in Iowa as farming can be. When fifth–generation farmer Jim Graham began operating Cochise Groves in the high desert of southeastern Arizona, some of the new issues he encountered were water restrictions, bud-time frosts and a crop with the tendency to … Read more
While development continues to gobble up much of Arizona’s farmland, one segment of agriculture is expanding. Six commercial farming operations exist on American Indian land in the state, and a continual focus is on efficient use of the West’s most precious resource: water. Fort McDowell Farm is located east of the McDowell Mountains just outside … Read more
How to prevent your feathered friendsfrom eating your profits Whoever said there was no such thing as a free lunch hasn’t seen a flock of birds feasting on a grower’s fruit trees or berry bushes. In some cases, the damage is limited and a grower can simply ignore the problem, but sometimes birds can cause … Read more