Fruit and Vegetable News

Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety  If your farm needs to comply with the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, or you are curious about the new standards that were released by the FDA in relation to pre-harvest agricultural water, be sure to attend the webinar tomorrow 2/28 online to discuss these new rules and standards. We will have a national expert from the Produce Safety Alliance on water quality and fresh produce as the co-presenter. Title:   Updates on FSMA Water Rule: What You Need to Know and What Has Changed Time: Friday, 2/28/25, via Zoom Registration link :  z.umn.edu/FoodSafetyDeepDives2025 You will be able to register for the other webinars in this series. Webinars are every other Friday through April 11th from 9:00 - 10:15. More context for the FSMA Produce Safety Rule update On May 6th, 2024 the  U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a final rule on agricultural water  for pre-harvest water in the FSMA Produce Safety Rule.  ...

Best wishes to  Bill Hutchison , Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Entomology, on his upcoming retirement. University of Minnesota has been fortunate to have Bill's leadership and involvement in Extension's integrated pest management (IPM) program for many years. His work in IPM is recognized internationally and benefits growers, agricultural professionals, crop consultants, and fruit and vegetable processors. He has received many awards over the years including being named an Entomological Society of America fellow in 2021. His research and Extension efforts have made a significant impact in Minnesota and beyond.  Bill also emphasized that he has really enjoyed working with many fruit and vegetable growers over the past 35 years, and tackling such a diverse array of insect pest and invasive species issues, such as spotted wing drosophila and Japanese beetle. Thanks to the many growers who have allowed Bill and his team to conduct IPM research on the...

The ability to back up with already established free-standing apples trees can be challenging. Good pruning and training practices, year by year, can guide a tree into having a strong structure and canopy microclimate conducive to good fruit quality. The University of Minnesota (UMN) wants to support your efforts to learn how to prune dormant, woody fruit crops!  Recent posts on UMN Fruit and Veg News have highlighted upcoming events to deepen your knowledge about pruning either cold climate grapes or apples (feel welcome to join us for both if you grow both crops!) Links to information about 2025 pruning events: In-person pruning workshops  (Dates: various dates and times in March) Noon pruning webinars   (Dates: February 14th and 28th at noon) The following resources were previously created by UMN and provide information to assist pruning practices. Keep in mind that recordings of both upcoming pruning webinars will also be available on the UMN Small Farms YouTube ...

 Are you looking to have more in-person, hands-on experience learning how to prune either cold climate grapes or apples? This year, UMN Extension is offering a selection of winter pruning workshops, instructed by Madeline Wimmer, UMN Extension fruit production educator and UMN Extension local educators.  Semi-dwarf, free-standing apple trees are commonly trained and pruned to maintain a pyramidal shape known as "central leader" training. This allows for good sunlight and airflow that encourage quality fruit production. Apple pruning workshop registration links, dates, and times: 1. Grand Marais (Cook County); Wednesday, March 5th from 10am-12pm 2. Barnum (Carlton County); Thursday, March 6th from 1-3pm 3. Hinckley (Pine County); Friday, March 7th from 1-3pm 4. Duluth (St. Louis County); Thursday, March 13th from 1-3pm 5.  Moorhead (Clay County); Friday, March 21st from 1-3pm  Master Gardener led workshops: Two Harbors (Lake County); Saturday, March 15th from 10am-12p...