Fruit and Vegetable News

  Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety If you are using surface water sources like ponds, creeks, rivers or water that has been collected from roofs for irrigation of your produce, remember that these sources of water are open to the environment and can be contaminated with human pathogens like Salmonella and toxigenic  E. coli  that can sicken people if it is on your produce. Even well water, though much more protected than surface water, can become contaminated if your well is compromised.  Read on for tips to reduce the potential for water to contaminate your fresh produce this season. What are the risks with using surface water for irrigating fruits and vegetables? While surface water like water pumped from a pond, stream, creek or river might seem like a cheaper alternative to ground water, this water must be used with caution. Water used for irrigation can be a source of contamination for our fruits and vegetables if the water contains human patho...

Authors: Natalie Hoidal , Marissa Schuh , Shane Bujega , Anthony Adams Fields dried out enough for a very productive week of planting. This update includes reminders about early season insect management, an overview of quackgrass and crabgrass management, reminders about herbicide drift, and some miscellaneous observations about snakes and ants in vegetable fields. Crop updates Asparagus: Hot weather is really going to push spears to grow quickly. Keep up with irrigation if possible, and remember to stop harvest when spears are pencil sized. If you’re seeing asparagus beetle pressure, review When and How to Use Insecticides for Asparagus Beetles . Tomatoes: Some tomatoes are looking great and some are looking pretty rough. Many people had to hold their tomatoes a bit longer than expected, leading to rootbound plants that were light stressed, and prone to water stress. Paired with high temperatures and limited water last week, we’re seeing some sunburnt tomatoes, and plants that...

As seasonal employees begin working over the next couple of weeks, make sure you're following best practices to prevent heat stress and keep employee morale high. This post highlights best practices for acclimatizing workers to hot weather, and a new report about what diversified vegetable farm employees value in a workplace.

Authors: Natalie Hoidal, Emily Hansen, Quincy Sadowski Fields are beginning to dry out, and the week ahead will be ideal for transplanting. This update includes reminders about early season insect pests and irrigation needs, information about harvesting from new rhubarb plantings, wildfire smoke safety best practices, and tips for keeping transplants healthy when planting is delayed. Crop updates Cole crops: We’ve seen some beautiful early spring cole crops nearing maturity in high tunnels, but field production has mostly been delayed due to wet fields. Cabbage maggots are flying and laying eggs, flea beetles are out, and we’re already seeing diamondback moth feeding. This means growers will need to be extra vigilant about keeping seedlings and small transplants protected from early season insect damage. Row cover is the best-bet for avoiding all three of these insect pests, which all have different types of lifecycles and different management strategies. Diamondback moth larvae and...

Author: guest contributor Jerry Ford, Network Coordinator, Sustainable Farming Association Insurance is very important for all farming operations, but is especially important for agritourism operations that host visitors on this farm. This article details important topics related to insurance for agritourism farms. Image: Cory Ryan This article was not written by an insurance professional or a lawyer. Please note that insurance policies vary across providers, and that agritourism activities like u-pick, farm stays, and tours all have different risks and considerations for insurance and regulations. This article is meant to serve as a starting place, but please reach out to a lawyer or insurance provider for more detailed information as it pertains to your specific agritourism activities. Before talking about insurance, let's talk about the law. Laws related to liability and agritourism We are fortunate in Minnesota to have a statute that specifically protects those of us involved i...

Authors: Natalie Hoidal, Shane Bugeja, Quincy Sadowski   Following a slow, wet spring, the growing season is finally picking up. Our team of educators has been visiting farms across the state, and in general, everything is extremely delayed due to wet soils. Some fields are still flooded following heavy rainfall events this week. Nonetheless, we’ve seen plenty of exciting things in high tunnels and greenhouses already. Since things are so delayed, we’re foregoing our usual series of crop-by-crop updates this week and instead sharing some general observations. Soil testing reflections Many of you have likely heard about our 100 farms project: our team is visiting 100 vegetable farms this month to complete a series of chemical, biological, and physical soil tests with the goal of developing a better baseline understanding of MN vegetable farm and high tunnel soils. We’ve learned a lot already just from observations, and we’re excited to see what the test results show us. A few key ob...

Did a natural disaster like the drought or the pandemic cause a loss of revenue from farming for you in 2020 or 2021? If so, you may be eligible for support from USDA’s Emergency Relief Program (ERP) or the Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP) from your local FSA office if you apply by June 2, 2023. ERP is a revenue-based program for crops including specialty crops, so you can determine if applying makes sense by comparing your disaster year(s) in 2020 or 2021 to a typical benchmark year of either 2018 or 2019. If your sales were down 30% or more from your typical season, it may make sense for you to apply. Ryan Pesch, Extension Educator in Ag Business Management is available to help you determine your eligibility and assist in preparing the application based on your farm financial records. More information about about ERP phase 2 and other disaster assistance from USDA is at available at the Go Farm Connect website at https://www.gofarmconnect.org/services-4 . The Go Farm Conne...

Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety If you have attended a FSMA Produce Safety Rule grower training in the past and want to refresh your knowledge, this webinar will provide updates on the FSMA Produce Safety Rule for produce farms. Come to this webinar to hear about what is new since you attended and get your questions answered. All are welcome, even if you have not attended a Produce Safety Rule training. Presenters will include Extension Educators in food safety and horticultural systems at the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University and inspectors from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Did you see the post earlier in April about water-related updates to the FSMA rule? These are the topics that we will be discussing, and more, at this webinar.  Topics will include: Overview of who is covered by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule Updates! Subpart E water related requirement updates. What you need to know about water testing, postharvest water use for washi...