Volume e 10 Number r 9 Local produce offered in mall location Page 3 September 2011 Greenhouse e • • Nursery y • • Garden n Center r • • Fruit t & & Vegetable e • • Farm m Markets s • • Landscapers s • • Christmas $2.50 MidWest Edition n Serving All Aspects of Commercial Horticulture Section One of Two First time for everything ~ Page 2 Classifieds . . . . . . . . A12 Organic . . . . . . . . . . . A9 Christmas . . . . . . . . . B1 Today’s Marketing. . A5 GROWER GROWER
may be pros at growing today.But 23 years ago, not a singleone of the family members hadever worked at a growing oper-ation, let alone owned one.
It was 1988 when Keith andLaura Carlson partnered withtheir son Eric and his wifeEllen Kwiatkowski to startBlue Vista Farm of Bayfield,WI. Their primary goal was tocreate a new lifestyle, one witha focus on self-sustainabilityand a connection to nature.
“The first years were tough.We were only able to work herepart time and it took quite afew years to actually startmaking any income from theland at all,” said Eric. “Westarted with an abandonedfarm that had an acre of oldCortland apple trees on it anda century-old barn that wasbeing used as storage. Now, wehave 20 acres in production,pick-your-own and wholesaledivisions and we have a largegift shop too.”
According to Eric, theCarlsons had several thingsgoing for them from the get-go. The soil was good. Theslope of the land was well-suited for growing a variety offruits. And the property wasin a prime location for bothdirect sales and a pick-your-own business.
Everything else was accom-plished with good, old-fash-ioned hard work. The firstcrops they planted werearranged in small plots sothe family could manage thefarm while working otherjobs. Then, as time passed,they were all able to work fulltime at Blue Vista Farm, achange that enabled them toexpand their total acreage inproduction.
“Today, we have about fiveacres of blueberries, five acresof raspberries and seven acresof high density apples,” Erictold Country Folks Grower. “Weused to grow flowers to sell forweddings too, but we don’t dothat anymore. The garden isstill there though, with aroundone acre of flowers for our cus-tomers to enjoy.”
The garden is located next tothe old dairy barn. With thebackdrop of a stone foundationand old wooden boards, somevisitors say that the settingreminds them of the Provencalregion of France, he added.
The barn not only looksbeautiful, it is functional aswell. It is used as a gift shopfor the farm’s homemadeorganic jams and jellies.
Ellen makes some standardflavors. She also createsunique combinations likeraspberry ginger, raspberrychipotle, blueberry lavenderand strawberry and basil-using strawberries brought infrom a nearby farm.
Classical music is typicallyplaying inside the barn. Itbounces off the high ceilingsand echoes out across thefields where pick-your-owncustomers can hear.
“We get a lot of people whowant the experience of pickingtheir own fruit, especially onMozart Sundays. Most of ourbusiness however, is directsales here on the farm,” saidEric. “People come into thebarn and select berries andapples from our coolers. Wealso sell some wholesale to acompany in Minnesota andanother business with threelocations in Milwaukee.”
Blue Vista Farm is thelargest organic blueberry farmin the entire state, with manyvarieties of blueberries, rasp-berries and apples in produc-tion each year.
There are North Blue, NorthCountry, Patriot, DukeChippewa and Northland blue-berries, among others.Raspberry varieties grownthere include, but are not lim-ited to Prelude, Nova, Royaltyand Canby. The growers arealso experimenting witharound 300 linear feet of blackraspberries.
The list of apple varieties isequally impressive. Cortland,Honeycrisp, Zestar, Sweet 16,Liberty and Gala are just a fewof them.
“While we do grow conven-tional fruit too, organic is ourmain push with the addedemphasis on sustainability,”said Eric. “We water everythingusing trickle irrigation withpressure compensating emit-ters. We also closely monitorthe soil, pests and other thingsto minimize the amount ofchemicals we use.”
When chemicals are neces-sary, the Carlsons reach foreco-friendly products. Theyeven use many of the certifiedorganic sprays on their con-ventional blueberries for goodmeasure.
While the chemicals are goodfor the plants, Eric would liketo protect himself from expo-sure. One of the farm’s futureplans involves purchasing atractor with a spray cab todivert the spray away from himas he drives the tractor.
“I’m 51 now and don’t wantto put my health at risk, so wewill be investing in a spray cab
soon,” he said. “We would alsolike to sell a lot more productsin our gift shop. And, becauseour barn was built back in1917, it is really in need ofupdating.”
Another aim for Blue VistaFarm is to implement evengreater eco practices through-out the operation.
When these new things arein place, the farm will be sev-
eral steps closer to the visionthe Carlsons had when theybought the abandoned proper-ty 23 years ago. A vision that isnow closer than ever to beingfully realized.
First time for everything
Daughter Rita Carlson pickingblack raspberries.
Keith Carlson pressing cider with children at the farm.Photos courtesy of Blue Vista Farm
Ellen Kwiatkowski with a basket full of celosia. Blue Vista Farm grows about one acre of flowers fortheir customers to enjoy.
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by William McNuttThe trend toward direct sell-
ing of specialty produce ismoving at an ever faster pace,with some long range predic-tions indicating as much as10 percent of total sales maycome from this source infuture years.
In the Columbus, Ohio area,several market locations aresoliciting additional vendors,while long established oneshave waiting lists. Thisincludes the suburb ofWorthington, now observingthe 25th anniversary of itsmunicipal market, which has80 vendors during theSummer season.
According to recentlyappointed market mangerMichelle Mooney, over 120applied for space. A break-through of sorts occurredwhen a major mall develop-ment, Easton Town Center,opened the first such locationthis Spring in central Ohio. Ina bit of a break with tradition,it’s open on Thursdays from 3-7 p.m. With 20 million visitorsa year to what has becomealmost a tourist attraction,sales expectations are high.Worthington retains aSaturday downtown 9 a.m. tonoon schedule.
Fifty-five vendors at Eastondisplay wares in small tentsprovided by the Center, withcommon logos, in a parkinglot set aside at sale time. BeauArnason, vice president ofSteiner Corp., who supervisedthe original set up and nowmanages Easton Town Center,said the addition of a freshfood market met a demandfrom consumers who areinterested in buying locallyproduced food, both for betterquality and taste. Both he andmarket manager Heidi
Maybruck say a definiteincrease in Summer shoppingtraffic has been noticed. Theyhave also worked with LocalMatters, a nonprofit groupprofiled in Country Folks sev-eral months ago, who run abooth at the market for cook-ing demonstrations.
Ten suburban locations inFranklin County have regular-ly scheduled weekly markets,with many of their vendorssetting up in several locations.One is in the center ofColumbus, where office work-ers can stretch lunch hourtime to purchase locally pro-duced fresh fruit and vegeta-bles, plus many other items.These include artisan cheeses,bakery goods, honey, spices,specialty coffees, candies,pasta, pretzels, ice cream, andmany ethnic food products,but mostly specialty fruits andvegetables.
The usual and unusual areon tap in both Worthingtonand Easton. Greenhousegrowing, plus use of high-tun-nel culture helps extend localproduction plus enablingsmall acreage growers toextend the growing season ofhigh-value items.
All direct marketers in thearea require vendors to certifythat their produce is grown ontheir farms, though borrowingof a similar commodity from aneighbor is usually permitted.The shopping mall location ofEaston draws many cus-tomers for multiple purposes.Shoppers can use a “veggievalet” on the site to store pur-chased produce while attend-ing a movie or eating at one ofthe 20 restaurants on site.Many of the restaurants arealso customers of the weeklymarket.
Franchised products are not
allowed to compete with thebaked goods vendors who pre-pare their goods at home.
The need for a central pro-cessing facility has been dis-cussed, which would enablefreezing or canning fresh pro-duce, to sell during Wintermonths, thus extending theseason for both producer andconsumer.
Direct marketing in heavilypopulated urban areas isturning into a win-win situa-tion. Arnason says EastonMall, located in the mid- tohigher-income part ofNortheast Columbus, is in an
area of younger, higherincome parents concernedabout best nutrition for theirchildren. Supermarkets haveadopted the same approach,using pictures of their localsuppliers from large acreageOhio growers and promisingfresh, locally produced food,with bagged products labeledas to point of origin.
Various produce commoditygroups are working to estab-lish a system to trace producesold in wholesale and retaillocations back to the grower.Consumers who buy directlyknow immediately who theirsupplier is. Nevertheless,direct food sales probably donot make up more than 2-3percent of that from super-markets and may possibly sta-bilize at 5-6 percent in thefuture, according to food mar-keting experts from Ohio StateUniversity’s Department ofAgricultural Economics.
American consumers seemto be satisfied with where theybuy food, whether it be in thesupermarket or a direct mar-ket outlet, according to recentreports from the FoodMarketing Institute. Accordingto its surveys, most givestrong support for “locallygrown” though there seems tobe no agreed upon definitionof what local means, otherthan within state boundaries.But consumers in general pre-fer foods grown in the U.S.compared to imports, whichcovers most of any seasonalmissing list. They also want toknow where their food, domes-tic or imported comes from,plus assurance that it is safeto eat, a stipulation rigorouslyenforced in this country, per-haps more so than any other.
According to FMI, most of usdrive less than 5 miles to aprimary food market, but overhalf will do more driving tofind the lowest price andgreater variety — not alwaysthe case for the direct marketvendor, who sets usually high-er prices based on quality,freshness and, in many cases,the uniqueness of their fewerbut specialized offerings.
Interest in organic foodscontinues to increase, withseveral vendors in both theWorthington and Easton mar-kets offering organically grownproducts as is the case inevery other direct market loca-tion in the county.
Easton Mall market is justthe latest in a series ofadvances made by farmersmarkets. In the state capital ofColumbus, a weekly marketcan be found at the interna-tionally known NationwideChildren’s Hospital, Center ofScience and Industry, and theWexner Center for the Arts atOSU and ColumbusCommons, newly renovateddowntown park and recreationsite. An attempt is being madeto recruit new vendors to fillthe new sites, plus schedulingto assure their is no overlap-ping of sale days. With numer-ous interstate highways and amajor turnpike carrying heavytraffic through Ohio, surveysare now being conducted toset a pilot enterprise at fourrest stops this summer, whichwas already done severalyears ago at three stops on theOhio Turnpike.
Expectations for 1,500direct farm markets in Ohioby 2015, when the next 5-yearreport is due, do not seem outof line.
Local produce offered in mall location
One of the vendors at Easton Mall where tents are furnished by the Mall, and similar logos go on eachtent. High winds can be a problem, since the parking lot where vendors assemble cannot anchor thestructures.
Heidi Maybruck, market manager and Beau Arnason, pose in front of a typical vendor location. Rainhad threatened the sale day, but cleared enough that most vendors were sold out by 7 o’clock.
Photos by William McNutt
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by William McNutt
More than 9,000 attendees from 25countries flocked to the four-day tradeshow and Short Course of OFA, thelargest gathering of floral producers inthe country and the largest such gath-ering in Columbus Convention Center,held each July in Columbus, Ohio.
Fifteen hundred exhibit booths cov-ered every phase of the industry, asdid the over 130 educational sessionsoffered to participants. OFA memberscame to catch the latest informationfor assistance in making a profit — noteasily done in these recessionarytimes. Garden centers in particular arehurting along with associated land-scaping operations for many reasons,cutbacks in house building being aprime factor. The tendency of youngerfamilies moving into cheaper apart-ment housing with limited acreage,plus both spouses working, is a primefactor causing less patronage.
A very well attended session early inthe conference posed the somewhatprovocative question “why don’t cus-tomers love us any more,” the onlyeducational meeting not recorded.Panel members included Joe Baer,ZenGenius Visual Merchants; Art
Parkenson, Lancaster Farms;Christina Salwitz, The PersonalGarden Touch; Angela Palmer, PlantsNouveau; and Jean Van Krevelen,White Willow Media.
Opening commentary from thepanel included such tidbits as loveand loyalty are gone, dollars are themain component of love, higher pricewill sometimes be overcome by betterservice, attractive displays, and Website promotion. Customers can getthe same material from big-boxstores, that may have 35 choicesavailable, while you offer 100, butthey can cut price quicker than youand move product faster, which staysfresh. When a customer comes intoyour store, you have about 10 sec-onds for his or her first impression tobecome the final one. Service doespay off, it may be the only advantagewe have — and don’t forget the big-box stores can also put up very goodlooking displays.
Panel members were unanimous inrecommending closer ties betweenretailers and suppliers of products,including plant breeders and whole-salers. Other topics included how todisplay product, interaction between customer and seller and open houses
to display new items for sale. Suggestions were made to tie mer-
chandise to seasonal displays, eg.Christmas in Springtime, a time ofnew beginning; don’t overdo and endwhen emphasis/uniqueness is gone.Don’t label any display with otherthan generic names, variety namesare not that important to the cus-tomer. They want to know how to growit and what the final product will looklike in front of their residence.Remember 80 percent of garden cen-ter business comes from 20 percent ofthe customers, concentrate on keep-ing the regulars ad adding new oneswith similar interests.
It was pointed out the big-box storesdo have fewer displays, but always suf-ficient quantity, and won’t run outbefore a sale is over. Put a limit ondays of special sales. Take advantageof social media to tell what you have,promote everything possible online,which is both quicker and easier toupdate.
Why lose an estimated third of yourtime on preparing quickly outdatednewsletter content that takes bothtime and money? The Generation Yand X we are all after are too busy withother activities to pay devoted atten-tion. They usually have limited space,so educate them on pot culture, win-dow side cultivation of edible plants,mixing of fruits, flowers and vegetablesand offer classes in this type of cul-ture, make it exciting. This will have tobe customized and specific thoughbenefits of outdoor exercise can cer-tainly be stressed. Implement withFacebook, do not promote your accom-plishments, but what prospective cus-tomers can achieve with such anapproach. Retailer marketing andbranding of product helps, but is not atotal package. Ultimately what countsis what the customer wants, and isboth able and willing to buy.
One audience response reported onseveral garden centers plus a green-house who did 20 percent of their saleson the internet, if the order was over$50, it would be delivered. One opera-tor in Columbus ties in with a local TVstation to provide weekly tips on cur-
rent crop availability. Others reportedcontracting for wedding and banquetdecorations. Most favor regular sur-veys of potential customers, askingwhat do they want to know. Many areworking with community projects todevelop gardens from which harvestscan be sold direct or contributed tofood banks.
Competition is a fact of life, best esti-mate is 11,000 garden centers in theU.S., with many fated for weeding outin these tough economic times — giv-ing rise to one comment that the prob-lem was not oversupply but underdemand.
Ground is still being lost, we mayrepeating former cycles where momand pop stores gave way to independ-ent groceries who now have beenlargely replaced by supermarkets,some of them now overtaken by supersupermarkets. Price, service and vari-ety are still driving forces, interestmust be constantly renewed; remem-ber it can be fun to plan a garden andplant flowers, but the hard workcomes in the heat of Summer. Bestrecommendation: stay positive,focused, feel the connection and com-municate it to customers. Don’t sellonly the product, sell the concept ofjoint effort.
With an increasing number of retailoutlets preparing their own advertisingcopy, then sending it directly via inter-net to current and potential cus-tomers, several sessions focused onthe subject. It was often pointed outthat we buy something for two primaryreasons: Business and emotionalattraction.
In addition to classes, in-store sig-nage can provide a warehouse of infor-mation, from how to plant and culti-vate flowers, in addition to providingwelcome for customers old and new.Make the customer feel important, heor she has little regard for you, but val-ues what you offer them. No one reallycares if you’re the fourth generationrunning that greenhouse. Focus ongeneration X and Y, they will be yourcustomers in 10 years. After all, AARPnow emphasizes the 55 year level, theover 80 membership will not bearound too long.
The Monthly Newspaper for Greenhouses, Nurseries, Fruit & Vegetable Growers
culture’s role in job cre-ation is being explored,debated, tested and sta-tistically compared to
other businesses foreconomic growth poten-tial. While the industrialand manufacturing agein this country drewworkers away from theirrural roots and farms,today’s interest in localfoods, organic opera-tions and the wave ofsustainable urban farm-ing is opening up newavenues of communitydevelopment and em-ployment.
This summer’s seriesof White House BusinessCouncil Roundtableevents, held throughoutthe U.S., brought busi-ness leaders togetherwith USDA officials to
talk about rural develop-ment and economic im-provement. At a round-table meeting in York,PA, Deputy AgricultureSecretary Kathleen Mer-rigan emphasized thatthe USDA is seeking ad-vice from business lead-ers on ways to improvethe economic climate.“The President and theUSDA are committed tocreating good-payingjobs that will help busi-nesses and communitiesthey serve,” said Merrig-an.
While some agricultur-al sectors are feeling thepinch of drought andmarket slumps, the or-ganic industry hasshown steady growthover the past decade,and a recent survey oforganic farmers notedthat nearly half of themplanned on increasingproduction and creatingmore jobs. Urban agri-culture in many Ameri-can cities now offers dis-placed workers jobsgrowing foods in com-munities where peopledid not always have ac-cess to fresh vegetables.And, the 2007 Census ofAgriculture showed thatsome states, those clos-
est to metro areas, thatexperienced previous de-clines in the number offarms, actually saw in-creases with small or-ganic and naturally-grown operations pop-ping up.
Offshoots of directfood production includ-ing bio-energy and bio-science projects are alsoseen as adding to jobcreation potential. ANorth Central States(Battelle Report) studynoted that where agri-culture and forestrythrive in abundance iswhere the bio-basedeconomy, “has alreadytaken root and wherethe potential for globalleadership and economicvitality for America is al-ready proven.”
As local communitiestake stock of agricultureand rural development,it will be interesting tosee if these trends con-tinue and where futurejobs are created. Agri-culture has traditionallybeen low on the scale ofbusiness growth indica-tor factors as most fami-ly farms do not employlarge numbers of work-ers. With the growth oflocal foods interest and
the increasing opportu-nity to sell directly toconsumers, family farmsand small agriculturaloperations are placeswhere job opportunitiesare being created andsustained.
Your operation alreadycontributes to your lo-cal, regional, statewideand even global econo-my. Money spent at localbusinesses has multipli-er factors that reachoutward in even thesmallest communities.Encourage your localagricultural groups tomonitor and share thesefindings with the busi-ness community. Thisinformation provides abasis for communityfunding opportunitiesand recognizes the im-portance of agriculturein building and sustain-ing local communities.
More information onthe Battelle Report isavailable from the NorthCentral Regional Associ-ation (NCRA), 1450 Lin-den Drive, Madison, WI.The above information isprovided for educationalpurposes and should notbe substituted for profes-sional business or legalcounseling.
Today’s Marketing ObjectivesBy: Melissa Piper Nelson
Farm News ServiceNews and views on agricultural marketing techniques.
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Nearly 9,000 peoplefrom more than 25countries gathered inColumbus, Ohio, in Julyfor the OFA ShortCourse, horticulture’spremier convention andmarketplace.
“Horticulture profes-sionals from across theworld know that the OFAShort Course is the placeto get business solutions
to keep their businesscompetitive and prof-itable,” said Michael V.Geary, CAE, OFA’s ChiefExecutive Officer. “Inspite of the poor springweather in numerous ar-eas of the United States,the challenging econom-ic conditions, and theevent being organizedduring the week of a na-tional holiday, participa-
tion held strong and wasconsistent with lastyear,” said Geary.
The OFA Short Coursefeatured 130 educationalsessions, workshops,tours, learning labs, andnumerous entertain-ment and social eventsfor growers, garden cen-ter retailers, interiorplantscapers, florists,and emerging profes-
sionals. An expanded fo-cus this year was theGarden Center Live!area, which featured aninteractive marketinglab, merchandising dis-plays, and a merchan-dising contest.
The sold-out exhibi-tion, the largest all-in-dustry horticulture tradeshow in the UnitedStates, connected buyersand sellers, showcasedthe latest in equipmentand plant material, and
provided a global per-spective on horticulture.
“The OFA ShortCourse is where the in-dustry meets,” saidOFA’s new President,Mike McCabe of Mc-Cabe’s Greenhouse &Floral in Lawrenceburg,IN. “Just look at whocomes to the event eachyear. It doesn’t matterwhat size your companyis or what part of theworld you’re from.There’s always some-
thing new, and that’swhy I’ve been coming formore than 35 years,”said McCabe.
Members and leadersfrom other trade associ-ations were in atten-dance as OFA contin-ues to bring togetherthe industry for net-working, partnership,and collaboration.
The next Short Coursewill take place on July14-17, 2012 in Colum-bus, Ohio.
TRADE SHOW OPPORTUNITIES
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO EXHIBIT AT OR ATTEND ANY OF THESE SHOWS
January 3, 4, 5, 2012 • Tues. 9-4, Wed. 9-4 & Thurs. 9-3York Fairgrounds • York, PA
• VIRGINIA FARM SHOW •
Jan. 19, 20 & 21, 2012 • Thurs. 9-4, Fri. 9-4 & Sat. 9-3 Augusta Expoland • Fishersville, VA
• BIG IRON EXPO •
February 8 & 9, 2012 • Wed. 10-7 & Thurs. 9-4 Eastern States Exposition • West Springfield, MA
• MATERIAL HANDLING & INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT EXPO •
February 8 & 9, 2012 • Wed. 10-7 & Thurs. 9-4 Eastern States Exposition • West Springfield, MA
• EMPIRE STATE FRUIT & VEG EXPO •
Jan. 24, 25 & 26 2012Oncenter Convention Center • Syracuse, NY
• HARD HAT EXPO •
March 7 & 8, 2012 • Wed. 10-7 & Thurs. 9-4 New York State Fairgrounds • Syracuse, NY
• MATERIAL HANDLING & INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT EXPO •
March 7 & 8, 2012 • Wed. 10-7 & Thurs. 9-4 New York State Fairgrounds • Syracuse, NY
OFA Short Course provides global perspective on horticulture
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Invented and made in Michigan, U.S.A.Innovative Devices Inc. Tel: 269-567-8862; website: tillerweeder.com
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LONDON, OHIO —The “AgrAbility” Bus willincrease accessibility toevents at Ohio StateUniversity’s Farm Sci-ence Review, Sept. 20-22 at the Molly CarenAgricultural Center inLondon, Ohio. Reviewstaff and Ohio AgrAbili-ty partnered with theMadison County Rideprogram to provide ahandicapped-accessiblebus to meet the needs ofindividuals with a dis-ability attending FarmScience Review.
The “AgrAbility” Buswill be available fromnoon to 4 p.m. daily totransport individualsbetween the exhibitarea and field demon-
strations. The bus willbe available at the mainshuttle location nearthe Review administra-tion headquartersbuilding.
“This is a great oppor-tunity for farmers facedwith the challenges of adisability to get out tothe field demonstra-tions and see newtillage and harvestingequipment and take alook at new crop pro-duction techniques andstrategies,” said KentMcGuire, Ohio AgrAbili-ty Program coordinatorin the Department ofFood, Agricultural andBiological Engineering.
Visitors to the Reviewcan also stop by the
OSU ag safety educa-tion area on Land Av-enue in the exhibit areato learn more abouthow Ohio AgrAbilityhelps bridge the gap sofarmers with disabili-ties can continue tosucceed.
Ohio AgrAbility is aprogram of the U.S. De-partment of Agriculturepromoting independ-ence for people in agri-culture who want tocontinue to farm afterexperiencing a dis-abling condition. Theprogram works with awide array of condi-tions, including brainor spinal cord injuries,back injuries, amputa-tions, visual or hearing
The display will con-tain several assistivetechnologies and infor-mational resources tohelp farmers with a dis-ability maintain pro-ductivity. Each day,AgrAbility staff will pro-vide assistive technolo-gy “show and tell” ses-sions on items such astractor lifts, standingwheel chairs, and sim-ple solutions for grasp-ing issues and arthritis.
In addition, OhioAgrAbility will partnerthis year with the Uni-
versal Design exhibit inthe McCormick Build-ing on Friday Avenue.Universal Design is auser-friendly method ofhome accessibility. Thepartnership will expandthe concept to include agarage and farm shopdesign, showcasing er-gonomic tools andequipment.
To learn more aboutOhio AgrAbility, visitwww.agrability.osu.eduor contact Kent McGuire,OSU Agricultural Safetyand Health, [email protected] or614-292-0588.
Farm Science Reviewis sponsored by theCollege of Food, Agri-
cultural, and Environ-mental Sciences, OSUExtension and the OhioAgricultural Researchand Development Cen-ter. It attracts upwardsof 140,000 visitors fromall over the country andCanada, who come forthree days to peruse4,000 product linesfrom 600 commercialexhibitors and learn thelatest in agricultural re-search, conservation,family and nutritionand gardening andlandscape.
Farm Science Reviewpre-show tickets arenow on sale for $5 at allOSU Extension countyoffices. Tickets will alsobe available at localagribusinesses. Ticketsare $8 at the gate. Chil-dren 5 and younger areadmitted free. Hoursare 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.Sept. 20-21 and 8 a.m.to 4 p.m. Sept. 22.
For more information,log on tohttp://fsr.osu.edu. Forthe latest news and up-dates, follow Farm Sci-ence Review on Twitteror on Facebook.
Our Service...Your Satisfaction!LET US DESIGN YOURS
Juanita Peckham helps Mindy Core, Cedar Ledge Tree Farm in Mansfield Center, CT with the Trees forTroops Teddy Bear silent auction. Bears are numbered 1-1000, the #1 bear was sold on e-bay for$101.50! For more information on the bears contact Juanita at Memory Lane Christmas Tree Farm,Rantoul, KS.
Vicki Smith, Joseph Noblett Tree Stands, explains thebenefits of their stands to Pat Olive of Olive Trees inStacy, MN.
Freeman Geiser goes over the benefits of the Steiner MC400 Tree Farm Mower with Steve and Avery Wilcox ofWilcox Farms in La George, Ohio.
Jim Rockis, Reliable Source, talks with Derick Proctorabout the availability of seedlings and transplants.
The spray equipment exhibited by Ackerman drewinterest from attendees.
Doug Kell, Kelco Industries, goes over an order withSteve Mannhard, Fish River Christmas Tree Farm,Summerdale, AL.
Photos by Joan Kark-Wren
Henry Helms, Helms Christmas Tree Farm, Vale, NC, tries outthe Easy Lift Harness as Tod Scovitch, Easy Lift Products Intl.,as James Pitts from Plum Tree Farm in Plumtree, NC look on.
Ken and Tom Wahmhoff of Wahmhoff Farms Nurserywere busy throughout the show.
Donna Revak and Jan Donelson from the MinnesotaChristmas Tree Association were busy promotingthe Go Green/Get Real marketing campaigndesigned to help people better understand theimportance of real trees. More information about theprogram can be found on their Web site:www.mncta.com.
Tommy Wagoner, Wagoner’s Fraser Knoll Supplies andEquipment talks with Ken and Mary Joyner of Cruisein Trees, Cutler, IN.
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OORGANRGAN IICS/SCS/SUUSSTTAIAI NABNABLLE AE AGG
Weeds are hard to kill;they seem to come backno matter what stepspeople take to eradicatethem. One reason is be-cause of the persistenceof weed seeds in the soil.Organic farming and con-ventional farming sys-tems both have theirmethods of taking onweed seeds, but does oneshow better results thanthe other?
The authors of a studyreported in the journalWeed Science conductedtests that compared con-ventional farming withorganic systems. Thisresearch determined
weed seed viability un-der both systems over atwo-year period in twoseparate locations.
To compare these sys-tems, researchers buriedseeds of two types ofweeds, smooth pigweedand common lamb-squarters, in mesh bags.Tests were conducted atagricultural research lo-cations in Maryland andPennsylvania. Seed via-bility was determined byretrieving seeds every sixmonths over the two-year period.
Depth of seeds in thesoil, environmental con-ditions, and soil manage-
ment are among the fac-tors that affect seed per-sistence. Under conven-tional soil management,tillage is an importantpractice that manipulatesthe depth of seeds andenvironmental conditionsthat can influence weedseed persistence. Organicsoils have enhanced bio-logical activity, with morecarbon, moisture and mi-crobial activity that couldlead to greater seed de-composition.
The organic soils in thisstudy were higher in totalsoil microbial biomassthan the soils of the con-ventional farming tests.
This was measured byphospholipid fatty acidcontent. But the resultsof the tests did not leadresearchers to concludethat this microbial bio-mass has a dominatingrole in seed mortality.
Pigweed seeds showeda shorter life span underthe organic system intwo of four experiments.Organic system lamb-
squarters seeds had ashorter life span in justone of the four experi-ments, while the conven-tional methods had theshorter life span in twoof four experiments.These results leave anambiguous answer tothe question of whichfarming system can bet-ter eliminate seeds deepin the soil to control
weeds from their source.Full text of the article,
“Weed Seed Persistenceand Microbial Abun-dance in Long-Term Or-ganic and ConventionalCropping Systems,”Weed Science, Vol. 59,No. 2, April-June 2011,is available at www.ws-sajournals.org/doi/full/1 0 . 1 6 1 4 / W S - D - 1 0 -00142.1
Organic and conventional farming methods competeto eliminate weed seeds in soil
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mission is to raise envi-ronmental conscious-ness, provide the organictools and knowledge toheal the earth and pro-mote soil and planthealth. For the good of allliving beings.
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this generation and fu-ture generations will ben-efit with better health andthe pursuit of happiness.
Healthy soil is alivewith organisms, andhas good drainage andorganic matter for waterretention. Pesticidesand herbicides kill soilorganisms. Depletedsoil is compacted, re-quires chemical inputs
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Let us bring you thebenefit of a jump startback to the garden.
Mother Earth Organicsis a manufacturer of 100percent natural/organicsoil and solution planthealthcare products.They sell in commercialand consumer sizes: 16oz., 32 oz., 1 gallon, 5 gal-lon and 55 gallon sizes,as well as dry materialsin 4 oz., 1 pound, 25pound bags and bulk su-persacks (1000-2000pounds).
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KNOXVILLE, TN — Ac-cording to recently re-leased survey findings ofa Tennessee-based ad-vertising and marketingagency, American con-sumers shop more oftenfor food with labels thatread “natural,” “organic”or “grown in the USA.”
“This looks baffling onthe surface, because weAmericans like our ba-nanas, oranges andstrawberries year-round.We’re used to eatingfresh fruits and vegeta-bles grown out of season,including some thatcan’t even be grown inthe U.S.,” said SuzanneShelton, president ofShelton Group.
She said the populari-ty of “organic” and“grown in the USA” foodlabels reflects concernabout food contamina-tion, support for family
farms and apprehensionabout the economy. Buy-ing locally grown andU.S.-grown food isviewed as “a way to helpfellow Americans.”
The annual surveyfound that 25 percent ofAmericans said that thebest description on afood label is “100 percentnatural” or “all natural.”Twenty-four percent saidthe best label is “USDACertified Organic,” while17 percent preferred“grown in the USA.”
“Consumers are morelabel-savvy than everwhen it comes to foodshopping,” said TonyBanks, assistant directorof commodity marketingfor the Virginia Farm Bu-reau Federation. “Forthose who are interestedin organic food, pay at-tention to where the la-bel says it was grown; it
could be an organically-grown import.”
Banks also noted thatspecific food labels, es-pecially on produce, canallow shoppers to sup-port their local farmers.Virginians can look for“Virginia’s Finest” and“Virginia Grown” labelsand store signage if theyprefer to buy foodsgrown or processed inthe state.
“Some grocers alsohave signs advertisingfood grown andprocessed locally, sothat’s something to lookfor when shopping,”Banks said. “Such foodcan often also be foundat farmers’ markets, butjust because food is soldthere doesn’t necessarilymake it local. The mostimportant thing is to al-ways read the label orask questions.”
Shoppers say they favor organic and U.S.-grown foods
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Plant productionpractices
Sustainable productionpractices involve a varietyof approaches. Specificstrategies must take intoaccount topography, soilcharacteristics, climate,pests, local availability ofinputs and the individualgrower’s goals. Despite thesite-specific and individualnature of sustainable agri-culture, several generalprinciples can be appliedto help growers select ap-propriate managementpractices:
• Selection of speciesand varieties that are wellsuited to the site and toconditions on the farm;
• Diversification of cropsand cultural practices toenhance the biological andeconomic stability of thefarm;
• Management of the soilto enhance and protect soilquality;
• Efficient and humaneuse of inputs; and
• Consideration of farm-ers’ goals and lifestylechoices.
Selection of site,species and variety. Pre-ventive strategies, adopt-ed early, can reduce in-puts and help establish asustainable productionsystem. When possible,pest-resistant cropsshould be selected whichare tolerant of existing soilor site conditions. Whensite selection is an option,factors such as soil typeand depth, previous crophistory, and location (e.g.climate, topography)should be taken into ac-count before planting.
Diversity. Diversifiedfarms are usually moreeconomically and ecologi-cally resilient. While mono-culture farming has ad-vantages in terms of effi-ciency and ease of man-agement, the loss of thecrop in any one year couldput a farm out of businessand/or seriously disruptthe stability of a communi-ty dependent on that crop.By growing a variety ofcrops, farmers spread eco-nomic risk and are lesssusceptible to the radicalprice fluctuations associat-ed with changes in supplyand demand.
Properly managed, di-versity can also buffer afarm in a biological sense.For example, in annualcropping systems, crop ro-tation can be used to sup-press weeds, pathogensand insect pests. Also, cov-er crops can have stabiliz-ing effects on the agroe-cosystem by holding soiland nutrients in place,conserving soil moisturewith mowed or standingdead mulches, and by in-creasing the water infiltra-tion rate and soil waterholding capacity. Covercrops in orchards andvineyards can buffer the
system against pest infes-tations by increasing bene-ficial arthropod popula-tions and can therefore re-duce the need for chemicalinputs. Using a variety ofcover crops is also impor-tant in order to protectagainst the failure of a par-ticular species to grow andto attract and sustain awide range of beneficialarthropods.
Optimum diversity maybe obtained by integratingboth crops and livestock inthe same farming opera-tion. This was the commonpractice for centuries untilthe mid-1900s when tech-nology, government policyand economics compelledfarms to become more spe-cialized. Mixed crop andlivestock operations haveseveral advantages. First,growing row crops only onmore level land and pas-ture or forages on steeperslopes will reduce soil ero-sion. Second, pasture andforage crops in rotation en-hance soil quality and re-duce erosion; livestock ma-nure, in turn, contributesto soil fertility. Third, live-stock can buffer the nega-tive impacts of low rainfallperiods by consuming cropresidue that in “plant only”systems would have beenconsidered crop failures.Finally, feeding and mar-keting are flexible in ani-mal production systems.This can help cushion
farmers against trade andprice fluctuations and, inconjunction with croppingoperations, make more ef-ficient use of farm labor.
Soil management. Acommon philosophyamong sustainable agri-culture practitioners isthat a “healthy” soil is akey component of sustain-ability; that is, a healthysoil will produce healthycrop plants that have opti-mum vigor and are lesssusceptible to pests. Whilemany crops have key peststhat attack even thehealthiest of plants, propersoil, water and nutrientmanagement can help pre-vent some pest problemsbrought on by crop stressor nutrient imbalance.Furthermore, crop man-agement systems that im-pair soil quality often re-sult in greater inputs ofwater, nutrients, pesti-cides, and/or energy fortillage to maintain yields.
In sustainable systems,the soil is viewed as a frag-ile and living medium thatmust be protected andnurtured to ensure itslong-term productivity andstability. Methods to pro-tect and enhance the pro-ductivity of the soil includeusing cover crops, compostand/or manures, reducingtillage, avoiding traffic onwet soils, and maintainingsoil cover with plantsand/or mulches. Condi-
tions in most Californiasoils (warm, irrigated, andtilled) do not favor thebuildup of organic matter.Regular additions of organ-ic matter or the use of cov-er crops can increase soilaggregate stability, soiltilth, and diversity of soilmicrobial life.
Efficient use of inputs.Many inputs and prac-tices used by convention-al farmers are also usedin sustainable agricul-ture. Sustainable farm-ers, however, maximizereliance on natural, re-newable, and on-farm in-puts. Equally importantare the environmental,social, and economic im-pacts of a particularstrategy. Converting tosustainable practicesdoes not mean simple in-put substitution. Fre-quently, it substitutesenhanced managementand scientific knowledgefor conventional inputs,especially chemical in-puts that harm the envi-ronment on farms and inrural communities. Thegoal is to develop effi-cient, biological systemswhich do not need highlevels of material inputs.
Growers frequently askif synthetic chemicals areappropriate in a sustain-able farming system. Sus-tainable approaches arethose that are the leasttoxic and least energy in-tensive, and yet maintain
productivity and prof-itability. Preventive strate-gies and other alternativesshould be employed be-fore using chemical inputsfrom any source. However,there may be situationswhere the use of syntheticchemicals would be more“sustainable” than astrictly nonchemical ap-proach or an approachusing toxic “organic”chemicals. For example,one grape grower switchedfrom tillage to a few appli-cations of a broad spec-trum contact herbicide inthe vine row. This ap-proach may use less ener-gy and may compact thesoil less than numerouspasses with a cultivator or
mower.Consideration of
farmer goals and lifestylechoices. Management de-cisions should reflect notonly environmental andbroad social considera-tions, but also individualgoals and lifestyle choices.For example, adoption ofsome technologies or prac-tices that promise prof-itability may also requiresuch intensive manage-ment that one’s lifestyleactually deteriorates. Man-agement decisions thatpromote sustainability,nourish the environment,the community and the in-dividual.
Source: www.sarep.uc-davis.edu/concept.htm
What is sustainable agriculture?
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by William McNuttThe continuing reces-
sion has left no industryin the U.S. unaffected,creating new challenges,not the least of which forthe green industry is toomuch supply for currentdemand. Marketing intoday’s market place wasthe challenge addressedat the OFA convention byCharlie Hall, Texas A&MUniversity, MarvinMiller, Ball HorticulturalCo., and Stan Pohmer,industry consultant.Their forecast was forconsolidation in bothgreenhouse and growernumbers, with an al-ready 6 percent reduc-tion in numbers since2006, which will doublein the next 2 years. Theproblem will be partiallyself corrected as newgrowers come online.With less concentrationon filling greenhousespace, the amount ofproduction will eventual-ly get in line with whatwill sell. This follows ageneral trend in agricul-
ture, with 2-3 farmershandling the sameacreage as previouslyhandled by 10-12. Newservices will be added,with more reliance onvendors for information,but sales will continuedownward - except inhigher income areas.Those hurt most will bemid level income serviceproviders, depending ondiscretionary spending.
Current surveys show75 percent of our popu-lation have no confi-dence things are going toget better anytime soon,20 percent think the eco-nomic situation will be-come worse. If not al-ready learning to livewith a mean new age,most will be forced to inthe near future: an ageof frugality, reducedcredit, plus a changedvalue system challengingwhat, why and whenmovements in manage-ment are made. Thisyear’s OFA program wasgeared to this concept,with fewer motivational
type speeches, rather anemphasis on solid tech-niques in business train-ing. Behavior changesare being forced, cus-tomers are more valueconscious, with reduceddiscretionary spending,limitation of driving,trade downs on purchas-es, plus greater dealseeking along with de-mand for lower prices.Our older customerslean to nostalgia, desir-ing return to a simplelife, more rooted, withless conspicuous con-sumption. But foryounger customers thatwe have not yet acquiredon a steady basis, thereis worry about the envi-ronment, plus emphasison sustainability. Grow-er and sellers of floralproducts were told theymust incorporate suchconsumer thinking intotheir promotional andmerchandising efforts,work toward convincingthe public the productoffered is essential, thatthey cannot get alongwithout it.
With more of our po-tential customers livingpaycheck to paycheck,selling to them becomesmore competitive. Eventhe boomer generationnow beginning to retireare trading down fromsupermarket to discounttype stores. We cannotignore their buying pow-er, those born during1946-60 still own 28
percent of housing, andreceive 36 percent of thenational income. Thenext influx of boomersare now over 55, $7 tril-lion in wealth is con-trolled by them. Current-ly there are 11 millionmore Generation X thanpost 1946ers in thecountry. This youngergroup is rather sharplysplit from their parents,more appreciative of theenvironment, time for re-laxation, and apprecia-tion of life in general-inshort. This group em-phasizes house owner-ship less than renting,and move more for jobsecurity. They will spendmoney on landscapingwhen property is theirs,but want someone elseto do it. Green industrytypes will need to jumpstart this group so ourmarkets will be used.When they do achievestable economic statusthey can afford to pay forit. One angle is to stressthe return on flowersalong with landscaping,eg. $250 worth of flowersraises home value by$1000.
Panel recommenda-tions included telling
your story through socialmedia, now by far thebest way to make con-tact with a non-newspa-per reading youngerpublic. Grower-retailerrelationships need to bestrengthened, along withcloser ties to the con-sumer. Tell your environ-mental story via Website, include vegetablesand fruit in flower plant-ing of varieties adaptedfor this type of use. Allretailers are doing this,but lack the personal de-tail a greenhouse or gar-den center can use.Growers were advised toinvestigate contractingto other growers, even tothe big box stores, oftenseen as the enemy. Thiscan be a fruitful outletfor smaller growers whocan concentrate of fewerand more specialized va-rieties, plus meetingsmaller demand for sea-sonal items. Other rec-ommendations were toshrink capacity to metsales demand, cut waste,make alliances with oth-er growers to help han-dle surplus, or evenhelp train smaller grow-ers who might be inter-ested in contracting. Be
careful about the im-pression your product ismaking, send nothing tomarket early but assureit is fully mature. Burpeeis already using gardencoaches that can be con-tacted with problemsfound by customers. Set-ting up a similar systemon a local basis could be-come profitable, even tothe point where cellphone pictures can besent for diagnosis.
That the Big Boxstores are already formi-dable competition wasemphasized in a recentWall St. Journal articledetailing research effortsto develop new varieties,some of which might of-fer opportunity for sub-contracting to growers inmetro areas where theseoutlets are located.
Advice given by panelmembers to check intocontracting may be thewave of the future as thefloral industry followsthe “urge to merge”which in some respectsmakes it better for allparticipants — a ques-tion not yet settled butwill be up for a great dealmore discussion.
Update on economy from prime feature of OFA meeting
Recessionary effect of the current economy on the flo-ral industry was the subject covered by a panel consist-ing of: Marvin Miller, Ball Horticultural Co., Dr. CharlieHall, Texas A&M University, and Stan Pohmer, industryconsultant.
Photo by William McNutt
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Country Folks Grower Classifieds(800) 836-2888E-mail: [email protected]
PO Box 121, 6113 State Hwy. 5Palatine Bridge, NY 13428 Fax: (518) 673-2381
Number / Classification
35 Announcements
50 Applicators
80 Auctions
110 Bedding Plants
120 Bees-Beekeeping
130 Bird Control
155 Building Materials/
Supplies
165 Business Opportunities
210 Christmas Trees
235 Computers
330 Custom Services
415 Employment Wanted
440 Farm Machinery For
Sale
445 Fa r m M a c h i n e r y
Wanted
470 Financial Services
500 For Sale
505 Forklifts
510 Fresh Produce, Nursery
515 Fruit Processing Eq.
530 Garden Supplies
535 Generators
570 G r e e n h o u s e
Plugs/Cuttings
575 Greenhouse Supplies
580 Groundcover
605 Heating
610 Help Wanted
680 Irrigation
700 Lawn & Garden
805 Miscellaneous
820 Nurseries
840 Nursery Supplies
855 Orchard Supplies
910 Plants
950 Real Estate For Sale
955 Real Estate Wanted
1035 Seeds & Nursery
1040 Services Offered
1130 Tractors
1135 Tractors, Par ts &
Repair
1140 Trailers
1155 Tree Moving Services
1165 Trees
1170 Truck Parts & Equipment
1180 Trucks
1190 Vegetable
1205 Wanted
Christmas
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Fruits & Berries
Fencing
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OCTOBER ISSUEADVERTISING DEADLINEThurs., September 22nd
For as little as $9.25 - place a classified ad inCountry Folks Grower
WHOLESALE GROWERS OF QUALITY SMALL FRUIT PLANTSBLUEBERRIES ARE OUR SPECIALTY
GrapevinesBlueberriesJostaberriesGooseberries
Red RaspberriesPurple RaspberriesYellow RaspberriesBlack Raspberries
Black CurrantsRed Currants
White CurrantsAsparagus
www.kriegersnursery.comALL STOCK GRADED TO AAN STANDARDS
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Announcements
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ADVERTISERSGet the best response fromyour advertisements byincluding the condition, age,price and best calling hours.Also we always recommendinsertion for at least 2 timesfor maximum benefits. CallPeg at 1-800-836-2888
CHECK YOUR AD - ADVER-TISERS should check theirads. Lee Publications, Inc.shall not be liable for typo-graphical, or errors in publica-tion except to the extent of thecost of the first months inser-tion of the ad, and shall alsonot be liable for damages dueto failure to publish an ad.Adjustment for errors is limit-ed to the cost of that portion ofthe ad wherein the erroroccurred. Report any errorsto Peg Patrei at 518-673-3237 ext. 111 or 800-836-2888.
Announcements
CAMPAIGN ROAD SIGNS:Awesome prices. Call Beth at Lee Publications 518-6 7 3 - 0 1 0 1 o r e m a i l [email protected]
NEED BUSINESS CARDS?Full color glossy, heavy stock.250 ($45.00); 500 ($65.00);1,000 ($75.00). Call Lee Pub-lications 518-673-0101 [email protected]
Custom Services
POLITICAL PROMOTIONALPACKAGES available for reasonable prices. Call Beth at Lee Publications 518-673-0101 or email [email protected]
Farm Equipment
FOR SALE: MINI STRAWBALERS, makes ornamentalbales 3”x4”x7” or 4”x5½x10”bales. Sell well at auctions,markets, stands. Low inputs,great returns. Send for infor-mation. Countryside MachineShop, 24935 Lincoln Ave.,Wilton,WI 54670
Farm Equipment
HollandTransplanter Co.
510 E. 16th St., Holland, MI 49423Ph: 1.800.275.4482 Ext. 1 • Fax: 616.392.7996
AGGRAND: Complete lineof Natural Liquid OrganicFertilizers For AgriculturalCrops, Pastures, Nurs-eries, Gardens, Lawnswww.aggrand.com Use REFnumber 1827825 605-438-4308
Fruit ProcessingEquipment
2 LANE APPLE SIZER, 1997Aweta 68’ length, 13 dropweight sizer. Call Sally at 616-887-6136 ext 201 or [email protected]
GreenhouseEquipment
GREENHOUSE: 84,000SqFt.IBG Arch II structure for sale,gutter connected, disassem-bled & ready for shipping,303-915-8589 (Colorado). Forphoto’s [email protected]
Greenhouse Supplies
CARLIN HORTICULTURALSUPPLIES, 800-657-0745.Greenhouse, Grower, Lawn &Garden and Landscape Sup-plies. Order online! www.carlinsales.com [email protected]
Heating
Irrigation
ALUMINUM IRRIGATIONPIPE 3” to 6”, fittings, risers,valves, over 14,000’, $12,500.Steve 716-649-6594
Miscellaneous
C A M PA I G N P O S T E R S :Very reasonable prices. CallBeth at Lee Publications518-673-0101 or emai [email protected]
Native Plants
NATIVE GRASSES, sedges,rushes, wildflowers, andherbaceous plants for use inwetland mitigation, restora-tion, and landscape design.Contract growing available.Signature Horticultural Ser-vices, Freeland, MD. Call 410-329-6466 or fax 410-329-2156.
Nursery Liners
COMPLETE LIST of decidu-ous and evergreen seed-lings and transplants atwww.hramornursery.com orcall 231-723-4846 HramorNursery LLC, 2267 MerkeyRd., Manistee, MI 49660
LARGE VARIETY of Ever-greens, Flowering Trees,Shrubs & Natives in largersizes. Pre-dug trees available.700 acres of quality fieldgrown material. 40 yearsexperience. Roger Coffey &Sons Wholesale NurseryPh: 828-394-2259 Fax:8 2 8 - 7 5 8 - 2 2 4 0 e m a i l :[email protected]
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Country Folks Grower Classifieds(800) 836-2888E-mail: [email protected]
PO Box 121, 6113 State Hwy. 5Palatine Bridge, NY 13428 Fax: (518) 673-2381
Nursery Stock
Refrigeration
Nursery Stock
Refrigeration
Scales
Sprayers
Trees
Scales
Sprayers
Trees
- Fruit, Shade, Ornamental Trees
- Flowering Shrubs, Small Fruits, Roses, Vines
- Rhubarb, Asparagus, Horseradish And More!
VISIT US AT WWW.KELLYWSN.COM
Nursery Stock Available
Box 66 Phelps NY 14532 • 877-268-2151 • Fax 315-548-8004USE CODE # SB811 FOR $10 OFF YOUR INITIAL ORDER.
Bareroot - Containerized - Packaged
Small Minimum Orders/Free Color Picture Tags
AMERICAN WHOLESALE CO.NEW/USED WALK-IN-COOLER ~ FREEZER BOXES ~
REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS ~ EQUIPMENTLarge Inventory ~ All Sizes
• Buy • Sell ~ Nationwide • Wholesale Prices
Phone: (216) 426-8882 • www.awrco.com
High Performance PTO & Engine Driven MistSprayers, Blowers, Foggers, Parts & Accessories
• Mosquito (West Nile), fly & tick control!• Fruit & vegetable applications: sweetcorn, pumpkins, tomatoes, strawberries,blueberries, melons & small orchards
Spray Under Trees...Roadside Ditches... Forestry Weed & Pest Control...
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Pre-Arm Your Pines with ODC
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Erickson Tree FarmBuhler, KS 67522
Office 620-543-2587Cell 620-960-3878
Orchard Equipment
WALNUT HARVESTING HOOK:Get your walnuts in early for bestprice. Attaches to paintersextension pole. 4ft.long 1/4”rod, $25.00; 5ft.long 5/16throd, $30.00; (includes ship-ping/handling). 636-296-7252.Ed Meyer, 648 Leola Drive,Arnold,MO 63010-1530
Packaging
Corrugated 24” WatermelonBins, NEW old Stock, Truck-load, Heavy Duty, $8.50/OBO.Can Ship. Nolt’s, IA 641-228-4496
Seeds
VIS SEED COMPANY:Specializing in flower seedsfrom around the world.Seeds, plugs, cutt ings.Offering the best annual,perennial, vegetable & herbseeds. Celebrating 25 years!Contact us for a current cat-alog. PO Box 661953, Arca-dia, CA 91066. (P) 626-445-1233, (F) 626-445-3779,h v i s @ v i s s e e d . c o m ,www.visseed.com
Trees
ForestNursery Co.
Inc.McMinnville,Tennessee931-473-4740OAK LINER SALECall for Prices &
Availability
Used Equipment
HILLING MACHINE/ BEDSHAPER built in 2006 byBuckeye Tractor. Single row,heavy duty, low hours, excel-lent condition, always storedinside. 3- point hitch attach-ment. 716-913-5975
Vegetables
18 Years“We grow great Garlic”
Planting & Table StockGerman White 2.5” avg.
German Red 2”+Spanish Roja 2”+Elephant Garlic
Large Bulbs - Good KeeperQuantity Discount Available
MSU Horticulture Teach-ing & Research Center,3291 College Rd., Holt, MI.All workshops run from 1-5 pm. Cost is $40/work-shop or $125 for the seriesof 4 & is payable at theworkshops. Register atwww.hoophouse.msu.eduunder the Workshop tab ore-mail [email protected] are $3/adult,payable at the start of thetours. Kids are free.
SEP 29 - OCT 1The Landscape Show
Orange County ConventionCenter near Orlando, FL.The show’s theme this yearis “Full Sail Ahead.” Some7,500 visitors are expected.For complete details and toregister, visit www.fngla.org.
SEP 30 - OCT 1Middle Tennessee
Nursery Association(MTNA) Trade Show
McMinnville Civic Center,McMinnville, TN. ContactAnn Halcomb, 931-507-7322, [email protected] Internet at www.mtna.com
Industry ConferenceKentucky Expo Center &the Louisville DowntownMarriott, Louisville, KY.Topics will include the newtechnology, products andservices hitting the market.On Internet at www.G r e e n I n d u s t r y C o n f e rence.org
NOV 15-16Academy for
Dairy ExecutivesMarch 23-24 in AlexandriaBay and Nov. 15-16 inOgdensburg. A new pro-gram that offers the uniqueopportunity to discoverand hone skills that areproven to be essential forwell rounded, high per-forming dairy managers.The 2011 class will bemade up of 20 to 30 dairyproducers from across theNorthern New York region.The Academy of DairyExecutives will allow dairymanagers to furtherimprove their managementpractices through a threepart program over 10months. Participantsattending the Academy willparticipate in the three, in-depth seminars at sitesacross the Northern NewYork Region in 2011. Formore information contactPeggy Murray Farm Busi-ness Management, LewisCounty CCE, 315-376-5270, fax 315-376-5281,e-mail [email protected] Corey Hayes Farm Busi-ness Management, Jeffer-son County CCE, 315-788-8450 ext. 260, fax 315-788-8461, [email protected].
JAN 8-92012 National Green Centre
Overland Park ConventionCenter,6000 College Blvd,Overland Park, KS. Call888-233-1876 or [email protected].
JAN 11-13Illinois Specialty
Crops, Agritourism and Organic Conference
Crowne Plaza Hotel Con-vention Center, Spring-field, IL. Contact DianeHandley, 309-557-2107 [email protected].
JAN 20-21Iowa Christmas Tree
Growers Winter MeetingBest Western Motel, Mar-shalltown, Iowa. ContactJan Pacovsky, 641-394-4534 or 641-330-3237.
E-mail announcements of your regionalevent(s) to: [email protected] must receive your information,plus a contact phone number, prior tothe deadline that’s noted under theAnnouncements heading on the 1stpage of these Grower Classifieds.
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LISLE, IL — Re-searchers have con-firmed that a nativewasp that preys on theemerald ash borer wasfound at Emerson Parkin suburban Skokie.The discovery was a re-sult of a partnership be-tween The Morton Ar-boretum and the IllinoisParks and RecreationAssociation.
Now, researchers hopethat the wasp, Cercerisfumipennis, will serve asa sort of “canary in thecoal mine,” or an earlywarning system for EABinfestation in areaswhere EAB has not yetbeen found, according toDr. Frederic Miller, Re-search Associate at TheMorton Arboretum.
“By the time humansare able to detect EABvisually, the infestationis usually well-estab-lished. We hope thiswasp will serve as an ef-fective monitoring tool,giving us an earlier readas EAB makes its wayacross the country,”said Miller.
Researchers hope that
earlier detection in ashtrees will help communi-ties’ better control andmanage infestations.
Cerceris wasps nest inthe ground, commonly inopen areas of hard-packed sandy soil withash trees nearby. Athlet-ic fields, such as ball dia-monds, volleyball courts,horse shoe pits, and evenparking lots are commonnesting locations. Thenests are characterizedby pencil-diameter holeson top of little mounds ofsand. The wasps aremost active during sum-mer months, when theyfeed on a whole family ofwood-boring insectscalled Buprestid, ofwhich EAB is a member,according to Devin Kraf-ka, Research Assistant atThe Morton Arboretum.
“Cerceris is a parasiticwasp. It goes out to finda buprestid, or a wood-boring insect like EAB,stings it, and brings oneback to its nest. Later, itwill lay an egg on it andplace it in its own cham-ber. When the egg hatch-es, the larva will eat the
beetle,” said Krafka.To help in the hunt for
the wasp, The MortonArboretum set up a new“biosurveillance” pro-gram. The Cerceris Iden-tification and Awarenessprogram (CIA for EAB)enlists the help of parkdistrict staff and parkusers to look for waspnests and EAB carcassesnear them. The Cerceriswasp is a good candidatefor this pilot program, asit doesn’t harm humans.This new program asksthe community to be“Citizen Scientists” tohelp fight invasive pests.
“We need park profes-sionals and residents towatch ball fields forsigns of ground-nestingwasp activity or the ac-tual nests,” said EdithMakra, CommunityTree Advocate at TheMorton Arboretum, wholeads the CIA citizenscience effort. “We firstneed to locate and con-firm the presence ofCerceris so that we canenlist ‘Citizen Scien-tists’ in future monitor-ing that can help man-
age EAB to protect ashtrees.”
Once park districtsalert The Morton Arbore-tum about possiblenests, Krafka and otherresearch assistants willconfirm they belong tothe Cerceris wasp. Thiswas the case in Skokie.John Gacki, Parks Su-pervisor for the SkokiePark District noticednests and colonies in theground when doing workon the baseball field. Heimmediately contactedThe Morton Arboretum
and that’s when Krafkawent to check it out.
“First I saw it flyingaround, and identifiedit visually,” says Kraf-ka, “Then I saw thedead EAB carcasses onthe ground.”
The Cerceris is differ-ent from the Oobiuswasps the city of Chica-go recently released tofight EAB. Cerceris isnative to the area andcan thrive in our envi-ronment. Tiny, almostinvisible, the Oobiuswasps are from China.
Federal officials intro-duced Oobius wasps inhope they will reducethe number of EAB inthe city. Whereas re-searchers hopeCerceris, a much largerwasp easier for biosur-veillance, will helpthem locate EAB infes-tations early.
Scientists never reallypaid attention toCerceris since the1800s. It wasn’t until itwas discovered that thebugs preyed on EAB that
Native wasp acts as early warning device for EAB infestations
Cerceris is a parasitic wasp. It goes out to find a wood-boring insect like emeraldash borer, stings it, and brings one back to its nest.
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the insect was back ontheir radar. Across theNortheastern U.S., from
Minnesota down to Mis-souri, east to the AtlanticCoast, researchers are
on the lookout for thewasps. As the localleader in this national ef-fort, The Morton Arbore-tum discovered CercerisIllinois this summer.
As of now, EAB hasonly been found inNortheast Illinois, as farwest as WinnebegoCounty, and as farsouth as Champaign
and Vermillion coun-ties. But people arebracing for the first dis-coveries of EAB furthersouth and west in thestate of Illinois. The dis-covery of the Cerceriswasp could help com-munities not yet affect-ed by EAB early detect apotential infestation.
EAB is native to Asia
and is suspected tohave arrived in thiscounty in cargo utilizingwood packing material.In its native range, EABattacks and kills treesthat are weakened bystresses such asdrought, disease, andmechanical injury. Un-fortunately, in NorthAmerica, EAB also at-
tacks and kills healthytrees.
This invasive pest isso aggressive that virtu-ally all ash trees are atrisk, and trees may diewithin two to four yearsafter they become in-fested. Already, tens ofmillions of North Ameri-can ash trees have suc-cumbed to this borer. IfEAB is not contained,the devastation to ourash trees may be simi-lar to that of our Ameri-can elms, which weredecimated by Dutch elmdisease. The potentialimpact from EAB in Illi-nois is significant. Ashtrees account for 6 per-cent of forests state-wide, and 20 percent ofresidential trees in thenortheastern part of thestate, or approximately130 million ash trees.
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EAB Infestations from A14
New figures releasedby the United StatesDepartment of Agricul-ture (USDA) show thatMichigan’s overall agri-cultural exports in2010 grew just over 10percent from 2009. Thedata show 2010 exportlevels reached $1.75billion.
“Congratulations toour ag exporters as theycontinue to succeed inthe global marketplace.It’s exciting to seeMichigan’s agriculturalexports gaining astronger foothold in theglobal economy, but
there is still work todo,” said Keith Creagh,Director of the Michi-gan Department ofAgriculture & Rural De-velopment. “Michigan ishome to a tremendousarray of great products.There are many neweconomic developmentopportunities availablefor our producers andprocessors through ex-porting. Building theNew InternationalTrade Bridge will helpachieve our goal to dou-ble our ag exports by2015 since Canada isone of our biggest mar-
kets and is an impor-tant gateway to the restof the world.”
“Michigan’s growingstrength in agriculturalexports is key as we de-velop a statewide exportinfrastructure,” saidMichael A. Finney,President and CEO ofthe Michigan EconomicDevelopment Corpora-tion. “State agenciesare working with theU.S. Department ofCommerce to deliverMichigan exports inmuch greater volumesaround the world.”
The growth in Michi-
gan soybean exports for2010 was especiallydramatic, gaining morethan 40 percent from2009. Soybeans andtheir products are thelargest of Michigan’sagricultural exportswith $588.7 million in2010, followed by feedsand grains with $276.3million in 2010, andwheat and productswith $194.3 million in2010.
More than one-thirdof the total agriculturalproducts grown inMichigan are exportedeach year. Michigan’s
high-quality, depend-able agricultural ex-ports support about14,700 Michigan jobsbased on USDA multi-pliers, and generatefurther economic activi-ty in the state. Accord-ing to USDA estimates,each $1 in agriculturalexports stimulates anadditional $1.31 in oth-er business activities.
The newly releaseddata also show Michi-gan as the seventhlargest exporting statein the U.S. for fruit andpreparations with$144.6 million in ex-
ports, the ninth largestexporter for vegetablesand preparations with$158 million in ex-ports, and the sixthlargest exporter of “oth-er” agricultural prod-ucts with $175.4 mil-lion in exports.
For more informationof MDARD’s Interna-tional Marketing Pro-gram, contact JamieZmitko-Somers at 517-241-3628 [email protected], visit www.michi-gan.gov/agexport or fol-low them @MIAgExport.
New statistics show Michigan farm exports growing
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by Jan SuszkiwU.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA)scientists in Peoria,IL, are investigatingthe pest-fighting po-tential of antho-cyanins, healthfulchemical compoundsin the form of plantpigments that giveblueberries, plums,grapes and flowerssuch as petunias theirblue and purple color.
In experiments con-ducted at the NationalCenter for Agricultur-al Utilization Re-search, operated inPeoria, IL, by USDA’sAgricultural ResearchService (ARS), cornearworm caterpillarsforced to feed on blueareas of petuniapetals gained lessweight than larvaethat fed on white ar-eas. ARS is USDA’sprincipal intramuralscientific researchagency.
Additional experi-ments showed thatanthocyanins isolatedfrom the petunia
petals also slowed thecaterpillars’ growthrate. Cabbage loopercaterpillars were alsoevaluated. Those thatate the blue petal ar-eas of a petunia culti-var used in the testsdied at higher ratesthan larvae that atethe white areas.
Although it’s un-clear what petal com-pound or compoundswere involved in theloopers’ deaths, theirtoxicity was apparent-ly increased by theanthocyanins’ pres-ence, according toEric T. Johnson, amolecular biologistwith the center’s CropBioprotection Re-search Unit.
He and his col-leagues also are inter-ested in maize pro-teins that are pro-duced during thecrop’s seedling stage.The seedlings arequite resistant to in-sects, and the re-
searchers suspect thismay be partly due to acombination of resist-ance biochemicalsand proteins.
If the proteins’ re-sistance role can beconfirmed, then itmay be possible to ex-press the genes re-sponsible for thoseproteins at a laterstage in the plant’slife cycle. However,this would be contin-gent upon expressingthem at sufficient lev-els, adds Johnson.
Ultimately, studiesof plant-producedsubstances like an-thocyanins could giverise to new crop vari-eties that boast dual-use phytochemicals —fighting pests on theone hand and benefit-ing human health onthe other.
Read more about theresearch in the Au-gust 2011 issue ofAgricultural Researchmagazine.
Flower power puts a hurton caterpillars
ARS scientists are investigating the ability of anthocyanins, healthful chemical com-pounds that give fruit and flowers blue and purple color, to control insect pests suchas the corn earworm.
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In 2005, the NationalChristmas Tree Associ-ation created theChristmas SPIRITFoundation, a 501(c)(3)charitable organization.
Trees for Troops is aprogram of the Christ-mas SPIRIT Founda-tion. Since the pro-gram’s inception in2005, Christmas Treegrowers from across theUnited States have gen-erously continued toprovide fresh cutChristmas Trees to mil-itary families. This pro-gram has touches thelives of military familiesat more than 50 basesacross the UnitedStates and overseas.
Christmas Tree
growers can partici-pate in many ways:
• Many state/regionalassociations have a per-son who coordinates thedonation of trees. Theywork with one or more“Pick-up” locations -farms/lots that are will-ing to serve as collec-tion points for anywherefrom a hundred to acouple thousand trees.Visit www.christmas-tree.org/t4tcoordina-tors.pdf to see if yourstate/region has a coor-dinator.
• Become a “TrailerDrop” location:
• Christmas Treefarms/lots submit acontract (to the Christ-mas SPIRIT Foundation)
and a fee for the TrailerDrop program and com-mit to loading a mini-mum of 100 trees attheir farm or lot.
• FedEx provides atrailer, while supplieslast, at your farm or re-tail location. Trailersare loaded, picked backup by FedEx and treesare transported to mili-tary families stationedat bases throughoutthe U.S.
You can also supportthe program by:
• Placing a donationbucket at your farm/lotfor consumers to do-nate.
• Purchasing and/orselling a Trees forTroops commemorative
ornament or charmbracelet.
• Hosting a fundraiserto benefit the ChristmasSPIRIT Foundation.
• Making a donationto the Christmas SPIRITFoundation.
The Trees for TroopsWeb site has many pro-motional ideas and ma-terial, as well as cus-tomizable sample pressreleases and letters tohelp make the programa success.
For more informationon the Christmas SPIR-IT Foundation or Treesfor troops, visitwww.christmastree.org/t4t.cfm or www.christ-masspiritfoundation.org
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by Kelly GatesWhen they were
young, Jim and BevWhorton grew up onfarms in north centralMissouri. As adults, bothopted to enter theforestry industry, achoice of profession thatultimately brought themto Minnesota, wherethere was a wealth oftrees to tend to and plen-ty of property for produc-ing trees.
According to Jim, theenvironment was ripe for
two former farmers withlifelong desires to start agrowing operation oftheir own.
“Our farm roots neverescaped us and we even-tually bought a 30 acreparcel in 1985 and start-ed planting Christmastrees,” Jim told CountryFolks Grower. “The treefarm not only got us backinto growing, it also pro-vided adequate work forour two teenage sons.”
The company, ChubLake Tree Farm of Carl-ton, MN, started out witha mix of Scotch pinesand Balsam firs. A few“exotic” fir varieties werealso added over time,mostly when technologi-cal advances producednew trees with betterneedle retention andsurvivability.
No machinery wasused when planting thefields. Each seedling was
put into the earth byhand, a method stillused there today. Jimexplained the process indetail. “We plant by handand shovel, usually intwo-person teams. Sinceour sons are grown now,it’s just the two of us,plus a few neighborswho help out each year,”he said. “One personcarries a bucket of one-foot seedlings with eight-inch root systems whilethe other person digs ahole the size of a one-gal-lon bucket. Then, whoev-er is holding the bucketplants the seedling whileanother hole is dug near-by.”
While one might thinkthat the diggers have thehardest job, it’s actuallythe people doing theplanting who feel it most,he added. They are con-tinually crouching and
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Powers Tree Farm has alwaysmade wreaths for tree cus-
tomers and thier ownretail lots. But in thepast few years, PowersTree Farm has reallygrown in the wreathbusiness. Now we have
cold storage warehouseswhere we store and ship
large quantities of wreaths.Wreaths are made in a variety of
sizes from 6” rings to 60” rings. Offering bothplain or mixed using Fraser, White Pine orBoxwood greenery. Also wreaths with cones andcandle wreaths.
Powers Tree Farmalso offers Roping(garland) in a varietyof sizes and mixes.We make FraserFir, White Pine andBoxwood ropingmixed or straight.Roping comes in20’ and 75’ lengths.Roping is made freshthen stored in coldstorage to preserve
freshness. Roping and wreaths when delivered wilbe as fresh as when we make it.
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Chub Lake Tree Farm fulfillscouple’s lifelong desire
A customer looks on while his Christmas tree is baled for transportation.Photos courtesy of Chub Lake Tree Farm
Sometimes customers bring in a tree too big to bale!
ChubLake B3
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manually burying theroot systems beforestanding up to do it allagain. To avoid over-working any individual,
the teams rotate jobsseveral times per day.
After the new trees arein place, the focus atChub Lake Tree Farm
shifts to maintenance.Jim and Bev keep an eyeout for pests and mowbetween the rows to keepvegetation under control.
“By the time the treesare about three feet tall,we begin looking for cor-rectional problems,” not-ed Jim. “We might haveto trim off an extra trunkthat has started to grow.Mostly though, we areshearing, creating a ba-sic shape that will oneday be a great lookingChristmas tree.”
When the same treesare several years older,Jim and Bev swap outtheir shears for machete-style knives. Knives areswung downward acrossthe outside of each treein a long, sweeping mo-tion. The sharp bladeseffectively slice off anyunwanted branch tipsthat jut out beyond thedesired form.
Although they have oc-casionally hired help, the
Whortons feel shearingis a task best done them-selves. Because it isfreeform, “it is a tech-nique that develops overtime,” said Jim. “You canalways cut off more, butonce a section has beenaccidentally lopped off,it’s too late and not pos-sible to fix the tree.”
Around the holidays,the activity level at ChubLake Tree Farm picks upsignificantly. The busi-ness, a choose-and-cutChristmas outlet, mustbe readied for the influxof visitors who descendon the property begin-ning the weekend afterThanksgiving.
The family always hasan open fire to welcomeguests. Everyone is of-fered the opportunity toroast hot dogs. Hot applecider and cookies arealso on hand.
Jim and Bev set outsmall sleds intended forlugging rosy-cheekedchildren out to the fieldsand freshly cut treesback to the heated barn.There are also hand-made wreaths availablefor purchase inside thebarn.
“We designed the farmto promote the family ex-perience of selecting atree together. For many,it is a half day event,”Jim said. “We love hav-ing people come out andhang around by the fireor in the barn, enjoyingthe day and soaking in
the atmosphere.”Since there are in-
evitably some customerswho are in a hurry,Chub Lake Tree Farm of-fers a great selection ofprecut trees too. Someare harvested directlyfrom the farm’s fieldswhile additional trees arebrought in from othertree growers. A BoyScout troop buys treesannually from the Whor-tons and a supermarketpurchases trees for re-sale. Also, the Whortons,with customer assis-tance, provide trees tothe “Trees for Troops”program.
During the past 25years, Jim and Bev havefine-tuned their farm.They have slightly al-tered the types of treesthat they carry, honingin on those that cus-tomers request the most.
The Whortons are cer-tainly capable of han-dling the day-to-daytasks on the farm nowand for many years tocome. They are sched-uled to plant anothercrop of trees in 2011.When they do, the duowill be bound to thebusiness for at least an-other 10 to 12 years.
According to Jim,they’ll probably plantagain the next year. Andthe next one after that.
“We will be doing thisfor as long as we possiblycan,” said Jim. “This isour life.”
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Bev Whorton, at left, and Jim Whorton, at right, posewith soldiers from a local National Guard unit who par-ticipated in “Trees for Troops” day at the farm.
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CHESTERFIELD, MO— Sue and TomSchroeder, owners ofSchroeder’s Forever-greens in Neenah, WI,became Grand Champi-on of the NationalChristmas Tree Contestthis summer at the Na-tional Christmas TreeAssociation’s (NCTA)Annual Convention &Trade Show. The con-vention was held inHuron, Ohio. TheSchroeders entered aBalsam fir from theirfarm as the prize-win-
ning conifer. As Grand Champion
Christmas Tree grow-ers, Sue and Tom willpresent the officialWhite House ChristmasTree to First LadyMichelle Obama for the2011 Christmas seasonto be displayed in theBlue Room.
Trees in the contestare entered into fivespecies categories: TrueFir, Douglas-fir, Spruce,Pine and Other. A panelof judges, made up oflong-time growers andpast contest winners,voted to select the first,second and third-placewinners in each catego-ry. Then convention at-tendees and a panel ofconsumer judges votedfor their favorite amongthe species finalists.Those vote totals deter-mined the Grand Cham-pion and Reserve Cham-pion trees. The winnerswere announced at theAwards Banquet heldFriday, Aug. 12.
“Since an Americanfarmer gets to provide aChristmas Tree theygrew for the WhiteHouse to display, itstrengthens the factthat farm-grown treesare such an important
tradition in our coun-try,” says NCTA Presi-dent Richard Moore, aChristmas Tree growerfrom Groton, NY. “Thereis nothing better for ourindustry than to show-case our farm crop inthe most famous housein America.”
The Schroeders hadentered trees from theirfarm in the nationalcontest before. To enterthe national contest,growers must first wintheir state/regionalcompetitions. 2011 wasthe fourth year theSchroeder’s had donethat and entered a treein the national contest.Finally winning thecontest and earningGrand Champion sta-tus validated their hardwork and persistence,said Sue Schroeder.“Entering but not win-ning the national con-test is both rewardingand frustrating, know-ing that you were soclose, but finally win-ning is 100 percent ex-citing,” said Schroeder.“I know we’ll love theexperience and wewouldn’t trade it foranything.”
A Scotch pine tree, en-tered by Dan and Ken
Wahmoff, owners ofWahmoff Farms in Gob-les, MI, was selected asthe Reserve Championin the National TreeContest. Traditionally,the Reserve Championfarmers have been ableto provide a freshChristmas tree fromtheir farm for the resi-dence of the Vice Presi-dent.
White House staff willtravel to the Schroeder’sWisconsin farm this fallto select the tree to bedisplayed in the BlueRoom, serving as thecenterpiece of the holi-day decorations. TheBlue Room tree willneed be much biggerthan the 6 to 8 foot con-test trees, 18 1/2 feettall to be exact. The se-lected tree will be har-vested and presented tothe First Lady shortlyafter Thanksgiving. Allof the contest trees, in-cluding the winners, fol-lowing the conventionwere chipped into mulchand recycled. CompleteList of Highest NationalTree Contest Finishersby Category are:
True FirFirst Place (Grand
Champion) — Sue andTom Schroeder,
Schroeder’s Forever-greens, in Neenah, WI.
Second Place — Donand David Tucker ofTucker Tree Farms inLaurel Springs, NC.
Third Place — DaveVander Velden of Whis-pering Pines Tree Farmin Oconto, WI.
Douglas-firFirst Place — Paul and
Sharon Shealer of Ever-green Acres Tree Farmin Auburn, PA.
SpruceFirst Place — Glenn
Battles of Sugar PinesFarm LLC in Chester-land, Ohio.
Second Place — DaleHudler of Hudler Caroli-na Tree Farms in WestJefferson, NC.
PineFirst Place — (Reserve
Champion) Dan andKen Wahmhoff ofWahmhoff Farms Nurs-ery in Gobles, MI.
Second Place — GeoffFeisley of Feisley TreeFarms in Belmont,Ohio.
Third Place — JohnHensler of Hensler Nurs-ery Inc. in Hamlet, IN.
Winners of the Nation-al Wreath contest, alsoheld during the NCTAconvention were:
Undecorated Wreath
Category: Richard andMary McClellan of Mc-Clellan’s Tree Farm inPennsylvania.
Decorated WreathCategory: Evelyn Casel-la of Christmas CreekRanch in Washington.
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Schroeder’s Forevergreens named 2011 Grand Champion
This Scotch pine tree, en-tered by Dan and KenWahmoff, owners of Wah-moff Farms in Gobles, MI,was selected as the Re-serve Champion in the Na-tional Tree Contest.
Sue and Tom Schroeder,owners of Schroeder’sForevergreens in Neenah,WI, entered this winningbalsam fir at the NationalChristmas Tree Associa-tion Annual Convention &Trade Show. As GrandChampion Christmas Treegrowers, Sue and Tom willpresent the official WhiteHouse Christmas Tree toFirst Lady Michelle Obamafor the 2011 Christmasseason to be displayed inthe Blue Room.
Photos by Joan Kark-Wren
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LAFAYETTE, IN (AP) —Dan Cassens has put alot of time and moneyinto his 20-acre Christ-mas tree farm inLafayette.
It takes about sevenyears for a Christmastree to mature, meaningthat if something goeswrong this season, suchas a wayward drift ofchemical herbicides froma nearby farm, Cassensmight be out of business.
“I’ve got a lot of moneyinvested per acres be-cause I have a lot of treesper acre,” Cassens said.“A lot of folks don’t rec-ognize the value that’sthere.”
That’s why whenCassens learned of DriftWatch, a collaborativenetwork of growers andchemical applicationcompanies to preventchemical drift, he signedright up.
This is Cassens’ sec-ond year in the program,which provides a Web-based network throughwhich users can clearlysee registered areas cropdusters and chemicalapplicators they shouldtake extra care to avoid.
These sensitive areasinclude specialty com-mercial crops, beehives,managed habitats hous-ing at-risk or endan-gered animals, or sur-face sources of publicdrinking water.
“Our goal is to enablethose communicationsat the local level,” saidLeighanne Hahn, waterquality and endangeredspecies specialist withthe Office of the IndianaState Chemist. “It’s aform of social mediawhen you look at theoverall objective, exceptwe’re targeting a specificgroup of needs.”
The idea for the pro-gram was first floated in2007, with a prototype ofthe Web site launchingin 2008.
Statewide, there are an
estimated 500 partici-pants in the program,Hahn said. And earlierthis year the program ex-panded to serve Illinois,Michigan, Wisconsin andMinnesota. Talks are un-der way to expand theprogram to Colorado,Montana, North Dakotaand Nebraska, and otherstates have expressedinitial interest.
“It was surprising,”Hahn said of the suddeninterest. “We’re currentlyinvestigating those op-portunities and at thesame time making surewe take care of whatwe’ve already committedto.”
Program participantswith approved pesticide-sensitive field areas areeligible to purchase yel-low yard signs reading“No Drift Zone” and di-recting readers to theprogram’s Web site atDriftWatch.org. There,users can work with aGoogle map with mark-
ers indicating each pieceof land and the reasonthe land is being protect-ed, including the growthof organic fruits or veg-etables.
But crops aren’t theonly things protectedthrough the program.Purdue University main-tains 160 honey beecolonies at four sites, allof which appear on theDrift Watch list.
Greg Hunt, a Purdueprofessor and honey beespecialist, said the beesare used for educationaland research purposes.That includes, for exam-ple, the study of preven-tative methods for Varroamites, which are essen-tially large ticks that willsuck the blood from beesand reproduce in theirinsides, destroying beecolonies.
Hunt said researchershave occasionally found afew hundred dead bees infront of various hives —not due to the mites but
rather to pesticides usedduring corn planting.
“I wasn’t too concernedabout pesticide drift, butI’m becoming more con-cerned about it as timegoes on,” Hunt said.
Hunt said the DriftWatch program can alsoserve as an educationalopportunity or a conver-sation starter when itcomes to beekeepers.
“It gives beekeepers away of making theirneighbors aware theirbees are present,” Huntsaid. “Avoiding pesticidekills is all about talkingto your neighbors, thegrowers, and lettingthem know there arepractices they can do tominimize bee kills.”
Bruce Bordelon, a Pur-due professor of horti-culture and landscapearchitecture, said chemi-cal drift has been “along-standing problem.”
“In the 20 years I’vebeen here at Purdue it’salways been something
we’ve been trying to dealwith,” Bordelon said.“This is all about com-munication. I don’t be-lieve there is any appli-cator out there thatdoesn’t care if he wipesout a soybean field, butsometimes they don’teven know those fieldsare there.”
Bordelon said chemi-cals commonly used canbe particularly damaging
to more susceptiblecrops, such as tomatoes.
“These are avoidablemistakes,” Bordelonsaid. “Once that damageoccurs, it’s done for agrowing season. Espe-cially later in the season,when they’re flowering,(farmers’) yields will dropto nothing. They can justbe total losses, andthat’s just a bad deal foreverybody involved.”
duction has become asignificant industry inmuch of the UnitedStates. Establishedgrowers have expandedtheir production andnew growers have en-tered the business. Op-erations range from afew acres managed forcut-your-own markets tolarge acreages producingtrees exclusively for thewholesale market. Re-gardless of the size of theoperation, managementpractices have becomemore sophisticated asgrowers attempt to in-crease both the quantityand the quality of pro-duction while holdingproduction costs at ac-ceptable levels.
As the Christmas treeindustry has intensifiedits tree managementpractices, the market-place has likewise be-come more demanding.Tree quality has becomea principal concern forboth growers and con-sumers. Increasingly,higher quality trees arerequired to maintainsales in a very competi-tive market.
Many factors con-tribute to tree quality.One of the most impor-tant during the produc-tion period is propershearing. This articlesuggests some ways toimprove the quality ofshearing and therebycontribute to the pro-
duction of quality trees.Objectives of shearing
Shearing is done toregulate and direct thegrowth of individualtrees. The objectives areto develop a symmetricalshape, which is charac-teristic of quality trees,and to increase foliagedensity, which will resultin a fuller tree with uni-form foliage. Thoughsome variation in theshape of trees is permit-ted both by USDA grad-ing standards and byconsumer preferences,the ideal tree has a “two-thirds taper"; that is, thebase of the tree is two-thirds as wide as theheight. For a tree 6 feettall, the width of the basewould not exceed 4 feet.Other degrees of taperare permitted, thoughmarket demand for bothnarrow and wide trees is
lower. Acceptable taperswill vary to some degreeby species; wider tapersare more acceptable forpines than for true firs,spruces and Douglas fir.
Tree response toshearing
As indicated, the pur-pose of shearing is todirect the growth ofbranches and foliage sothe shape and theamount of foliage devel-oped will be acceptable.The shearing techniqueneeded to reach theseobjectives varies byspecies group. Pinesrespond differentlythan spruces, firs orDouglas fir.
When pine branchesproduced in the currentgrowing season are cut,new buds develop at thebases of needle fasciclesnear the cut ends. Nor-mally five to seven buds
develop on an uncutbranch, but 10 to 18buds will form in re-sponse to cutting. Cut-ting the branches directsthe shape of the tree,and the additional budswill develop into twigsthat will increase foliagedensity. New bud forma-tion is best on twigs pro-duced during the cur-rent growing season;however, cuts made intoolder (second-year) tis-sue will also result inbuds. Shearing into this
older tissue is usuallynot necessary if annualshearing has occurred.To obtain maximum buddevelopment, shearingmust occur during theactive growing season.Shearing at other timeswill result in branchdieback and misshapentrees.
Douglas fir, the truefirs and spruces responddifferently to shearing.These species are char-acterized by lateral budsalong the twigs in addi-
tion to a terminal budcluster. When a branchis cut during shearing,new buds do not form atthe bases of the needles,as with pines. Rather,the lateral bud nearestthe cut surface assumesdominance and the newterminal or lateralbranch tissue developsfrom this point. Shearingof these species shouldbe delayed until latesummer when brancheshave stiffened and bud
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visit us at olsonsbalsams.comPhone:: 715-623-6590
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formation is complete.Shearing tools and
equipmentSeveral types of tools
and/or equipment areused to shear Christ-mas trees. These in-clude hand clippers,hedge clippers and
shearing knives. A legguard should also beconsidered part ofshearing equipment.Besides hand equip-ment, some mechani-cally powered trimmersare also available. Pow-er trimmer use is re-
stricted by tree size, ter-rain and condition ofthe plantation (weeds,tree spacing, furrows,etc.). Choice of shearingequipment depends onthe species of tree, theage of the tree and indi-vidual preference. Many
growers use one type oftool (e.g., hedge clip-pers) when trees aresmall but another(knives) for older trees.
Shearing equipmentmust be kept clean. Ac-cumulated pitch on clip-pers and knives increas-
es the difficulty of shear-ing and can become asafety hazard. Detergentsolutions, mineral spiritsand petroleum distillatesare effective cleaningagents. Steel wool iscommonly used withthese solutions to re-move accumulated pitch.Teflon- based or othernon-toxic lubricantsshould be used on me-chanical trimmers aftercleaning. Other lubri-cants can dry or burnthe remaining foliage onthe sheared tree.
Time of shearingThe proper time for
shearing depends on thespecies and the growinglocation within the re-gion. Pines — includingScotch, white, red andAustrian — should besheared during the ac-tive growing seasonwhen terminal growth isnearly complete. In thesouthern portion of theregion, this usually oc-curs between June 1 and10; in the more norther-ly states, shearing be-gins between June 20and 30. Shearing cancontinue through mid-July to early August, de-pending on location, butmost growers plan on be-ing finished by Aug. 1 atthe latest. Late shearingresults in the develop-
ment of fewer and weak-er buds. Likewise, shear-ing too early (late May toearly June, dependingon location) results inthe production of toomany buds, which candevelop into weak andoften spindly branches.
Within the pines,longer-needled speciessuch as Austrian, redand white pines shouldbe sheared early in theshearing period. Buds onthese species are slowerto develop than those onScotch pine. Earliershearing of these speciesprovides more time forbud formation and de-velopment, thereby con-tributing to fuller branchdevelopment the follow-ing spring.
Because of differencesin bud location andplant response, shearingof Douglas fir, the truefirs and spruces beginsat the end of the activegrowing season (late Julyand early August) andcontinues through thedormant season. Someevidence suggests thatbud vigor and twiggrowth the followinggrowing season will bebetter if shearing is doneduring late summer andearly fall rather than the
Super Cam Clamper Stainless Steel Garland MachineNew Tap Switch
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following spring beforegrowth begins.Guidelines for shearing
pinesThe shaping/shearing
process for pine speciesshould begin in the sec-ond growing season afterplanting. Examine eachtree and remove doubleor multiple tops. The re-maining terminal shootshould be cut back to amaximum length of 12 to14 inches. Little, if any,shearing of side branch-es should occur. Thebasal branches on eachtree should be removedto form a handle to ac-commodate the treestand. Usually 1 inch ofhandle should be pres-ent for each foot of treeheight at maturity. Allbranches up to thisheight (8 to 10 inches) orto the first completewhorl of lateral branchesshould be removed.
In the third growingseason, shear both theterminal leader and thelateral branches of thetree. Begin by cutting theterminal leader to alength of 12 to 14 inches,or less if the lateralwhorl immediately belowthe terminal is notstrong and vigorous. Thecut on the terminalbranch should be madeat an approximate 45 de-gree angle so needle fas-cicles on one side will behigher than those on theother. This practice willfavor the development ofa new terminal bud in aposition where terminaldominance can be ex-pressed. This will con-tribute to the develop-ment of a straight stem.The lateral branches ofthe terminal whorl arethen cut so they are ap-proximately two-thirdsas long as the terminalshoot. Following cutting,the line established bythe relationship betweenthe top of the terminalshoot and the ends ofcut lateral branches ofthe terminal whorl is ex-tended downward to de-termine where other lat-eral branches should becut.
Minimal shearing oflateral branches in thefirst few years is recom-mended. The aim is toremove only excessivelylong branches. Manygrowers will shear treesin the third and fourthgrowing seasons to de-velop an 85 to 90 percenttaper. This is done to de-velop width in the tree —in later growing seasons,lateral growth of the low-er branches will be con-siderably less than onupper branches. Ifshearing of the sides is
“too tight” early in thelife of the tree, trees witha narrow or candlesticktaper are likely to result.This is especially likely ifthe trees are allowed togrow to heights tallerthan 7 feet.
In the fourth and latergrowing seasons, shear-ing continues in muchthe same manner as inyear three. The length ofthe terminal shootshould not exceed 12inches. Cutting of thelaterals will follow the ta-per relationship estab-
lished by the terminaland top laterals. It is im-portant to maintainstraight sides on the treeand avoid rounded orbullet-shaped trees.These result from failureto cut the laterals on theupper portion of the treeshort enough in relationto the length of the ter-minal. Trees so shearedappear unnatural andare not as well acceptedin the marketplace asare more symmetricallyshaped trees.
In the year of harvest,
shearing should be mini-mal. Trees are more nat-ural looking and mar-ketable if only light trim-ming is done. The basicshape of the tree willhave been determined bypast shearing activities.Shearing cuts at thistime should be light, re-moving only those lateralbranches that extend be-yond the general outlineof the tree. If multipleterminal shoots arepresent, they should bethinned to one centrallylocated branch. Usually
the terminal branch willbe left a little longer thanit had been in previousyears. It should not ex-ceed 15 inches in length,however.
Growers do not agreewhether trees should besheared early or lateduring the shearing peri-od in the harvest year.Some growers will com-plete the shearing ofnon-harvestable treesbefore shearing those tobe harvested. They dothis because they believethat bud set following
shearing will be better iftrees are sheared earlierrather than later. Obvi-ously, bud set on trees tobe harvested need not beparticularly full or com-plete. Other growers willshear trees to be har-vested early so that budset, needle elongationand coverage of the cuttwig ends can occur tothe fullest, thereby mak-ing the tree look as natu-ral as possible. Unlessshearing is done late (af-
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ter Aug. 1), it is probablethat needle elongationand bud set will be ade-quate to provide a natu-ral appearance.Guidelines for shearing
firs and sprucesAs indicated earlier,
growth patterns andtwig-bud anatomy aredifferent for thesespecies than for pines.The branches ofspruces and firs, in-cluding Douglas fir, arecharacterized by thepresence of single nee-dles and lateral buds lo-cated along the twig. Aspreviously mentioned,when branches are cutduring shearing, newbuds do not form at thebases of needles.Rather, the lateral budnearest the cut twig endwill assume dominance,and growth the follow-ing growing season willbegin from this point.For this reason, the
time of shearing is notas critical for thesetrees as for pines.
Shearing for spruces,firs and Douglas firusually begins in lateJuly or early Augustand may continuethrough fall, winter andearly spring. Shearingfor newly establishedplantations should be-gin during the thirdgrowing season afterplanting. Each treeshould be examined,and double terminalbranches and doublestems removed. Basalpruning to form a cleanhandle should also becompleted. If a symmet-rical growth pattern isdeveloping naturally inthe tree, little, if any,shearing will be neces-sary at this time.
In the fourth and lateryears, shearing shouldconcentrate on main-taining a central leader
(terminal branch) andsymmetrical tree shape.Unless excessive termi-nal growth has occurred(15 inches or more), theterminal shoot shouldnot be cut as long as fulllateral branch develop-ment is occurring. Thisis particularly true if sev-eral lateral buds are lo-cated along the terminalshoot. Generally it is de-sirable to maintain grow-ing conditions (effectiveweed control and ade-quate soil fertility) favor-able for the formation ofat least one lateral budper inch of terminalbranch. These buds willdevelop into lateralbranches and so in-crease tree density. Iffewer buds are present(less than one per inch ofterminal shoot length),the terminal shootshould be cut back toapproximately 12 inchesin length; with the cut
made approximately 1/2inch above a lateral bud.Other lateral branchesthat extend beyond theline established from thecut ends of the terminalshoot through the endsof the lateral branches ofthe terminal whorlshould also be cut.
After the tree is about5 feet tall (usually inthe fifth or sixth yearafter planting), shear-ing practices shouldchange slightly. Thelength of the terminalshoot should not be al-lowed to exceed 12inches and in some cas-es should be cut short-er. This depends on thefullness and the num-ber of lateral branchesdeveloping from the ter-minal whorl. It is some-times difficult to obtainfull foliage developmentin the tips of spruceand fir trees. Reducingthe length of the termi-nal will thicken the treeas lateral branch devel-opment continuesthroughout the tree,and lateral buds andtwigs of the terminalwhorl increase inlength. Little, if any,shearing of lowerbranches will be neces-sary because these tendto grow less rapidlythan branches near thetop of the tree.
In the harvest year,only minimal shearing isrequired, especially forspruces. Removing com-peting leaders and light-ly shearing the top areusually all that is neces-sary. Douglas fir requiremore shearing becauseupper branches tend togrow rapidly and second-ary growth flushes can
result in excessively longterminal shoots. Shear-ing this growth back tomaintain tree symmetryis usually all that is re-quired because lowerbranches grow less.
Some problem situations
One of the challengesin shearing Christmastrees is maintaining astrong central terminalbranch. This is essen-tial to maintain goodform and to produce atree of a saleable heightin the shortest timepossible. Unfortunate-ly, problem situationsthat require special at-tention frequently de-velop in the terminalwhorl of branches.
Competing termi-nals - This situationarises when two ormore terminal branch-es or shoots are pres-ent. It usually developsafter the trees havebeen sheared at leastonce and results fromthe failure of any onenewly formed or exist-ing bud to assume adominant position.Failure to cut the ter-minal branch at an an-gle during shearing in-creases the likelihoodthat multiple shootswill develop. To correctthis situation, removeall but one of the com-peting terminals. Selectthe strongest branchthat is most centrallylocated and remove theothers by cutting at thebase with a hand clip-per, rather than ashearing knife. Afterthe selection of a domi-nant terminal, theshearing process pro-ceeds normally.
No visible terminal -The opposite situation tothat described above isto have a terminal whorlof branches with no onebranch assuming a dom-inant position. This con-dition may result fromshearing too early sothat too many shoots de-velop or from damage tothe bud that would havedeveloped into a termi-nal branch. Recom-mended treatment is toselect a strong lateralbranch and allow it tobecome the terminalshoot. This requires cut-ting back all other later-als and positioning theselected lateral in a cen-tral dominant position.Some lateral branchesmay need to be removedentirely. Developing adominant branch mayrequire tying it to othershorter shoots, using asplint or using commer-cially available terminalbranch training devices.
Damaged or brokenterminal - Occasionallyterminal branches aredamaged. Insects suchas the pine shoot borer,birds (grackles findChristmas trees attrac-tive nesting sites) andstrong winds commonlycause breakage orinjury.
Two approaches aresuggested for correctingsuch problems. If onlythe upper portion of theterminal has been dam-aged, it should be cutimmediately below thepoint where the damagebegins.
For pines, if this isdone early in the sum-mer, new buds will form
at this point from whichgrowth will occur thefollowing year. Whetherthe laterals in the ter-minal whorl should besheared depends onhow long the terminalbranch is. An alterna-tive is to select a vigor-ous lateral branch andeither splint or tie it tothe base of the dam-aged terminal so that itdevelops into the termi-nal position.
For species such asfirs and spruces, thebud left for the terminalbranch may not developor the terminal bud onnon- sheared trees willfail to grow. In thiscase, a lateral branchfarther down the termi-
nal shoot can betrained to assume theterminal position. To dothis, select a vigorouslateral shoot and tie thebase of it to the mainstem so it is placed in acentral position. Theend bud on this shootwill develop into thenew terminal for thetree. Another approachis to tie two oppositelaterals together at thebase so they are verti-cal. After tying, cut theweaker one immediatelyabove the point of tying.This technique worksbest in mid summerwhen newly developedbranches are still rela-tively flexible.
Strong lateral
competing for termi-nal position - In somespecies, notably Scotchpine, it is not uncom-mon for a lateral shootformed the previousyear to assume a strongdominant position andcompete with the cur-rent year’s terminal forthe terminal position.Usually this shootshould be removed atits point of origin; how-ever, it may sometimesbe desirable to leave itand remove the currentseason’s terminal whorlof branches. This rec-ommendation is appro-priate when growth onthe original terminal isweak or, more common-ly, crooked. This situa-
tion and the resultingneed to select a newterminal branch aremore common on somevarieties of Scotch pinethan others.
ConclusionShearing Christmas
trees is probably thesingle most importantprocess that affects tree
quality. Correct shear-ing, together with excel-lent cultural practices— including effectiveweed control, mainte-nance of adequate fer-tility and control ofdamaging insect and/ordisease problems — willhelp assure the produc-tion of high quality
trees will be competitivein today’s marketplace.
For more informationvisit http://forestry.msu.edu/extension/ExtDocs/shear.htm#Tree%20response%20to%20shearing
Source: MichiganState UniversityDepartment of Forestry
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WASHINGTON, D.C. —Over the last severaldecades, thousands offarmers markets havebeen popping up in citiesand towns across thecountry, benefiting localfarmers, consumers andeconomies, but theycould be doing a lot bet-ter, according to a reportreleased recently by theUnion of Concerned Sci-entists (UCS). What’sholding farmers marketsback? Federal policiesthat favor industrial
agriculture at their ex-pense.
“On the whole, farmersmarkets have seen ex-ceptional growth, provid-ing local communitieswith fresh food directfrom the farm,” said Jef-frey O’Hara, the authorof the report and aneconomist with UCS’sFood and EnvironmentProgram. “But our feder-al food policies are work-ing against them. If theU.S. government divert-ed just a small amount
of the massive subsidiesit lavishes on industrialagriculture to supportthese markets and smalllocal farmers, it wouldnot only improve Ameri-can diets, it would gener-ate tens of thousands ofnew jobs.”
UCS released the re-port just a few days be-fore the 12th annualU.S. Department of Agri-culture’s (USDA) Nation-al Farmers Market Week,which began on Sunday,Aug. 7. According to the
report, “Market Forces:Creating Jobs throughPublic Investment in Lo-cal and Regional FoodSystems,” the number offarmers markets nation-wide more than doubledbetween 2000 and 2010jumping from 2,863 to6,132, and now morethan 100,000 farms sellfood directly to local con-sumers.
All that growth hap-pened with relatively lit-tle help. Last year, for ex-ample, the USDA spent
$13.725 billion in com-modity, crop insurance,and supplemental disas-ter assistance paymentsmostly to support largeindustrial farms, accord-ing to the CongressionalBudget Office. Theamount the agencyspent that year to sup-port local and regionalfood system farmers?Less than $100 million,according to USDA data.
In 2007, the most re-cent USDA figure, directagricultural productsales amounted to a $1.2billion-a-year business,and most of that moneyrecirculates locally. “Thefact that farmers areselling directly to thepeople who live nearbymeans that sales rev-enue stays local,” O’Harasaid. “That helps stabi-lize local economies.”
Keeping revenues localalso can mean more jobopportunities. Last sum-mer, Agriculture Secre-tary Tom Vilsack askedCongress to set a goal inthe 2012 Farm Bill ofhelping at least 100,000Americans to becomefarmers by, among otherthings, providing entre-preneurial training andsupport for farmers mar-kets. O’Hara’s reporttakes up Vilsack’s chal-lenge and argues thatsupporting local and re-gional food system ex-pansion is central tomeeting that goal.
In the report, O’Haraidentified a number ofinitiatives the federalgovernment could taketo encourage new farm-ers and the growth offarmers markets in theupcoming Farm Bill. Forexample, the report
called on Congress to:• Support the develop-
ment of local food mar-kets, including farmersmarkets and farm-to-school programs, whichcan stabilize communi-ty-supported marketsand create permanentjobs. For example, thereport found that theFarmers Market Promo-tion Program could cre-ate as many as 13,500jobs nationally over afive-year period, if reau-thorized, by providingmodest funding for 100to 500 farmers marketsper year.
• Level the playing fieldfor farmers in rural re-gions by investing in in-frastructure, such asmeat-processing ordairy-bottling facilities,which would help meat,dairy and other farmersproduce and markettheir products to con-sumers more efficiently.These investments couldfoster competition infood markets, increaseproduct choice for con-sumers, and generatejobs in the community.
• Allow low-incomeresidents to redeemfood nutrition subsi-dies at local food mar-kets to help them af-ford fresh fruits andvegetables. Currently,not all markets are ableto accept SupplementalNutrition AssistanceProgram benefits.
“Farmers at localmarkets are a new vari-ety of innovative entre-preneurs, and we needto nurture them,” saidO’Hara. “Supportingthese farmers shouldbe a Farm Bill priority.”
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Farmers markets could generate tens of thousands of jobs with modest federal support
WICHITA, KS (AP) —Sen. Pat Roberts sayseverything is on thetable when it comes tothe farm program as theU.S. Senate AgricultureCommittee grappleswith recommendationsfor budget cuts.
On Aug. 25 theKansas Republican saidin Wichita farmers andranchers would supportsome budget cuts butalso want a commonsense approach. He sayswhatever farm bill theagriculture committeeputs together should be
policy oriented.Kansas farmers told the
committee during a fieldhearing in Wichita thatthe crop insurance pro-gram was the most valu-able program for them,especially during the on-going drought in Kansas.
Gov. Sam Brownbackurged the group to de-velop a federal policy tohelp states deal with de-clining aquifers.
Sen. Debbie Sabenow,a Democrat from Michi-gan, says the committeehas an October deadlinefor recommending cuts.
Kansas senator:Everything on tablefor farm cuts
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Because implementtires are used only for acouple of weeks out ofthe year, their care andselection may seem triv-ial to many farmers, butin farming, timing iseverything, and if afarmer is experiencingdowntime during thosecouple of weeks out ofthe year, the yield canbe catastrophically af-fected. That’s why it isimportant for farmers totake a close look atwhat type of tire theyput on their imple-ments.
Speed ratingThe vast majority of
implement tires are rat-ed for 25 to 30 miles perhour. Yet, it’s becomingmore common for largerimplements such asbalers to be towed be-hind a pickup truck oreven a semi-tractor trail-er. In this case, it’s cru-cial to select a highway-rated implement tire.
Traveling at highspeeds causes hightemperatures to developunder the tread bars,which will weaken therubber material andcord fabric. While theremay be no visible evi-dence of damage at thetime, the strength of thetire can become severe-ly compromised, poten-tially leading to ablowout.
Though a highway im-plement tire may allowfarmers to arrive attheir destination more
quickly, they have to re-alize what they’re givingup in terms of perform-ance in other areas. Be-cause the compoundingand construction ofhighway tires are signif-icantly different thannon-highway tires, theymay not have the dura-bility in the field thatmany farmers look forin a tire.
Load capacityChoosing an imple-
ment tire at the appro-priate load capacity is-n’t just as simple ascomparing it to theweight of the imple-ment. Many people failto take into account theeffect of road use onload capacity.
If being used for high-er speeds or particular-ly rough gravel roads,Scott Sloan, productengineering manager forTitan Tire Corporation,recommends using atire with a higher plyrating. Doing so will notonly ensure the tiresaren’t loaded beyondtheir limit, but can alsohelp decrease suscepti-bility to puncture dam-age in the field.
Size and shapeIn addition to being
concerned about thefield damaging theirtires, farmers are con-cerned about their tiresdamaging the field.Sloan stresses that evenminor subtleties in theshape of tires can havea significant impact on
the field. Specifically, hewarns against choosingtires with a square-shoulder design.
“If you are cultivatingafter the crop is up, theedges of a square-shoulder implement tirecan cut the roots off,”Sloan explains. “Arounded shoulder en-sures minimal crop andfield damage.”
Tread designImplement tires have
traditionally beenribbed, but as tractorsare becoming morepowerful, many farmersare becoming more con-cerned about the trac-tion of their implementtires, especially whenworking in wet soils. Assuch, lugged implementtires are becoming morecommon.
“A ribbed tire tends toplow through deepmud, rather thanrolling, which can behard on both the fieldand the fuel efficiencyof the tractor,” saysSloan. ”So, if you workin extremely muddyconditions and see verylittle road travel, alugged tire may be agood option. If you seemuch road time, aribbed tire will lastlonger than a lugged.”
A lugged tire designalso has better resist-ance to puncture dam-age from stubble, whichis a major concern formany farmers.
Radial versus bias
Bias tires are generallyless expensive than radi-als, and because price isthe deciding factor formany farmers, bias tiresare chosen more oftenthan not. There are,however, many benefitsto using radial tires onan implement.
“With radials, youwon’t have to sacrificeas much performancein one area to get per-formance in another,”says Bill Campbell,president of Titan TireCorporation. “They havea much stronger car-cass and are less sus-ceptible to wear anddamage. So, they’ll havea longer lifespan.”
Radials are also ableto carry the sameweight at lower inflationpressures than a bias.This means better flota-tion in the field and lesssoil compaction. Theirstrong carcass makesfor better resistance topuncture damage andbetter roadability withless tread wear.
Choosing a replace-ment tire
In choosing a replace-ment tire, it’s importantto match the size to theexact overall diameter(OD) of the existingtires, and because sizescan differ slightly be-tween brands, it’s im-portant to use the samebrand of tire.
Implement tire careRegularly checking
the air pressure of im-
plement tires is the bestway to ensure theirlongevity. The deflectioncaused by underinfla-tion can cause the tireto wear rapidly and un-evenly, particularly inthe shoulder area, even-tually leading to cracksin the carcass. Overin-flation, on the otherhand, creates an under-deflected tire, leading toincreased wear on thecenter of the tire. More-over, the tightlystretched carcass be-comes more susceptibleto impact breaks.
“I’d recommend put-ting the implement onblocks during the off-season,” says Sloan. “Ifa tire goes flat, youdon’t want the weight ofthe implement on therim, because that rimcan cut into the side-wall, and when springrolls around, you mighthave to replace it ratherthan just inflating it.”
Bottom line
When it comes to im-plement tires, there isno one-size-fits-all solu-tion. Although choosinga brand or type of tiremay seem like a trivialdecision based on price,choosing the wrong im-plement tire can lead toshortened lifespan andunplanned downtimeduring a crucial time ofyear. A farmer mustbase his or her decisionon how the tire will beused, with special at-tention given to speedrating, load rating,tread design, size andshape, and constructiontype. Proper selectionand care will ensure animplement will be run-ning when the farmerneeds it most.
For more informationon Goodyear Farm Tireproducts and services,visit the company’swebsite at www.titan-intl.com or e-mail TitanInternational [email protected].
This Family Friendly House Situated in a Beautiful Country Setting
Rural Route Cooperstown, NY
Could MakCould Make Ye Your Drour DreamseamsCome TCome True...rue...
More than a house, a wonderful way of life. 3.5acres, Kitchen with built in Dishwasher, Stove,
Refrigerator/Freezer, Ample Cupboards and WorkIsland. Dining Area - Living Room adjacent toDen, 3 Bedrooms with 3 Baths. Large, GlassedSunroom, Outside Deck, Insulated Barn withconcrete floor. Oil Hot Water Baseboard Heat. You owe it to yourself to come and take a look. Owner will carry mortgage for qualified buyerwith down payment. Otsego Lake Privilege.
Contact Owner • 518-568-5115or Hubbell’s Real Estate • 607-547-5740
Implement tires not to be left by the waysideProper implement tire selection and care is key to productivity
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Are You Involved In More Than One Industry?We Are Here to Help You.
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WEST ALLIS, WI, —Agriculture SecretaryTom Vilsack held aWhite House Rural Fo-rum at the WisconsinState Fair on Aug. 4 withbusinesses and commu-nity leaders, farmers andranchers to explore waysfederal, state and localofficials can work togeth-er to improve economicconditions and createjobs.
The forum is part of aseries of meetings thatare being held across thecountry this summerwith senior administra-tion officials.
“The White House Rur-al Council is focused oncreating good-payingjobs in Wisconsin andacross America that helpbusinesses grow andcommunities thrive,”said Vilsack. “The bestideas come from theAmerican people, so thisRural Forum gives me anopportunity to hear di-rectly from Wisconsinresidents about theirideas on how we can putpeople back to work and
expand the rural eco-nomic base here andacross the country.”
In June, PresidentBarack Obama signedan executive order es-tablishing the first WhiteHouse Rural Council,chaired by AgricultureSecretary Tom Vilsack,and a series of workinggroups have been heldin recent weeks to ad-vance the council’s ob-jectives. Since his inau-guration, Obama’s ad-ministration has takensignificant steps to im-prove the lives of ruralAmericans and has pro-vided broad support forrural communities.
The Obama adminis-tration has set goals ofmodernizing infrastruc-ture by providing broad-band access to 10 mil-lion Americans, expand-ing educational opportu-nities for students in ru-ral areas, providing af-fordable health care,promoting innovationand expanding the pro-duction of renewable en-ergy. In the long term,
these unparalleled ruralinvestments will helpensure that America’srural communities arerepopulating, self-sus-taining, and thrivingeconomically.
The White House Rur-al Council is workingcollaboratively to buildon the administration’seconomic strategy forrural America and makesure that continued fed-eral investments createmaximum benefit for ru-ral Americans. Secre-tary Vilsack is workingto coordinate USDA pro-grams across the gov-ernment and encouragepublic-private partner-ships to improve eco-nomic conditions andcreate jobs in rural com-munities. The Aug. 4event served as an op-portunity to educateparticipants aboutUSDA programs andother the resourcesacross the federal gov-ernment that can helprebuild and revitalizeAmerica’s rural commu-nities.
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In this day and age, aWeb site is a must. Butwhat should your Website do for your busi-ness? Should it serveas a billboard or onlineyellow pages or shouldit be your storefront?
These decisions don’tjust require thought,but a careful compari-son of costs and de-ployment of your timeand energy. In addi-tion, with a little train-
ing, you may wish totake on the creationand maintenance ofyour own Web site.
In an effort to helpyou answer and ex-plore some of thesequestions, MSU Exten-sion-Jackson Countywill hold a Web Designand e-Commerce Work-shop at Jackson Dis-trict Library Carnegiebranch. The workshopwill take place on two
Monday evenings, Oct.3 and 17 from 6 to8:30 p.m.
This five-hour classwill walk participantsthrough the practical,financial and market-ing aspects of creatinga Web site. It will com-pare the costs of build-ing your own Web sitewith having a firmbuild a Web site foryou. It will also walkparticipants through
several ways of creat-ing their own Web site.The emphasis will beon hands-on learning.
If you begin the classwith a good Web siteidea, an Internet serv-ice provider (ISP) and adomain name, you willhave a Web site by theend of the class. Theclass is designed tohelp you apply lessonslearned as you proceedin the class. Other top-
ics presented will in-clude selling items onan online auction siteand dealing with onlinemonetary transactions.
Graduates of thisclass will knowwhether it makes sensefor them to build theirown Web site or have itdone by someone else.In addition, they willgain the knowledge toactually build a Website if they choose to.
All web developmenttools used will bemeant for beginners.Some computer experi-ence is necessary, asparticipants will beasked to use a comput-er as part of the class.
The cost of the classis $150 and includesall reference materialsand software as well asmeals and refresh-ments.
To register, call theMSU Extension Officein Jackson County at517-788-4292. Thedeadline for registra-tion is Sept. 19. Thisprogram is sponsoredby MSU Extension-Jackson County, theFood System EconomicPartnership, and theMSU Product Center.
Web Design and e-Commerce Workshop offered
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ALEXANDRIA, VA, —Applications are beingaccepted for the Ameri-can Floral Endowment’s(AFE) Vic & MargaretBall Intern Scholarshipand the Mosmiller In-tern Scholarship Pro-gram for eligible stu-dents looking to gainexperience in green-
house production, floralretail and wholesale,and allied trade fields.
These two internscholarship programsaid students in gaininghands-on, real-worldexperience in floricul-ture. The Vic & Mar-garet Ball Intern Schol-arship Program, estab-
lished in 1992 by a gen-erous gift from Vic andMargaret Ball, specifi-cally funds training atfloriculture productiongreenhouses through-out the U.S. The Ball’screated this program toassure future studentswould have the abilityto take advantage ofpractical greenhouseexperience opportuni-ties without financialworry.
The Mosmiller InternScholarship Programwas established in1975 to honor formerAFE Chairman and re-tail florists Colonel andMrs. Walter E.Mosmiller Jr. Fundingfrom the Mosmiller pro-gram helps supportstudents who partici-pate in internships at aretail florist, whole-saler, or allied tradecompany.
To be considered forthese scholarship op-portunities that are ad-ministered by AFE, stu-dents must:
• Be a U.S. citizencurrently enrolled in afloriculture/environ-mental horticultureprogram at a two- orfour-year college oruniversity in the U.S.;
• Maintain a “C” orbetter GPA;
• Complete the in-
ternship prior to gradu-ation.
Both scholarship pro-grams are awardedtwice each year. To beeligible for scholar-ships, the deadline forreceiving applicationsat the AFE office isMarch 1 in the springand Oct. 1 in the fall.Applications can bedownloaded from theAFE web site www.en-dowment.org
Deadline for floriculture intern scholarships is Oct. 1
WASHINGTON, D.C. —National Farmers Union(NFU) submitted com-ments on July 28 in op-position to a proposedrule by the U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture(USDA) that would allowthe largest produce han-dlers the power to estab-lish on-farm practicesfor all growers of leafygreens.
“Under a leafy greenmarketing agreement,handlers are effectivelygiven power over produc-ers, requiring them tocomply with standardsthat were developedwithout growers inmind,” said NFU Presi-dent Roger Johnson.“These standards willconflict with the realitiesof small- and medium-sized diversified farms,certain conservationmeasures and existingwildlife and environmen-tal regulations, and willbe enforced through bur-densome recordkeepingrequirements and com-modity-specific metrics.”
The 150 signatories onthe California and Ari-zona leafy green market-ing agreements comprisenearly 90 percent of U.S.leafy green production.
“A rapidly growingtrend in the UnitedStates is the movementto buy fresh, locallygrown food,” said John-son. “By dictating howproduce must be han-dled, marketing agree-ments for leafy greenswould significantly hin-der the ability of produc-ers to participate in thebuy fresh, buy localmovement. In addition,at a time when our na-tion faces an ever-grow-ing obesity crisis, familyfarmers should be en-couraged to grow greaterquantities of healthy,fresh produce, not de-terred by restrictivegrowing and handlingpractices.”
Coming Soon - The newest publicationin the Lee Publications, Inc. family of
agricultural papersWine and Grape Grower will offer
features, news and information ongrowing grapes, and making andselling wines.
As readers of Country Folks andCountry Folks Grower you know thevalue of our publications as you runand improve your business.
If your current business or futureplans include grapes or wine you cannow have a publication with thosesame benefits for that branch ofyour business.
Subscribe today and don’t miss asingle issue.
If you have friends or family whowould be interested please feel freeto share with them also.
If your business provides products or services for the grape growers and wine mak-ers, please contact us for information on marketing opportunities to this importantsegment of agriculture. You can reach us at 8800-218-5586 or [email protected]
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