Entries by Tracy Mumma

Enterprise Budget Explores Mini-Melon Profitability in High Tunnels

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has published production data and enterprise budgets analyzing melons as an alternative crop for farms with high tunnels. The project compared organic mini-muskmelon production in an unheated high tunnel in northern New York using two vertical trellising systems —a double leader system and a mesh netting system […]

Report Details Health and Sustainability Benefits of Organic Produce

A new report from The Organic Center details the nutritional difference that eating organic produce makes and the environmental, human health and socioeconomic benefits of organic produce production and farming. The report’s findings are based on a broad review of 85 scientific studies from around the world conducted over the last three decades on the […]

Conservation Innovation Grants to Fund Three Texas Research Projects

Texas A&M AgriLife Research announced that it is receiving $11.4 million in Conservation Innovation Grants from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service for on-farm trials. Three projects received funding. “Soil Health Demonstrations to Increase Regenerative Agricultural Intensification in the Southern High Plains” aims to sustainably intensify agricultural production in Texas and Oklahoma by adopting soil health […]

USDA Announces Updates to Farm Loan Program

USDA announced changes to the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Farm Loan Programs, intended to increase opportunities for farmers and ranchers to be financially viable. The changes, part of the Enhancing Program Access and Delivery for Farm Loans rule, are effective September 25, 2024. The most notable changes include a new, low-interest installment set-aside program for […]

Strategic Grazing Can Benefit Sagebrush Rangeland

Scientists from USDA Agricultural Research Service recently published their research showing that strategically applied livestock grazing can benefit sagebrush ecosystems. Specifically, they found that grazing can be used to decrease the probability and severity of fires. After a fire, strategic grazing can help reduce annual grass invasion and prevent the loss of native grasses and […]

USDA Issues Discrimination Financial Assistance Program Payments to 43,000

USDA announced that it has issued payments to more than 43,000 eligible applicants under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP), which aims to provide financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination prior to January 2021. “The completion of the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program is an important moment in […]

USDA Announces Investments in Water Conservation in Western States

USDA announced that it will invest $400 million to support irrigation districts and producers in using innovative water-saving technologies and farming practices while producing water-saving commodities in the face of continued drought.USDA preliminarily selected 18 irrigation districts across western states for the program. Districts may receive up to $15 million each and will enter into […]

Rising Temperatures Predicted to Reduce California Strawberry Yield

Rising temperatures could significantly impact the yield of California’s strawberry crop, according to researchers at the University of Waterloo. They found that a rise in temperature of three degrees Fahrenheit could reduce strawberry yields by as much as 40%. “This research shows how climate change can directly impact the foods we love, emphasizing the importance […]

Overlooked Factors Affect Disease Risk of Intensive Livestock Farming

An international team of scientists concluded that when social, economic, and political factors are considered, intensive animal agriculture could contribute to the risk of infectious diseases developing. Although intensive production is often considered to reduce disease risk because of better control, biosecurity, and separation, researchers found that real-world conditions are less than ideal, and can, […]

Report Outlines Need and Methods for California Agriculture Adaptation as Water Availability Declines

Scientists from the University of California published a report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that urges bold action to adapt California agriculture to declining water availability resulting from climate change. The report notes both increased evaporation and transpiration and larger, more variable flows with less water stored in snowpack. It recommends building […]