Resurgence for Lake County walnut orchards

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Energetic, sharp witted and smooth skinned, Alex Suchan seems much younger than his 83 years, much of them spent toiling in the Lake County walnut orchards he’s cultivated for more than six decades. “I eat a lot of walnuts,” he quipped, noting that the nuts are now in vogue. After years being maligned as fat-laden, [...]

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Canola business blooming for some Mont. growers

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KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — The canola bloom is a rite of summer in the Flathead Valley, with pretty yellow fields emerging across the region’s lush farmland. But this annual event, while embraced as customary today, is actually a new phenomenon, at least on such a widespread scale. Over roughly the past decade, and especially the [...]

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When it comes to sales to consumers, NH apple growers are pick of the crop

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New Hampshire Commissioner of Agriculture Lorraine Merrill picked the first apple at Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis Wednesday, officially kicking off the season. Merrill read a proclamation from Gov. John Lynch recognizing New England Apple Day. The state’s 180 apple growers bring in about $14 million annually, according to Gail McWilliam Jellie, director of agricultural [...]

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A down year for olive growers

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Olive farmers know a thing or two about ups and downs and highs and lows and good times and bad times. Consider this: Last year, olive growers enjoyed a record-setting harvest and, better yet, record-breaking prices. This year, some of those same farmers have applied for Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) money. Olive prices [...]

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USDA Caution on Organic Fraud from China

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Although there’s no evidence that certain extracts falsely labeled as organic were sold in the U.S., the Department of Agriculture is nonetheless warning organic distributors and processors to be aware of a fraudulent organic certificate being circulated by an uncertified operation in China. The certificate falsely represents hibiscus, jasmine and beet root extract powders as [...]

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Listen to the bees; they’re trying to warn us

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“Going to build a hive and keep bees,” my daughter said nonchalantly. It was the spring of 2005, and she was a senior in high school. Beekeeping, and writing a paper about it, would be her senior project. The postmaster called a few days later to say that 38,000 bees — ordered online from Navasota, [...]

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Foreign bid for slice of sugar

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FOREIGN companies are rushing to pour money into our sugar industry to secure a substantial slice of its sweet profits. Investments from Chinese food group COFCO and Singapore company Wilmar, which last year bought Sucrogen, have thrown the struggling industry a lifeline; however cane growers are concerned about the potential loss of grower ownership and [...]

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Money woes threaten Dominican Republic’s rice harvest, grower warns

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Santo Domingo.- National Rice Producers Federation president Iván Tio affirmed Monday that next winter’s rice harvest could be lost from that sector’s lack of economic resources, and threaten the country’s many years of self-sufficiency in rice. He said the high inventory, increased production costs, fewer sales to retailers and delays in payments maintains the sector [...]

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Import of Chinese apples a threat to HP growers

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The fear of Chinese apples being sold in India, bringing down the prices of Himachal apples, has subsided — for the time being. “Indian apples are fetching good prices, while Chinese apples are incurring losses,” said a Himachal Pradesh apple trader. With the output of Himachal apples expected to be far less than last year, [...]

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Insect pest takes heavy toll on potato growers

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Potato growers say they are out of pocket by $120 million as they battle a pest, the tomato potato psyllid. Potatoes New Zealand chairman, Opiki grower Terry Olsen, said it was costing growers through reduced yields, having to use insecticides, extra crop monitoring and management, as well as the downgrading of many potatoes. The psyllid [...]

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N.D. flooding means higher price for pasta

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PLAZA, N.D. – Consumers are paying more for pasta after heavy rain and flooding prevented planting on more than 1 million acres in one of the nation’s best durum wheat-growing areas. North Dakota typically grows nearly three-fourths the nation’s durum. This year’s crop is expected to be only about 24.6 million bushels, or about two-fifths [...]

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Be a peach and bring this dessert to the picnic​

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Summer desserts are meant to celebrate the season. Fruit pies, cobblers, buckles and crisps are made for the glorious sweet fruits of summer. These casual yet intensely satisfying fruit desserts depend upon the best seasonal fruits, usually topped with a cake, streusel or both. A cobbler by definition is a fruit mixture with a biscuit-style [...]

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On Gardening: Muscadines — A sweet fruit for late summer

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This week I began harvesting and eating muscadine grapes from my home orchard. The vines are loaded and may produce my best and biggest crop ever. My bumper crop is likely due to having mature plants, receiving plenty of rainfall (at least early in the season) and installing a brand new varmint fence. If I [...]

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Obesity: What you eat and where you live matters

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Location can affect food choice options At the corner of Lansing’s Mt. Hope and Pattengill avenues is a Quality Dairy, a Rite Aid and a liquor store. What’s missing is a supermarket. There used to be one here. An L&L. The neighbors loved it – so much so that when the company closed its doors [...]

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The Veggie Girl: Watermelon’s wonderful wiles

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Since watermelon is a big player at summer picnics and backyard barbecues, it seems the perfect topic for Labor Day weekend. No doubt many readers will enjoy its pink, juicy fleshiness during summer’s last hurrah, and I’ll be among them. The watermelons of my childhood in the 1960s and 1970s were a different animal than [...]

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Healthy eating at the vending machine

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It’s 2:30 in the afternoon, and your stomach is gurgling. Before long, you’re in vending-machine land eyeballing the choices, which for decades have consisted mostly of pop, chips, chocolate and those fluorescent orange crackers. But increasingly, people are finding a new ally to help slay the afternoon munchies: the healthy vending machine. Instead of the [...]

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