Crops
Green Industry. NCDA&CS Plant Industries Division has established the NC Nursery and Landscape Regulatory Advisory Committee to consult with the department regarding plant pest quarantine issues associated with nursery, landscape and greenhouse industries. NC Farm Bureau is represented on the Committee.
Greenhouse flower industry wants Ralstonia off bioterrorism list. The American floriculture industry is asking USDA APHIS to remove Ralstonia solanacearum, Race 3, Biovar 2 (R3B2) from the agency's bioterrorism list of "Select Agents," diseases that are listed under the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002. This strain of the disease is already considered a quarantine pest, but adding it to the "select agent" list has inflicted an unnecessary and unjustified layer of protection which is actually harming agriculture and our growers, writes Greenhouse Grower magazine. When R3B2 was accidentally introduced into the United States, there was no damage to the food supply. However, the American geranium industry and more than 1,000 producers were damaged by the quarantine action, not the disease. This industry seeks the disease's removal from the Select Agent list so that it may be more easily researched. Currently "Select Agents" may be studied only at biosecure research facilities. Since the disease poses no threat to human health, there is no reason for it to be listed.
NCDA&CS offers cost share for GAP certification. Food safety has become an important marketing and health issue for the produce industry. Buyers are demanding assurances from growers that their produce is safe. It will become more difficult for growers to market their fruits and vegetables if they don't have a GAP program in place to make sure their produce is free of contamination. The goal of this program is to increase the number of N.C. farmers following Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)/ Good Handling Practices (GHP) and using third party audits to verify their food safety program.
NCDA&CS is again offering their GAP Assistance Program in 2008. The program has been enhanced, so that more farmers will be eligible for up to $400 of the cost for a GAP audit. Any farmer that has a GAP audit will be eligible, not only first-timers. The application is an easy-to-complete 1-page form. For additional information or to request an application for this program, contact Ross Williams, 919-733-7887 or email Ross.Williams@ncmail.net.
Also, NCDA&CS will continue providing third party GAP audits under the USDA program in 2008. To request an audit, contact Wayne Bryant or Ronnie Wynn, at 252-792-1672.
FSA announces CDP program - USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that eligible farmers who suffered quantity losses to their crops in recent years can enroll in the Crop Disaster Program 2005-2007 (CDP) at local FSA service centers. Subject to final rules for the program, CDP provides benefits to farmers who suffered losses to the 2005-2007 crops from natural disasters and related conditions so long as the actual crop lost was planted or prevented from being planted before Feb. 28, 2007. Producers who incurred qualifying losses in 2005, 2006 or 2007 must choose only one year to receive benefits. Producers may apply for benefits for losses to multiple crops as long as the losses occurred in the same crop year
National produce associations push for nationwide produce safety regs - United Fresh Fruit&Vegetable, the Produce Marketing Association, and other national level produce associations are pushing for nationwide food safety regulations. USDA is soliciting comments on a proposed voluntary national leafy greens marketing agreement. Such an agreement would spell out production practices such as how to test irrigation water, set up buffer areas around fields, etc. The proposed agreement is based on the leafy greens agreement currently in place for handlers in California. While the general thinking in industry is that produce safety plans and actions should be based on the crop, experts say that production conditions vary widely from region to region in the US. One-size fits all is not viable, they say. In addition to the leafy greens marketing agreement in California, a GAP-T (Good Agricultural Practices-Tomatoes) program was implemented in Florida last year.
Turfgrass Irrigation Management Tool Available - The NCSU Department of Crop Science and the State Climate Office have collaborated to launch an Internet-based decision aide that will help lawn and turf managers irrigate efficiently. The Turf Irrigation Management System (TIMS) is available at no cost to anyone in North Carolina, from homeowners to turf professionals. The TIMS Web site, www.TurfFiles.ncsu.edu/TIMS, guides turf managers through a step-by-step process that ultimately will help them determine how to improve irrigation practices and conserve water. This tool was developed in response to the need to manage water efficiently, not just during the drought but at all times. These practices can save both energy and water.