Category: Tree Fruit
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Vermont Orchard Rundown
June 7, 2020 I had a chance to visit some orchards late last week in Southern Vermont. We should remember that the lower Connecticut River Valley has traditionally been a major center of apple and peach production in the state. While there are fewer acres of trees than in the past, that’s true across the…
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Seeking Information: 2020 Perennial Crop Losses
June 3, 2020 Hello: I have been asked by the USDA Risk Management Agency for information on potential weather-related losses of perennial crops in Vermont in 2020. This is not a system to report insurable losses. If you have a loss, be sure to contact your insurer asap. Rather, this is a high-level assessment of…
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Orchard Considerations: Scab (yes…), Fire Blight, Insect Management
June 17, 2020 It’s dry, I know. If you have the ability to irrigate, you should be. At a minimum, newly planted trees should be watered regularly. This dry weather has been great for management of most diseases- apple scab, plus rusts and some of the other ‘minor’ diseases should be pretty low in abundance…
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Midsummer Orchard Activities
July 15, 2020 It’s been a while since our last check-in. One of the things I was surprised by when I started in orchard work was the relative slowdown in urgency after July 1. Having grown up on a dairy farm, where there’s no break, and summer means haying season on top of all the…
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Important: VT Pick-Your-Own Webinar & Farmer Forum
June 3, 2020 Join NOFA-VT and your fellow VT Pick Your Own growers on Jun 4, 2020 5:00-6:30 PM to learn more about adapting your Pick Your Own operation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hear from VT growers including Eugenie Doyle of Last Resort Farm and Sue Haynie of Sweet Seasons Farm, and bring your questions…
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H2A Workers and COVID-Related Health Care Needs
July 26, 2020 Good morning: I’m forwarding this request on from a colleague at UVM Extension. If you use H2A workers on your farm, it is important that you weigh in so that resources may be made available (or developed, if needed) to assist you and your workers with handling issues related to COVID-19. -TB…
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VTFGA Fall Marketing
August 5, 2020 Sharing this information from VTFGA President Eric Boire on the fall apple marketing campaign. -TB From: Eric Boire Greetings Growers, As we gear up for our fall marketing campaigns this year I wanted to give you all a quick update on where we stand and what’s going to be different. The Vermont…
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VCAAP Relief Payments for Agriculture and Working Lands Businesses—Coming Soon!
August 14, 2020 Forwarding from the VT Agency of Ag, this could be a great opportunity to recoup some COVID-related expenses for your farm business. Vermont COVID-19 Agriculture Assistance Program (VCAAP) Agriculture and Working Lands Assistance Application $8.5 Million in CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funding will soon be available to a wide variety of agricultural,…
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New England Apple Crop Insurance Listening Session Notice
June 24, 2020 Forwarding from George Hamilton: LISTENING SESSION – NEW ENGLAND APPLE GROWERS PROPOSED CHANGES TO APPLE CROP INSURANCE PROGRAM THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 It is VERY important for those of you having Apple Crop Insurance Policies to participate. Apple marketing is very different here in New England compared to rest of the major…
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Apple Crop Insurance Listening Sessions
June 18, 2020 From: Jake Jacobs Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2020 11:15 AMSubject: Apple crop insurance listening sessions Please share with any interested parties. Sorry for such short notice on these listening sessions, but I just received the announcements yesterday while I was out of the office. Just FYI, in the last series of apple…