Ask any crop grower in the Northeast or Midwest what keeps them up at night and you will hear a familiar refrain. It’s not just rain roulette or market mood swings. It is hooves in the headlands and half-moon bites out of tender leaves. Deer and other pests have become persistent, pervasive and pric...

When analyzing a plant problem, it’s best to not immediately jump to conclusions based on the first thing you see. Jonathan Ebba, a UNH Extension landscape and greenhouse field specialist, recommends growers look at their affected plant from the broadest level first, and then get specific. With this...

Woolly apple aphid remains a stubborn and surprising sap sucker, a pest that presses patience and provokes persistent problems for apple growers. Michigan State University researchers Martin Brubaker, Heather Lynch and Juliana Wilson are focusing on how this fuzzy foe behaves, where it hides and why...

Dr. Jason Smith, forest pathologist, University of Mount Union in Ohio, said it took a long time for one of the most recent and puzzling diseases of certain trees and shrubs to get anyone’s attention, primarily because the dead and dying trees were in swampy areas including the Florida Everglades. T...

Many people enjoy the tropical taste of passionfruit but are unaware there is another fruit in the same genus that can be grown closer to home. Maypop ( P assiflora incarnata) is a perennial vine that’s native to North America. It’s valued for its tropical fruit flavor, adaptability and resilience t...

An assortment of specialized tendons, ligaments and bones in the arms and hands allows humans to perform amazing work. Farmers’ daily tasks often lead to pain and weakness that can result in dangerous work conditions and accidents. Dr. Patricia Siegel, certified hand therapist and associate professo...

When a farmer is already working with razor-thin margins, a profit boost of even a few cents per acre can mean a lot. That’s especially true when the domestic market for a specific crop – like asparagus – has shrunk dramatically over the past decade. Asparagus production in Michigan has surpassed th...

There’s more to building a farm than obtaining acreage, lumber, fencing and equipment. Some of the first steps for new and beginning farmers include gathering information and obtaining a loan. “First is your state’s land grant Extension service,” said Chris Laughton, director of knowledge exchange, ...

Human resources may seem like a department or set of duties for a business far different from your farm; however, it’s important to perform these tasks legally and consistently, both to protect your farm and to train new people correctly. Jess Skellie works for a small group of dairy farms. She rece...