Sarah Farley and I are looking forward to seeing many of you at our Stateline Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference at NIU Rockford on Monday, February 17th. We have a number of...

Fresh produce packing facilities come in different sizes and designs. Some maybe fully closed and others partially closed with a few legs and a roof. Some may be permanent structures and others temporary. Farms may also use their limited space to accomplish multiple activities which may include...

Did you know that the USDA has a crop insurance policy tailored for the small organic or specialty crop farmer? It is called the Micro Farm policy for farms with no more than $350,000 of approved revenue. These are an “insured revenue” type of policy and is available in all 50 states. There...

I want to share some of the highlights from my opportunity to attend the International Tree Fruit Association’s South Africa Study Tour this past November/December.  The stunning landscapes along the Garden Route through the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces will forever stand out in my mind...

As strawberry plasticulture growers are closing in on the end of the fall growing season for the annual production system, the impact of the relatively new strawberry fungal disease, Neopestalotiopsis, is starting to be seen. Even with diligent spray programs, plant death and decline has still been...

As winter is upon us, there are things that growers can do to deal with winter pests. Of course, this is particularly important in winter production and here in Illinois, this is primarily done in high tunnels and greenhouses. In high tunnels, no pest is worse in winter production than aphids (...

After a warm dry spell of weather in October, we are more wet and have more typical temperatures.  We made up for lost time in precipitation having 8.03 inches of rain for the month of November (as of 11/26).  Most of this came on 11/4 and 11/5 when we got 6.37 inches of rain. This...

The cover crops seeded in the “treatment” high tunnel are growing, although not as evenly as hoped. The crimson clover stand is almost non-existent, and the annual ryegrass stand is much better in plots at the back of the tunnel (photo to right, B. Aly, Illinois Extension 2024). The working theory...

For Northern Illinois orchards, the 2024 season has concluded. Between Halloween and Thanksgiving, some of the orchards have limited hours with pre-picked apples as they begin to shut down for the season. One of the final cultivars in October is 'Evercrisp'  a 'Honeycrisp x Fuji' MAIA apple...

We are dry in the area, having received little rainfall in the month of October with only 0.06”.  We did get almost 6” of rain in the last half of September which went a long way to helping fall crops in the field. Temperatures have overall been fairly warm with highs bouncing between the...