New state limits on nutrient levels in fertilizer should help protect local waters from red tide, blue-green algae and other multicolored microorganisms. Before adopting the rules, the state held a rule making workshop with representatives from the public, fertilizer industry, environmental groups and scientific community. They will affect all bagged fertilizers sold in Florida stores and are expected to reduce nitrogen levels by 20 percent and phosphorus levels by 15 percent, said Rich...

When a population of insects becomes resistant to one chemical, it also becomes resistant to the other insecticides in the same chemical group, the entomologist explained. Broce charted the common horn fly controls by chemical class and then outlined example rotations in this year s May 18 newsletter from K- State s Extension entomologists. So, producers most rotate among chemical classes when choosing the control to apply, he said. As a result, an array of treatment methods can be...

I learned that the easy part of becoming an organic grower is to stop using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to grow their crops. The very difficult task is to learn how to compensate for that change by building up the quality of the soil so that they can begin to compete with conventional farmers, in terms of revenue and profits. The soil in the organic field on the other hand has been improved so much that it not only produces superior crops, it is now almost impervious to the impact...

Clark has been in the farming business since 1983 and worked in an agriculture consulting business before that. Precision agriculture relies on information, technology and management to help farmers distribute the necessary fertilizer and chemicals in the specific areas that need them. Shannon Norwood, the multi-county extension agent for precision agriculture in north Alabama, said there are two main components of precision agriculture: the global positioning system and geographic...

Fertimix was a subsidiary of Quali-Trade, inc., a regional wholesaler of bulk agricultural fertilizer ingredients. Harley Hohenstein, Quali-Trades President & CEO stated the decision to divest Fertimix was influenced by the need to keep Quali-Trades management focused on the ever-changing agricultural fertilizer industry and the complexity of international sourcing, raw material price fluctuations and industry consolidation. Harley Hohenstein, Quali-Trades President & CEO stated the...

Every politician in the industrial world, and at least one country and western star, sings the praises of replacing fossil fuels with corn or rapeseed or you name it. And a report out of Germany by Deutsche Welle late in May said the price of beer is going up in that country because the barley used to make malt is increasingly being replaced by heavily subsidized and thus very attractive crops like rapeseed used for biofuels. What concerns me, and greatly, is the speed with which we're...

Yet the agriculture industry is being tantalized by new crops that could prevent some farmers from being uprooted from their land. That is how the modern farmer gains access to a patchwork of different properties on which he plants his crops, county agriculture extension agents say. So farmers lease acreage from big landowners, who have other jobs and are holding the land as an investment and need an agriculture exemption for a tax break. Farmers say that what they can earn selling crops...

While most of the major world staple food crops such as wheat, maize and rice are in fact wind-pollinated, the majority of the foodstuffs that make eating interesting and enjoyable, such as fruits and nuts, require insects for pollination - the transfer of pollen from the male to the female parts of a flower - to set fruit or seed. While most of the major world staple food crops such as wheat, maize and rice are in fact wind-pollinated, the majority of the foodstuffs that make eating...

The Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) announced last month that it had reached a deal with the ministries of petroleum and electricity to establish a new pricing policy for energy to alleviate the burden on the national budget and reduce operating inefficiencies. The Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) announced last month that it had reached a deal with the ministries of petroleum and electricity to establish a new pricing policy for energy to alleviate the burden on the national budget...