The diseases of concern to the Texas citrus industry, citrus tristeza virus and citrus greening, are both spread by insects. Not only will you have a healthier tree, you'll help the Texas citrus industry stay healthy, and it's the law. Sweet citrus budwood is grafted, or tightly spliced, onto hardier sour orange rootstock to produce bountiful, healthy trees that do well in Texas soils, Watson said. Since 2001, the Citrus Center has made virus-free budwood available to commercial growers...

John Sterlicchi in Florida Monday April 16, 2007 Guardian Unlimited Almost exactly a month after a deadly contaminated pet food scandal hit north America, businesses are being told to remove more brands from shelves and government officials still cannot give the all-clear. John Sterlicchi in Florida Monday April 16, 2007 Guardian Unlimited Almost exactly a month after a deadly contaminated pet food scandal hit north America, businesses are being told to remove more brands from shelves and...

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There are less than 10 active aggregates that pool conservation tillage on farmland, with several more aggregates waiting for approval. Conservation farming practices and grasslands are the newest forms of value added agriculture. Based on carbon storage studies, one acre of farmland in eastern South Dakota, Minnesota counties south of Interstate 94, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, the eastern third of Kansas, and eastern portions of Nebraska receive 60 percent of that carbon credit per acre - or...

As agricultural officials across the state declare the first citrus bloom period since the January freeze, mandarin growers are stepping up efforts to protect their groves. While many of the states mandarin growers were hard hit in January by one of the most devastating freezes ever to hit California, honey bees visiting mandarin groves this month in the San Joaquin Valley citrus belt could spell disaster for next years crops, said Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual. While...

The couple, owners of Bluegrass Industries, inc., bought the company 10 years ago and did pretty well manufacturing bulk fruit haulers - trucks with slatted sides that carry gigantic mounds of citrus fruit. The trend was accelerated by farmers selling their groves to developers, removal of diseased and damaged citrus trees and another round of hurricanes that hurt the state's fruit harvest again in 2005. Concurrently, Florida has produced fewer and fewer boxes of citrus that need hauling....