New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher announced the Department has added five counties to the spotted lanternfly quarantine zone. The counties new to the list are Morris, Monmouth, Middlesex, Essex, and Union. They join the previously announced quarantine counties of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Salem, Somerset, and Warren. “The spotted lanternfly’s excellent hitchhiking ..read more

Pennsylvania Agaricus mushroom growers led all states with $481 million in sales, down 12 percent from the previous season. Pennsylvania accounted for 64 percent of the total volume of sales and second-ranked California contributed 13 percent. The Pennsylvania reported average price is $1.01 per pound, down $0.03 from previous year’s price. The Agaricus mushroom growers ..read more

Today, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) proclamation to recognize the designation of the week of June 21 – 27, 2021 as National Pollinator Week. Pollinator species, such as birds, bats, bees, and other insects, play an important role in producing more than 100 crops grown in the ..read more

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly agricultural trade forecast, projects fiscal year 2021 U.S. farm exports at $164 billion – the highest total on record. This represents an increase of $28 billion, or 21 percent, from last fiscal year’s total, and a $7-billion increase from USDA’s previous FY 2021 forecast published in February. The annual ..read more

The Toro Company and Toro distributor, Turf Equipment and Supply Company, have finalized a 20-year agreement as the exclusive turf maintenance and irrigation equipment supplier for the National Links Trust (NLT) in Washington D.C. The agreement with National Links Trust, Toro and Turf Equipment and Supply Company, will start in 2021 and extend through 2041 ..read more

The Jonathan Green Lawn Care Academy is a series of seven 2-minute videos that explain the most important components of lawn care. It covers everything from how to choose grass seed, to the ways fertilizer protects your lawn. All of the videos are now available for free at https://www.jonathangreen.com/lawn-videos.html ..read more

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today the appointment of Gloria Montaño Greene as Deputy Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) and the appointment of Zach Ducheneaux as Administrator of the Farm Service Agency (FSA). They will begin their positions on Monday, Feb. 22. Montaño Greene is a former State Executive Director for ..read more

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct its end of season surveys for the 2020 fruit and berry production beginning in January 2021. The surveys will collect information about acres, production and prices from more than 2,500 growers in the Northeastern region of the United States. “The information from these ..read more

PanAmerican Seed is pleased to accept a 2021 All-America Selections Regional Award for its new Pepper Pot-a-peño. This Capsicum annuum is a Jalapeño-type that spices up vegetable gardens with a fun, unique cascading habit, high yield, and early maturing, mildly spicy fruit. With the rise in new gardeners this year plus the increased enjoyment of ..read more

The Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA) reached a reluctant decision to cancel Tropical Plant International Expo – TPIE 2021 – scheduled for January 20-22, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. Although show organizers tried to make it happen, and wanted to make it happen, it was no longer feasible to hold the annual industry trade ..read more