Pest Management Program Set for Greenhouse Growers

By George G. Landis, Reading Eagle, Pa.

Jul. 29–An integrated pest management program for greenhouse growers is scheduled at 3:45 p.m. Aug. 8 at the Still Pond Nursery in Earlville on Hess Lane off Route 562.

Kim Bechtle has owned the nursery since 1989. Specializing in container-grown perennials, she wholesales more than 500 varieties to garden centers and landscapers and offers retail sales Saturdays.

The program is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Women’s Agricultural Network, the state Department of Agriculture’s outreach and assistance program and the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association.

For more information, call Linda Moist at 1-814-865-7031.

Soybean deadline: Aug. 31 is the deadline for the Pennsylvania soybean yield contest sponsored by the Pennsylvania Soybean Board.

First prize is airfare and lodging for two at the 2008 Commodity Classic on Feb. 28 to March 1 in Nashville, Tenn.

Pesticide course: A short pesticide course is planned Tuesday, Wednesday and Aug. 7 and 8 at the Neshaminy Manor Center, Doylestown, Bucks County.

The course is designed to prepare professionals to take the certified pesticide applicator’s exam.

Summer camp: A summer camp offered by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will teach junior and senior high students skills that can enable them to do community service while introducing them to a high-tech career option for the future.

The third annual Penn State Geospatial Technology Summer Camp, scheduled Monday through Friday at Penn State’s University Park campus, will allow 12- to 18-year-old youths to have hands-on fun with hightech global positioning systems and computers.

Sweet corn: Sweet corn is a $44.2 million industry in Pennsylvania, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

The state ranks seventh nationally in fresh market sweet corn production. In 2006, 17,400 acres were planted and harvested in the state, totaling 99 million pounds.

Milk output: Milk production in Pennsylvania during May 2007 totaled 944 million pounds, 0.1 percent below last May’s production of 945 million pounds, according to the Pennsylvania Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The number of milk cows in the state during the month averaged 549,000 head, down 1,000 head from April 2007 and down 7,000 from May 2006.

Production per cow averaged 1,720 pounds in May, 30 pounds more than April’s production per cow of 1,690 pounds and 20 pounds per cow more than May 2006.

Record exports: United States agricultural exports reached a record in fiscal 2006 at $68.7 billion, some $6.2 billion higher than the record set in fiscal 2005 California, Iowa, Texas and Illi nois continued their reign as top exporting states, while Minneso ta dropped to seventh position behind Nebraska and Kansas North Carolina joined the top 10 displacing North Dakota at the No. 9 position.

Feed grain exports moved ahead of soybean exports, with Iowa and Illinois dominating those markets. California contin ued to dominate vegetables fruits, tree nuts, seeds and dairy

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Copyright (c) 2007, Reading Eagle, Pa.

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