Agriculture

Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers have until Aug. 1 to nominate eligible candidates to serve on local Farm Service Agency county committees.
FSA county committees make decisions on commodity price support loans, conservation programs, disaster programs, employing county executive directors and other significant agricultural issues.

Powdery mildew is probably the most common garden fungus around. It is not too terribly picky about where it spreads. It likes humid weather, thrives in the heat of the summer and is hard to control once it has started. The trick here is to prevent it from happening by proper plant selection, spacing, pruning and treatment before it spreads.

There are some plants that demand good drainage:  taxus, coreopsis, gaillardia and penstemon, to name a few.  I have lost them all because they were poorly sited in the garden but now that I know where water is slow to drain I now where to plant those trees, shrubs and perennials that like wet environments.  There is an up side to poor drainage for some plants, just be sure that water is available when Mother Nature doesn’t deliver.

With spring planting underway, the Farm Service Agency is reminding producers to timely report any prevented or failed acreage to their local office.
Prevented planting acreage, or acreage that could not be planted because of wet field conditions or other natural disaster, should be reported to FSA within 15 days of the final planting date of the crop. This includes crops covered by crop insurance or the non-insured assistance program and crops without insurance coverage.