Farming

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announces the publication in the Federal Register of new proposed guidelines for the USDA BioPreferred program that could expand the ability of USDA to designate biobased products for Federal purchase. USDA is proposing to allow for the designation of intermediate ingredients such as fibers, resins, and chemicals so that the products made from them could more easily be designated for preferred Federal procurement.

By Jeneen  Wiche, columnist
June 1 is the official cut off that marks the difference between a spring bloomer and a summer bloomer.
Does it matter that you know? Yes, if you want to properly prune because pruning after June 1 could result in no blooms next year.
This spring was a great one for spring bloomers: lilacs, viburnums, azaleas, rhododendrons and many others were all able to do their thing without a major frost or freeze here at the farm.   

One of the most anticipated rites of spring is dusting off the tiller and heading out to the vegetable garden for a little soil play.
It is one of those things you can’t plan for, though. It becomes a waiting game because we can’t do it if the soil is too wet; we don’t want to do it if it is too cold and we only have the time to do it when the weekend rolls around.
Well, what would you say if I told you that you were off the hook when it comes to spring tilling?  

The Harrison County Farmers Market has scheduled the opening date for April 21. In a mailer last week, I had mentioned the date of April 28 as the starting date. This was an incorrect start date and I wanted to correct this for the general public.
On Saturday, April 21, the group hopes to have some cole crops, onions, lettuce and some plants for sale. We will also have some locally made crafts which will be offered.
Again, the market will have producers from Harrison, Roberson, Bourbon, Nicholas and Pendleton counties.