November 2007 Regional Fruit Grower Newsletter

It's Coming…

The Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO is one of the largest and most informative shows in North America. The EXPO will be held December 4-6th in Grand Rapids, MI. It boasts an enormous trade show, cutting edge educational sessions, and a chance to visit with growers, farm marketers, and industry associates. The event runs from 9 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday afternoon. The 2007 EXPO will offer 22 fruit and vegetable commodity sessions, morning and afternoon sessions for farm marketers, as well as sessions on pollination, alternative energy, and cider production. Look for a number of special sessions and workshops on Thursday that include organic production, certification, and marketing, farm labor issues, water use and medicinal herb production. There's something for everyone. The EXPO will be held at Grand Rapids' at the DeVos Place, which is connected to the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Please visit the EXPO website www.GLEXPO.com for registration, program, and other information. We'll see you there!

The 2008 Orchard and Vineyard Show will be held at the Grand Traverse Resort on January 15, 16, and 17^th. We will have three days of educational programs about tart and sweet cherries, apples, and wine grapes. In late August, we visited all five of our northwest fruit growing counties to solicit ideas for the 2008 show. We received many terrific suggestions from area growers, and we look forward to incorporating those ideas into this year’s show.

The Cherry Marketing Institute will still host a morning program and a luncheon, and we will have a Phase I MAEAP Program during one evening. We will also host a wine, cheese, and social time on during one evening. Vendors will be on hand for the duration of the new three-day event. More information about the educational sessions for this big show will follow in the next newsletter.

December 10, Banks Township Hall, Ellsworth
December 11, Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 - Review of Core Manual Materials (2 recertification credits of private or commercial core offered)

12:00 to 1:00 pm - Lunch on your own

1:00 to 3:00 pm - Certification Tests offered by MDA

There is no cost for either review session. If you will be taking the MDA exam in the afternoon, please have the exam fee(s) on hand. The private applicator test is $50 and commercial is $75. Please make your check payable to State of Michigan. To help you prepare for the exam, the Pesticide Applicator Core Training Manual (E-2195) can be purchased for $10.00 at your county Extension office or at the NW Michigan Horticultural Research Station.

For December 10: Call Gloria at the Antrim County MSU Extension office, (231) 533-8818
For December 11: Call Jackie at the NW MI Hort. Station, (231) 946-1510

Erin Lizotte has been named the Michigan State University (MSU) Extension integrated fruit practices (IFP) and integrated pest management (IPM) district educator at the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station (NWMHRS). She will begin her new position on January 1, 2008. Erin will provide leadership and focus for fruit pest and crop management in northern Michigan. She will be responsible for developing and conducting research and integrated crop management training programs to address the priority needs of the Michigan fruit industry. She will also participate in research and joint outreach programming with other MSU fruit experiment stations.

Erin obtained her bachelor degree in forestry from Michigan Technological University in 2005, and her master of science degree in plant pathology from Michigan State University in 2007. Her MSU plant pathology work investigated fungicide resistance in cherry leaf spot and American brown rot, the two major pathogens in cherry. Erin also worked for the NWMHRS as a research technician in 2005. Area growers are excited that she will be back at the station, and the NWMHRS staff is looking forward to having her on board in January.

This year’s conference titled "Increasing Production and Usage of Locally Grown

Products" will be held Saturday, January 26, 2008 from 8:30 to 5:00 p.m. at Grayling High School, Grayling, Michigan. The Grayling High School is located 3 miles N. of Grayling on Old 27.

The Keynote Speaker is Chris Bedford and his topic is "Local Food Revolution and How it Can Rebuild Michigan"

You can attend three 1-hour workshops including Farm Estate Planning, Farm Financials/Economics, Hoop Houses, Organic Pork, Cellulosic Ethanol, Weed Identification, Growing Woodland Mushrooms, Small Woodland Management, Grass-fed Beef, Farm to School, What Will be in the Fields Tomorrow, Climate Change Effects on Northern Michigan Agriculture and much more!

• Registration forms available early December. For more information call 231-533-8818, or check the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference website: www.msue.msu.edu/antrim

Co-sponsors to date: Northern MI MSU Extension offices, Organic Valley, Northern Lakes Economic Alliance, Project GREEEN, C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at MSU, and Michigan Organic Food & Farm Alliance.

Here is the Brochure (pdf)

There will be a four-day workshop held to help Michigan growers pass the farm on to the next generation. The event will be held on December 7-8, 2007 and January 11-12, 2008 at the Hampton Inn in Birch Run (Frankenmuth, MI area). This workshop will address issues surrounding farm transfers and provide information and resources to help find the answers. Business partners and family members will be able to work together to develop a plan and make decisions about the future of the farming operation. Brochures are available at your local extension office or the NW MI Hort Res Station. The cost is $350 for the first four participants from the farm, which must include TWO generations at each workshop. Cost for each additional participant is $150. These fees include materials, meals, room charges, and speaker costs.

The registration deadline has past (November 9, 2007), but if your family is interested, give a call to Tuscola MSU Extension, in case there is space still available (989-672-3870).

Decision Allows Farmers to Receive Emergency Farm Loans

East Lansing, MI, October 17, 2007 – In a continuing effort to assist the agricultural industry in Michigan, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) announces the designation of 34 counties in Michigan as agricultural disaster areas, making farmers in those regions immediately eligible for USDA/FSA physical loss emergency loans.

Eight Michigan counties have been designated as a primary natural disaster area due to losses caused by storms with tornadoes, hail, and high winds that occurred July 3, 2007 through August 29, 2007.

Nancy Dietz, Michigan’s State Executive Director indicates that "this assistance will go a long way in aiding farmers devastated by this weather event." We will continue to implement every available USDA program to assist farmers through this difficult condition."

USDA designated 8 counties as primary disaster areas. The counties are: Branch, Eaton, Grand Traverse, Ingham, Isabella, Midland, Shiawassee, and St. Joseph. In addition, 26 Michigan counties are named as contiguous disaster areas. The counties are: Antrim, Barry, Bay, Benzie, Calhoun, Cass, Clare, Clinton, Genesee, Gladwin, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ionia, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Livingston, Manistee, Mecosta, Missaukee, Montcalm, Osceola, Saginaw, VanBuren, and Wexford.

This designation makes qualified farm operators in primary and contiguous disaster counties eligible for low-interest physical loss EM loans from the Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have until June 5, 2008, to apply for the loans to help cover part of their losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merit, taking into account the extent of loss, ability to obtain other credit, security available and repayment ability.

Winter Injury to Grapevines and Methods of Protection, E-2930 is now available through your county Extension office or MSU’s bulletin office at bulletin@anr.msu.edu (Fruit-Commercial). The new bulletin description reads "genotype determines a vine’s maximum cold hardiness potential. Environment – soil, weather, topography and pests – and grower management determine how much of that potential is realized." Dr. Tom Zabadal is the author of this 106 page bulletin. Cost: $15.

Pine Vole Damage Spotted in Leelanau!

Pine voles, Microtus pinetorum, are a somewhat occasional but severely damaging mammalian pest in orchard systems.  These 'invisible' creatures are subterranean, which is different from their above ground counterparts, the more common meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus).  The pine vole is a thick rodent with a blunt nose, short legs, and a tail that is shorter than the head-and-body length. Adult meadow voles are larger than pine voles, have longer tails, and have dark brown fur.  Meadow voles usually girdle the trunks of trees at or above ground level while pine voles cause damage to underground roots. Pine voles can also girdle the crowns of trees at ground level, especially under cover of snow.

Pine voles are also particularly difficult to control.  Unlike meadow voles, tree guards or hardwear cloth do not stop the pine vole as their damage is to tissues under the ground or at least below the protective structures.  Baits are the quickest and most effective method for reducing pine vole populations.  However, baits that have been broadcast on the orchard floor surface will not impact pine voles--baits placed directly in runways and burrow openings will be more effective.  Baits are often applied during the fall, but sometimes a winter and/or early spring application may be necessary to control reinvading voles. Figure 1 shows pine vole damage that occurred from the soil line down to the crown of the roots, and this feeding outright killed this Montmorency tree. The tree in Figure 2 was only partially girdled and is still alive at this time, but it is not doing well.  These photos were taken in November 07, after the tissue had already browned; if samples were taken in the spring, the white flesh would be more apparent.

Figure 1. Figure 2.

Notice to Growers!
EPA has received a petition to cancel all uses of chlorpyrifos.
Dr. Nikki Rothwell, District Horticulturist

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has received a petition to cancel all uses of chlopyrifos. This chemical is most commonly used in fruit tree systems under the trade name of Lorsban, mainly used for trunk sprays in tart cherry. At this time, Lorsban is the primary workhorse for control of American plum borer and greater and lesser peach tree borer. In other words, without Lorsban, we have few ways to control these important insect pests! In addition, Lorsban is also used pre-bloom in apple systems for scale and rosy apple aphid control. Grape growers have also been able to use this product with a special local needs label for pre-bloom control of climbing cutworm. We strongly encourage all of you to provide information for your crop in support of the continued use of this chemical! The Public Comments deadline is December 11, 2007.

Instructions on how to file public comments are contained in the EPA FR Notice.
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2007/October/Day-17/p20442.htm

Please send any comments or suggestions regarding this site to:
Bill Klein, kleinw@msu.edu

Last Revised: 11-19-07