OVERTON — The East Texas Fruit and Vegetable Conference program on Feb. 16 will include an update on USDA’s expanded crop insurance umbrella for growers of peaches, nursery and citrus crops as well as the latest news on production techniques.
Set at the Rose Garden Center in Tyler, the conference is designed primarily for those in the commercial fruit and vegetable business, but home gardeners and orchard owners also will benefit, said Dr. Marty Baker, horticultural specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
“Anybody who sells vegetables and fruits or does a lot of home canning or freezing should find this event very beneficial,” Baker said.
Commercial growers in particular, however, should benefit from Dr. Ken Stokes’ analysis of the USDA s decision to extend the crop insurance sign-up date to March 15 for crops with fall sales closing dates.
“Producers have been given a unique opportunity to purchase crop insurance or reevaluate their existing insurance plans,” said Stokes, an Extension economist in Stephenville.
Besides reopening crop insurance, U.S. Agriculture secretary Dan Glickman announced an estimated 30 percent reduction in 1999 policy premiums for farmers.
“This is supposedly a one-time deal only, Stokes said. The funds for the premium reduction are part of the $2.4 billion pool that Congress appropriated to assist farmers suffering from crop and economic losses.
In a separate presentation, Stokes will outline Extension’s new Financial and Risk Management Assistance (FARM Assistance) program.
FARM Assistance is a major focus of the Texas Risk Management Education Program. FARM Assistance can aid producers in evaluating the structure of their existing operation and future alternatives under risk for up to 10 years into the future.
“The important innovation is that the FARM Assistance program allows examining those long-term strategic alternatives under risk,” Stokes explained. “With FARM Assistance, one can look at the potential impacts of business alternatives before they are actually implemented. Extension risk management economists will work one-on- one with producers to gather information on the farm operation, conduct analysis and prepare reports.”
In other presentations, Dr. Guy Fipps will discuss essentials for irrigation of fruits and vegetables, and Dr. Charles Hall will talk about selling fruits and vegetables.
After lunch, the conference will have separate vegetable and fruit sessions.
The vegetable session will include a presentation on specialty vegetable crops suitable for East Texas conditions by Dr. Frank Daniello and an update on vegetable production in East Texas by Baker.
Baker also will talk about some new cantaloupe varieties which he and researchers recently tested at the Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Overton.
“Both commercial growers and home truck gardeners should be excited about Jupiter and Caravell,” Baker said.
Both varieties consistently produce four to six melons per hill in the 9’s and 12’s range. The 9’s and 12’s relates to the number of cantaloupes that will fit in a USDA standard cantaloupe box, which is approximately 2.5 feet square and 10 inches tall.
In the afternoon fruit session, Dr. Jim Kamas will review the nutrition and development of a new peach orchard; Dr. George Philley will give an update on fruit diseases; and Dr. James Robinson will give the latest news on insects affecting fruits in East Texas.
The conference is sponsored by the Build East Texas (BET) organization and the Extension Service.
Registration for the conference is $10 at the door, a fee which includes lunch and break refreshments. The registration table will open at 8 a.m. The program will begin at 8:45 a.m. and adjourns at 2:45 p.m.
The Tyler Rose Garden Center is located next to the East Texas State fairgrounds on Hwy. 31, about one mile west of the Tyler square. For more information contact Keith Hansen at the Smith County Extension office, (903) 535-0885.
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