Today, more than 117 hectares of land are certified according to the standards of organic viticulture in our country.
Panel discussion “Organic viticulture and winemaking” is about sustainable production and consumption. It will be held on November 24 as part of the business program of the First Russian Wine Forum with the support of Roskachestvo.
Russian winemaking is developing at a rapid pace and is becoming increasingly attractive both to consumers who are introduced to high-quality and unique Russian wines, and to entrepreneurs who see great prospects in the industry. Following the industry, the organic segment is also developing within its framework.
Organic wine is one of the global trends that perfectly illustrates the concept of responsible consumption and the desire for a healthy lifestyle. In Russia, it began to develop only with the adoption of the law “On Organic Products”. Another fundamental point was the emergence of a certification body in the person of Roskachestvo: certification not only guarantees the ecological purity of wine, but also ensures higher consumer interest. Today, more than 117 hectares of land have already been certified according to the standards of organic viticulture in Russia. According to the predictions of Roskachestvo experts, the area under such vineyards in the country can grow by another 200 hectares in 2023, and more than 900 hectares in three years.
How are organic vineyards ranked and how is their certification process going. What laws govern the economy and certification of organic wine? These questions will be answered by the participants of the discussion, including representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, the Federation Council and, of course, winemakers who focus on organic production. The discussion is moderated by Pavel Shvets, president of the agricultural production cooperative Terroir, owner of the Uppa winery.
Details of the business program can be found at official website of the Forum. The event is organized by the Roscongress Foundation and the Association “Federal Self-Regulatory Organization of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia” with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation. Co-organizer – Rosselkhozbank.


The kids have been collecting seeds (see that here) and have decided that we have too many for us to use so are going to sell some! They are selling organic heirloom seeds that they have grown and collected themselves :)
Will & Sage are learning about the entire process of making money. So much to do: collecting money, posting items, marketing, cost V profit and the list goes on!
Zucchini Seeds $2
Black beauty is a very popular variety with green glossy fruit.Easy to grow. Pick Fruit when small, between 15-20cm long.
Sunflower Seeds $1
Sunflowers are annuals with showy, daisy like flower heads that are usually 20-30cm across and bright yellow.Remarkably tough and easy to grow. Heat and drought tolerant. Sunflowers grow best in locations with full sun; they prefer long, hot summers to flower well.
Sow 15-20mm deep. Sow in early Sumer. Germination 7-10 days.


Also called organic or biological, are plant products, animals or their derivatives, which are produced and elaborated with natural substances.
In the production of organic foods does not use pesticides or fertilizers of chemical synthesis. Are free of hormones, antibiotics, residues of heavy metals, without the use of dyes and artificial flavors, as well as of genetically Modified Organisms (GMOS).
Organic food is known for its high nutritional value, as they generally possess a higher concentration of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients than those produced in systems with high use of agrochemicals.
For a product to be labeled as Organic , must be certified (by a Certifying Body, by Participatory Guarantee Systems or by the Secretariat).
Organic production protects the environment
The agriculture and livestock organic decrease the chemical load on the environment, by not applying pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, etc, in your production system.
Organic practices can help to reduce the chemical contamination of soil, water and atmosphere.
In addition, the organic production methods aim to reduce soil erosion, promote biodiversity and make proper use of natural resources.
Protect your health
Organic products, by its process of production, are free of toxic waste, which can cause disease or damage to the health. Why are assimilated better in your body.
Types of products
Foods: meat, egg, milk, cheese, fruit, vegetables, vegetable, honey, sugar, sweets, drinks, cereals, bread, seeds, chocolate, tea, coffee, snacks, jams, cold meats, etc
Other: soap, toothpaste, toilet soap, shampoo, detergent powder, paste or liquid, cosmetics, creams, facial and body lotions, face masks, clothes, crafts, etc


A fruit harvest machine is a specialized piece of agricultural equipment used to efficiently and effectively harvest a variety of fruit crops, including but not limited to, apples, pears, peaches, citrus, and berries.
Fruit harvest machines typically consist of a combination of conveyor belts, rollers, brushes, and shaking mechanisms to gently separate the fruit from the tree and transfer it to a collection bin or container. Some machines also feature adjustable arms and a telescoping boom to reach high branches.
There are several types of fruit harvest machines, each designed for specific types of fruit and harvesting conditions. For example, some machines are specifically designed for use in orchards, while others are suitable for use in berry fields.
When choosing a fruit harvest machine, it is important to consider the type of fruit being harvested, the size of the crop, and the operating conditions, such as the type of terrain and the height of the trees. It is also important to consider the efficiency, speed, and reliability of the machine, as well as the ease of maintenance and repair.
Proper use and maintenance of a fruit harvest machine is essential for ensuring efficient and effective operation. This may include regular cleaning and lubrication, as well as proper adjustment of the machine's components and settings. Using high-quality machines, and following the manufacturer's guidelines and best practices for use and maintenance, can help ensure a successful and efficient harvest season.


The Stanford Food Heroes is a collective of Stanford growers and producers who live and work in the area surrounding Stanford. You can inhale the scent of their herbs and aroma of their buttery bakes, roll their tomatoes and lemons around in your hands and breath in the spices of their charcuterie at the weekly Wednesday Morning Farmers’ Market at Graze, and the Saturday Morning Market on the Stanford Hotel stoep. Besides these markets, some heroes supply or run their own restaurants and delis. Their identity is that they hold home-grown, local produce dear and believe in keeping the supply chain local and lekker. They believe that the best things in life take time.
In 2017, a small group of ideas people identified the Stanford Food Heroes and the increasingly foodie identity of Stanford, and approached them to ask if they were interested in being a part of a new phone application trial aimed at marketing fresh surplus to the closest market, and reducing food loss. What a great idea for a communications app to team up with a group of growers and producers – the Stanford Food Heroes could really sink their teeth into this partnership.
The new FoodforUs app is a United Nations-funded application that links local growers and buyers. It was designed to ensure that edible and nutritious food is not wasted at farm level but instead fulfils its primary purpose of feeding people. It will do this by linking local groups of growers (farmers at all scales) and buyers (feeding schemes, early childhood development centres, restaurants, guesthouses and individuals) through a convenient mobile app. The app will provide an overview and images of what is available from each grower and enables growers and buyers to communicate on payment and delivery methods.
Food is wasted at farm levels for a variety of reasons. Retailers sometimes cancel orders at the last-minute leaving farmers unable to find appropriate markets for their produce in time, or farmers can produce a surplus that they have not planned for in terms of marketing and sale. The FoodforUs app provides farmers with immediate access to a group of local buyers.
The app is available on the Google and iTunes play stores. Once registered, participants will be sent a password that they use to log into the app to view the produce available. This research trial is being conducted in Stanford, Worcester and two pilot sites in the Eastern Cape. Once the initial phase is complete, users’ feedback will be incorporated into a revision of the app’s features and the platform will be released to a wider audience.
Follow the project on Facebook @foodforusza or contact the team directly on firstname.lastname@example.org.
FoodforUs looks forward to working with Stanford’s innovative food networks to trial the app that helps to reduce food waste by linking local growers and buyers. More information can be found on the project at www.foodforus.co.za.
*For more on the Stanford Food Heroes, click here
Words by Phil Murray and Stephanie Swanepoel


RUBBER BALE CUTTER
Rubber bale cutter is used to cut bales of rubber in different sizes. The machines have rollers that ensure the easing of the movement of bales. We have both, semi and fully automatic cutters. These are suitable for the toughest natural and synthetic rubber bales. The inclined cutters are fed with continuous bales and the cut steel alloy blades them into pre determined size of selected thickness and even are automatically discharged. Our rubber bale cutter is also equipped with conveyor belts for carrying the cut pieces of bales. The benefits of our machines include high precision, better quality cutting and higher productivity besides low maintenance cost. It cuts both natural as well as synthetic rubber bales.


The green berries ripening controversy
As we enter veraison, we observe that the window during which berries are changing color is stretching due to the weather cooling off. What does this mean for the uniformity of ripening?
Traditionally it is assumed that the rate of ripening is uniform between berries. Consequently, when a berry turns red later, it is believed to ripen later. Thus, when change in cluster coloration takes longer than usual, the removal of green berries from the cluster is sometimes decided. The thinking is that removal of delayed ripening berries would reduce cluster heterogeneity and help winemakers get more even cluster composition at harvest.
A natural mechanism advances the rate of ripening in green berries compared to red berries
- Ripening program is flexible from berries to berries.
- Uneven berry formation and uneven coloration at mid veraison does not mean uneven ripeness.
- Faster accumulation in under ripe berries reduces ripening differences among berries.
Practicing green berry thinning when veraison takes longer than usual may not be such a good idea after all.
Fruition Sciences follows latest research and shares with you our insights from the field. Our product Sap Flow helps you monitor your water use and identify significant water savings opportunities for grape growers while enhancing the quality of the fruit.
Cat graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Environmental Studies with a focus on sustainable agriculture and a minor in Latin American development. Through her work on organic farms abroad and her job in sales for an organic clothing company in Santa Cruz, Cat strengthened her passion for adventure, personal connection and fostering sustainable action. Joining the Fruition team as a Field Technician for the 2016 season, she now assists in all aspects of field operations as Head Technician.
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These days, asking ourselves if we maintain a balanced diet by eating healthily is as much important as ensuring that our eating habits are sustainable, hence not costing the planet. Sounds too challenging to do in daily basis? Fret not as it takes only a few adjustments to transform our eating practices into one that is benefiting for the health of us and the planet. Interestingly, a sustainable eating behaviour is not only about what we eat, but also about the entire process involved in our daily eating practices: before, during and after we eat.
Buy fair–trade food products
Fair-trade-certified products follow economically and environmentally responsible guidelines as the price covers the cost of sustainable production. Buying fair-trade foods supports a cause that is invested in improving the lives and working conditions of small-scale farmers and workers in developing countries and holding producers accountable for the environmental standards they must comply with.
Grow greens and spices at home
Wherever we live, we can always find somewhere to grow food a few things, like greens and herbs. From planting in containers, pots or bags to creating a vertical garden inside our window, there are many ways to get started with growing our crop even if we are cramped for spaces. Growing our own grub is not only economical, but also reduces food mileage we imprint on the earth.
Eat less processed and packaged foods, self-cook more
Ready-to-eat foods that we buy at the market not only costs us, but also the planet, as they demand greater energy expenditure to fuel the entire processing and packaging. Replacing processed foods with the process of cooking by ourselves leads to energy conservation and energy independence as we rely more on human energy instead of fuel energy.
A sustainable eating behaviour is not only about what we eat, but also about the entire process involved in our daily eating practices: before, during and after we eat.
Cook a lot of things at once
Using the oven or stove to cook a bunch of ingredients at once can save the energy and time. In addition to less electricity used, we will have less dish-cleaning to do.
Eat locally and seasonal. Learn how to preserve the harvest.
Foods that are in season are fresher and healthier, in general, as they do not require as much artificial help in growing. Eating local seasonal products reduces the energy needed to grow unseasonal food, and thus saves us from spending for the premium for food that is scarcer or need to be shipped across the globe and reduces our carbon footprint.
For seasonal fruits and vegetables that we want to eat year-round, preserve them: stock up, can, dehydrate, or ferment them. This way, we can still enjoy them when they’re out of season. In addition, preserving food by freezing the leftovers for later consumption could save an average-sized household £250 a year and reduce our domestic food waste by 47%.
Compost food waste
The vast majority of our food waste that can be composted, including fruit or vegetable trimmings, grains, coffee grounds and tea. Turning them into compost is a win-win solution for the air, soil and us. If we do not have time to start our own compost at home, we can just find a place to drop off our compostable goods.
Relevant news articles
How to be a Successful Private Hire DriverNovember 4th, 2019 • Jonny Goldstone •
So you’ve decided that a life as a private hire driver is the career path for you? With flexible working hours, the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and attractive earning potential, it’s not surprising that more and more people are driving a taxi for a living. But if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well – especially when performance is so intrinsically tied to your pay packet.
Our Pick of the Top 5 Sustainable Companies in the UKSeptember 20th, 2019 • Jonny Goldstone •
At Green Tomato Cars, we are continually striving to improve the environmental credentials of our operations and be the greenest private hire vehicle company that we can be. It’s always gratifying to be recognised for those efforts, and as we were recently named as one of the top 25 sustainable companies in the UK, we thought we’d pay the compliment forward.
Come Attend Our Driver Recruitment Open Days on Friday 30th August and Friday 6th SeptemberAugust 27th, 2019 • Jonny Goldstone •
Following the launch of our brand new Driver Deal we are looking to recruit PCO drivers to join our busy platform. We are holding a driver recruitment open day at
Renaissance Hotel Heathrow , Bath Road, TW6 2AQ


Give much thanks to The Lawn Blog for these phrases and definitions….
The use of a plant or object to draw attention to or punctuate a space.
A soil with a pH lower than 7.0 is an acid soil. (a soil pH higher than 7.0 is alkaline) Basically, pH is a measure of the amount of lime (calcium) contained in your soil.
A measure of land totaling 43,560 square feet. A square acre is 208.75 feet on each side.
Loosening or puncturing the soil to increase water penetration.
A specialized method of plant propagation accomplished by cutting into the bark of the plant to induce new roots to form.
A soil with a pH higher than 7.0 is an alkaline soil. (a soil pH lower than 7.0 is acidic) Basically, pH is a measure of the amount of lime (calcium) contained in your soil.
The decrease in soil reservoir capacity you are willing to allow before adding irrigation water. A medium value turf is typically managed at 50% AD, whereas a low value turf may be managed at a 75% AD.
Any substance, such as manure, peat or mulch, used to alter the properties of soil.
A plant that germinates, grows, produces flowers and seeds, and dies within one growing season.
Plants which grow in, live in, or live on the water.
A garden with a large collection of trees and shrubs cultivated for scientific or educational purposes.
The difference in the amount of water contained in soil at field capacity and the amount at the permanent wilting point.
Soil used to fill a planting hole after the plant has been positioned. Amended soil is often used as backfill.
Balled and burlapped (abbrev. B & B)
A way of packaging plants in which the roots are contained in a ball of soil held together in burlap.
Plants offered for sale which have had all of the soil removed from their roots.
Plants (mainly annuals), nursery grown and suitable for growing in beds. Quick, colorful flowers.
Bench mark (BM)
A fixed point with a known elevation.
A plant that completes its life cycle in two years.
Vegetables which quickly go to flower rather than producing the food crop. Usually caused by late planting and too warm temperatures.
The art of growing carefully trained, dwarf plants in containers.
Trunk tissue that forms around the base of a branch where it attaches to the main stem or a lateral. As a branch decreases in vigor or begins to die, the branch collar becomes more pronounced.
Modified leaves growing just below a flower. Often confused with the flower itself.
The raised area of bark in the branch crotch that makes the junction of the branch wood and trunk wood.
To scatter seed, fertilizer or other material over the ground.
Early stages of development of a flower or plant growth.
The thickened underground storage organ of the group of perennials which includes daffodils and tulips.
Butterfly container roots
A method of loosening a tightly bound root ball on container-grown plants. A vertical cut is made from the bottom of the root ball part way up.
The diameter of a tree trunk measured 6″ (15 cm) above ground level for trees up to 4″ (100 mm) caliper and 12″ (30 cm) above the ground for larger sizes.
The thin membrane located just beneath the bark of a plant.
A stem of a shrub. Multi-caned shrubs are preferred because of their fuller form.
The green pigment in leaves. When present and healthy usually dominates all other pigments.
Very fine soil particles. Clay soils (soils containing a high percentage of clay particles) are often called heavy soils and are characterized by slow movement of water through the soil. Clay soils can be improved with soil amendments such as manure, peat or mulch.
An organic soil amendment resulting from the decomposition of organic matter.
A group of plants, mostly evergreen, that produce their seeds in a cone.
Trees or shrubs packaged with their roots and growing medium in a plastic or peat-fiber container.
The point at which a plants roots and top join. (usually at soil level)
A level surface used as a reference for elevations.
The process of pinching off used or spent blooms to keep the plants well groomed and to prevent them from setting seed. This will promote continued bloom.
A tree or shrub that loses all of its leaves at once, usually in the fall.
A pathogen that impairs the normal function or development of a plant.
The circle which would exist if you drew a line below the tips of the outer most branches of a tree or plant.
The combination of evaporation (water loss from land and water surfaces) and transpiration (water loss from plants).
Plants that do not lose all of their leaves at once. Evergreens can be conifers or broad-leaved.
The application of nutrients to promote plant vitality. Organic or inorganic plant foods which may be either liquid or granular used to amend the soil in order to improve the quality or quantity of plant growth.
The point at which soil becomes saturated and cannot absorb any more water.
Fertilizer applied in liquid form to the plants foliage in a fine spray.
To cut or constrict bark so that growth is slowed or stopped. By inhibiting the movement of nutrients, girdling can harm or kill plants.
A measure of the change in elevation in relation to the change in distance. Gradient is expressed as a decimal and is always a positive number.
The uniting of a short length of stem of one plant onto the root stock of a different plant. This is often done to produce a hardier or more disease resistant plant.
A rope or wire used as a tree support.
A layer of hard or compacted soil impenetrable to plants roots, water and nutrients.
Plants with soft, non-woody stems. Generally refers to plants that die back to the ground each year.
A substance used to kill plants. A herbicide can be selective (designed to kill a narrow range of plants) or non-selective (designed to kill any plant it contacts). Herbicides can also be pre-emergent or post-emergent.
A cross between two plants of different variety, species or genus. Hybrids are usually created to produce plants with specific characteristics, such as disease resistance, unique flower color, etc.
The rate at which water is absorbed into the soil. Clay soils have low infiltration rates; sandy soils have high infiltration rates.
A substance used to kill insects.
The application of water to the soil to nourish plants.
A branch growing out of a main trunk or stem.
An irrigation pipe that goes from a control valve to sprinkler heads, emitters, etc.
The dominant vertical branch that extends above the other branches.
A soil type composed of clay, silt and sand particles in relatively equal amounts. Loam is considered ideal for plants because it drains well but does not dry out quickly.
An irrigation line that receives water from the source and distributes it to the control valves.
A nutrient required by plants in small or trace quantities. Does not include the major plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium).
Organic matter (abbrev. OM
Naturally occurring material such as manure, sewage sludge, peat, grass clippings, etc. Organic matter is often used as a soil amendment.
A plant that lives for more then two years.
Permanent wilting point
The point at which plant roots can no longer extract water from the soil.
Something that can negatively impact plants. Weeds, undesirable insects and diseases are all considered pests.
A substance used to kill pests.
The measure of a soil’s acidity or alkalinity on a scale of 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is considered neutral. A pH under 7 designates acidic soil, while a pH over 7 designates alkaline or basic soil.
Complex tissue that conducts food in woody plants.
The process by which plants produce their food using water, carbon dioxide and energy derived from sunlight.
Spaces within soil that contain air and water.
A chemical that kills plants after they have emerged from soil.
A chemical that kills plants after seeds have germinated but before plants have emerged from soil.
The condition in which a plant’s roots have become tangled and matted from growing in a container too long. Once planted, a root bound plant will not grow well or anchor normally. Tall plants are in danger of toppling in high winds.
Large soil particles. Sandy soils (soils containing a high percentage of sand particles) are characterized by rapid water movement through the soil. Sandy soils can be improved with soil amendments such as manure, peat or mulch.
To cut, scratch or losen roots or soil before planting to prevent plants from being root-bound.
The particles of sand, silt and clay that make up a soil.
Soil particles that are larger than clay and smaller than sand.
The amount of water the soil can contain measured down to the plant root. The soil reservoir multiplied by the available water per foot is the soil reservoir capacity.
A bog moss which is collected and composted. Most peat moss is composed primarily of sphagnum moss. This moss is also packaged and sold in a fresh state, and used for lining hanging baskets and air layering.
The reproductive cell of ferns, fungi and mosses. (these plants do not produce seeds)
The practice of driving a stake into the ground next to, and as a support for a plant. When attaching the plant to the stake, be sure that it is tied loosely so it doesn’t strangle the stem. When staking a potted plant, the stake should be set into the planter before the plant is added.
A growth originating from the rootstock of a grafted plant, rather than the desired part of the plant. Sucker growth should be removed, so it doesn’t draw energy from the plant.
A chemical which is absorbed directly into a plants system to either kill feeding insects on the plant, or to kill the plant itself.
The main, thick root growing straight down from a plant. (not all plants have tap roots)
Plants which are unable to endure frost or freezing temperatures.
The twisting, clinging, slender growth on many vines, which allows the plant to attach themselves to a support or trellis.
The layer of dead stems that builds up under many lawn grasses. Thatch should be removed periodically to promote better water and nutrient penetration into the soil.
Removing excess seedlings, to allow sufficient room for the remaining plants to grow. Thinning also refers to removing entire branches from a tree or shrub, to give the plant a more open structure.
A method of pruning and training certain plants into formal shapes such as animals.
The top layer of native soil. This term may also apply to good quality soil sold at nurseries and garden centers.
The release of moisture through the leaves of a plant.
The process of digging up a plant and moving it to another location.
A flat underground stem which stores food and plant energy and from which a plant grows. (e.g. Dahlias)
Leaves which are marked with multiple colors.
The mineral ‘mica’ which has been heated to the point of expansion. A good addition to container potting mixes, vermiculite retains moisture and air within the soil.


Let’s Buy the Afghan Opium Crop
A recent BBC news story:
“Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan hit record levels in 2013 despite counter-narcotics efforts by Washington, a US report says.
The special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction said the US had spent $7.6bn (£4.72bn) over 13 years trying to eradicate the plant.
A number of agencies gave to the funds aimed at supporting narcotics officers and helping farmers change livelihoods.
Despite this, Afghanistan grew 209,000 hectares of the plant in 2013.
A UN body says the value of this crop was nearly $3bn (£1.86bn), up 50% from 2012.”
So here’s a thought: instead of spending tons of money on failing to stop cultivation of the opium poppy in Afghanistan, why don’t ‘western’ governments instead buy that same opium crop from the Afghani farmers? The entire crop, every year.


In 2006 Tennis Club Unterföhring e.V., Munich renewed its irrigation system by
exchanging the existing sprinklers from other brand with an automatic
PERROT pop-up irrigation system.
All of the four courts have been newly equipped.
This project was executed by our distributor:
Helmut Bauer GmbH
Here it is -
the original PERROT 8" cardan coupling
is now available. Flexible in use and application - for
operating pressure of up to 10 bar.
Male and female part made of steel, black
Cardan ring made of galvanized steel
Hooks and levers made of galvanized cast iron
For inquiries concerning prices and delivery time,
simply click on the corresponding button.
Hockey field Heidenheim/Germany
Artificial lawn field with VP2 large area pop-up sprinklers. The sports club HSB Heidenheim has recently installed an automatic irrigation system mit six VP2 pop-up sprinklers. Even without a sprinkler in the center, the hockey field is evenly irrigated also at windy conditions.
This irrigation system was installed by our distributor
Fa. Gross, Oberreichenbach/Germany
- Stadium of the German soccer club Bayern München-
Seventeen professional PERROT pop-up sprinklers turn the arena ground into a lush green turf field.
The time has come - the lawn has been laid since April 16th, 2005 and is now irrigated for a better growth and adherance.
This irrigation system was installed - together with the PERROT decoder control system - by our distributor
Volker Pröhl GmbH in Umkirch/Germany
The new pop-up sprinkler VP2 with piston drive will take the place of the previous VP1.
Smaller dimensions - higher performance
The new pop-up sprinkler VP2 completely meets these requirements.
Its weight (19,8 instead of 32,0 kg) and dimensions have been reduced significantly - its casting range and water distribution have been optimised further.


A Better Lawn Starts with a Better Aeration!
Aeration is very beneficial for a healthy lawn. Aeration involves removing cores of soil to reduce the thatch layers that allow air, water and fertilizer get closer to the root. Young Landscaping recommends getting your lawn aerated twice per year- once in the Spring, and once in the Fall. Following aeration with an application of fertilizer is highly recommended.
The ideal time for Spring aeration is March – May
The ideal time for Fall aeration is September – November
To find out more about how Young Landscaping Inc.’s aerator can benefit your lawn, contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you soon.


What is it?
Try your hand at every aspect of farming in this realistic simulator that tasks you with growing your agricultural empire across four regions: Colombia, Italy, Japan and Montana, USA.
If you’re looking to get a taste of every aspect farming has to offer, Pure Farming is a good start: look after your equipment in the garage, take care of livestock and prep your greenhouses, farms and orchards.
Is it any good?
Simulators are aimed at a very specific audience and you often have to be really into the activity its representing. In Pure Farming 2018, the realism of farming (much like in the Farming Simulator series) is placed at the forefront of gameplay. You need to be prepared to invest a lot of energy into learning the basics, as well as taking the time to travel across its vast map without fast travel. Don’t get me wrong, diving into every detail of farming is good fun, but for me the tedious travel between objectives is a huge turn off. I was impressed, however, with Pure Farming’s loose story campaign that sees your character inherit their own farm and its tutorials were, overall, very easy to understand. It can just get a bit much with the amount of information it presents you.
In my opinion, that’s what makes simulators so divisive. Whilst I enjoyed partaking in the everyday activities of your average farmer, I didn’t enjoy the dull focus on slower paced gameplay that reflected the day-to-day management at an almost overwhelming level. I wish Pure Farming offered a separate mode that let novice players dot around and play without constriction. As it stands, there are three gameplay modes to choose from: Free Farming, My First Farm and Farming Challenges. The foremost mode is available for veteran players to jump into, whilst My First Farm holds your hand and guides you through each aspect of farming with a mission-based structure.
As you’d expect, Pure Farming isn’t going to win any awards when it comes to graphics. It doesn’t go above and beyond to present the best in-game physics nor does it look visually stunning – its looks are purely functional and that’s okay for a simulator. In summary, I can clearly see the appeal of a farming simulator and the tranquility its gameplay can bring, however, I wish that it was designed in a more accessible manner. Giving the players the flexibility to fast travel would be a great start.
Anything bad to report?
I’m not an avid fan of farming simulators, so I can’t specifically point out what might be ‘wrong’ about Pure Farming’s representation of farming, but as already mentioned I don’t like the needless travel you’re forced to make around the map and a fast-travel option would’ve been a great way to curb that. Also for some bizarre reason you can’t play as a woman.
Should you buy it?
Pure Farming 2018’s story campaign and focus on global farming is something its competitor, Farming Simulator, doesn’t offer, so I think those looking for something different will enjoy this.


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News - Date: 13 February 2017
Written by: Prudence Bopape / Viewed: 1068
A dreaded pest, the fall armyworm, has arrived in Limpopo, much to the dismay of crop farmers and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Industries (DAFF). The armyworm can destroy massive quatities of crops in a matter of days and the normal pesticides are not very effective in combatting it.
The department has warned Limpopo residents about this alien creature and has stated in a press release that researchers are currently working on a plan to resolve this issue. It has been confirmed that these armyworms have already damaged maize in South Africa’s Limpopo, North West and Free State provinces.
The fall armyworm was positively identified from samples collected in Limpopo. These samples were jointly collected by scientists from ARC Grain Institute and the Northwest University.
The DAFF warned that the worm poses a great danger to the livelihood of the growth and development of crops and other plantations. Armyworms primarily feed on grass, forage grasses, oats, wheat and corn. These pests attack vegetables such as beans, cabbages, onions, peas, peppers and sweet potatoes.
“As the fall armyworm is a new pest to South Africa, no pesticide was previously registered to be used against it. A process of emergency registration of agricultural chemicals is initiated for urgent registration,” said Miss Bomikazi Molapo, spokesperson for the department.
Farmers as well as other individuals need to stay alert as these armyworms come in different colours from greenish-brown to black. These creatures reach a level of maturity at the length of 1½ inches. The eggs resemble globules as they are laid in rows on groups of host plants.
The presence of the pest will be notified on the International Plant Protection Convention’s portal in terms of South Africa’s international pest-reporting obligations. SADC member countries will also be notified and regional control measures will be discussed.
Crop producers are encouraged to report suspected detection of this pest to the department. Please report to Jan Hendrik Venter at: 012 3196384, 0723488431 or email@example.com. “Please contact a chemical representative to advise with control options,” the department said.
Larva of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith). Note the light-coloured inverted "Y" on the front of the head. Photograph by John L. Capinera, University of Florida. (Source: University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences)
The 22-year-old Prudence Bopape from Ha-Masia village joined the Zoutnet newsroom as an intern on the 1st of February 2017. Prudence completed her Bachelor of Arts degree, specialising in communications, at the Northwest University. She is an avid reader and believes that a good reader makes an excellent writer. "I believe that determination is the is the key to excellence,” she says.
army worm, limpopo, department of agriculture, forestry and industries, DAFF


It is to share here that Internship Opportunity for Agri Graduates on Agri Farms has been initiated by MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan, University Agriculture, Faisalabad and PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi. Detail is as under:
Under the ADP Funded Project “Enhancing productivity in 10 low producing Tehsils through deployment of fresh Agri. Scientists at farm level.
Application are Invited from Pakistani nationals domiciled in Punjab. Graduates having B.Sc (Hons) Agriculture from any of the three Agricultural University (i.e. MNS-University of Agricultural, Multan, University Agriculture, Faisalabad and PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi) can apply for internship opportunity (for period of two crop seasons).
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA for Internship Opportunity for Agri Graduates
- Graduates of Agricultural Sciences (BSc (Hons) Agriculture) who passed out during the years 2018 and 2019.
- Minimum 2.5 CGPA in the bachelor`s degree program.
- He / She must not be currently in any academic program / employed / holding any current scholarship for higher studies. Enrolled students have to present semester discontinuation certificate issued by the University.
- Possessing an android phone and SIM is his or her own name
TERMS & CONDITIONS
- Application are requested to visit for further information and to fill an online Application From available on the website.
- The stipend admissible to each intern will be Rs.30,000/- per month (including POL expenditures) and an incentive (not exceeding Rs. 5,000 per month) based upon performance.
- Internees have to work with the registered farmers (at their farms) for provision of extension and technical services and they can be placed anywhere in the project area in Punjab for a period of one year. These placements will be non-transferable.
- Application forms can be submitted within 15 days from the date from the date of publication of the advertisement (Advertisement published on 25-09-2019). Incomplete / late applications will not be entertained. Any Application can be rejected at any time in case of concealment of facts / false statement.
- No TA/DA will be admissible for appearing in test/interview (if required).
- Department of Agriculture reserves the right to reject any or all the application without assigning any reason.
- Selected graduates should have to complete two weeks compulsory training.
- For more information please visit agriinternship.punjab.gov.pk.


What is Pollination?
Pollination is how plants create the next generation their species; oftentimes with the help of pollinators. For pollinators and pollinator-dependent plants, the relationship is a two-way street. Pollen provides a good source of protein for species such as honeybees, while the nectar produced by the flowers of the plant are a great source of carbohydrates for many animals (not to mention a sweet snack!). In exchange for providing these important nutrients, the animals help distribute the plant’s pollen and aid in reproduction and population growth. Pollination by animals can also promote plant diversity, which is great for adding genetic strength and resilience.
Who are the Pollinators?
Many species of bees, including honey bees, leafcutter bees, mason bees, bumblebees and other wild bees are all excellent pollinators for a massive variety of crops that we use on a daily basis. In fact, approximately $14 billion worth of crops are pollinated by honey bees each year, according to the American Beekeeping Federation. Bees are often referred to as “super pollinators” due to their wide range of target plants and significance in pollinating agricultural crops. While bees visit flowers to forage on their pollen and nectar, pollen becomes attached to them and gets dropped onto new flowers at each visit.
The Problems for Pollinators.
With the expansion of industrial agriculture and human development, many habitats have shrunk, fragmented, or disappeared completely. This includes natural spaces containing important forage and nesting sites for wildlife species, including pollinators such as birds and bees. Studies have shown that declines in pollinator abundance align with increasing habitat fragmentation (Rathche and Jules 1993).
Changing climate conditions have caused mass movements of temperature gradients, causing flowering plants to grow farther north and leave behind their pollinators. Although many pollinator species such as bees are very adaptive, changing distributions of pollinators and flowering plants have been causing a displacement in ecosystem dynamics.
Pesticides are used to deter and kill unwanted pests and weeds for crops and flowers. However, they often end up destroying non-target species such as honey bees. The use of harmful pesticides and other anthropogenic pressures are one of the leading causes of pollinator declines and losses (Vanbergen 2013).
When humans bring new species into a novel environment, they may have a competitive edge over the native species and begin to overtake niches (the position of a species in an ecosystem). This can result in high levels of competition and predation for native species, including pollinators.
Diseases and parasites
A combination of the above factors can lead to the increased spread of non-native parasites and diseases. In the case of honeybees and other native bee species, parasites such as varrora mites have caused the collapse of colonies and population bottlenecks.
The Pollinator Solution
What you can do for bees and other insects:
Practice sustainable and insect-friendly agricultural techniques, including the elimination of harmful pesticides.
Plant larval host plants in your garden for moths and butterflies.
Create more butterfly gardens and trails at schools and parks.
Distribute ground nests and bee blocks for native bees.
Buy raw, local honey to promote sustainable and natural beekeeping practices.
“Pollinators: the Ultimate Providers.” The Honeybee Conservancy, thehoneybeeconservancy.org/pollinators/.


|Source: G-7 Holdings. Pictures of GYOMU Supermarket and |
GYOMU Japan, a franchise wholesale chain, specialises in imported products sold under the distributor's original brand, and across-the-board best prices.
Megumi-no-Sato are direct sales outlets focusing on agricultural products, fresh produce and health foods, direct from farmers. The first overseas Megumi no Sato store will sell vegetables imported from Japan, fruits, and select products from both countries.
Both GYOMU Japan and Megumi no Sato are located inside the Big Box supermarket in western Singapore. They are open 10:00 to 22:00 (Sundays through Thursdays and public holidays); and 10:00 to 23:00 (Fridays, Saturdays, and the eves of public holidays)


News and Information
Protect your produce and reduce waste
Reduce waste water and reuse irrigation water.
Hydroponically growing tulips on a Ebb and Flow system Jarja Floral Simcoe On
October 28, 2016
With the advances made in measurement and PLC controls, we can control the ozone level during the day to the same levels as a sunny spring day when people are entering and exiting the coolers, and increase the levels at night if required.
For the full article click here
I'm busy working on my blog posts. Watch this space!
Disinfecting Irrigation Water for Disease Management
November 29, 2016
Use of Ozone to Improve the Safety of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
November 14, 2016
Ozone reduces fungal spoilage of fruits and vegetables
NL: First water purification of AgroZonesystem now certified
October 4, 2016
Agrozone is expanding
September 27, 2016
What do T10 value, oxygen content, PPP and ozone have in common?
September 19, 2016
St. David's Hydroponics Cooler Ozone treatment
November 2016 (2)
October 2016 (2)
September 2016 (3)
Cucumber mosaic virus


USA CUSTOMERS ONLY
To order within your country please visit the links below:
Australia - https://indivitahemp.com
Japan - https://indivitahemp.jp
Indivita proudly brings to you the world’s finest and freshest cold pressed Hemp Seed Oil from Canada.
Our plants are grown in open fields harnessing the power of the sun and the synergistic elements of the soil and earth. This ensures that you are always getting the highest quality hemp that mother nature can create.
Hemp Seed Oil is dark emerald in colour which is an indication of the rich naturally occurring chlorophyll and a perfect balance of omegas 3, 6 and 9.
With a delicate nutty flavour our Hemp Seed Oil lends itself to a variety of uses. A great addition to your favourite smoothies, shakes, vegetables, pastas, salads and dressings giving them a nutritional boost.
Hemp Seed Oil
No UV exposure or pasteurisation
100% Canadian grown hemp


It has been a month since we “sprung forward” with the annual clock moving, and we have since had some odd weather in Pennsylvania, fluctuating between a nice 70°F (21°C) all the way down to 21°F (-6°C) depending on the day. We even had one full day of snow last weekend!
All very frustrating, but all part of the change of Seasons.
Well, today was finally nice enough for me to get outside into the garden and start work tidying things up, cutting the lawn, building up the veggie plots and generally appreciating the outdoors life. And what’s more, over the last few days the tulips have finally come into bloom.
Like it or loathe it? Please let me know...


Whenever my son sees farm animals he always shouts out excitedly, “farm fair!” Such was the case last night when he saw cows and chicken on TV. His next question after that is usually, “Can we go to the farm fair?” He is already looking forward to the next farm fair in 2020.
This year marked the 57th annual fair. It was held on July 13 and 14, once again at Kualoa Ranch on the Windward side of Oahu. They’ve had it at the ranch for the past several years and I can’t imagine it being anywhere else.
Unplug at the Farm Fair
There’s no better opportunity for the whole family to unplug than to have some good old fashioned fun in the country. We’ve taken our son to the Hawaii State Farm Fair three years in a row including the one that just concluded this year. It has become a yearly tradition for our family. He loves seeing the animals, playing with the hands-on exhibits and eating all the delicious food. His mom enjoys looking at all the plants and the fresh produce for sale. As for myself, I’m all about the food and enjoying the country vibe.
Unlike an ordinary day out somewhere or staying home playing games, the educational value for our youth makes the day at the fair worth it. Children experience and learn first hand about agriculture and the farming industry. For my wife and me, we can see our son’s progression by recalling his experiences each year at the fair. The first year we took him, he was still in a stroller as we walked around. Last year he was fascinated with all the animals, especially the chicks. This year he couldn’t get enough of the hands-on activities, riding the toy tractors and even wanting to try the bigger rides. Who knows, maybe next year he’ll enter the pie-eating contest!
While the 2019 Hawaii State Farm Fair has already come and gone, the memories are sure to last. I suggest to all parents to be sure to take your family next year. There’s so much to do, learn and of course, eat! You won’t regret it!
When: Annual event during the summer ( usually in July)
Location: Kualoa Ranch
Cost: Free for children and students / $5 for adults
To learn more about other family-friendly attractions and events throughout the year on Oahu, please visit the Things To Do section of this website!


"The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution." - Paul Cezanne
Roots Farm is a certified organic, diversified vegetable farm in Tiverton, RI established by Mike and Kelli Roberts in 2009 with a focus on year round growing using only the sun for heat. Through the winter, cold hardy crops are grown in our unheated, moveable greenhouses and low tunnels. In the warmer months we produce a wide range of vegetables, getting a head start in the spring in our greenhouses and low tunnels. We strive to produce the most nutrient dense crops for you and your family -- that also happen to be the freshest and best-tasting you can find. Roots Farm is committed to sustainable farming, and we never use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.
Check out a short video about us, made by Natural Heritage Films.
And a bit of info and photos too: http://ournaturalheritage.org/roots-farm/


A phytosanitary certificate is one of the mandatory documents that importers require Vietnamese enterprises to provide when exporting agricultural and forestry products to foreign countries. The phytosanitary registration process for export goods isn't too hard. However, it requires the implementer to master the process to avoid errors and situations that the shipments have been exported without successfully registering the phytosanitary certificate. Today, Sea Dragon International Logistics Company will send you the entire process of phytosanitary registration for export goods as follows:
Phytosanitary is a task that a state agency requires to inspect goods to prevent the spread of dangerous diseases (caused by viruses, insects, or pathogens) affecting plants (agricultural products) and people in Vietnam.
Products subject to phytosanitary are products made from plants and trees such as agricultural products, crops, vegetables, wood, etc.
Go to the new account registration office of the plant quarantine agency (regional plant quarantine department) to register and receive 02 samples included in the account registration form (needs one day to activate the account) and phytosanitary registration form.
Then, you go back and create an account by following the above 02 forms.
Shippers or authorized persons implement the phytosanitary registration with the regional plant quarantine agency 1-2 days before the ship departures
Registration documents include:
Everyone remember to check what category the product be in and write down the quarantine fee in the registration form before submitting the documents. If you apply without knowing the quarantine cost of your shipment, you may anger the quarantine officer who checks and approves your documents.
After the docs are approved, you need to go to the accounting department of the plant quarantine agency to pay the phytosanitary fee.
The location of the physical sampling inspection will depend on the type of goods and the requirements of the importing countries; therefore, it can be the port/airport or production warehouse. Or quarantine officer can require an extra special inspection of the factory, growing area, etc.
The quarantine agency will conduct a sampling inspection to determine whether the goods are eligible for export.
Declaring shipment information through the website of the Regional Quarantine Sub-Department (sender, recipient, name of goods, quantity, country of origin, special inspection, etc., or other requirements). Within 4 hours, the quarantine agency will resend the draft certificate via email to the shipper or an authorized person.
After having the draft phytosanitary certificate, you should check and send it to the shipper/consignee for confirmation.
If correction is needed, you edit it directly on the draft and send the complete documents to the Plant Quarantine Sub-department.
Then you bring the completed documents to submit at the receiving room of the plant quarantine agency. Including:
The quarantine officer will check documents. If the documents are sufficient and valid, the original certificate will send to the shipper within 24 hours. In the opposite case, the quarantine officer shall require the shipment owner or authorized person to supplement and complete the documents.
Phytosanitary registration service for exports of Sea Dragon company, specializing in consulting for agricultural products and food products exported to fastidious markets such as Europe, America, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc.
Of course, there will be many cases with special requirements that we can't list on this post. Please don't hesitate to contact Mr. Jack at +84 902 620 898 for more information.
Find out more HERE
Source: Sea Dragon International Logistics Company


You must have often seen how they leave space for garden in their homes and prefer gardening. Although nowadays people are unable to fulfill their dream due to flat system, but they definitely show their desire by putting a mess in the houses. In such a situation, today we have brought some tips for those who are fond of gardening, with the help of which your garden will remain green.
Let’s checkout some essential tips that will make your garden beautiful.
1. Plan gardening
If you are fond of gardening, then while planning to renovate or renovate the house, do complete planning about planting and keeping the plants as well. This will help you a lot later, you decide in advance where and what you want to put in the house and how to take care of it. In this way, planning of gardening will also give very good results.
2. Proper pouring of water
There are many places in the house where you can plant plants comfortably but there is no proper arrangement for watering and draining them. Do not plant plants in such places. Keep the plants in such a place that you can take care of them regularly and water them.
3. Creative Gardening
When there is less space and you want to plant, do gardening smartly. Do garden hacking and get a good hanging pot. Plant different types of plants in all these which will make your home attractive. You can also decorate plants creatively on the wall of the house.
4. Use the space properly
Households in cities often lack space. In such a situation, you should plant in a place where they get the right amount of wind and sunlight. Depending on the location of the house, select the category of plants that you should plant. If your house is very small, then apply Bonsai and if there is space in the house, then plant saplings in it accordingly.
5. Paste control
Even if your garden is small, but its plants do not become insects, so use natural insecticide as a pest plant has the power to spoil the entire garden.
6. Indoor gardening
Herb-like greenery can also be grown within the house. You can also keep many plants indoors that grow well inside as well. Only those plants need fresh air. For this, you open the window of the room. Keep these plants in the sun once a week.
7. Make an umbrella
If you are making your garden in a place where it is sunny all day, then keep in mind that your plants can get scorched in the summer, so you should make an umbrella to protect the plants from the heat. You can also use grass to make a good thatch.
8. Upside Gardening
These days the concept of upside gardening can be seen in cities. In this, the empty space of the house is used. For this, you can use tall containers and plant plants in it. This idea proves to be very effective for less space. It is also known as garden hacking.
Which tips do you think will be more beneficial? Share your thoughts.


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Agriculture and horticulture are two main parts of New Zealand’s primary industry sector. Primary industries form the backbone for many New Zealand communities and are the country’s biggest export earner. Primary Production is about producing living things from the land and water. This includes producing and rearing large livestock, such as cattle, sheep, pigs and deer, or smaller animals such as poultry, bees and earthworms. Aquatic animals such as fish and shellfish are farmed in New Zealand fresh and salt waters. Plants are grown in large-scale forests, plantations, vineyards and fields or in smaller scale market gardens. Plants are also grown for pleasure in ornamental gardens, turf culture and in landscape design.
Knowing the principles of producing and selling these primary products using methods that care for our environment gives ākonga a huge range of career choices. Possibilities range from ‘hands-on’ production to science, business, marketing, law and finance-related roles. All Primary Production courses link well with subjects such as science, biology, geography and economics.


The fibers of hemp have been utilized for centuries to produce clothing, textiles, papers, weaves, and even home decor items. Additionally, elements of hemp are healthy for the body, making it a popular health food and an essential ingredient to lotions and soaps.
More recently, hemp is being grown as a commercial plant to provide the ever-increasing demand for CBD. But even though hemp’s popularity has skyrocketed over the last few years, there’s still controversy tied to its use. Here are five of the most common myths about hemp.
Myth #1 – Hemp is the same thing as marijuana
Hemp and marijuana are both varieties of cannabis that developed due to selective breeding. Although the two look and smell alike, however, they are structurally and chemically different.
The most noteworthy distinction between the two is the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level. THC is the chemical responsible for making users high; hemp contains virtually no traces of THC, while marijuana contains anywhere from 10% up to 30%.
Essentially, marijuana is cannabis that induces a mind-altering high and leaves users feeling euphoric and dazed. Hemp, on the contrary, has no such intoxicating effects.
Myth #2 – All hemp strains are the same
Just like marijuana, hemp belongs to the Cannabis sativa plant family. Also just like marijuana, there are dozens of distinct strains/cultivars of hemp, each of which possess different cannabinoid levels and different levels of CBD.
This is why, when shopping for hemp-derived CBD products, it’s essential to know as much as possible about where the hemp came from. The hemp we use in all of our products at PureKana is domestically grown right here in the USA using responsible farming methods. We also only select hemp strains that are genetically rich in CBD, meaning potent, effective products across the entire PureKana range.
Myth #3 – You can’t smoke hemp
There’s been a big misconception that you can’t smoke hemp and get the health benefits associated with it. In reality, smoking hemp is an ancient practice that many still enjoy today.
You can smoke hemp exactly the same way you smoke any other type of cannabis. After all, hemp flower buds are nearly identical to the buds that are dried and smoked in marijuana. Smoking of course may not be the healthiest way to incorporate hemp into your life, but it is fast-acting and inhalation offers almost instantaneous exposure to CBD.
Myth #4 – Hemp requires no irrigation or pesticides
There is a rumor circulating that hemp doesn’t need much water to grow, and that it doesn’t require pesticides. While this would make it the easiest crop to grow in the world, it’s not entirely true.
Hemp plants in fact need plenty of rainfall, especially during the first six weeks after germination. Therefore, the plant’s reputation as a good dry-land crop (meaning it can be grown without irrigation) isn’t accurate. That being said, as long as hemp receives enough rainfall in the first six weeks, it can indeed survive prolonged periods of drought. However, it grows taller and thicker when watered, which is why irrigation is still recommended.
As for the myth about hemp not needing pesticides to grow, there is a little truth to that. Since these plants naturally grow tall and close to one another, it’s more difficult for insects to infiltrate. This means the plant doesn’t require as much pesticide use as other outdoor crops.
Myth #5 – Hemp will solve all the world’s problems
It’s true that hemp is a very versatile plant. It can be used for a variety of things, from textiles and construction to nutrition and agriculture. Since hemp can be farmed to create sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives for everyday items like cotton and plastics, it’s easy to leap to the conclusion that hemp is what the world needs to solve all its problems.
In reality, this belief is slightly erroneous, as hemp does pose a few cultivation (and even environmental) problems of its own.
For example, growing hemp in place of other crops will still lead to deforestation, as well as areas being cut down for the purpose of cultivation. Growing hemp instead of cotton (for example) in some areas would be a huge step forward, but it’s just not plausible to replace all of our current practices with hemp-based alternatives.


LEAFEATER is a new, unique, garden machine for tidying up private and public lawns, parks, cemeteries, sports facilities and similar areas
With its rotating brush Leafeater takes up leafs, whether dry or wet, and mowed grass. It can tear up moss and clear the lawn from pine needles, branches, left fruit and other debris – fast, efficiently and without harming the lawn. Furthermore, Leafeater is quiet and constructed to prevent clogging and stoppage.
LEAFEATER is constructed to be towed by a garden tractor, ride-on lawnmower, or any similar machine. The machine is easily handled by one person alone.


Traditional agriculture is at the mercy of changes in the weather, insect plagues, and human error. Can technology help this sector? The answer this yes. Digitalisation has arrived and experts are already talking about “the big new revolution in the agricultural sector”.
This version 4.0 is a product of the intelligent industry concept and incorporates tools that gather data from the entire agro-food chain and process it to create models that are more effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly.
Apps: everything your crops need, right in your pocket
Mobile applications can tell us how our crops are doing and what they need at any time, no matter where we are. One of these apps has been made by Cesens, a leader in hardware and software systems for the agriculture sector. The app makes it possible to precisely control crops in real time.
Its useful functions include knowing if crops are at risk of an insect plague or diseases, as well as monitoring hydric stress and water levels in the soil. It also has an instant alert system so that users can receive updates on their mobile phones.
Drones: watching from above
Drones are able to fly over large areas of agricultural terrain in a short amount of time, collecting high-quality images and huge quantities of data. Catalan company Hemav uses drone technology and agronomic data in order to make recommendations to the agricultural sector, ensuring that their processes are more efficient. With the data that they collect, the company can make estimates about both the quantity and the quality of crops.
Robots: a helping hand for more difficult tasks
Robotics increases efficiency, reduces our dependency on the labour factor when it comes to more difficult tasks, and lowers costs. The start-up Automato Robotics offers a potential solution to the agricultural employment crisis by developing efficient and affordable robots for all types of farmers. Their star product is a robot that harvests greenhouse tomato crops.


We are Jackie, Jack, and Little Emma Jo.
In 2016, we bought our dream property, 10 forested acres in the beautiful Monadnock region of Southwestern New Hampshire. We got right to work, building a chicken coop, filling it with some hard working ladies, and planting a small garden.
When we found out that Emma Jo would be joining us in September of 2018, we felt the calling to get serious about knowing where our food came from. We expanded the garden and built raised beds, and began raising pastured chicken and pork. As friends and family saw what we were doing, the reached out to us to help them source some of their own food as well.
Our Mission is to supply friends, family, and our customers with as much food as is possible on our land, while also providing educational opportunities to those who want to learn to do the same.


District 2 Cabernet Sauvignon Update Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon saw an enormous price increase of about 17% this past year, while yields and Brix levels held steady. With very little opportunity to increase vineyard acreage in Napa, many are turning to Lake County for wine to blend into Napa SKUs. For this reason, Cabernet Sauvignon leads Lake County in terms of both pricing and total yields. It accounts for over one-third of all winegrapes grown in Lake County. In 20
Stay tuned to VFA's blog to follow grape price trends and for information and advice relevant to the business of running a vineyard. You can browse articles to the left, via the pull-down archive menu or by searching for specific article tags.


After having worked with local Democratic organizations for a few years to assist with attracting new registered voters, volunteers, and donations, one thing really stood out. Funding for activities at the local level needs to be elevated.
Borrowing from other proven fundraising methods, we have created Kicking Donkey Coffee. Kicking Donkey is able to provide 50% of net profits from sales back to the customer's Democratic organization of choice. The other 50% goes towards our continuing efforts to help grow the Democratic Party and progressive causes. This means 100% of net profits help grow the Democratic Party and furthering Democratic ideals.
We buy our organic coffee directly from the farmer that grew it . This ensures the highest levels of quality and helps more people around the world get a fair living wage.
Our Coffee is micro roasted in the USA, micro roasting is considered by many to be the best tasting type of coffee available on the market.
There are no synthetic fertilizers or chemicals used in growing or production, which means cleaner beans, air, land, water and ultimately a cleaner planet for all of us.
You are going to love our coffee, drop us an email at firstname.lastname@example.org with any comments or questions.


Female farmers cultivate sustainability and equality
Written and Photographed by Channing Smith
Food and wine. That’s the foundation of Soil Sisters, Dela Ends says.
Ends and I sit on the patio outside her house on Scotch Hill Farm in Brodhead, Wisconsin, about 40 minutes south of Madison. The top of her sunburned nose pokes out from her gray cloth mask, the marking of long days in the sun. An array of plants in mismatched pots decorate the patio among the first of falling autumn leaves. At Ends’ feet, an old Jack Russell terrier and a corgi puppy whip around, competing for her attention. The dogs are in good company with the sheep, pigs and chickens who also call this farm home.
Although the world paused to curb the outbreak of COVID-19, the hard work of running a farm doesn’t stop. Farmers like Ends go on working long days with seed trials, harvesting crops and tending to animals. Luckily, Ends has the Soil Sisters as a network of support.
Soil Sisters is a group of female farmers assembled by Lisa Kivirist in the fall of 2008. After attending a women in farming workshop at the Willy Street Co-op in Madison, Kivirist went home, dug out a map and drew an hour’s drive radius around her own farm. She identified all the women-owned farms in that area and invited the owners to a potluck dinner.
“So, we just started sharing thoughts and ideas — it was a safe place,” Ends says, remembering the first Soil Sisters gathering. “Food and wine is the foundation.” And as most of these women were growing their own food, the meal was top-notch.
Female farmers now make up 36% of farmers in the U.S., an almost 27% increase from 2012, according to the Department of Agriculture’s 2017 census report. While running a female-owned farm in a male-dominated industry posed its own challenges to building community, Kivirist was excited and eager to meet a group of like-minded women.
“We had no agenda, no master plan. We just thought, ‘let’s gather,’ and not surprisingly, we wanted to gather again,” Kivirist says.
About a dozen women met for dinner on Kivirist’s farm that first night. Some were organic farmers, some were gardeners, some were homesteaders — but they all had a passion for sustainability.
While the group has its roots in a simple social gathering, the Soil Sisters are not afraid to get their hands dirty. Collectively, members of the group have successfully sued for the right to sell home-baked goods in Wisconsin, one has run for both the state Senate and Assembly, others have served as town clerk or treasurer, started over a dozen CSAs (community-supported agriculture farms) and other farm-related enterprises, and advocated fiercely for sustainability and independent farming.
While the pandemic hasn’t made things easier for the Soil Sisters, they are finding ways to pivot and adapt. April Prusia shifted her farmstay, Dorothy’s Range, to long-term rentals. Jen Riemer of Riemer Family Farm now offers curbside pickup and delivery of her selection of hormone-free meats.
“There’s a lot of creativity there — reinventing in different ways,” Kivirist says. “But I think there’s a lot of opportunity because, again, people are looking for the kind of things we’ve been doing, we’ve been growing, we’ve been promoting for years now.”
What people are looking for is food that is grown and sourced locally, with an emphasis on sustainability. Several of the Soil Sisters’ farms are engaged in community-supported agriculture (CSAs), a direct subscription-like partnership between consumers and farmers, which has seen an increase in subscriptions since March.
“Suddenly investing in a CSA seemed like it was another potential source of food security at a very basic level,” says Diane Mayerfeld, a senior outreach specialist for the UW–Madison Division of Extension Agriculture Institute.
Large industrial farms operate within a complex supply chain involving producers, consumers, processors, storage and transportation. When one of these points of contact is affected, as many are due to the coronavirus pandemic, the entire system risks collapse.
“The current pandemic has created even stronger connections between people wanting to know where their food comes from,” Kivirist says. “It’s shown us that the large industrial food system doesn’t work in times of crisis, and we need to get back to knowing our farmer.”
Jacob Grace, of UW–Madison’s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, agrees that the pandemic has created a number of short-term benefits for local farms. But in the big picture, Wisconsin’s agricultural industry is suffering.
In 2019, more than two dairy farms per day went out of business in Wisconsin, Grace says. Independently owned farms continue to lose out to major corporate farms, since larger farms can sell their products below the cost of production for longer periods of time.
“It would be easy for me to say, ‘Get to know your local farmer and try to get food as locally as you can,’ but I think it’s a little more complicated than that,” Grace says.
Grace works closely with farmers to implement sustainable grazing practices. However, down the line of consumption, he acknowledges that there is a certain economic privilege involved in buying locally sourced food.
Photo Gallery by Channing Smith
“I would say it’s definitely great to do what you can to buy your food locally, but I think also it’s important for us to think about the bigger systems that we’re operating in and how to turn those towards more of a local or regional food system,” he says.
According to Grace, while the pandemic has generated some interest in local food systems once again, these changes must be long-term to promote lasting change.
The perks of sustainable agriculture are plentiful. Not only are there human health and environmental benefits, such as reducing the amount of harmful pesticides and hormones in our food, but sustainable agriculture may be the key to reducing the gender pay gap in the farming industry.
A 2016 study from the American Economic Association tracked the correlation between a rise in sustainable agriculture and the simultaneous rise of women in farming. The study found that farms engaged in CSAs, a form of sustainable agriculture, reduce the gender gap by one-third as compared to conventional farming.
“The CSA movement fundamentally alters many aspects of traditional agriculture and the farm itself — such as shedding patriarchal norms — which can explain the reductions in the gender gap and the increased participation of women principal operators in CSA farming,” the study says.
Not only are there more women per capita in sustainable agriculture, there are also more opportunities for leadership.
“I would say overall, the more towards that sustainable end of the spectrum you get, the more you see close to equality,” Mayerfeld says.
While she does not work on a farm, Mayerfeld works with Division of Extension educators to promote sustainable practices to farmers. When she attends conventional farm events, they are male dominated. But at events such as the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service Organic Farming Conference, the ratio is more evenly distributed.
“I think there is very much a role for groups like the Soil Sisters because even within that sustainable world, there are things that are just more comfortable for women to talk about to each other,” Mayerfeld says. She uses the example of operating tractors and other heavy machinery, which traditionally fall under the responsibility of male farmers.
Kivirst echoes this statement. “[Differential treatment] still very much exists. When you go to the mechanic shop to repair your tractor, they’ll ask, ‘Where’s your husband?’” she says.
The Soil Sisters know that advocating for sustainable agriculture means taking steps to preserve our environment, while also reshaping the culture of farming. And according to Ends, when the Soil Sisters put their minds to something, opposition should beware: “You get a bunch of women together, fighting for a cause, you’ve gone into the lion’s den.”


HANDS in the Dirt: Growing Culinary Herbs Indoors with Master Gardener Charlie Nardozzi
Tell us about your experience with this online video, click here.
Master Gardener Charlie Nardozzi talks about various herbs to grow indoors in winter. Find out about the conditions they need to grow, watering and care, the best types of herbs and how to start them from seed.
Produced by HANDS (handsvt.org). Special thanks to AARP Vermont, CCTV Town Meeting TV, Gardeners Supply, Hannaford, Charlie Nardozzi, and Red Wagon Plants.


Basil seeds were treated by a surface dielectric barrier discharge driven in the humid air by an amplitude modulated AC high voltage to avoid heat shock. In order to avoid direct contact of seeds with microdischarge filaments, the seeds to be treated were placed at sufficient distance from the surface discharge. After treatment, the seeds were analyzed in comparison with control samples for their microbial contamination as well as for the capability of germination and seedling growth. Moreover, chemical modification of seed surface was observed through the elemental Energive Dispersive X-ray analysis and wettability tests. We found that treatment applied at 20% duty cycle (effective discharge duration up to 20 sec) significantly decreases microbial load without reducing the viability of the seeds. On the other side, seedlinggrowth was considerably accelerated after the treatment, and biometric growth parameters of seedlings(total length, weight, leaf extension) considerably increased compared to the controls. Interestingly, Scanning Electron Microscopy images taken for the different duration of treatment revealed that seed radicle micropylar regions underwent significant morphological changes while the coat was substantially undamaged. Inside the seed, the embryo seemed to be well preserved while the endosperm body was detached from the epithelial tegument. A total of 9 different genera of fungi were recovered from the analyzed seeds. Scanning Electron Microscopy images revealed that conidia were localized especially in the micropylar region, and after plasma treatment, most of them showed substantial damages. Therefore, the overall effect of the treatment of naturally contaminated seeds by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species produced by plasma and the consequent changes in surface chemistry and microbial load can significantly improve seed vigor.


Evergreen Organics is a leading organic wholesaler and importer of organic fresh fruit and vegetables with premises in London and Bristol, supplying the South of England for over 20 years.
As much as possible our produce is sourced from local growers when in season, but we also import from growers in Europe and further afield to bring you the finest seasonal fresh produce available.
The company has strong relationships with some of the best organic farms particularly in the South West of England which typically means Evergeen is able to offer a wider range of English organic fresh produce earlier than other wholesalers due to more favourable growing conditions in the area.
Our customers include retail shops, box schemes, juice bars and organic food processors, many of which have grown substantially with our support.
The company delivers daily in London and multiple times a week to the South West, Sussex (including Brighton and Hove), Hertfordshire, Kent and all other Home Counties.
Evergreen also delivers to the rest of the UK using palletised refrigerated transport and is a certified Soil Association Organic supplier.
A BIT OF HISTORY
The name might be new but this is a company steeped in history and experience in the organic industry...
In October 1991 Russell Barker recognised the potential in offering locally grown organic produce from Devon to retail and box schemes on a wholesale basis. As the customer base expanded to other parts of the South West, some of those new customers began to offer us their own organic produce. Soon the company began to form a network of growers, many of whom still grow for the company today, providing the quality crops that our customers have come to expect.
Today, Evergreen delivers daily in London and the home counties and to counties within the South West, regular deliveries are also made to the South Coast, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Sussex and other areas as the company continues to expand.


LAHORE: Hike in prices of agriculture inputs has badly affected the yield of crops, said Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) President Sardar Zafar Hussain.
Talking to a delegation of farmers here on Monday, he said that 70 percent of the rural population was associated with the agriculture sector but flawed policies had made it difficult for farmers to recover their money spent on crops.
He alleged that sugar mills owners were fleecing sugarcane farmers as growers of rice, cotton and other crops had already faced the problem.
Electricity and gas load-shedding created problems not only for the industry but farmers, he added. He said the government should review its policies in the interest of the farming community.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2012


The first delivery of food aid to Libya since the start of the fighting is due to arrive in Benghazi some time tonight. A convoy of trucks carrying 70 metric tonnes of high-energy, fortified date bars entered the country from the Egyptian border last night.
Preparations are under way for the delivery of another 70 metric tons of the locally-produced date bars, and 150 metric tons of wheat flour. A shipment of 1,182 metric tons of wheat flour which turned back from Benghazi last Thursday due to security concerns, set sail for Libya again today.
Read the overview of the UN World Food Programme here


Thassos Virgin Olive Oil: Why It Is So Unique
After a busy summer, Thassians turn to agriculture, fishing and the quiet village life. A standard annual task is the collection of olives from October to December. Thanks to its ancient olive trees, Thassos produces some of the finest virgin olive oils you can find in Greece.
In this article, you will learn everything about our Thassos virgin olive oil. It is also known as Thassitiko, which translates “from Thassos”.
What makes Thassos virgin olive oil unique?
Thassos is home to some of the largest and oldest olive trees in Greece. Their reputation is so big that there is an interesting story about olive trees, ancient Phoenicians, and Greek mythology!
Leaving history aside, the locals take great care of their olive trees. To be specific, the local authorities and olive oil associations have established a unique watering system that protects most olive trees from the lengthy summer droughts. Thanks to this innovative system already established in 1980, the olives grow big and rich in oil.
This is the main reason why Thassos olives, also known as “throuba”, sell all around Greece. Their taste is unique. As a result, the olive oil is also of similar quality and excellence. You won’t know how good it is until you try.
What are the benefits of Thassos virgin olive oil?
Any authentic olive oil is healthy. However, if you come to Thassos, you want to taste the best of the best. It is only natural to ask for the renowned local olive oil, such as “Thassitiko”. And if you have the chance, you also want to bring a bottle or two back home.
To start with the medical benefits, there are studies showing that Thassos olives and olive oil can lower the chance of blood diseases and heart attacks. At the same time, locals claim that a spoon of extra virgin olive oil in the morning can give you enough strength for the entire day.
Since Thassos virgin olive oil is mechanically produced, without artificial elements or other additives, it makes sense it is so healthy. Yet, health benefits are not the only thing you will love about this olive oil. It also tastes delicious; all thanks to its rich smell, characteristic greenish yellow color and outstanding density.
Who makes Thassos virgin olive oil?
Almost every village in Thassos has its own olive oil association. Local olive tree owners register to the association and pay an annual fee. In exchange, the association, owned by all its members, is responsible for transforming the olives to olive oil.
Depending on how many fields they have, the locals spend a few weeks or even months between October and December to collect the olives from their trees. Then, they take the olives and bring them to the local olive oil factory, owned and maintained by the association. One such factory is the one you see in the picture above, located in Skala Kallirachi.
Once they are in the factory, the olives go through a series of procedures for three to four months to become olive oil. The first delivery of olive oil takes place around April. The more olives a member gives in the winter, the more olive oil they receive in spring.
We at Studios Plaka spend three to four weeks collecting olives every November. As a result, we have more than enough olive oil and olives for the entire year. Like most locals, we sell the remaining olive oil while we usually gift a small bag of olives to every guest, once they leave.
Feel free to ask us or any other local for olive oil or olives. Chances are that they will have their own olive oil for sale or they know someone who does.


After having bitched about the unusual cold that gripped California in the last 3 weeks, today I was reminded why I am so lucky to live here. Spectacular sunny day, temperatures in the upper 60’s and an intense desire to ditch work and veer toward the beach. And while wandering around the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market I am once again made aware that, while most of the country is making do with onions, potatoes and anemic imported tomatoes, our farmers were already displaying rhubarb, the most delicate bok choy, tender purple carrots, berries and Tahitian Squash. Say what?
It’s not often that one comes across unknown produce and it is exciting when it happens, well to me at least. This gigantic specimen was on offer on the stand of McGrath Family Farms. I asked how it differed from a butternut, to which it closely resembles, with a thinner neck and about 2 feet long. I was told the flesh is extremely sweet and it can be used for roasting or baking.
Upon further research, it seems like McGrath is the only farm to grow this particular cultivar in Southern California. Some say it tastes like a mixture of pumpkin and watermelon and apparently its sweetness increases during storage. I didn’t end buying it settling for some cabbage instead, being in the mood to stink up the house and for some potatoes which are a cross between a Yukon and a Russet. The farmer assured me they would make a perfect hash and I decided to trust him.
At Regier’s I tasted a pineapple guava, a small worm shaped fruit the size of an apricot with a bright green skin. The flesh was an unappealing tinge of grey/pink but once in my mouth it melted into a sweetness unknown to guava while retaining some of that tropical sourness. Perfect for a gelee.
Now, have you ever come across fruit or vegetables you had never seen before?


Slow deep watering every five to seven days during drought is ideal for mature trees in the midwest or northeast and four to six days during drought for mature trees in areas with 95 to 105 degree temperatures fahrenheit.
Watering fruit trees during drought.
Stop watering trees both evergreen and deciduous throughout early autumn until the time when the leaves of the deciduous trees fall this remarkable change on the deciduous trees serves as a useful indicator whereas their evergreen counterparts being relatively unchanging offer little in the way of guidance this stoppage in watering will allow both evergreen and.
During the drought trees should be given a higher priority than lawns.
Be sure to water the entire root zone beneath the tree canopy.
Watering is key to growing plants well so here we look at how to get it just right.
Apply a deep watering over the entire root zone area until the top 6 to 9 inches of soil are moist.
Water a tree by watering all around a tree.
A small windbreak tree one planted a year or two ago still needs about 2 or 3 gallons of water a week.
Most of a tree s roots are shallow.
The best means of applying this water for landscape trees is slowly with a soaker hose placed near the tree.
When water demand of a fruit tree is higher than supply drought stress occurs.
Water early in the.
This not only means providing the water our gardens need but using it wisely.
Often drought stress is associated with heat stress during the hot summer months.
When to water.
By now we all know about the exceptional drought that california is enduring.
During the drought trees must be given top watering priority over your lawn.
During a drought we need to water a tree s roots.
10 17 16 a quick guide for homeowners with fruit trees.
Water established trees and shrubs with overhead sprinklers.
The best time to water is typically in the morning.
Avoid light watering as this promotes shallow root systems that are susceptible to summer heat and drought stress.
A 2 inch diameter tree measured at 6 inches above the ground should receive about 20 gallons of water a week during drought periods.
About 90 percent of the roots go no deeper than about 12 inches.
Trees need more than a few sips.
It s also important to water deeply.
Water is a precious resource and supplies in the uk are under pressure from the effects of climate change population increase and the need to protect the environment such as river levels for wildlife.
However caring for trees requires different watering methods than your lawn.
Drought stress causes wilting yellowing of the leaves advanced leaf fall and premature fruit ripening or fruit drop.


However temperatures underneath 5 levels Celsius have affected the flowering of mustard seeds in some spaces of the mustard area.
“The chilly wave within the first two weeks of this month remained favorable for the wheat harvest. We estimate that manufacturing will likely be 5 million heaps upper than remaining 12 months,” stated Dr. Gyanendra Singh, Director of ICAR-Indian Institute for Wheat and Barley Analysis (IIWBR) in Karnal.
He added that with the rise in manufacturing, there will likely be sufficient shares for home intake, and the federal government would possibly believe exporting wheat, as this may increasingly assist the rustic earn foreign currency.
On Friday, Might 13, 2022, the federal government introduced a direct ban on wheat exports, mentioning a surprising surge in international wheat costs and the related dangers to India’s meals safety. Wheat manufacturing fell to 106.84 million heaps because of heatwaves in key states rising plants within the 2021-22 crop 12 months, in line with the Division of Agriculture.
Farmers planted a report top 91.56 million hectares of mustard, in comparison to 84.47 million hectares in 2021-22 and a mean of 63.46 million hectares. Alternatively, not like wheat, the dry and chilly wintry weather didn’t receive advantages mustard.
Mustard, which is typically sown in past due October, begins flowering in 50-60 days and bureaucracy pods (pods with seeds) over the following 35-40 days. Serious chilly waves over Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and northerly Madhya Pradesh between January 15 and 18 are believed to have broken plants in lots of spaces. BV Mehta, Government Director of the Solvent Growers Affiliation of India, stated the chilly wave has affected the flowering of mustard seeds in some mustard rising spaces of the states. “Alternatively, because the space is greater this 12 months, it gained’t have a lot of an have an effect on at the total mustard manufacturing this 12 months,” he stated.
Whilst transparent morning solar and middle of the night temperatures that plummet to close freezing don’t seem to be unhealthy for wheat, it may be disastrous for mustard. The level to which the pods are broken or ruptured because of chilly surprise and frost – the ice crystals that shape within plant tissues – remains to be unknown.


There are numerous factors that go into the decision when to harvest honey from hives. The bees must be given adequate time to collect nectar and process it into honey by reducing the moisture content of the nectar below about 18%.
If we rush the process and harvest before it is fully ripened by the bees, we may end up with a disappointed honey crop. Not the end of the world since it is still edible. But we want the Earth’s finest honey (which is our Conviction), low moisture is what we want. A good rule of thumb is to not extract unless at least 75% of the cells in the honey combs are capped.
By extracting one uncapped honey frame for every three capped frames of honey, the overall moisture content will tend to be below the level where fermentation will occur. The result is Earth’s finest honey and honeycomb.
Honeybees produce honeycomb in the frames of their hives. Composed of beeswax, the structure of honeycomb consists of hexagon-shaped cells used to store honey. The honey stored within the honeycomb is the purest, rawest form of honey, and the wax the honeycomb is made of has nutritional value and health benefits − loaded with Amino Acids, Vitamins B, C, D & E, Antioxidants, and Essential Enzymes.
We extract straight from the frames to create our Raw Comb Honey and Raw Cut Comb products.
Once you have fully extracted the frame you can hold it up to eye level to inspect it.
There are five sections of a frame which are: capped honey stores; nectar; pollen; brood; and empty cells.
It gives us one last time to inspect the frame again. After approval, the comb is then cut around the edges of the frame. The frame is then removed and the comb is cut into very precise pieces to be inserted into the bottle.
We allow for one more inspection to insure that we are inserting the perfect piece of comb into the bottle.
The honeycomb is very sturdy, but yet again a little fragile. By inserting the comb by hand, we insure that the comb stays intact with capped honey for your full enjoyment.
We then take honey that has been extracted from the hives and fill each bottle individually. Again, inspecting the final product to insure 100% customer satisfaction.
More Honey & Comb Products Coming Soon
Also, Receive Special Offers.


Agriculture and its allied sectors account for the biggest source of livelihood in India. Recent policies have called for enabling the implementation of digital technologies at the grassroot levels to boost this sector. Artificial Intelligence is playing an important role in revamping India’s agriculture to make it more robust. A number of agriculture technology start-ups are innovating to implement affordable AI-based solutions to solve issues that are uniquely faced by Indian agriculture. The application of AI in agriculture includes its subdomains of crop management, pest management, disease management, monitoring products’ storage, management of soil and irrigation, and prediction of yield.
The May session of Innovation & Science @Bharat series will bring in speakers from industry and academia to talk about using AI for agriculture.
Date: 21st May 2021
Time: 3.00 pm
Munish Soni, Head Strategy & Digital, Crop Science division, Bayer India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka
Munish has been in the current role since April 2019 and is based in Bayer’s South Asia headquarters in Mumbai, India. He has been working with Bayer since August 2013. With more than two decades of having worked in the field of dairy & agriculture, Munish is passionate about improving the lives of smallholder farmers and bring them to the mainstream by adopting modern practices. He is also a strong supporter of sustainable agriculture and believes that technology and precision agriculture can improve the quality of food, reduce efforts on farm, make agriculture more predictable and improve farmer profitability.
Dr. Irad Ben-Gal, Professor & Head, Tel Aviv University
Irad Ben-Gal (PhD) is a professor and the head of the Laboratory for AI, Machine learning, Business and Data Analytics (LAMBDA) at Tel Aviv University. He held a visiting professor position at Stanford University, teaching “analytics in action” and co-heading the TAU/Stanford “Digital Living 2030” research initiative that focuses on future challenges of modern digital life. Irad is a world-renowned expert in practical machine learning, statistical process control and predictive analytics with more than 20 years of experience in the field. Irad is the co-founder and chairman of CB4 (“See Before”), a startup backed by Sequoia Capital that provides granular predictive analytics solutions. He is an advisory board member in several start-up companies that focus on AI applications.
Dr. Noam Koenigstein, Assistant Professor (Senior Lecturer), Tel Aviv University
Noam Koenigstein received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel in 2014. He held a researcher position at the Microsoft R&D Center in Herzeliya, Israel. Since 2014, he went on to manage the machine learning and recommendations research team responsible for designing and building recommendation algorithms for a wide array of Microsoft products such as Windows store, Xbox, Groove music, and Windows phone serving millions around the globe. The team balances applied work with academic impact by publishing and participating in relevant conferences (e.g., KDD , ICML, NIPS , RecSys, WWW , etc).


TLC employs a highly skilled and experienced team. From our planting department to our harvesting department to our logistics department, we strive to efficiently provide the markets both domestic and worldwide with fresh produce everyday.
ABOUT TLC CUSTOM FARMING COMPANY
TLC Custom Farming Company is a family owned company that specializes in growing and harvesting high quality leafy greens for the value added produce industry. We also offer our clients speedy logistics services which helps keep the cost of fresh produce affordable. With our clients/ partners, we strive to bring the very best in healthy food to the market. Because of our highly skilled and experienced team, we are able to supply the market year round growing in both Arizona and California.
No need for middlemen with TLC Custom Farming Company. Our company has the ability to plant, grow, harvest, and ship our produce wherever our clients may need.


We are proud to be organic farmers. Nothing is added to the grapes other than nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in February to assist in the bud-breaking and initial growth. Basically it is food for the vines. The grapes grow from February to August chemical-free. We do not what those chemicals in our wine, so we do not put it on our grapes.
Our harvesting is done manually which means the grapes are picked by hand. All of our grapes are grown in our vineyard, processed on site and the wine is made in our facilities. Guests who RSVP will be welcome to participate or come watch on our harvest days.