Podcasts about sunbelt ag expo

This week on The Land Show, our host Jonathan Goode talks with: Caroleene Dobson, Candidate for Alabama's Second Congressional District, https://www.dobsonforcongress.com/ Ethan Barrett, Alabama Forestry Commission, https://forestry.alabama.gov/Pages/Fire/Burn_Weather.aspx Randall Upchurch, Sunbelt Ag Expo (sunbeltexpo.com), 256-239-5379, https://poultrysouth.com Ken Peters, Early-Season Hunting Tips, http://www.selandgroup.com/agents/ken-peters Thanks to our generous sponsors that make it possible to bring you The Land Show every week: Alabama Ag Credit, Alabama Farmers Federation, Poultry South, First South Farm Credit, The Land Report, LandThink, and LandFlip.

This week at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia, eight state winners were recognized during the Southeastern Farmer of the Year program including Smith County's George McDonald. George McDonald press release

The largest Farm Show in America with field demonstrations, the Sunbelt Ag Expo kicks off its 46th Anniversary tomorrow, and the USDA has awarded more than $25 million to support eight projects under the new Assisting Specialty Crop Imports Initiative.

The Sunbelt Ag Expo will help you better understand Florida's agriculture history combined with present-day research that will aid Florida's growing future, and many ag leaders are expressing dismay over the delays in getting a new Farm Bill passed.

The 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Research Days are scheduled for July 10-24, and last week the USDA recognized and celebrated National Pollinator Week.

Let's Get Nuts episode 10 LIVE! from the Sunbelt Ag Expo

This week on The Land Show, Jonathan Goode speaks with: Commissioner Chris Blankenship, with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, is on to discuss some recent upgrades to our State Parks. The Commissioner also talks about upcoming hunting seasons, and the public lands that are available to Alabamians. You can find more information about seasons, bag limits, and public lands at http://www.outdooralabama.com. Aisling Walding, with Sweet Grown Alabama, updates us on the Sunbelt Ag Expo and discusses the upcoming Christmas boxes that will be on sale on November 1. http://www.sweetgrownalabama.org Russ Walters shares a farm update from their family farm in Covington County. Russ talks about the cotton and peanut harvest this season. http://www.selandgroup.com/agents/russ-walters Brian Watts comes to us from the woods where he was checking on a logging crew that was doing a harvest. www.selandgroup.com/agents/brian-watts Thanks to our generous sponsors that make it possible to bring you The Land Show every week: Alabama Ag Credit, Alabama Farmers Federation, Poultry South, First South Farm Credit, The Land Report, LandThink, Southeastern Land Group, and LandFlip. Subscribe to The Land Show, anywhere you get quality podcasts. If you like our content, please give us a review so others can find us as well. 

This week is the 8th Anniversary of The Land Show. On this episode, Jonathan Goode speaks with: Erin Beasley, Executive Vice President with the Alabama Cattlemen's Association, joins us to talk about the recent Sunbelt Ag Expo and updates us on what is happening in the cattle market across the state. http://www.bamabeef.org Wes Isom, with Isom's Orchard in Athens, talks about their apple crop and the delicious apple cider and fresh donuts they make on their family farm. https://www.facebook.com/isomsorchard/ Randall Upchurch gives us a live update from the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia in our Farmland Report. http://www.poultrysouth.com Rick Bourne is in studio to update us on dove season, and also to talk about a new 3923 acre property for sale in Monroe County, Alabama. www.selandgroup.com/agents/rick-bourne   Thanks to our generous sponsors that make it possible to bring you The Land Show every week: Alabama Ag Credit, Alabama Farmers Federation, Poultry South, First South Farm Credit, The Land Report, LandThink, Southeastern Land Group, and LandFlip.   Subscribe to The Land Show, anywhere you get quality podcasts. If you like our content, please give us a review so others can find us as well. 

Smith County's Kyle Owen was named Tennessee's Farmer of the Year by the UT Extension Service and represented the state well for the Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeaster Farmer of the Year competition in Moultrie, Georgia this week.

GEORGIA RADIO - Becca Turner from the Sunbelt Ag Expo joins Matt Jolley with news on this year's event, plus Georgia Farmer of the Year, Mr. Bart Davis talks farming. Take a listen!QUICK LINK: https://sunbeltexpo.com/#georgiaradio #sunbeltagexpo #georgiafarmers #mygeorgiaradio #georgiapeanuts #georgiabeefAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on The Land Show with Jonathan Goode: Stephanie Fuller, Director of Promotions and Economic Development with the Forestry Workforce Institute, joins us to discuss "Woods to Goods Week" in Alabama. Stephanie also shares about her family history in the timber industry and the children's books she has written about logging. https://www.forestryworks.com/tiny-timber-crew Travis Jordan with the Alabama Ag Credit in Montgomery talks about how they can help landowners purchase adjoining properties and some of the local organizations they support to promote youth in agriculture. http://www.alabamaagcredit.com Robert King is on to talk about the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia that is happening next week. The PoultrySouth team at Southeastern Land Group will be at the Expo to help people looking to buy or sell land or poultry farms. http://www.PoultrySouth.com Brian Watts and Candice Moore are in studio to give a market update for Lake Martin and the Auburn area. They also share about a beautiful 17 acre parcel for sale on the Chattahoochee River. http://www.selandgroup.com/brian-watts  and https://www.selandgroup.com/agents/candicemoore/  Thanks to our generous sponsors that make it possible to bring you The Land Show every week: Alabama Ag Credit, Alabama Farmers Federation, Poultry South, First South Farm Credit, The Land Report, LandThink, Southeastern Land Group, and LandFlip. Subscribe to The Land Show, anywhere you get quality podcasts. If you like our content, please give us a review so others can find us as well. 

This week on The Land Show with Jonathan Goode: Mary Wilson, Co-host of Simply Southern and Communications Outreach Director with the Alabama Farmers Federation, joins us to talk about the upcoming Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia. Alabama is the Spotlight State for the Expo this year. Mary also talks about some of her favorite interviews on their tv show. https://sunbeltexpo.com/ Ethan Barrett, Fire Analyst with the Alabama Forestry Commission, is on to talk about the recent burn restrictions issued from the Commission. You can find the current fire conditions on the Commission's website at https://forestry.alabama.gov/. Randall Upchurch talks about his family's involvement showing livestock in the upcomingAlabama National Fair. Randall also talks about the Sunbelt Ag Expo coming up in Moultrie. http://www.poultrysouth.com Ken Peters shares some last minute tips for scouting deer for bow season. Ken also shares about a great new 20 acre property for sale in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. www.selandgroup.com/agents/ken-peters Thanks to our generous sponsors that make it possible to bring you The Land Show every week: Alabama Ag Credit, Alabama Farmers Federation, Poultry South, First South Farm Credit, The Land Report, LandThink, Southeastern Land Group, and LandFlip. Subscribe to The Land Show, anywhere you get quality podcasts. If you like our content, please give us a review so others can find us as well.

The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition will celebrate its 45th Anniversary show October 17-19, just outside of Moultrie, GA, and Senators Tammy Baldwin and Chuck Grassley introduced the Protecting Future Farmland Act.

Real conversations with real farmers. In this episode, meet Wade and Karen Purvis, a vegetable farmer and educator in Immockolee, Fla. They share their family's passion for farming and how important it is to understand that a strong domestic food supply is a national security issue. They are growing Florida agriculture forward by sustainably growing fresh food for a growing population.   Visit FloridaFarmBureau.org to learn how you can get involved in Florida agriculture.

Sunbelt Ag Expo Executive Director, Chip Blalock, talks about the upcoming international agriculture exposition; the Sunbelt Ag Expo.Be sure to check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation.

Kyle Owen of Smith County has been selected as the 2023 Tennessee Farmer of the Year and will compete for Southeastern Farmer of the Year at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia.

In a special edition of the InformedAg Podcast, we feature the people, companies and technology we saw at the 2022 Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia. InformedAg wishes to present this episode in honor of Wendell Brown, a longtime supporter, friend, and colleague of Sunbelt Expo. Wendell is deeply missed by all who knew him.

This week is a special 7th Anniversary edition of The Land Show: Chuck Sykes, Director of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries for Alabama, is in studio to talk about some key topics including: the success of the 3 buck rule, Special Opportunity Areas (SOA's), Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), and the need to wear a safety harness while hunting from an elevated stand. http://www.outdooralabama.com (You can hear the interview with Director Sykes from 0:00 to 21:25) Rick Pate, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, joins us from the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia. Commissioner Pate discusses new programs to provide local produce to schools and food banks. http://www.agi.alabama.gov (You can hear the interview with Commissioner Pate from 21:25 to 42:00) Rick Bourne comes on to talk about his recent duck and goose hunting trip to Canada. He talks about the experience and all the wildlife they saw on their trip. http://www.selandgrou.com/agents/rick-bourne (You can listen to Rick's interview from 42:00 to 51:06) Robert King, co-founder of PoultrySouth, joins us from the Sunbelt Ag Expo, and talks about some of the new things he is seeing, and the people he has met at the Expo. http://www.poultrysouth.com (Hear Robert's interview starting at 51:06)

Were back! Peanut season is over and cotton harvest has just started. Hunter Padgett of Padgett Networks joins us for a quick minute. Hunter is helping me edit some YouTube videos.  Sunbelt Ag Expo talk and so much more.Shirts and Hatshttp://farmfocused.com/field-rows/http://www.fieldrows.comUse code fieldrows to save!http://www.rockroosterfootwear.comUse code fieldrows to savehttps://www.yankum.comhttp://www.youtube.com/fieldrows

John and Celia Harrison are this year's Tennessee Farmer of the Year. Competing at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Georgia recently, the family has an impressive operation on Sweetwater Valley Farm in Loudon County.   The post Representing Tennessee in Moultrie appeared first on Tennessee Farm Bureau.

On this episode of The Land Show:   - Chip Blalock, Executive Director of the Sunbelt Ag Expo, joins us to discuss the largest farm expo in the Southeast that is happening in Moultrie, Georgia next week. http://www.sunbeltexpo.com (You can listen to the interview with Chip Blalock from 0:00 to 17:17)   - William Lyon, broker with Southeastern Estates, is on to talk about early season bow hunting for whitetails. William also talks about a great new 87 acre hunting property for sale in Dallas County, Alabama. http://www.selandgroup.com/agents/william-lyon  (Listen to the interview with William Lyon from 17:17 to 33:47)   - Randall Upurch, co-founder of PoultrySouth, talks about their family cattle farm in Clay County. Randall also updates us on the poultry farm market across the Southeast. http://www.selandgroup.com/agents/randall-upchurch  (You can hear the interview with Randall Upchurch from 33:47 to 48:36).   - Brian Watts, president of the Timber Sales Division with Southeastern Land Group, shares what he is seeing in timber markets and in the timber woods in our Timber Talk segment. http://www.selandgroup.com/agents/brian-watts (Listen to the interview with Brian Watts from 48:36 to 59:00)   Thank you to our great sponsors for bringing you The Land Show each week: ALFA Farmers Federation, Alabama Ag Credit, LandFlip, First South Farm Credit, The Land Report, LandThink, PoultrySouth, and Southeastern Land Group    

The 44th Annual Sunbelt Ag Expo is coming October 18-20, and the U.S. Department of Labor issued new rules for hiring H-2A workers.

This week on The Land Show: Cary Farrington, with Southeastern Land Group, sits in and shares about their land market in Newnan, Georgia. http://www.selandgroup.com/agents/cary-farrington Marianne Gauldin, Outreach Coordinator with Alabama's Department of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, joins us to discuss the upcoming deer and duck hunting seasons and bag limits for the 2022-2023 seasons. You can find all of the information at http://www.OutdoorAlabama.com Scott Penton, owner of Penton Farms in Verbena, discusses their family-run pumplin patch, corn maze, and great ways they are celebrating autumn. http://www.PentonFarms.com Meagan McElroy, lender with First South Farm Credit in Demopolis, talks about her love for the outdoors and for helping get the financing for their dream piece of land. http://www.firstsouthland.com Robert King talks about the upcoming Sunbelt Ag Expo, calving season on his family farm, and an update on poultry farms across the Southeast in our Farmland Report. www.poultrysouth.com

The annual Sunbelt Ag expo in Moultrie, Georgia, allows growers to see the most up-to-date farming technology in the country. In addition to acres of exhibits, the organizers also select the Swisher Farmers of the Year for Southeastern states.

A team from the University of Georgia won the college division of the Advocacy in Action competition at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, and young consumers give healthy boost to organic produce sales.

This episode features the third part of our coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo 2021. Dr. Douglas Anderson of the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network discusses current and emerging poultry diseases and Josef Powell, President of Lovett & Tharpe talks about agriculture and selling farm equipment in Jamaica. Also, Don Koehler, executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission, and farmer/ambassador Jeff Atkinson talk about the strengths of the Georgia peanut industry. The episode also features the second part of our coverage of the 94th FFA Convention & Expo. We talk with students from the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, as well as Joelle Liddane, an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at Holmen (Wisconsin) High School. Jesse Allen is talking about how Fed comments are affecting the commodity markets in our Market Talk report and Ray Bohacz is talking engine oil in “Bushels and Cents.” The episode also features the music of Noah Smith.

On this episode, we visit the 94th FFA Convention & Expo from Indianapolis for conversations with FFA CEO Scott Stump and national officers. We also head back to Moultrie, Georgia, for the second part of our coverage of the Sunbelt Ag Expo.  Timestamps Intro and news: 0:00 Goatlifeclothing.com: 5:31 Scott Stump, FFA: 5:49 Doster Harper, FFA: 11:40 Artha Jonassaint, FFA: 14:39 David Lopez, FFA: 18:55 Miriam Hoffman, FFA: 21:56 Caroline Hinton and Anna Hightower, University of Georgia: 25:15 Hunter Massey, Clemson University: 33:58 Josh Woods, Auburn University: 38:22 Dr. Charlotte Emerson, University of Florida: 41:07 Mike Mills, Reinke: 46:30 Bart Hester, Country Financial: 50:23 Concept AgriTek advertisement: 54:30 Jesse Allen, Market Talk: 55:04 Ray Bohacz, "Bushels and Cents": 1:01.35 Gateway Seed Co. advertisement: 1:03.13 Alex Miller: 1:03:43      

On this episode, we feature the first part of our coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo 2021 in Moultrie, Georgia. We talk about this year's spotlight state, Virginia, with Virginia Agriculture Commissioner Brad Copehhaver, Virginia Tech Unit Coordinator and Extension Agent Mike Parrish, and Dr. M. Ray McKinnie, Dean of the College of Agriculture and 1890 Administrator and Dr. Janine Woods, Associate Administrator, Extension Programs, Virginia State University. We also talk about new products from John Deere, including See and Spray Select technology, Zero Series balers and the CP 770 cotton picker. Jesse Allen is talking soybeans in this week's Market Talk report and Ray Bohacz discusses frictional flow loss in “Bushels and Cents.” The episode also features singer/songwriter and TikTok sensation Hannah Dasher and her new song, “Tall Boy.” Timestamps Intro/news: 0:00 Goatlifeclothing.com advertisement:  4:23 Brad Copenhaver, Virginia Ag Commissioner: 4:43 Mike Parrish, Virginia Tech University: 8:41 Dr. M. Ray McKinnie, Virginia State University: 12:00 Dr. Janine Woods, Virginia State University: 16:28 Franklin Peitz, John Deere (See and Spray Select): 20:54 Chase Milem, John Deere (Zero Series Round Balers): 23:29 Christopher Murray, John Deere (CP 770 cotton picker): 26:34 Concept AgriTek advertisement: 31:01 Jesse Allen, Market Talk: 31:34 Ray Bohacz, “Bushels and Cents”: 37:42 Gateway Seeds advertisement: 39:08 Hannah Dasher: 39:38

Jay Yeargin represented Tennessee at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Georgia. Yeargin talks about what it means to represent Tennessee and what the expo is like. The post Jay Yeargin Represents Tennessee At Sunbelt Ag Expo appeared first on Tennessee Farm Bureau.

October means it's time for the Georgia National Fair and the Sunbelt Ag Expo, and Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack claims vaccine mandates won't shutter or slow down Farm Service Agency offices.

On this episode, we preview next week's Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia, as well as the 94th annual National FFA Convention & Expo, set for Oct. 27-30, in Indianapolis. Jesse Allen discusses the October WASDE report in our Market Talk segment and Ray Bohacz is talking blend air doors in “Bushels and Cents.” The episode also features singer/songwriter Paige King Johnson, a Pam Tillis protégé who just released a new single, “Baby Don't.” Timestamps Intro/news: 0:00 Goatlifeclothing.com advertisement: 5:10 Becca Turner, Sunbelt Ag Expo: 5:29 Concept AgriTek advertisement: 15:28 Mandy Hazlett, National FFA Organization: 16:00 Jesse Allen, Market Talk: 31:30 Ray Bohacz, “Bushels and Cents”: 37:17 Gateway Seed advertisement: 38:56 Paige King Johnson: 39:26

This second episode of Green Shoots focuses on the Sunbelt Ag Expo that takes place each October in Southwest Georgia. Come go with Mayor Matt as he learns about the long history of this event and the far reaching beneficial effects this organization has on the agriculture industry throughout the Southeastern United States. For more information visit www.greenshootspodcast.org

This week on The Land Show with Dave and Johnny: Chip Blalock joins us from Moultrie, Georgia to discuss the upcoming 43rd annual Sunbelt Ag Expo. It is going to be a fantastic event from October 19-21. www.sunbeltexpo.com Jerry Etheridge, of the Montgomery Stockyards, talks to about the historic livestock sales that happen at the Montgomery Stockyards. www.montgomerystockyards.com Randall Upchurch shares an update on poultry farms around the Southeast in our Farmland Report. www.selandgroup.com/agents/randall-upchurch

Mike Moody, with the communications department, has a conversation with Mitt Walker, national affairs director, about what's going on in Washington that may affect Alabama farmers. Carla Hornady, commodity director, wraps up with information about the upcoming Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia.Be sure to check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation.

MASA: Growing up in the small town of Moultrie located in Colquitt County deep in South Georgia brought Masa Kenney into contact with an agrarian lifestyle and community. As a young teen, he spent a lot of his time involved with 4-H, FFA, and the annual Sunbelt Ag Expo. The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition has been billed as America’s largest agricultural exposition for over 4 decades now. Many of his friends lived and worked on farms, and his summers were spent helping them pick crops and tend to cattle. Two of those summers brought him into a deeper understanding and appreciation of the science that is incorporated into agriculture when at the ages of 13 & 14 during summer break he worked in Valdosta for Funk’s G Hybrid Seed Company which conducted a selective breeding program using a technique of self-pollination to create a genetically desirable harvest. His junior and senior years in high school introduced him to a landscaping job and cultivated his love of working with Nature through the beautification of the environment. By working in this field he gained a greater respect and understanding of the symbiotic relationship that plants shared with humans, not just in the exchange of the necessary gases to survive but also the deeper effects that the environment and plants have on people and vice-versa. It was then that Masa decided that he wanted to attend one of the best agriculture universities in the nation and find a career path that involved working with plants.. With no way to pay for college, he joined the U.S. Army and opted for the Army College Fund and the G.I. Bill instead of a one-time cash enlistment bonus to pay for his college education. After a station overseas in Europe and a deployment to the Middle East for Desert Shield & Desert Storm, he went right back to his chosen career path and worked for several different landscape companies and nursery centers while attending Valdosta State College and then UGA. It was while attending classes at UGA that he was introduced to a scientific cutting edge technology in agriculture when he worked in the Horticulture Department’s Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory under Dr. Hazel Wetzstein who is one of the most well respected pioneers in her field of plant genetic research and a recent recipient of the Fellows Award. This is where Masa learned the true scientific process of cultivating plants and how we can work with plants on a genetic level to propagate exact clones from plant tissue and experiment with genetic modification techniques to produce plants that are more desirable in many aspects: higher yield, higher sugar content, resistance to drought, disease, pests, herbicides, etc. Although he had acquired a large amount of his botanical knowledge through his years of work in the industry and in the classroom, it was in that lab that he took a huge leap forward in his understanding and appreciation of Nature. Masa Kenney graduated from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science school of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s of Science in Agriculture in 1997. He has a major in Horticulture and a minor in Crop & Soils Science. While attending UGA, he was a member of the Horticulture Club and BioTechnology Journal Club. Upon graduation he went to work for a large scale landscape company in Savannah only to return six months later to the incredible city he had come to love in Athens. Here he spent the next 15 years raising a new family, starting a new landscape business, and settling into a city that his family, the Kenneys, had originated from five generations earlier. His landscape business, Lavish Landscapes, LLC, operated for over 12 years and offered services in landscape design, installation, maintenance, irrigation, hardscapes, drainage remediation, licensed chemical applications, and consultations. During this period Masa was a member of the GGIA (Georgia Green Industry Association) and one of the founding members of the original BNI (Business Networking International) chapter in Athens. Masa moved to Hawaii after that to visit with his mother and sister and eventually found himself again drawn into his chosen field of cultivation with a licensed medical cannabis home grow co-operation. After Hawaii Masa spent a few years in Kentucky working with his brother in the medical field of Prosthetics & Orthotics with the intention of starting a new career in that field, but once again, Fate seemed determined to keep Masa with his true love and passion of working with plants. He headed west by way of Colorado to attend a CannaGrow Expo and onto Nevada to find employment with a cannabis company since Nevada had just legalized recreational use at the time. Bringing his education and past experience to bear, Masa helped this company start up a new tissue culture propagation laboratory in a Las Vegas cultivation facility. That company was impressed enough that they offered him a position as a lab manager to start up another tissue culture propagation lab in the very first medical grow facility in Louisiana. After that venture Masa found himself back in Georgia working as a project manager in the hotel construction industry but once again found Fate leading him back to Athens after a 10 year absence to work in the field of Horticulture with Cannabis. Masa has been registered as a Marijuana Agent in Nevada and Louisiana and certified in the state of Georgia as a licensed Pesticide Applicator and as a Level 1A GSWCC (Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission) card holder which is the required state form of the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System).

MASA: Growing up in the small town of Moultrie located in Colquitt County deep in South Georgia brought Masa Kenney into contact with an agrarian lifestyle and community. As a young teen, he spent a lot of his time involved with 4-H, FFA, and the annual Sunbelt Ag Expo. The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition has been billed as America’s largest agricultural exposition for over 4 decades now. Many of his friends lived and worked on farms, and his summers were spent helping them pick crops and tend to cattle. Two of those summers brought him into a deeper understanding and appreciation of the science that is incorporated into agriculture when at the ages of 13 & 14 during summer break he worked in Valdosta for Funk’s G Hybrid Seed Company which conducted a selective breeding program using a technique of self-pollination to create a genetically desirable harvest. His junior and senior years in high school introduced him to a landscaping job and cultivated his love of working with Nature through the beautification of the environment. By working in this field he gained a greater respect and understanding of the symbiotic relationship that plants shared with humans, not just in the exchange of the necessary gases to survive but also the deeper effects that the environment and plants have on people and vice-versa. It was then that Masa decided that he wanted to attend one of the best agriculture universities in the nation and find a career path that involved working with plants.. With no way to pay for college, he joined the U.S. Army and opted for the Army College Fund and the G.I. Bill instead of a one-time cash enlistment bonus to pay for his college education. After a station overseas in Europe and a deployment to the Middle East for Desert Shield & Desert Storm, he went right back to his chosen career path and worked for several different landscape companies and nursery centers while attending Valdosta State College and then UGA. It was while attending classes at UGA that he was introduced to a scientific cutting edge technology in agriculture when he worked in the Horticulture Department’s Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory under Dr. Hazel Wetzstein who is one of the most well respected pioneers in her field of plant genetic research and a recent recipient of the Fellows Award. This is where Masa learned the true scientific process of cultivating plants and how we can work with plants on a genetic level to propagate exact clones from plant tissue and experiment with genetic modification techniques to produce plants that are more desirable in many aspects: higher yield, higher sugar content, resistance to drought, disease, pests, herbicides, etc. Although he had acquired a large amount of his botanical knowledge through his years of work in the industry and in the classroom, it was in that lab that he took a huge leap forward in his understanding and appreciation of Nature. Masa Kenney graduated from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science school of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s of Science in Agriculture in 1997. He has a major in Horticulture and a minor in Crop & Soils Science. While attending UGA, he was a member of the Horticulture Club and BioTechnology Journal Club. Upon graduation he went to work for a large scale landscape company in Savannah only to return six months later to the incredible city he had come to love in Athens. Here he spent the next 15 years raising a new family, starting a new landscape business, and settling into a city that his family, the Kenneys, had originated from five generations earlier. His landscape business, Lavish Landscapes, LLC, operated for over 12 years and offered services in landscape design, installation, maintenance, irrigation, hardscapes, drainage remediation, licensed chemical applications, and consultations. During this period Masa was a member of the GGIA (Georgia Green Industry Association) and one of the founding members of the original BNI (Business Networking International) chapter in Athens. Masa moved to Hawaii after that to visit with his mother and sister and eventually found himself again drawn into his chosen field of cultivation with a licensed medical cannabis home grow co-operation. After Hawaii Masa spent a few years in Kentucky working with his brother in the medical field of Prosthetics & Orthotics with the intention of starting a new career in that field, but once again, Fate seemed determined to keep Masa with his true love and passion of working with plants. He headed west by way of Colorado to attend a CannaGrow Expo and onto Nevada to find employment with a cannabis company since Nevada had just legalized recreational use at the time. Bringing his education and past experience to bear, Masa helped this company start up a new tissue culture propagation laboratory in a Las Vegas cultivation facility. That company was impressed enough that they offered him a position as a lab manager to start up another tissue culture propagation lab in the very first medical grow facility in Louisiana. After that venture Masa found himself back in Georgia working as a project manager in the hotel construction industry but once again found Fate leading him back to Athens after a 10 year absence to work in the field of Horticulture with Cannabis. Masa has been registered as a Marijuana Agent in Nevada and Louisiana and certified in the state of Georgia as a licensed Pesticide Applicator and as a Level 1A GSWCC (Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission) card holder which is the required state form of the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System).

MASA: Growing up in the small town of Moultrie located in Colquitt County deep in South Georgia brought Masa Kenney into contact with an agrarian lifestyle and community. As a young teen, he spent a lot of his time involved with 4-H, FFA, and the annual Sunbelt Ag Expo. The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition has been billed as America’s largest agricultural exposition for over 4 decades now. Many of his friends lived and worked on farms, and his summers were spent helping them pick crops and tend to cattle. Two of those summers brought him into a deeper understanding and appreciation of the science that is incorporated into agriculture when at the ages of 13 & 14 during summer break he worked in Valdosta for Funk’s G Hybrid Seed Company which conducted a selective breeding program using a technique of self-pollination to create a genetically desirable harvest. His junior and senior years in high school introduced him to a landscaping job and cultivated his love of working with Nature through the beautification of the environment. By working in this field he gained a greater respect and understanding of the symbiotic relationship that plants shared with humans, not just in the exchange of the necessary gases to survive but also the deeper effects that the environment and plants have on people and vice-versa. It was then that Masa decided that he wanted to attend one of the best agriculture universities in the nation and find a career path that involved working with plants.. With no way to pay for college, he joined the U.S. Army and opted for the Army College Fund and the G.I. Bill instead of a one-time cash enlistment bonus to pay for his college education. After a station overseas in Europe and a deployment to the Middle East for Desert Shield & Desert Storm, he went right back to his chosen career path and worked for several different landscape companies and nursery centers while attending Valdosta State College and then UGA. It was while attending classes at UGA that he was introduced to a scientific cutting edge technology in agriculture when he worked in the Horticulture Department’s Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory under Dr. Hazel Wetzstein who is one of the most well respected pioneers in her field of plant genetic research and a recent recipient of the Fellows Award. This is where Masa learned the true scientific process of cultivating plants and how we can work with plants on a genetic level to propagate exact clones from plant tissue and experiment with genetic modification techniques to produce plants that are more desirable in many aspects: higher yield, higher sugar content, resistance to drought, disease, pests, herbicides, etc. Although he had acquired a large amount of his botanical knowledge through his years of work in the industry and in the classroom, it was in that lab that he took a huge leap forward in his understanding and appreciation of Nature. Masa Kenney graduated from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science school of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s of Science in Agriculture in 1997. He has a major in Horticulture and a minor in Crop & Soils Science. While attending UGA, he was a member of the Horticulture Club and BioTechnology Journal Club. Upon graduation he went to work for a large scale landscape company in Savannah only to return six months later to the incredible city he had come to love in Athens. Here he spent the next 15 years raising a new family, starting a new landscape business, and settling into a city that his family, the Kenneys, had originated from five generations earlier. His landscape business, Lavish Landscapes, LLC, operated for over 12 years and offered services in landscape design, installation, maintenance, irrigation, hardscapes, drainage remediation, licensed chemical applications, and consultations. During this period Masa was a member of the GGIA (Georgia Green Industry Association) and one of the founding members of the original BNI (Business Networking International) chapter in Athens. Masa moved to Hawaii after that to visit with his mother and sister and eventually found himself again drawn into his chosen field of cultivation with a licensed medical cannabis home grow co-operation. After Hawaii Masa spent a few years in Kentucky working with his brother in the medical field of Prosthetics & Orthotics with the intention of starting a new career in that field, but once again, Fate seemed determined to keep Masa with his true love and passion of working with plants. He headed west by way of Colorado to attend a CannaGrow Expo and onto Nevada to find employment with a cannabis company since Nevada had just legalized recreational use at the time. Bringing his education and past experience to bear, Masa helped this company start up a new tissue culture propagation laboratory in a Las Vegas cultivation facility. That company was impressed enough that they offered him a position as a lab manager to start up another tissue culture propagation lab in the very first medical grow facility in Louisiana. After that venture Masa found himself back in Georgia working as a project manager in the hotel construction industry but once again found Fate leading him back to Athens after a 10 year absence to work in the field of Horticulture with Cannabis. Masa has been registered as a Marijuana Agent in Nevada and Louisiana and certified in the state of Georgia as a licensed Pesticide Applicator and as a Level 1A GSWCC (Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission) card holder which is the required state form of the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System).

MASA: Growing up in the small town of Moultrie located in Colquitt County deep in South Georgia brought Masa Kenney into contact with an agrarian lifestyle and community. As a young teen, he spent a lot of his time involved with 4-H, FFA, and the annual Sunbelt Ag Expo. The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition has been billed as America’s largest agricultural exposition for over 4 decades now. Many of his friends lived and worked on farms, and his summers were spent helping them pick crops and tend to cattle. Two of those summers brought him into a deeper understanding and appreciation of the science that is incorporated into agriculture when at the ages of 13 & 14 during summer break he worked in Valdosta for Funk’s G Hybrid Seed Company which conducted a selective breeding program using a technique of self-pollination to create a genetically desirable harvest. His junior and senior years in high school introduced him to a landscaping job and cultivated his love of working with Nature through the beautification of the environment. By working in this field he gained a greater respect and understanding of the symbiotic relationship that plants shared with humans, not just in the exchange of the necessary gases to survive but also the deeper effects that the environment and plants have on people and vice-versa. It was then that Masa decided that he wanted to attend one of the best agriculture universities in the nation and find a career path that involved working with plants.. With no way to pay for college, he joined the U.S. Army and opted for the Army College Fund and the G.I. Bill instead of a one-time cash enlistment bonus to pay for his college education. After a station overseas in Europe and a deployment to the Middle East for Desert Shield & Desert Storm, he went right back to his chosen career path and worked for several different landscape companies and nursery centers while attending Valdosta State College and then UGA. It was while attending classes at UGA that he was introduced to a scientific cutting edge technology in agriculture when he worked in the Horticulture Department’s Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory under Dr. Hazel Wetzstein who is one of the most well respected pioneers in her field of plant genetic research and a recent recipient of the Fellows Award. This is where Masa learned the true scientific process of cultivating plants and how we can work with plants on a genetic level to propagate exact clones from plant tissue and experiment with genetic modification techniques to produce plants that are more desirable in many aspects: higher yield, higher sugar content, resistance to drought, disease, pests, herbicides, etc. Although he had acquired a large amount of his botanical knowledge through his years of work in the industry and in the classroom, it was in that lab that he took a huge leap forward in his understanding and appreciation of Nature. Masa Kenney graduated from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science school of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s of Science in Agriculture in 1997. He has a major in Horticulture and a minor in Crop & Soils Science. While attending UGA, he was a member of the Horticulture Club and BioTechnology Journal Club. Upon graduation he went to work for a large scale landscape company in Savannah only to return six months later to the incredible city he had come to love in Athens. Here he spent the next 15 years raising a new family, starting a new landscape business, and settling into a city that his family, the Kenneys, had originated from five generations earlier. His landscape business, Lavish Landscapes, LLC, operated for over 12 years and offered services in landscape design, installation, maintenance, irrigation, hardscapes, drainage remediation, licensed chemical applications, and consultations. During this period Masa was a member of the GGIA (Georgia Green Industry Association) and one of the founding members of the original BNI (Business Networking International) chapter in Athens. Masa moved to Hawaii after that to visit with his mother and sister and eventually found himself again drawn into his chosen field of cultivation with a licensed medical cannabis home grow co-operation. After Hawaii Masa spent a few years in Kentucky working with his brother in the medical field of Prosthetics & Orthotics with the intention of starting a new career in that field, but once again, Fate seemed determined to keep Masa with his true love and passion of working with plants. He headed west by way of Colorado to attend a CannaGrow Expo and onto Nevada to find employment with a cannabis company since Nevada had just legalized recreational use at the time. Bringing his education and past experience to bear, Masa helped this company start up a new tissue culture propagation laboratory in a Las Vegas cultivation facility. That company was impressed enough that they offered him a position as a lab manager to start up another tissue culture propagation lab in the very first medical grow facility in Louisiana. After that venture Masa found himself back in Georgia working as a project manager in the hotel construction industry but once again found Fate leading him back to Athens after a 10 year absence to work in the field of Horticulture with Cannabis. Masa has been registered as a Marijuana Agent in Nevada and Louisiana and certified in the state of Georgia as a licensed Pesticide Applicator and as a Level 1A GSWCC (Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission) card holder which is the required state form of the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System).

This week on The Land Show with Dave and Johnny: Eddie Lee Rider, publisher of The Land Report magazine, joins us to talk about their recent interview with famous actor and large landowner, Clint Eastwood. www.landreport.com Wes Isom, of Isom's Orchard in Athens, AL, talks about their family farm and the current apple crop. Randall Upchurch updates us on the recent Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia, and talks about a great new poultry farm listing in Marion County, AL. www.selandgroup.com/agents/randall-upchurch Tim Baker talks beneficial wild herbs and medicinal plants in our Outdoor Update. www.selandgroup.com/agents/tim-baker

Episode 25 of Fastline Fast Track features more interviews from Sunbelt Ag Expo 2019, held Oct. 15-17 in Moultrie, Georgia. Featured are Adam Verner from Elite Ag, Greg Spooner from Specialty Sales, Michael Sosebee from Chandler Manufacturing Co., Scott Black with Cadman Power Equipment and Billy Black with High Tech Equipment Sales. The episode also features an interview with Woody Woodell of Anna, Ohio-based Fertilizer Dealer Supply, and revisits the music of honky-tonk hero Scott Southworth, from the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville, Tennessee.

Episode 24 of Fastline Fast Track includes early interviews from Sunbelt Ag Expo 2019, held Oct. 15-17 in Moultrie, Georgia. On the program are U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue; Rodney Walker with Alabama Gooseneck Sales; Zeke Hembree with ABI Irrigation and Steve Crouch with Newton Crouch Inc. The episode also features interviews with Terry Burkart with All-States Ag Parts and Ben Johnson with Farmers Edge. Episode 24 also includes interviews with Alex Johnson, Beck's Hybrids; Don Frisbie, Kuhn Krause and Pierce Randall with Great Plains Manufacturing Inc. from Farm Science Review, presented by The Ohio State University, held Sept. 17-19 in London, Ohio. The episode wraps up with the music of Erik Stucky, recorded at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop, 417 Broadway, Nashville, Tennessee.

Jerry Ray of Moore County recently traveled to Moultrie, Georgia for the Sunbelt Ag Expo as the 30th Tennessee Swisher Sweets Southeastern Farmer of the Year. The post Representing the Volunteer State appeared first on Tennessee Farm Bureau.

In Episode 23 of the podcast, we talk with Chip Blalock, executive director of the Sunbelt Ag Expo, Moultrie, Georgia, about the 2019 show, which will be held Oct. 15-17. We also talk Nashville recording artist Kolt Barber, get an update on the Wheelman autosteer product from AgJunction and we revisit Farm Science Review 2019 with representatives of Copperhead Ag, PWR EZ, FuelPro Fuel Trailers and Seed Genetics Direct. We also present the music of Mary Kutter, live from the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville, Tennessee.

Growing up in the small town of Moultrie located in Colquitt County deep in South Georgia brought Masa Kenney into contact with an agrarian lifestyle and community. As a young teen, he spent a lot of his time involved with 4-H, FFA, and the annual Sunbelt Ag Expo. The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition has been billed as America’s largest agricultural exposition for over 4 decades now. Many of his friends lived and worked on farms, and his summers were spent helping them pick crops and tend to cattle. Two of those summers brought him into a deeper understanding and appreciation of the science that is incorporated into agriculture when at the ages of 13 & 14 during summer break he worked in Valdosta for Funk’s G Hybrid Seed Company which conducted a selective breeding program using a technique of self-pollination to create a genetically desirable harvest. His junior and senior years in high school introduced him to a landscaping job and cultivated his love of working with Nature through the beautification of the environment. By working in this field he gained a greater respect and understanding of the symbiotic relationship that plants shared with humans, not just in the exchange of the necessary gases to survive but also the deeper effects that the environment and plants have on people and vice-versa. It was then that Masa decided that he wanted to attend one of the best agriculture universities in the nation and find a career path that involved working with plants.. With no way to pay for college, he joined the U.S. Army and opted for the Army College Fund and the G.I. Bill instead of a one-time cash enlistment bonus to pay for his college education. After a station overseas in Europe and a deployment to the Middle East for Desert Shield & Desert Storm, he went right back to his chosen career path and worked for several different landscape companies and nursery centers while attending Valdosta State College and then UGA. It was while attending classes at UGA that he was introduced to a scientific cutting edge technology in agriculture when he worked in the Horticulture Department’s Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory under Dr. Hazel Wetzstein who is one of the most well respected pioneers in her field of plant genetic research and a recent recipient of the Fellows Award. This is where Masa learned the true scientific process of cultivating plants and how we can work with plants on a genetic level to propagate exact clones from plant tissue and experiment with genetic modification techniques to produce plants that are more desirable in many aspects: higher yield, higher sugar content, resistance to drought, disease, pests, herbicides, etc. Although he had acquired a large amount of his botanical knowledge through his years of work in the industry and in the classroom, it was in that lab that he took a huge leap forward in his understanding and appreciation of Nature. Masa Kenney graduated from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science school of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s of Science in Agriculture in 1997. He has a major in Horticulture and a minor in Crop & Soils Science. While attending UGA, he was a member of the Horticulture Club and BioTechnology Journal Club. Upon graduation he went to work for a large scale landscape company in Savannah only to return six months later to the incredible city he had come to love in Athens. Here he spent the next 15 years raising a new family, starting a new landscape business, and settling into a city that his family, the Kenneys, had originated from five generations earlier. His landscape business, Lavish Landscapes, LLC, operated for over 12 years and offered services in landscape design, installation, maintenance, irrigation, hardscapes, drainage remediation, licensed chemical applications, and consultations. During this period Masa was a member of the GGIA (Georgia Green Industry Association) and one of the founding members of the original BNI (Business Networking International) chapter in Athens. Masa moved to Hawaii after that to visit with his mother and sister and eventually found himself again drawn into his chosen field of cultivation with a licensed medical cannabis home grow co-operation. After Hawaii Masa spent a few years in Kentucky working with his brother in the medical field of Prosthetics & Orthotics with the intention of starting a new career in that field, but once again, Fate seemed determined to keep Masa with his true love and passion of working with plants. He headed west by way of Colorado to attend a CannaGrow Expo and onto Nevada to find employment with a cannabis company since Nevada had just legalized recreational use at the time. Bringing his education and past experience to bear, Masa helped this company start up a new tissue culture propagation laboratory in a Las Vegas cultivation facility. That company was impressed enough that they offered him a position as a lab manager to start up another tissue culture propagation lab in the very first medical grow facility in Louisiana. After that venture Masa found himself back in Georgia working as a project manager in the hotel construction industry but once again found Fate leading him back to Athens after a 10 year absence to work in the field of Horticulture with Cannabis. Masa has been registered as a Marijuana Agent in Nevada and Louisiana and certified in the state of Georgia as a licensed Pesticide Applicator and as a Level 1A GSWCC (Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission) card holder which is the required state form of the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System).

Growing up in the small town of Moultrie located in Colquitt County deep in South Georgia brought Masa Kenney into contact with an agrarian lifestyle and community. As a young teen, he spent a lot of his time involved with 4-H, FFA, and the annual Sunbelt Ag Expo. The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition has been billed as America’s largest agricultural exposition for over 4 decades now. Many of his friends lived and worked on farms, and his summers were spent helping them pick crops and tend to cattle. Two of those summers brought him into a deeper understanding and appreciation of the science that is incorporated into agriculture when at the ages of 13 & 14 during summer break he worked in Valdosta for Funk’s G Hybrid Seed Company which conducted a selective breeding program using a technique of self-pollination to create a genetically desirable harvest. His junior and senior years in high school introduced him to a landscaping job and cultivated his love of working with Nature through the beautification of the environment. By working in this field he gained a greater respect and understanding of the symbiotic relationship that plants shared with humans, not just in the exchange of the necessary gases to survive but also the deeper effects that the environment and plants have on people and vice-versa. It was then that Masa decided that he wanted to attend one of the best agriculture universities in the nation and find a career path that involved working with plants.. With no way to pay for college, he joined the U.S. Army and opted for the Army College Fund and the G.I. Bill instead of a one-time cash enlistment bonus to pay for his college education. After a station overseas in Europe and a deployment to the Middle East for Desert Shield & Desert Storm, he went right back to his chosen career path and worked for several different landscape companies and nursery centers while attending Valdosta State College and then UGA. It was while attending classes at UGA that he was introduced to a scientific cutting edge technology in agriculture when he worked in the Horticulture Department’s Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory under Dr. Hazel Wetzstein who is one of the most well respected pioneers in her field of plant genetic research and a recent recipient of the Fellows Award. This is where Masa learned the true scientific process of cultivating plants and how we can work with plants on a genetic level to propagate exact clones from plant tissue and experiment with genetic modification techniques to produce plants that are more desirable in many aspects: higher yield, higher sugar content, resistance to drought, disease, pests, herbicides, etc. Although he had acquired a large amount of his botanical knowledge through his years of work in the industry and in the classroom, it was in that lab that he took a huge leap forward in his understanding and appreciation of Nature. Masa Kenney graduated from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science school of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s of Science in Agriculture in 1997. He has a major in Horticulture and a minor in Crop & Soils Science. While attending UGA, he was a member of the Horticulture Club and BioTechnology Journal Club. Upon graduation he went to work for a large scale landscape company in Savannah only to return six months later to the incredible city he had come to love in Athens. Here he spent the next 15 years raising a new family, starting a new landscape business, and settling into a city that his family, the Kenneys, had originated from five generations earlier. His landscape business, Lavish Landscapes, LLC, operated for over 12 years and offered services in landscape design, installation, maintenance, irrigation, hardscapes, drainage remediation, licensed chemical applications, and consultations. During this period Masa was a member of the GGIA (Georgia Green Industry Association) and one of the founding members of the original BNI (Business Networking International) chapter in Athens. Masa moved to Hawaii after that to visit with his mother and sister and eventually found himself again drawn into his chosen field of cultivation with a licensed medical cannabis home grow co-operation. After Hawaii Masa spent a few years in Kentucky working with his brother in the medical field of Prosthetics & Orthotics with the intention of starting a new career in that field, but once again, Fate seemed determined to keep Masa with his true love and passion of working with plants. He headed west by way of Colorado to attend a CannaGrow Expo and onto Nevada to find employment with a cannabis company since Nevada had just legalized recreational use at the time. Bringing his education and past experience to bear, Masa helped this company start up a new tissue culture propagation laboratory in a Las Vegas cultivation facility. That company was impressed enough that they offered him a position as a lab manager to start up another tissue culture propagation lab in the very first medical grow facility in Louisiana. After that venture Masa found himself back in Georgia working as a project manager in the hotel construction industry but once again found Fate leading him back to Athens after a 10 year absence to work in the field of Horticulture with Cannabis. Masa has been registered as a Marijuana Agent in Nevada and Louisiana and certified in the state of Georgia as a licensed Pesticide Applicator and as a Level 1A GSWCC (Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission) card holder which is the required state form of the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System).

This week on The Land Show with Dave and Johnny:- Erin Beasley, Executive Vice President of Alabama Cattlemen's Association, comes in to talk about Beef Month in Alabama. Chip Blalock, Executive Director of the Sunbelt Ag Expo, joins us to talk about the largest agricultural trade show in the world happening in Moultrie, Georgia later this month. Tammy Morgan, owner of Jack-o-Lantern Lane in Lafayette, AL, talks about their family's pumpkin patch and farm. Randall Upchurch shares about how his neighbors came together to help save a flock of chickens in their family poultry house in our Farmland Report. Tim Baker talks sandhill crane hunting and pre-season scouting for deer in our Wildlife Update.

Alayna left the small town of Butler, Pennsylvania in the summer of 2011 with nothing but herself and a carload of a few necessities, including her Breedlove guitar, to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a recording artist and songwriter of note. In just a few years time Alayna would be writing with hit songwriters such as Steve Dean (“Watching You” for Rodney Atkins), Jeffrey East and Kirsti Manna (“Austin” for Blake Shelton) playing well-known venues like Bluebird Cafe and Nissan Stadium. In 2012, Alayna received an endorsement from her favorite guitar company, Breedlove. Alayna's fan-funded EP "The Wrong Side" was released in May 2015 and charted at #30 on the iTunes UK Country charts.Alayna wrote her first song at age 12. A few years later she learned the new talent she could craft. During this time, she taught herself to play guitar and kept up with regular piano lessons.Here are a few of her career highlights: 2018 - Accepted into the Smoky Mountain Songwriters Festival; Invited to join the PSA (Public School Ambassador) National Tour; 4th consecutive year performing at The National Cornbread Festival; current Patreon page has nearly 30 members2017 - Named a Country Music Association (CMA) Emerging Artist; Performed at Nissan Stadium in Nashville; Released second fan-funded EP “Wicked City”; Performed during & had artist booth at CMA Fest2016 - Awarded “Co-Writer of the Year” by TSAI; Performed at Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival2015 - Fan-funded EP “The Wrong Side” released & sells in 35 US states & 12 countries; EP charts at #30 on the iTunes UK country charts; Standing-room only EP Release Party; Won a Keith Urban YouTube cover contest & awarded a signed Urban electric guitar, Awarded “Female Songwriter of the Year” & “Song Cut of the Year” by TSAI; Performed at Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival2014 - Awarded “Female Songwriter of the Year”, “Songwriter of the Year”, “Song of the Year” and “Co-writers of the Year” by TSAI; Performed at Sunbelt AG Expo (largest farm show in the SE), & TN State Fair; Endorsed by Fancy Guitar Capos 2013 - Awarded “Female Songwriter of the Year” by Tennessee Songwriters Association International (TSAI); Christmas 4 Kids Bus Tour To date, Alayna has over 1 million YouTube views & 19 independent cuts.

Preparing Your Garden Plot for Planting On this week’s episode, the guys talk about the different ways to prepare a garden plot for planting. They first discuss how to determine the appropriate size of the garden. They explain how they prefer small subplots versus one large garden plot. The subplots make the garden easier to manage and are more friendly to proper crop rotation. They've found that planting in long rows is not the best solution for crop rotation because you are limited to where you can plant year after year. They talk about different ways to prepare the soil on a new garden plot. These would include using a bottom plow, harrow, tiller or tarping. They suggest starting a couple of months before you intend to plant, as this will allow enough time to break up the grass clumps and get the tilth to a working state. Also, Greg says when you go to prepare a garden plot do not forget to do a soil sample test so you know what level of phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen you need to add to the soil before planting. Show and Tell Segment On the show and tell segment, Travis has a jar of pickled okra that his father-in-law made. The guys try it on the show and talk about their favorite ways to make pickled okra. Travis brought a head of white cauliflower that he harvested from the demonstration garden at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Although it can take a while to produce, cauliflower is one of the best-tasting treats from the cool-weather vegetable garden. He also has a head of purple cauliflower called Graffiti. With the purple cauliflower, you don't have to worry about much discoloration because of the darker color. This is a great variety that is rich in antioxidants and holds its color when cooked. We also carry a yellow to orangish, Flame Star Cauliflower that is a hybrid and has great heat tolerance. Greg talks a little bit about when you want to use calcium nitrate and ammonium sulfate. In the southern climates, you should use some ammonium sulfate on onions because it is a nitrogen source that contains a lot of sulfur which onions love. In the northern climates, you should use calcium nitrate to help supplement your nitrogen source to onions. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about planting the Premium Greens Mix and how to manage squash borers. Travis explains that the Asian greens mixes are pretty cold-hardy and can be planted anytime throughout the fall and winter growing seasons. Succession planting these beds of greens is a great strategy to ensure continuous harvests throughout the cooler months. Greg says if we have a really bad cold spell they will take a little longer to germinate and pop up, but if you have warmer days it won't take long at all to pop up. They mention that squash vine borers are more easily controlled in the larval stage, but can be difficult to manage once adult populations begin to thrive. They suggest using rotations of B.t. and Spinosad to eliminate larval individuals and prevent adult populations from flourishing and doing maximal damage. Greg says instead of using B.t. he would use Neem Oil and switch it out with Spinosad. As well as, good crop rotation because it is not good to plant the same crops in the same spot year after year. Also, removing crop debris like eggs that can overwinter in the soil will decrease your chances of squash borers in the vegetable garden. Tool of the Week Graffiti Cauliflower https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCpja4pSvEo

Preparing Your Garden Plot for Planting On this week’s episode, the guys talk about the different ways to prepare a garden plot for planting. They first discuss how to determine the appropriate size of the garden. They explain how they prefer small subplots versus one large garden plot. The subplots make the garden easier to manage and are more friendly to proper crop rotation. They've found that planting in long rows is not the best solution for crop rotation because you are limited to where you can plant year after year. They talk about different ways to prepare the soil on a new garden plot. These would include using a bottom plow, harrow, tiller or tarping. They suggest starting a couple of months before you intend to plant, as this will allow enough time to break up the grass clumps and get the tilth to a working state. Also, Greg says when you go to prepare a garden plot do not forget to do a soil sample test so you know what level of phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen you need to add to the soil before planting. Show and Tell Segment On the show and tell segment, Travis has a jar of pickled okra that his father-in-law made. The guys try it on the show and talk about their favorite ways to make pickled okra. Travis brought a head of white cauliflower that he harvested from the demonstration garden at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Although it can take a while to produce, cauliflower is one of the best-tasting treats from the cool-weather vegetable garden. He also has a head of purple cauliflower called Graffiti. With the purple cauliflower, you don't have to worry about much discoloration because of the darker color. This is a great variety that is rich in antioxidants and holds its color when cooked. We also carry a yellow to orangish, Flame Star Cauliflower that is a hybrid and has great heat tolerance. Greg talks a little bit about when you want to use calcium nitrate and ammonium sulfate. In the southern climates, you should use some ammonium sulfate on onions because it is a nitrogen source that contains a lot of sulfur which onions love. In the northern climates, you should use calcium nitrate to help supplement your nitrogen source to onions. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about planting the Premium Greens Mix and how to manage squash borers. Travis explains that the Asian greens mixes are pretty cold-hardy and can be planted anytime throughout the fall and winter growing seasons. Succession planting these beds of greens is a great strategy to ensure continuous harvests throughout the cooler months. Greg says if we have a really bad cold spell they will take a little longer to germinate and pop up, but if you have warmer days it won't take long at all to pop up. They mention that squash vine borers are more easily controlled in the larval stage, but can be difficult to manage once adult populations begin to thrive. They suggest using rotations of B.t. and Spinosad to eliminate larval individuals and prevent adult populations from flourishing and doing maximal damage. Greg says instead of using B.t. he would use Neem Oil and switch it out with Spinosad. As well as, good crop rotation because it is not good to plant the same crops in the same spot year after year. Also, removing crop debris like eggs that can overwinter in the soil will decrease your chances of squash borers in the vegetable garden. Tool of the Week Graffiti Cauliflower https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCpja4pSvEo

The "Back To Eden" Gardening Technique On this week’s episode, the guys discuss the recently popular "Back to Eden" gardening technique. This technique involves mulching the entire garden area with straw or wood chips in an attempt to reduce weed pressure and conserve moisture. Travis mentions that while it does suppress some weeds, there will still be weed seed inputs from wind, water, and animals. And those weeds would require pulling by hand because of the inability to use a cultivating/weeding tool in a heavily mulched area. The guys agree that there preferred way of keeping weed pressure to a minimum is by planting cover crops. Also, adding cover crops will increase soil nutrients back into the soil. Overall, it does keep some weed pressure to a minimum, but frequent cultivation is much easier and effective. Another Back to Eden claim technique is that you will need less water and fertilizer in the garden. Travis says although it may reduce water usage it will not reduce fertilizer usage because of our location in the deep south. In the South, because of our soil types and weather, it is hard to keep nutrients in the soil for the plants to uptake. So we have to add fertilizer supplements to provide plants with the nutrients they need in the soil. Greg mentions that replicating a forest environment is not a good idea for vegetable plants. When growing a vegetable garden, we must manipulate the environment because these plants such as tomatoes, peppers or watermelons are not native. As a result, mulched areas create an unnatural environment for these cultivated varieties. Using wood chips will tie up your nitrogen nutrients in the garden which is a natural process that has to decay. Travis also mentions that the Back to Eden method is not a very time-efficient method of gardening. With short-term annual crops, it requires too much time to remove mulch when you plant versus simply cultivating the area once a week. Show and Tell Segment On the Show & Tell segment this week, the guys talk about their upcoming event at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Greg says the garden is looking good with corn, collards, cut flowers and more. Greg also has some Seminole Pumpkins that he recently harvested from his personal garden. This pumpkin variety is very resistant to viruses and diseases that typically plague pumpkins grown in southern climates. Travis mentions that the Seminole variety has great flavor and is perfect for making pies or even baby food. The tool of the week is Chilean Nitrate which provides a natural source of nitrogen for the vegetable garden. Travis used it recently to side dress his broccoli, collards, and cauliflower. Greg used it also at the expo to side-dress corn and all the greens and it ended up making a huge difference in the plants. This is the best product to use if you need to add some nitrogen to a nitrogen-loving plant. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer a question about tillage radish spacing as a cover crop. Tillage radish works great in heavy clay soils because it grows deep in the soil and provides great nutrients. Travis explains that recommendations suggest a spacing of rows 6" to 14" apart, but that he would err on the side of having rows closer together. He suggests planting rows 6" apart if planting tillage radish with a walk-behind seeder. Greg talks about the benefits of tillage radish as a cover crop because it acts as a sponge for nutrients and breaks down easily when incorporated into the soil. Tool of the Week Chilean Nitrate Fertilizer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtAm8klFtgQ

The "Back To Eden" Gardening Technique On this week’s episode, the guys discuss the recently popular "Back to Eden" gardening technique. This technique involves mulching the entire garden area with straw or wood chips in an attempt to reduce weed pressure and conserve moisture. Travis mentions that while it does suppress some weeds, there will still be weed seed inputs from wind, water, and animals. And those weeds would require pulling by hand because of the inability to use a cultivating/weeding tool in a heavily mulched area. The guys agree that there preferred way of keeping weed pressure to a minimum is by planting cover crops. Also, adding cover crops will increase soil nutrients back into the soil. Overall, it does keep some weed pressure to a minimum, but frequent cultivation is much easier and effective. Another Back to Eden claim technique is that you will need less water and fertilizer in the garden. Travis says although it may reduce water usage it will not reduce fertilizer usage because of our location in the deep south. In the South, because of our soil types and weather, it is hard to keep nutrients in the soil for the plants to uptake. So we have to add fertilizer supplements to provide plants with the nutrients they need in the soil. Greg mentions that replicating a forest environment is not a good idea for vegetable plants. When growing a vegetable garden, we must manipulate the environment because these plants such as tomatoes, peppers or watermelons are not native. As a result, mulched areas create an unnatural environment for these cultivated varieties. Using wood chips will tie up your nitrogen nutrients in the garden which is a natural process that has to decay. Travis also mentions that the Back to Eden method is not a very time-efficient method of gardening. With short-term annual crops, it requires too much time to remove mulch when you plant versus simply cultivating the area once a week. Show and Tell Segment On the Show & Tell segment this week, the guys talk about their upcoming event at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Greg says the garden is looking good with corn, collards, cut flowers and more. Greg also has some Seminole Pumpkins that he recently harvested from his personal garden. This pumpkin variety is very resistant to viruses and diseases that typically plague pumpkins grown in southern climates. Travis mentions that the Seminole variety has great flavor and is perfect for making pies or even baby food. The tool of the week is Chilean Nitrate which provides a natural source of nitrogen for the vegetable garden. Travis used it recently to side dress his broccoli, collards, and cauliflower. Greg used it also at the expo to side-dress corn and all the greens and it ended up making a huge difference in the plants. This is the best product to use if you need to add some nitrogen to a nitrogen-loving plant. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer a question about tillage radish spacing as a cover crop. Tillage radish works great in heavy clay soils because it grows deep in the soil and provides great nutrients. Travis explains that recommendations suggest a spacing of rows 6" to 14" apart, but that he would err on the side of having rows closer together. He suggests planting rows 6" apart if planting tillage radish with a walk-behind seeder. Greg talks about the benefits of tillage radish as a cover crop because it acts as a sponge for nutrients and breaks down easily when incorporated into the soil. Tool of the Week Chilean Nitrate Fertilizer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtAm8klFtgQ

The Difference in Wheel Hoe Attachments On this week’s episode, the guys discuss the wide variety of attachments that are available for the Hoss Wheel Hoe. They go through each attachment and help to explain which are the best wheel hoe attachments for each particular garden or situation. They talk about the new Winged Sweep attachment that just became available and how it has more "bite" than the cultivator teeth. This additional bite or angle of cultivation will be helpful to those with harder, clay soils or those with heavy weed pressure. They also differentiate between the standard Sweeps and the Oscillating Hoe attachments. They mention that the Sweeps are for lighter jobs, while the Oscillating Hoes are some of the best wheel hoe attachments for heavier applications. We offer 3 different sizes of the oscillating hoes -- 6, 8, and 12 inches wide. The guys are also in the process of designing a handheld oscillating hoe that will be released soon. The Spreader Bar is a tool that extends the length for adding more attachments or offsetting your work path. They discuss the usefulness of the Disk Harrow attachment for light duty cultivation in softer soils. The last attachment they talk about is the Drip Tape Layer attachment that fits on the Double Wheel Hoe which makes it quick and easy to lay drip tape by yourself in the garden. Show and Tell Segment On the show and tell segment this week, the guys talk about the variety of collards that they are growing this fall. Travis has Tiger Collard variety of transplants that are very similar to the Top Bunch variety that was so popular for many years. However, due to crop failure, the Top Bunch variety is no longer available. Travis also has Lacinato kale and Red Russian kale that are ready to move into the vegetable garden. They also provide an update on the demonstration garden at the Hoss Tools Sustainable Living Center for the Sunbelt Ag Expo and mention that they will be planting some mixed greens and cover crops there in the next few days. The pest pressure has decreased drastically in the last couple of weeks which is great for the vegetable garden. The tool of the week is Spinosad which is an organic control that helps with pest problems in the garden such as worms, thrips, and caterpillars. It has two different modes of action it can kill on contact or kill by ingestion within 48 hours of applying to the plant. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer a question about well water vs. tap water and using drip tape on onions. Greg mentions that tap water, or "city water", can affect the pH of your garden soil over time. He believes the chlorine concentrations are low enough to not have a significant effect, but that the pH should be monitored if one is using municipal water on their vegetable garden. Greg says it is important to know what level of pH is in your water because it has an effect on your soils. He recommends taking a sample of your water to a local pool store and asking them to run a pH test on it. They guys are currently waiting for their onion stalks to come from Dixondale, but as soon as they receive them they will be planting onions. Travis explains that his system for planting onions has been extremely effective year after year. He recommends planting onions on drip tape, with two rows of onions per one line of drip tape. Tool of the Week Spinosad Garden Insect Spray https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHLD0eV3Vv8

Improving Your Irrigation in the Garden On this week’s episode, the guys discuss the best solutions for vegetable garden irrigation. They discuss which crops are more suitable for overhead irrigation or hand-watering. These would include very short-term crops like potatoes, mustard, or mixed greens. They have such a short maturity date, it's really not worth the time to install drip irrigation on these crops. With longer maturing crops, they recommend using drip irrigation for many reasons. Using drip tape for garden irrigation saves time from having to move sprinklers around the garden and it also uses less water because the water is applied directly to the plant roots. Drip irrigation will also reduce weed pressure and plant diseases by limiting leaf moisture. Greg states that drip tape was designed to either go sub-surface or underneath the plastic mulch. That is the most effective way because it will not move around on you as it does laying on top of the soil. Our drip tape comes with emitters every 12 inches apart which allows water output for .4 gallons a minute per 100 feet. Using drip irrigation you are not wasting any water and all that water is going directly where the plant needs it. They answer some frequently asked questions about run time and using it with a gravity-fed system, lifespan, and removal. Show and Tell Segment On the show and tell segment this week, the guys provide an update of the demonstration garden at the Hoss Tools Sustainable Living Center as part of the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Greg mentions that things are growing well despite some heavy whitefly pressure. They have a good stand of Ambrosia sweet corn growing and it will need hilling soon. They applied drip tape irrigation which has been great in these drought temperatures we have been experiencing. Travis mentioned that he recently planted a mixed greens variety that has Tatsoi, Mizuna, Red Russian Kale, and Arugula. He also mentions that his jambalaya okra is producing very well and he's been using a new technique called the "prune and whoop" which has been effective. The tool of the week is Rabbit and Squirrel Repellant this is the best product for keeping small rodents from eating your Brussel sprouts and cauliflower plants. It works best to apply early on in the garden and don't use close to harvesting time. The second tool of the week is we now offer a 1-pound package of Broadleaf Mustard. Cover crops are great for the garden because they break down into the soil and apply nutrients that the soil needs. Another advantage cover crops have is they keep nematode pressure to a minimum in the garden. These cover crops can be planted with a seeder or broadcaster in the garden. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer a question about planting cover crops. Greg mentions that cover crops will need a light layer of soil on top of them to germinate. If you have any kind of small seed you should plant it very shallow in the soil, but with full soil contact. So after broadcasting on top of the soil, a light raking is needed to cover the seeds for germination. Greg recommends planting these seeds at least a half inch in the soil. He mentions that a disk behind a tractor would bury the seeds too deep, but that the Disk Harrow attachment for the Hoss Wheel Hoe is a great way to cover those seeds in the vegetable garden. Tool of the Week Rabbit and Squirrel Repellent Broadleaf Mustard Cover Crop Seed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w00gzeomf08

Improving Your Irrigation in the Garden On this week’s episode, the guys discuss the best solutions for vegetable garden irrigation. They discuss which crops are more suitable for overhead irrigation or hand-watering. These would include very short-term crops like potatoes, mustard, or mixed greens. They have such a short maturity date, it's really not worth the time to install drip irrigation on these crops. With longer maturing crops, they recommend using drip irrigation for many reasons. Using drip tape for garden irrigation saves time from having to move sprinklers around the garden and it also uses less water because the water is applied directly to the plant roots. Drip irrigation will also reduce weed pressure and plant diseases by limiting leaf moisture. Greg states that drip tape was designed to either go sub-surface or underneath the plastic mulch. That is the most effective way because it will not move around on you as it does laying on top of the soil. Our drip tape comes with emitters every 12 inches apart which allows water output for .4 gallons a minute per 100 feet. Using drip irrigation you are not wasting any water and all that water is going directly where the plant needs it. They answer some frequently asked questions about run time and using it with a gravity-fed system, lifespan, and removal. Show and Tell Segment On the show and tell segment this week, the guys provide an update of the demonstration garden at the Hoss Tools Sustainable Living Center as part of the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Greg mentions that things are growing well despite some heavy whitefly pressure. They have a good stand of Ambrosia sweet corn growing and it will need hilling soon. They applied drip tape irrigation which has been great in these drought temperatures we have been experiencing. Travis mentioned that he recently planted a mixed greens variety that has Tatsoi, Mizuna, Red Russian Kale, and Arugula. He also mentions that his jambalaya okra is producing very well and he's been using a new technique called the "prune and whoop" which has been effective. The tool of the week is Rabbit and Squirrel Repellant this is the best product for keeping small rodents from eating your Brussel sprouts and cauliflower plants. It works best to apply early on in the garden and don't use close to harvesting time. The second tool of the week is we now offer a 1-pound package of Broadleaf Mustard. Cover crops are great for the garden because they break down into the soil and apply nutrients that the soil needs. Another advantage cover crops have is they keep nematode pressure to a minimum in the garden. These cover crops can be planted with a seeder or broadcaster in the garden. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer a question about planting cover crops. Greg mentions that cover crops will need a light layer of soil on top of them to germinate. If you have any kind of small seed you should plant it very shallow in the soil, but with full soil contact. So after broadcasting on top of the soil, a light raking is needed to cover the seeds for germination. Greg recommends planting these seeds at least a half inch in the soil. He mentions that a disk behind a tractor would bury the seeds too deep, but that the Disk Harrow attachment for the Hoss Wheel Hoe is a great way to cover those seeds in the vegetable garden. Tool of the Week Rabbit and Squirrel Repellent Broadleaf Mustard Cover Crop Seed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w00gzeomf08

The Difference in Wheel Hoe Attachments On this week’s episode, the guys discuss the wide variety of attachments that are available for the Hoss Wheel Hoe. They go through each attachment and help to explain which are the best wheel hoe attachments for each particular garden or situation. They talk about the new Winged Sweep attachment that just became available and how it has more "bite" than the cultivator teeth. This additional bite or angle of cultivation will be helpful to those with harder, clay soils or those with heavy weed pressure. They also differentiate between the standard Sweeps and the Oscillating Hoe attachments. They mention that the Sweeps are for lighter jobs, while the Oscillating Hoes are some of the best wheel hoe attachments for heavier applications. We offer 3 different sizes of the oscillating hoes -- 6, 8, and 12 inches wide. The guys are also in the process of designing a handheld oscillating hoe that will be released soon. The Spreader Bar is a tool that extends the length for adding more attachments or offsetting your work path. They discuss the usefulness of the Disk Harrow attachment for light duty cultivation in softer soils. The last attachment they talk about is the Drip Tape Layer attachment that fits on the Double Wheel Hoe which makes it quick and easy to lay drip tape by yourself in the garden. Show and Tell Segment On the show and tell segment this week, the guys talk about the variety of collards that they are growing this fall. Travis has Tiger Collard variety of transplants that are very similar to the Top Bunch variety that was so popular for many years. However, due to crop failure, the Top Bunch variety is no longer available. Travis also has Lacinato kale and Red Russian kale that are ready to move into the vegetable garden. They also provide an update on the demonstration garden at the Hoss Tools Sustainable Living Center for the Sunbelt Ag Expo and mention that they will be planting some mixed greens and cover crops there in the next few days. The pest pressure has decreased drastically in the last couple of weeks which is great for the vegetable garden. The tool of the week is Spinosad which is an organic control that helps with pest problems in the garden such as worms, thrips, and caterpillars. It has two different modes of action it can kill on contact or kill by ingestion within 48 hours of applying to the plant. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer a question about well water vs. tap water and using drip tape on onions. Greg mentions that tap water, or "city water", can affect the pH of your garden soil over time. He believes the chlorine concentrations are low enough to not have a significant effect, but that the pH should be monitored if one is using municipal water on their vegetable garden. Greg says it is important to know what level of pH is in your water because it has an effect on your soils. He recommends taking a sample of your water to a local pool store and asking them to run a pH test on it. They guys are currently waiting for their onion stalks to come from Dixondale, but as soon as they receive them they will be planting onions. Travis explains that his system for planting onions has been extremely effective year after year. He recommends planting onions on drip tape, with two rows of onions per one line of drip tape. Tool of the Week Spinosad Garden Insect Spray https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHLD0eV3Vv8

Basics of Growing Vegetable Transplants On this week’s episode, the guys talk about growing vegetable transplants. When it comes to transplanting they recommend a lot of the fall and early spring crops -- Lacinato Kale, Green Magic Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Tiger Collards. Obvious crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, lettuce, and kohlrabi all do better when transplanted. Depending on the certain growing season there are some crops that you can either direct seed or transplant. These crops include beets, okra, zinnias, and sunflowers. Travis says that crops like corn, beans, and peas do not try to transplant at all they just do better direct seeding. They cover everything from the best seed starting mix, the best seed starting trays, how to seed the trays, how to fertilize once the seeds germinate and more! They discuss several different methods for growing transplants including soil blocks, cheap, flimsy seed trays, and quality seed trays that last a lifetime. Greg and Travis explain that if you use soil blocks for growing transplants then you end up wasting time because they take so long to prepare. Although the guys explain that the most effective method for growing transplants is to use our high-quality seed starting trays. They debut the new Premium Seed Starting Kits for fall. Which includes a Dramm wand, wooden garden labels, four garden seed varieties, pro-mix seed starting mix, and a seed starting tray. These kits allow you to grow over 300 plants in one complete kit. Travis also explains why organic fertilizers do not work well on vegetable transplants because it takes too long to convert organic sources to a usable form of nitrogen. As a result, they recommend using a conventional fertilizer like 20-20-20 to get fast results and keep plants happy in the vegetable garden. Show and Tell Segment On the show and tell segment this week, the guys talk about some cold crops like kale, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, collards, and lettuce that will be great to get ready to transplant soon. They show off a tray of zinnia transplants that are ready to be planted in their demonstration garden at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. They talk about how the root ball has developed nicely around the Pro-Mix seed starting mix. The Pro-Mix is also the tool of the week for this week. Greg and Travis have been using this seed starting mix for vegetable transplants for a long time in the greenhouse. As always the guys have tested this Pro-Mix in their greenhouses for a couple of years before adding it to our website. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about cover crop planting frequency and the most problematic weeds in their gardens. Greg mentions that cover crops should always be cut and incorporated into the soil before going to seed. Therefore if spring crops are finished, you would need to plant a summer cover crop and follow that with a cool season cover crop in the fall. Travis suggests growing buckwheat or millet during the summer, mowing that and incorporating it into the soil, then planting some crimson clover in the fall. Greg mentions that his most problematic weeds include pigweed, nutgrass, and crabgrass. Travis has a sample of some purslane from his garden and he explains that this weed is problematic for him because it doesn't dry and die as easily as other weeds. It is the most aggravating because in order to get rid of the purslane you must go into the garden and remove it by hand to throw it away. Tool of the Week Pro-Mix Organic Seed Starting Mix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IvmdyYMa74

Basics of Growing Vegetable Transplants On this week’s episode, the guys talk about growing vegetable transplants. When it comes to transplanting they recommend a lot of the fall and early spring crops -- Lacinato Kale, Green Magic Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Tiger Collards. Obvious crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, lettuce, and kohlrabi all do better when transplanted. Depending on the certain growing season there are some crops that you can either direct seed or transplant. These crops include beets, okra, zinnias, and sunflowers. Travis says that crops like corn, beans, and peas do not try to transplant at all they just do better direct seeding. They cover everything from the best seed starting mix, the best seed starting trays, how to seed the trays, how to fertilize once the seeds germinate and more! They discuss several different methods for growing transplants including soil blocks, cheap, flimsy seed trays, and quality seed trays that last a lifetime. Greg and Travis explain that if you use soil blocks for growing transplants then you end up wasting time because they take so long to prepare. Although the guys explain that the most effective method for growing transplants is to use our high-quality seed starting trays. They debut the new Premium Seed Starting Kits for fall. Which includes a Dramm wand, wooden garden labels, four garden seed varieties, pro-mix seed starting mix, and a seed starting tray. These kits allow you to grow over 300 plants in one complete kit. Travis also explains why organic fertilizers do not work well on vegetable transplants because it takes too long to convert organic sources to a usable form of nitrogen. As a result, they recommend using a conventional fertilizer like 20-20-20 to get fast results and keep plants happy in the vegetable garden. Show and Tell Segment On the show and tell segment this week, the guys talk about some cold crops like kale, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, collards, and lettuce that will be great to get ready to transplant soon. They show off a tray of zinnia transplants that are ready to be planted in their demonstration garden at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. They talk about how the root ball has developed nicely around the Pro-Mix seed starting mix. The Pro-Mix is also the tool of the week for this week. Greg and Travis have been using this seed starting mix for vegetable transplants for a long time in the greenhouse. As always the guys have tested this Pro-Mix in their greenhouses for a couple of years before adding it to our website. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about cover crop planting frequency and the most problematic weeds in their gardens. Greg mentions that cover crops should always be cut and incorporated into the soil before going to seed. Therefore if spring crops are finished, you would need to plant a summer cover crop and follow that with a cool season cover crop in the fall. Travis suggests growing buckwheat or millet during the summer, mowing that and incorporating it into the soil, then planting some crimson clover in the fall. Greg mentions that his most problematic weeds include pigweed, nutgrass, and crabgrass. Travis has a sample of some purslane from his garden and he explains that this weed is problematic for him because it doesn't dry and die as easily as other weeds. It is the most aggravating because in order to get rid of the purslane you must go into the garden and remove it by hand to throw it away. Tool of the Week Pro-Mix Organic Seed Starting Mix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IvmdyYMa74

Cut Flowers in the Garden On this week’s episode, Greg and Travis talk about growing cut flowers in their vegetable garden. Growing cut flowers provides many benefits, but the primary benefit is to attract pollinators for crops that require insect pollination to produce fruit. These crops would include things like squash, cucumbers, and melons. Greg says the "The Flower Farmer" book really helped him understand cut flowers. Another great book that Greg recommends is "Vegetables Love Flowers". Their favorite types of cut flowers to grow are zinnias, sunflowers, and Celosia, also known as cockscomb. They prefer the Benary's Giant Mix variety of zinnias because they produce larger flowers and have a wide variety of colors present. Their favorite variety of sunflower is the Pro Cut variety, which is available in many different colors including red, orange and lemon. These have a smaller seed than a traditional sunflower and are the preferred variety for commercial producers. They work perfectly planted in our garden seeder. Greg mentions how they also make a great cover crop because they will shade the soil and reduce any weed growth. Another benefit they offer is they are pollenless meaning when you cut them they do not drip yellow pollen everywhere. Lastly, they talk about growing Celosia. Their favorite variety of Celosia is Chief Mix, which provides an array of different colors. Cockscomb flowers can get quite large and top heavy so these plants may need trellising or early harvesting to prevent stalks from bending or breaking. One advantage is they are really easy to grow and heat/drought tolerant. However, a disadvantage is they can become invasive and grow year after year which is not good in the vegetable garden. Greg mentions that he likes to grow dahlias, but he does not recommend them for someone just starting out growing cut flowers in the garden. Show and Tell Segment On the show and tell segment this week, the guys talk about growing potatoes in the fall. This will be the first year that they've tried growing potatoes in the fall. Based on the information provided by Greg at Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, it should work. They are planning to plant the potatoes at the end of August for an October harvest. They will be ordering the seed potatoes now and keeping them cool in the fridge until planting time. Based on the limited availability of seed potatoes during this time of year, they will be planting the Yukon Gold variety only. The guys also plan to plant some potatoes at the demonstration garden at the SunBelt Expo this year. The tool of the week is a newer product that they are designing called the Winged Sweeps attachment that will work great on the Hoss Wheel Hoes. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about planting corn in the fall and Asian stink bugs. The guys grew fall corn last year at their demonstration garden for the Sunbelt Ag Expo and had great success. The insect pressure is heavier in late summer and fall, so more frequent applications of B.t. and Neem Oil are necessary. Also, providing adequate water via drip irrigation is a must. Greg mentions that they see many different variations of stink bugs and that they can be hard to control in the middle of summer. As a result, he tries to manage the populations with frequent spraying early in the year. This allows him to get the spring crops harvested before significant insect damage occurs. Greg says keeping the garden clean and neat after harvest will help reduce the stink bugs food source. Tool of the Week Winged Sweeps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex648dKaM2Q

Cut Flowers in the Garden On this week’s episode, Greg and Travis talk about growing cut flowers in their vegetable garden. Growing cut flowers provides many benefits, but the primary benefit is to attract pollinators for crops that require insect pollination to produce fruit. These crops would include things like squash, cucumbers, and melons. Greg says the "The Flower Farmer" book really helped him understand cut flowers. Another great book that Greg recommends is "Vegetables Love Flowers". Their favorite types of cut flowers to grow are zinnias, sunflowers, and Celosia, also known as cockscomb. They prefer the Benary's Giant Mix variety of zinnias because they produce larger flowers and have a wide variety of colors present. Their favorite variety of sunflower is the Pro Cut variety, which is available in many different colors including red, orange and lemon. These have a smaller seed than a traditional sunflower and are the preferred variety for commercial producers. They work perfectly planted in our garden seeder. Greg mentions how they also make a great cover crop because they will shade the soil and reduce any weed growth. Another benefit they offer is they are pollenless meaning when you cut them they do not drip yellow pollen everywhere. Lastly, they talk about growing Celosia. Their favorite variety of Celosia is Chief Mix, which provides an array of different colors. Cockscomb flowers can get quite large and top heavy so these plants may need trellising or early harvesting to prevent stalks from bending or breaking. One advantage is they are really easy to grow and heat/drought tolerant. However, a disadvantage is they can become invasive and grow year after year which is not good in the vegetable garden. Greg mentions that he likes to grow dahlias, but he does not recommend them for someone just starting out growing cut flowers in the garden. Show and Tell Segment On the show and tell segment this week, the guys talk about growing potatoes in the fall. This will be the first year that they've tried growing potatoes in the fall. Based on the information provided by Greg at Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, it should work. They are planning to plant the potatoes at the end of August for an October harvest. They will be ordering the seed potatoes now and keeping them cool in the fridge until planting time. Based on the limited availability of seed potatoes during this time of year, they will be planting the Yukon Gold variety only. The guys also plan to plant some potatoes at the demonstration garden at the SunBelt Expo this year. The tool of the week is a newer product that they are designing called the Winged Sweeps attachment that will work great on the Hoss Wheel Hoes. Viewer Questions Segment On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about planting corn in the fall and Asian stink bugs. The guys grew fall corn last year at their demonstration garden for the Sunbelt Ag Expo and had great success. The insect pressure is heavier in late summer and fall, so more frequent applications of B.t. and Neem Oil are necessary. Also, providing adequate water via drip irrigation is a must. Greg mentions that they see many different variations of stink bugs and that they can be hard to control in the middle of summer. As a result, he tries to manage the populations with frequent spraying early in the year. This allows him to get the spring crops harvested before significant insect damage occurs. Greg says keeping the garden clean and neat after harvest will help reduce the stink bugs food source. Tool of the Week Winged Sweeps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex648dKaM2Q

This week's program is coming to you from the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, GA. With Chuck in the program is Chip Blalock, Executive Director. Chuck asked Chip right away to tell him what's new this year with the show which is celebrating forty years. To start with, there are 100 new or returning exhibitors bringing the total number of exhibits to 1,211. That's considered a sell-out of space.

A periodic email sent to forage producers and industry professionals.Dr. Dennis Hancock, Forage Extension Specialist, University of GeorgiaHere are some HOT TOPICS and happenings on www.GeorgiaForages.com: -      New Look for GeorgiaForages.com Updates-      Latest! – Georgia Forage News-      Upcoming! – Georgia Grazing School (and Deep South Stocker Conference)-      My Latest Trip-      Potential Trip to New Zealand and Australia-      Now Open! – 2013 Southeastern Hay Contest-      Now Open! – 2013 Georgia Forages Photo Contest-      Upcoming! – Meeting Dates to Circle on Your Calendar  New Look for GeorgiaForages.com Updates The last GF Update was sent via MailChimp, an online email blast service. I received a lot of positive feedback on the new format. I hope it makes the emails I send easier to read and navigate. If your email system doesn’t allow html emails, you can still click the link to view this email in plain text.Latest! – Georgia Forage NewsUniversity of Georgia Extension has some of the best Extension Agents in the U.S.! Some of the best examples can be found on our Forage Extension Team. They have co-written a newsletter series entitled Georgia Forage News. The latest edition (their second) addresses three major topics: 1) the bermudagrass stem maggot, 2) forage testing, and 3) harvest timing for corn silage. This is an outstanding newsletter! See: http://bit.ly/125doAy. Upcoming! – Georgia Grazing School (and Deep South Stocker Conference)The Georgia Grazing School returns! Last year, we were unable to make the Grazing School work because of variety of logistic and funding issues. This year, WE ARE BACK!!! and better than ever! In fact, this year, we have an extra-special treat. Georgia splits hosting duties for the Deep South Stocker Conference with Mississippi and Alabama. This year, it is Georgia’s turn and we are planning on holding the 2013 Grazing School (August 7-8) in conjunction with the Deep South Stocker Conference (August 8-9)! This allows us to keep our costs low, do more hands-on programs, AND bring in some additional experts from around the country. Some examples include: 1) more extensive field exercises with sizing and allotting pasture for break-feeding; 2) a tour of UGA’s new Forage Garden, a display of the many and varied forages that can be grown in Georgia; 3) the latest developments in the world of fencing, waterers, and pesticides; 4) a detailed fencing demonstration; 5) a look inside respiratory disease with a close-up examination of the effect it can have on lung and respiratory capacity; and 6) stockmanship and stewardship demonstrations by Curt Pate, one of the world’s leading trainers in safe and effective cattle handling. I just can’t tell you how excited I am to see this program come together! For those who haven’t had a chance to attend one of our Grazing Schools… You REALLY NEED TO COME! The Georgia Grazing School is a two-day workshop that focuses on the benefits of management-intensive grazing. Training will take place in both classroom and field settings. We cover the system comprehensively, approaching from an understanding of soil fertility, forage crop selection/establishment, utilizing and optimizing plant growth, how to match animal nutrient needs with forage quality provided, and how the grazing system design can have an effect on all these elements.The program costs $150 and includes lunches and breaks on each day, a nice dinner at the end of the program, a grazing school handbook, and a forage and weed ID handbook. For more information about this program, check out the Grazing School’s webpage here: http://bit.ly/125fxMw. Registration will be available online within the next few days, and I’ll send a separate announcement about that in the coming days.My Latest TripIf you are really a lover of forage management and are really into pasture-based livestock systems, then you’ll appreciate the enormity of my most recent trip… a trip to New Zealand! New Zealand is a small island nation in the South Pacific whose economy is extremely dependent upon their ability to efficiently and cost-effectively raise livestock on pasture. And they’ve gotten extremely good at it. In fact, they provide a lot of the most common pasture-based livestock technologies that we use today, including everything from electric fencing to animal genetics! To tell you why I was in New Zealand recently, I need to give you a bit of backstory. Over the past 3 years, I have been cultivating several relationships with New Zealand agribusiness and trade authorities. Georgia has developed quite a reputation throughout the world (and especially in New Zealand) as a real “hot-spot” for growth in pasture-based livestock systems in general and dairying in particular. My networking has primarily been with the NZ Agribusiness Centre (a consortium of a diverse set of kiwi agribusiness) and NZ Trade & Enterprise (somewhat analogous to our U.S. Commerce Department). My relationship with them has matured into a potential economic development opportunity for Georgia. Back in early May, I teamed up with Georgia’s Center for Innovation for Agribusiness and organized a program in Augusta and Waynesboro that highlights the opportunities for pasture-based livestock systems in Georgia and the Southeast. We connected the CEOs or representatives of approximately 9 major NZ companies with Georgia’s Department of Economic Development and the local development authorities in that region. These companies have already decided to expand their business into North, Central, and South America and are currently deciding on whether to locate those jobs in Georgia or in one other state. Our goal is to get those jobs here! Only time will tell if our “sales pitch” was effective, but pasture-based livestock production in Georgia and the SE U.S. was definitely of key interest to them when I made my recent return trip to NZ. I think we made an overwhelming case to support these jobs coming to Georgia! I’m anxious to see it come to fruition.Potential Trip to New Zealand and Australia A few months back, I mentioned my desire to take a group of producers and ag industry service providers on a trip to New Zealand in September. While in New Zealand earlier this month, I had the great opportunity to begin to finalize an AgriTour there. We are still working out the details, but the plan is to arrive in Auckland, NZ on Monday September 9thand tour Auckland, Hamilton and the Waikato Region (the center of the major pasture-based livestock industries in NZ), Rotorua (a site of several interesting items of agritourism interest and one of the major cultural centers of New Zealand’s indigenous peoples, the Maori), and a few other tourist attractions. The AgriTour will conclude on Saturday, September 14th. More details on this trip, the cost, and travel information will be forthcoming in a couple more weeks (hopefully). Until then, go make sure your passport is current or if you don’t have one, begin the process of getting one. This AgriTour will be an incredible adventure. Trust me… you are going to want to be on this trip!Now Open! - 2013 Southeastern Hay Contest Just a reminder!!! Enter your hay or baleage samples into the 2013 Southeastern Hay Contest and compete with other Southeastern producers for the title of Best in Class! For more information about the contest, including a link to the rules and entry form, visit: http://bit.ly/WBJlza. Now Open! - 2013 Georgia Forages Photo ContestJust a reminder!!! Enter your forage photos into the 2013 Georgia Forages Photo Contest (see: http://bit.ly/WBJyCu.) The purpose of the contest is to recognize, through photography, the multi-faceted uses of forages in Georgia. This contest is open to anyone who would like to share their photos with the Georgia Forages community. There is no entry fee for participating in this contest. Entrants can submit color digital photo files to Dr. Dennis Hancock, UGA Forage Extension Specialist by merely emailing the entry to Dr. Hancock. The entry form used last year is NOT needed. However, Dr. Hancock will follow up with you after receiving the photo to confirm entry and obtain any further information.Entries will be placed into one of six categories. The photo categories include:a.      Harvested Foragesb.     Grazingc.      Educationd.     Wildlife and Conservatione.      Troubleshooting (e.g., nutrient deficiencies, diseases, etc.)f.      OpenEntries must be received by October 1st. Winners will be selected by the UGA Forage Extension Agent Team and will be announced on October 15th, at the beginning of the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Certificates will be awarded for the best photos. The top 3 photos in each category will be enlarged and displayed at the Sunbelt Ag Expo at the “Ask the Expert” booth in the Livestock Pavilion. Photo entries will also be posted to a website for public viewing. Entrants do not have to attend the Expo to participate in the Photo Contest. Credit will be given to the photographer and the photographer will retain all rights to their entry (i.e., for sale, duplication, or use other than publicly displaying the entry for the purposes of the contest).Upcoming! – Meeting Dates to Circle on Your Calendar            There are several meetings coming up in the next few weeks and months that I want to make sure you have on your calendar. Here are the dates/times, meeting name, and location. For more, see: http://bit.ly/ZoXnVI. Sunbelt Ag Expo Field DayJul. 11, 7:15 a.m - Lunch | Sunbelt Agricultural Expo | Moultrie, GAHay Day (hay equipment demonstration day)Aug. 6 | Lamar Co. Georgia Grazing SchoolAugust 7-8 | Watkinsville, GA Deep South Stocker ConferenceAug. 8-9 | Watkinsville, GA 22nd International Grassland CongressSep. 15-19, 2013 | Sydney, AustraliaSE Hay ContestOct. 15-17, 2013 | in Conjunction with the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo | Moultrie, GASunbelt Agricultural Expo's: Forage-Based Livestock Management Seminars, and “Ask the Expert” BoothsOct. 15-17, 2013 | Moultrie, GAIf you have a forage-related question, check out our website at www.georgiaforages.com, talk with your county Extension Agent by dialing 1-800-ASK-UGA1, or send an email to me at dhancock@uga.edu. Regards, Dennis W. Hancock, PhDForage Extension Specialist