Panic-Buying Top Food Story Of 2020

Jan 04, 2021

The number one food story of the year was the sudden panic-buying and unnecessary hauling of food that took place during the first wave of the pandemic.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a food professor at Dalhousie University.

"We feel that that phenomena has had an impact on people's behavior, but also will have an impact on policy," he said. "You're seeing more provinces investing more on controlled environment agriculture. They're looking at greenhouses, vertical farms, hydroponics, aquaponics. There's discussions all over the country on how to produce food all year round."

Charlebois notes 2021 is the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables and adds it's fitting that more focus will be placed on producing produce all year round domestically.

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.