Researchers Across the U.S. to Host Webinar about COVID-19 Disruptions to Food Supply Chains

Participants interested in the webinar can register at https://tinyurl.com/lessonsfromcovid-webinar.

 

This hour-long webinar is part of the Lessons from COVID-19: Positioning Regional Food Supply Chains for Future Pandemics, Natural Disasters and Human-made Crises project. The first webinar will be led by Hikaru Peterson, professor of agricultural economics at the University of Minnesota. Cheryl Boyer, Kansas State University; Gustavo Oliveira, Li Zhan, University of California-Irvine; Lauri Baker, Christa Court, Angie Lindsey, University of Florida; and Michelle Miller, Andrew Stevens, Linsey Day Farnsworth, University of Wisconsin-Madison all serve as collaborators on the project and webinar.

 

The webinar will include a brief introduction of team members, a holistic project overview, survey tools used and example questions from the first survey, preliminary data from an environmental scan of available resources and insights from prior assessments of the impacts of COVID-19 on the Florida food system.

 

Because this project is in its early phases, webinar participants will also learn how they, along with their stakeholders, can participate in the research through upcoming questionnaires. This webinar will be the first of four within this grant project.

Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.