VegetablesVirginia pumpkins reach patches after a dry-then-wet season
Virginia's nearly 400 pumpkin growers faced early drought and then July downpours that brought disease and rot, but say there are plenty of pumpkins for the autumn season.
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Morning Ag Clips
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Vegetables
VegetablesScientists find a lost tomato flavour gene that breeders can bring back
A study of 558 tomato varieties and wild relatives in PNAS identified 337 genetic associations with flavour and a lipase gene, Sl-LIP100, whose better version arose in Ecuador and was partly lost in modern breeding.
OpinionOpinion: Wisconsin's farm secretary says dairy never sleeps
Wisconsin agriculture secretary Randy Romanski writes that dairy, worth $52.8 billion a year to the state, deserves year-round support, and that World Dairy Expo brings foreign buyers to Wisconsin companies.
CropsInvasive Asian copperleaf weed confirmed in a second Illinois county
University of Illinois Extension has confirmed Asian copperleaf in Carroll County, a year after its first Illinois find in Stephenson County, and urges farmers to look for the weed after harvest.
CropsSoil sulfur at Missouri's Sanborn Field has fallen by more than 70% since 1888
A University of Missouri study of soil samples kept since 1888 finds average sulfur levels fell from 807 to 232 pounds per acre, and says growers can no longer count on the air to supply it.
AgribusinessVirginia farmland averages $6,300 an acre as values keep climbing
USDA's 2026 land values survey puts Virginia farm real estate at $6,300 an acre, up 3.3%, above the national average, and Farm Bureau economists warn the rise raises the bar for new farmers.
CropsMaryland extends box tree moth quarantine to Harford County
Maryland and USDA's plant health service have added Harford County to the box tree moth quarantine, putting nine counties under movement rules for boxwoods.
Environment
Colorado wins $13.7 million to pay farmers who farm with conservation practices
The Advancing Markets for Producers money from NRCS will go out as direct grants of $20,000 to $300,000 to help growers sell crops raised with soil-health practices.
Crops
IR-4 wins $10 million USDA award to clear pesticide residue barriers to exports
The five-year grant lets the NC State-based project generate data for international maximum residue limits on specialty crops such as citrus, nuts, grapes and berries.
AgrotechFarm Robotics Challenge opens to school teams and adds a startup track
The UC ANR and AIFS competition, which drew nearly 100 teams from 13 countries in 2026, now has three divisions and more than $200,000 in prizes and startup support.
FruitsVirginia lets 169 frost-hit wineries buy more outside grapes while vineyards recover
After spring frost and freeze caused severe losses, Virginia's ABC authority granted automatic waivers so farm wineries can source more fruit from vineyards they do not own or lease.
LivestockNew models and a blood test point to less antibiotic use in US beef cattle
FFAR-funded work at Kansas State and Texas Tech found group antibiotic treatment did not pay off in 72% of cattle groups studied, and that a blood test predicts liver abscesses with 80% accuracy.
Agrotech
Salk takes deeper-rooted soybeans to field trials with $18 million and an AI platform
The three-year ROOTS project, funded by the Bezos Earth Fund, will use a planned AI tool, RootGPT, and Midwest field trials to test whether deeper roots store more soil carbon and resist drought.