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With the U.S. Apple Association predicting Gala will take the title of most popular apple replacing Red Delicious, Susan Brown, professor of horticulture and world-renowned apple breeder provides the history behind both varieties. Brown also says regardless of which type you prefer, this will be a great year for apples.

Food & Agriculture

Agriculture and Life Sciences

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Marvin Pritts, a horticulture professor and small fruit specialist at Cornell University, says a later winter combined with cooler weather in April produced a strawberry crop that is smaller than in years past, but that same cool weather set up the blueberry and raspberry crops for a remarkable season.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Food & Agriculture

New York State

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Steve Reiners, professor of horticulture at the New York State Agriculture Experiment Station, says that an unusually cold spring put early NY crops such as peas, lettuce and broccoli behind schedule – but it’s too early to call the season a washout.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Food & Agriculture

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About a century ago, there were about 6.5 million farms in the United States; by 2012, the most recent data available, that number stood at about 2 million – although the amount of productive farmland had declined only about 5 percent over the same period. But the numbers only tell part of a story, says Antonio DiTommaso, professor of soil and crop sciences at Cornell University.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Food & Agriculture

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In 2017, New York state maple producers made over 750,000 gallons of maple syrup, making New York the second largest maple producing state. With this year’s maple season underway, Stephen Childs, the Cornell Sugar Maple Program Director and a New York state maple specialist, says producers can look forward to a great 2018 season.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Food & Agriculture

Business, Economics & Entrepreneurship

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The recently passed Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 includes significant changes to a major agricultural insurance program for dairy farmers. The bill generates new guidelines for the Margin Protection Program for Dairy Producers (MPP-Dairy) and, according to Cornell University agricultural economist Andrew Novakovic, highlights challenges for agriculture as Congress moves toward a new Farm Bill.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Food & Agriculture

Law, Government & Public Policy

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Controversy hit last week when lawmakers threatened to cut U.S. funding for the World Health Organization’s cancer research program over its findings that glyphosate, the herbicide found in Roundup and other weed killers, could be carcinogenic. Cornell University professor of soil and crop sciences, Antonio DiTommaso, says that while the political debate is noteworthy, the larger issue is finding ways to reduce our overreliance on herbicides to avert future weed problems.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Food & Agriculture

Agriculture and Life Sciences

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Nicole Martin, associate director of the Milk Quality Improvement Program, says that there are inherent risks associated with raw milk consumption in the wake of reports that a New Jersey resident became ill after drinking raw milk.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Food & Agriculture

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The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets confirmed that the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect originating in East Asia, has been found New York state. Two Cornell University experts describe this invasive pest and its potential impact on New York agriculture.

New York State

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Food & Agriculture

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Christopher Gerling, an enologist and craft-beverage expert, says that local sourcing and geographical identification are key ingredients to Empire Rye and other regional food and drink.g

Food & Agriculture

Agriculture and Life Sciences

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