harvest News

Croptober Is Going Up In Smoke Amid Wildfires

October usually heralds the harvest of outdoor cannabis plants, affectionately known as “Croptober.” But this fall, something more serious is in the air: smoke from the wildfires that are ravaging California and Oregon. Fires are clustered in Northern California’s “Emerald …

Maine Blueberry Industry Reels From Drought, Frost, Virus

PORTLAND, Maine — A late spring frost, a devastating drought and labor troubles wrought by the coronavirus pandemic conspired to make 2020 a difficult year for the wild blueberry producers who harvest the fruit in the nation’s northeastern corner. America’s …

Wildfires Again Threaten Business in California Wine Country

HEALDSBURG, Calif. — With an early harvest already underway, a wildfire a few miles west of John Bucher’s ranch added new urgency to getting his pinot noir grapes off the vine. If flames didn’t do any damage to the delicate …

Drought and Rain Are Reshaping Global Grain Trade Routes

The global wheat trade is being shaken up again after extreme weather hurt crops in the European Union while harvests are booming elsewhere. Fresh from leapfrogging Russia as the top exporter, the EU will drop to third place this season …

Every Single Worker Has Covid at a U.S. Farm on Harvest Eve

One farm in Tennessee distributed Covid-19 tests to all of its workers after an employee came down with the virus. It turned out that every single one of its roughly 200 employees had been infected. In New Jersey, more than …

Iowa’s Post-storm Harvest Yields Debris with Crops

Harvest is a nerve-wracking ordeal for Tama County farmers. Operating a combine in cornfields this fall is a lot like driving in a blizzard. Farmers are on the edge of their seat, hands tightly clenched around the steering wheel and …