ASPARAGUS UPDATE
Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board
www.asparagus.org
P.O. Box 550, 12800 Escanaba Drive, Suite A
DeWitt, Michigan 48820
Phone (888) 669-4250 Fax (517) 669-4251
Email: maab@voyager.net
June 2, 2006
CELEBRATION TIME !
The
National Asparagus Festival (NAF) will be held this weekend, June 9-11 in Hart. Key events planned are: Arts &
Crafts Fair, Rodeo, Parades, Food Show and a lot more. For more information go
to the NAF information tent located on the courthouse lawn in Hart, or go online
to www.nationalasparagusfestival.org and click on calendar. 2006 Festival passes and individual
tickets are currently available online, in
person, or by phone (10am - 5pm daily; (269)857-8351).
Asparagus! (A Stalk-umentary)
On
behalf of Spargel Productions and the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board we
would like to personally invite you to the Michigan Premiere of a new
documentary film
Asparagus!
(A Stalk-umentary). This
entertaining and heartfelt film about the Asparagus Capital of the Nation
(Oceana County) and Michigan's Asparagus Industry will be screening at the
Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, MI on Saturday June 10 at 9:00am at the
American Legion Hall. Additional Tickets available at 269.857.8351 or
online at www.waterfrontfilm.org
The
film was shot in 2003-2004 and tells the wonderful story of one of Michigan's communities.
For 30 years Oceana County in Western Michigan has been the Asparagus Capital
of the Nation. Now its spear-struck residents and family farms must battle Free
Trade, the U.S. war on Drugs and a Fast Food Nation all to save their beloved
roots. Come see the film and discover why one little vegetable matters so much.
Filmmaker's
Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly (who grew up on an asparagus farm in Oceana County) were supported by
a combination of local agriculture organization including the MI Asparagus Advisory
Board, Michigan Arts organizations, and community leaders throughout the
project.
Recently
the film received the W.K. Kellogg Foundation "Good Food Film Award"
and had its World premiere at the prestigious Full Frame Documentary Festival
(the largest documentary film festival in the U.S.)
Please
call John Bakker at 231-873-2740 or Kirsten Kelly at 646-526-4407 with further
questions, or to reserve a ticket. If you are not available on Saturday, June
10th, an additional screening will be held in Oceana County in Hart, MI.
Rural
Route Film Festival Tour featuring ……. Asparagus! (A Stalk-umentary)
Hart Middle School Auditorium, Sunday, June
11, 7pm
Tickets
available at the door first come first serve (doors open for seating at 6:30pm)
Over - Crop Information
2006
HARVEST SEASON
The 2006
harvest season is progressing well with extremely high raw product demand for
canned, frozen and fresh. Reported per acre yields are quite variable but the
following common threads are beginning to emerge:
1)
Fields with heavier soil texture or a
higher water holding capacity are yielding poorly. Phytophthora like symptoms
are prevalent in many of these fields.
2)
Fields with a very coarse soil
texture and a low moisture holding capacity are yielding poorly. This is
probably due to the drought conditions in the summer of 2005 and much more
prevalent in the southern part of the state where the drought was most severe.
3)
Fields with good weed control in
2005 are yielding very well while fields of similar age and variety that had poor
weed control last year are not.
WEED CONTROL
While
there is little or nothing you can do about too much or too little rainfall one
can have a significant impact on the weed population in your fields. Good weed
control, especially in dry years, will give you the highest return on
investment of all your inputs.
As
we approach the end of the harvest season it is time to plan an effective weed
control strategy. The keys to good summer weed control are:
Ø
Burn
off weeds that have emerged during the harvest season. Vigorously attack (spot spray) small infestations
of perennial weeds before they take over the entire field.
Ø
Identify
the weeds present; if you are not qualified to do this find a chemical rep or
consultant who can.
Ø
Plan
your weed control program on a field by field basis. Match herbicide
combinations to weeds currently present and those expected for that particular
field.
Ø
Have
the appropriate materials on hand so that you can take advantage of good
spraying conditions. We are now blessed with an excellent stable of both old
and new herbicides that with good product knowledge can be used to effectively
treat most weed problems. Planning is the key and remember always follow the
label instructions.
NEEDED: More Asparagus
I am going to stick my neck out and predict
a shortage of US asparagus in the near future.
IMMIGRATION REFORM
The
Senate Bill passed last week provides an excellent starting point for
negotiations in a conference with the House. Please follow this issue closely
in the next month or two. The key talking points for asparagus growers are:
Ø
1) We need a workable “Agricultural Guest Worker”
provision and
Ø
2) We demand a NO vote on a “Border
Security Only” bill.
