Happy 4th of July! I know I’ll be on the grill Saturday night. Enjoy the 4th weekend and please try not to set yourselves on fire with fireworks.

Peanuts: Disease time and conditions are coming. I haven’t found or heard of white mold yet but it is coming, especially when the temperatures start lingering above 90. I found a few small hits of what looks like an early leaf spot. The grower is on a good spray program so it shouldn’t be of any concern. Remember, fungicides work as preventives so don’t wait and try and play catch up. Also, if you’re looking to target grasses, don’t mix Select with Chlorothalonil or Tebuconazole. This mixture will cause a reduced efficacy on grass control. It’s getting hot so be looking for Lesser Cornstalk Borers, they’re out there.

Cotton: Bacterial blight is out there and there isn’t anything you can do about it. I haven’t found any yet but reports of it are making the rounds. Plants are blooming so its time to pay attention to target spot and square retention. Looks like total US cotton acreage is down 11%. $.57 cotton will do that. I’m getting word that Whiteflies are starting to blow up. I have yet to see a field at threshold but pressure is definitely increasing.

USMCA: the United States Mexico Canada Agreement goes into effect on July 1st. Is it perfect? No. USMCA is basically an updated NAFTA with parts from the TPP. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has vowed to be very aggressive on both Canada and Mexico if they don’t hold up their ends of the bargain. The deal gives better access to markets and lowers barriers for agricultural products. The Dairy industry will gain increased access to Canada’s milk market. It gives tariff-free access for a lot of US agricultural products into both Canada and Mexico. Last I heard, produce and fruit growers were left out. NAFTA left them to battle seasonal dumps of produce from Mexico and USMCA didn’t fix that so the battle continues. I can’t stress enough that we must eat and buy local produce.

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