FPL Energy announced plans to partner with a citrus processor and a new energy firm to build one of the world's first processing plants that would convert citrus peels into the gasoline additive ethanol. FPL Energy has a plan to produce cleaner fuel by turning agricultural waste -- citrus peels, specifically -- into ethanol. Stewart said the idea of turning citrus peels into ethanol has been around for 20 years, but it has only become more financially viable as the cost of oil has risen...

by DOUG ABRAHMS, Gannett News Service published July 27, 2007 2:45 pm e-mail this Print this WASHINGTON - Apple and other specialty growers in western North Carolina would benefit from the farm bill that passed the House Friday that for the first time offers substantial money to farmers of fruit and vegetables. by DOUG ABRAHMS, Gannett News Service published July 27, 2007 2:45 pm e-mail this Print this WASHINGTON - Apple and other specialty growers in western North Carolina would benefit...

Sure, strawberries shipped from California growers to our grocery isles are tasty, and available to enjoy year-round, but there really is no comparison. Or, if you have the room and even a little bit of a green thumb, you can grow your own strawberries they even grow well in small containers like clay strawberry pots. Warmed by the sun and so juicy they re impossible to eat without dripping, home-grown strawberries are one of summer s most anticipated arrivals. Strawberry plants will give...

Finally, when it appeared all arguments against opening the borders had run their inevitable course and Hawke's Bay apple growers were poised to send the best apples in the world to one of the world' most impoverished apple markets, the shutters have gone up again. Finally, when it appeared all arguments against opening the borders had run their inevitable course and Hawke's Bay apple growers were poised to send the best apples in the world to one of the world' most impoverished apple...

But local and state apple growers are taking no chances when it comes to the possibility of Chinese apples being allowed into U. Third-generation Pennsylvania grower Dave Benner, 61, like most growers, has slowly replaced older, larger trees in his orchard with smaller dwarf ones that are close together. Apple growers are pressing for an unprecedented amount of federal funding to develop technologies to make harvesting less costly, and for aid to develop overseas markets. Most apple...

Most olive orchards have a good fruit set, and some orchards are being pruned. Prices are strong for feed crops such as alfalfa and silage corn. Pesticide and fertilizer applications are being made to citrus groves. Deciduous tree fruit, nuts and grapes: Table grape harvest is gradually gaining momentum. Some strawberry fields are beginning to be prepped for planting in the fall. The domestic market is slow, with occasional air shipments going to Korea. Growers are monitoring foraphid,...