Pollinators are vital to the agriculture world, but almond researchers have developed a self-fertilizing variety they are calling “Early Bird.”
“The early bird variety is actually double early. It blooms at the same time as sonora, so it’s an early bloomer, but the real value to the grower is that it harvests a week to 10 days before non-perel. In that harvest window, there are no other commercial varieties at this time. In our test plot, we’ve seen that for the last and 3rd and 4th leaf harvests, and in the mother tree that those are were propagated from, we’ve seen that for eight different harvests,” said Chuck Fleck with Fowler Nurseries.
Fleck says another big selling point is the kernel size, which is around 20 percent larger than other varieties.
Researchers with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture are studying the clouded plant bug, which causes millions of dollars in damage to crops such as corn, soybeans, and cotton growing across the state.
April 02, 2026 03:49 PM
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Farm Bureau Economist Dr. Faith Parum warns farmers to brace for more losses as the war in Iran sends shockwaves through the ag economy and raises input costs even further.
April 02, 2026 01:31 PM
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Margin pressure and competitiveness concerns are shaping cautious outlooks.
April 02, 2026 12:40 PM
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Leadership closer to western forests may speed decisions impacting timber, land use, and wildfire management.
April 02, 2026 12:07 PM
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Fewer DEF-related shutdowns could mean more uptime during planting and harvest seasons.
April 02, 2026 11:44 AM
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Widespread drought and extreme weather leave producers managing limited resources
April 02, 2026 11:19 AM
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