We are pleased to announce a 3% dividend will be paid to eligible policyholders in the Growers workers compensation program. The Insurance Company will be mailing the checks directly to you if you qualify. Dividends are based on the claims experience of all participating members. For more information on how growers association members have saved with the Workers Comp program visit our website or speak with one of our agents today. You can find all of our contact info here.

The first Arbor Day took place on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska. It was the brainchild of Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902), a Nebraska journalist and politician originally from Michigan.  Throughout his long and productive career, Morton worked to improve agricultural techniques in his adopted state and throughout the United States when he served as President Grover Cleveland's Secretary of Agriculture. But his most important legacy is Arbor Day. Morton felt that Nebraska's landscape and economy would benefit from the wide-scale planting of trees. He set an example himself planting orchards, shade trees and wind breaks on his own farm and he urged his neighbors to follow suit.  Morton's real opportunity, though, arrived when he became a member of Nebraska's state board of agriculture.  He proposed that a special day be set aside dedicated to tree planting and increasing awareness of the importance of trees.  Nebraska's first Arbor Day was an amazing success.  More than one million tr ...

Everyone's buzzing about their peonies poking through the soil and magnolias in full bloom -- and it's only April. Perennials are bursting out of the ground so early this year that many gardeners are sorely tempted to put their planting on fast-forward. "I planted some radishes [in mid-March]; I've never planted that early before," said Lori Erickson, a Minneapolis gardener who starts most of her veggies from seed. "I might even throw some tomatoes out there at the beginning of May, just for the heck of it. Why not? I really feel like this year is going to stay warm." Others aren't so sure. "All my master gardener buddies are chomping at the bit," said Catrina Mujwid-Cole, who gardens at home in Minneapolis and professionally as Tinka's Gardening. "But I'm really trying to hold back." She's planted some cool-season crops, including chard, radishes, beets and peas, but will restrain herself from tempting fate with tender plants. "I don't believe it's going to stay this warm," she said. "We're going to ...

How to Create a Container Garden for Edibles in the North Carolina Piedmont Edibles can be grown in containers in a variety of outdoor spaces: a small apartment balcony, a large deck space, or even a front stoop. People grow edibles for a variety of reasons. You may want to grow tomatoes for a sandwich or lettuce for a salad, or you might be providing herbs, vegetables, and fruit for a family. Regardless of the scope or size of your container garden, selecting the right containers, planting media, and plant combinations are the first steps on the road to success. In this publication you will find ideas to get you started growing your own edibles.   Selecting a container: Edible plants can be grown in containers that you purchase, build, or recycle. Almost anything will work as long as it has drain-age holes, such as a reclaimed galvanized metal bucket, a discarded wooden dresser drawer, or a bright glazed pot whose color contrasts with the plant’s foliage, flowers, or fruit. Wood, clay, and un ...

Every year growers face losing crops due to freezing temperatures. There are a couple of ways that you can reduce your risk of crop loss due to freeze damage.  Some techniques are effective in the winter when there is a freeze risk present as well as other preventive techniques which include scheduling planting and harvesting at appropriate times. Two terms to know, freeze means “subfreezing temperature conditions that cause crop damage” also known as “killing frost”. Frost is associated with a weather condition when air temperatures are at the freezing point of water or below but may not result in freeze damage to crops. It may be advantageous to use techniques as adding heat and covering crops when the chance for a freeze is present.  It is also important to consider freeze and frost risks when scheduling a planting season.  Harvesting during a freeze-free period is critical to crop yield success as well as proper crop and field selection. The temperatures at which ...

North Carolina ranks number one nationwide in the production of flue-cured tobacco and sweet potatoes; second in the growth of Christmas trees; third in the production of cucumber and strawberries; and, fourth in the production of upland cotton. Particularly during the planting and harvest seasons, dangerous situations may arise from slow moving agricultural machinery on the roadways. There has been an uptick in accidents on public roads in recent years that involved agricultural equipment for a multitude of reasons. There is an estimated sum of 52,500 Farms in North Carolina with total farmland size averaging a whopping 8.4 million acres. Notably, Banner Elk, Boone and West Jefferson, North Carolina is prominently known for its production of Fraser Fir Christmas Trees. Today's farms and ranches have increased in size, and land being farmed is often separated by longer distances. This means farm machinery has to be transported on public roads for further distances than in the past. The equipment itself is a ...