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The days are getting shorter and Fall is in the air. It's Pumpkin Time. I've been growing about 10 acres of pumpkins for several years now and many people are quite curious about growing the crop; so, in this issue I will include a few pumpkin pointers.

Determining the nutrient supplying ability of soils can guide decisions that may make the difference between profit and loss. Technology offers sophisticated electronic tools to manage farming in a site specific manner. Large data files contain soil test results and production records providing information for making accurate electronic decisions.

One of the diseases you don't want your bull to get, let alone to bring home to your cows, is Trichomoniasis.

This time of year we receive calls dealing with plant disease problems, mostly turfgrass, ornamental plants and trees. With high humidity and moderate temperature, plant diseases have an ideal opportunity to set up housekeeping.

As we head towards spring, we are thinking about bulls. Purchasing a bull for your herd is just like hiring a new employee. Ever wondered about the bull you've hired?

Microbes include fungi, bacteria and viruses. Farmers and ranchers often think of microbes as pests that are destructive to their crops or animals, but many microbes are beneficial.

We often think about the bull as the means of introducing new genetics into a beef herd. However, management of the bull (or lack of it) after purchase is often the "Achilles Heel" of cattle production. Failure to pay attention to important management practices affecting the bull often results in reduced calving rates, increased calf mortality, and loss of uniformity and marketability.

Greenbugs are a species of aphid that can reproduce rapidly when the temperature is above 55 degrees. The insects reduce yields by sucking plant juices from the leaves and killing them or potentially transmitting diseases.

Anyone who knew the answer to that could make a lot of money, even in agriculture. We don't know what the future holds for us, but there are people at work trying to shape a few changes and I have the privilege to try and help some of these come about.

One of the first Americans to appreciate the flavor of pecans was George Washington, who planted the stately trees on the lawns of Mount Vernon in 1775. Yet true cultivation of the nuts wouldn't...