Senators seek to eradicate longhorn beetle
Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., Charles Schumer, D.-N.Y., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., requested $48 million in federal funds to eradicate Asian longhorn beetle from parts of New York and New Jersey. The pest has the potential to wipe out half of New York City's trees, at a cost of more than $2 billion. The lawmakers asked the funding be added to the FY 2008 Ag., Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies Appropriations bills. The senators state ALB is active in 9 New York and New Jersey counties and, in the U.S., 35% of all urban trees are at risk.

USDA has $7 million available for promotion
Nearly $7 million in grant funds is available through the USDA's Ag. Marketing Service to help enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Grants are available to state depts.. of ag. through the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004. Specialty Crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts and nursery crops, including floriculture. Examples of "enhancing the competitiveness of specialty crops" include, but are not limited to: research, promotion, marketing, nutrition, trade enhancement, food safety, plant health programs, education, "buy local" programs, increased consumption, increased innovation, improved efficiency and reduced costs of distribution systems, environmental concerns and conservation, product development and developing cooperatives. Trista Etzig, (202) 690-4942.

Health-care bill would help small business
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., offered a bipartisan amendment to the budget bill that would support small-business health-care pooling plans. The amendment approves a reserve fund for future legislation on market-based pooling arrangements. While the amendment does not actually allocate dollars, it does create a deficit-neutral reserve fund to be used in the event that the Senate develops a bill to allow market-based, small-business health-care pooling plans.

Cornell names top roadside groundcovers
In an effort to reduce herbicide along roadsides, N.Y. State Dept. of Transportation established a cooperative research project with Cornell Univ. Since 2000 the Cornell team has evaluated more than 100 herbaceous perennial groundcovers for their ability to grow and establish rapidly and suppress weed growth. Some top performers that helped choke out weeds are: Asclepias tuberosa, Aster ericoides 'Snow Flurry,' Carex flaccosperma, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Gypsophila repens, Heuchera 'Palace Purple,' Liriope spicata 'Majestic,' Nepeta x faassenii 'Walker's Low,' Phlox subulata 'Emerald Blue,' Salvia nemorosa 'Blue Hills,' Schizachyrium scoparium, Sedum 'John Creech,' Solidago 'Golden Fleece,' Sporobolus heterolepis and Teucrium canadense. Reduction or elimination of herbicide use near roadside guard rails and median strips is a goal shared by many, said Andrew Senasac, ext. specialist and project investigator.

Worth a visit
The 12-month Solutions Source series provides solutions to the challenges growers face today. This month: inadequate or outdated production facilities. Only on GreenBeam.com.

BroadStar™ -- a preemergence broad spectrum granular herbicide, fights resistance providing the longest residual control of any herbicide for containerized woody ornamentals.

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