USDA releases new plant hardiness map. Click on the picture to go to an interactive map.

Rockwell Farms is pursuing MPS Certification – a certification in Sustainability!

http://www.perishablenews.com/index.php?article=0018212

Also from GreenTalks Newsletter:

Rockwell Farms Pursues MPS-ABC
The number of growers signing up to get sustainability certifications in the U.S. continues to grow. Rockwell Farms of Rockwell, North Carolina, recently began participation in the MPS-ABC Environmental Certification Program. Their customers were the reason why Rockwell's Cobey Abramowski and her father, Tom, decided to begin the certification process. “Our customers are grocery chains, and they are interested in buying local and buying products that are grown responsibly. We examined the MPS-ABC program and although most of our customers haven't yet heard of it, it is great for us to be working toward certification and be able to tell our customers what we are doing,” said Cobey.
Rockwell Farms has 30 acres of production, composed mainly of bedding plants, garden mums and poinsettias. Their MPS-ABC score will be compared to other growers with similar crops in similar environmental zones (the MPS system keeps each grower's information private and secure). Rockwell Farms, for a short time grew USDA Organic herbs, and Cobey says she finds the MPS-ABC system easy to complete and implement in comparison.