Seth Urbanowitz is a regional agronomist covering western Colorado. He is currently working with growers on onion variety trials, nutrient cycling and fertility, no-till adoption in furrow-irrigated systems, cover crops, conservation practices, weed management, and many other relevant issues in cropping systems. He collaborates with public and private partners, along with CSU faculty, to solve problems in cropping systems.

He has worked as an agronomist with a farmers’ cooperative in Oregon, as an extension educator in Nevada and on a research farm in South Dakota. He has experience in a variety of specialty and agronomic crop production systems.

He has an MS in plant science from South Dakota State, an MS in education from University of Tennessee and a BS in agribusiness economics from Southern Illinois University.

Contact Us:

Seth Urbanowitz, Area Agronomist
seth.urbanowitz@colostate.edu
Phone: 970-874-2195
Fax: 970-874-2192

Produce Safety and FSMA On-Farm Readiness Review

The Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is influencing how fresh produce is grown. Compliance dates, for the majority of the rule, went into effect in 2018 for larger farms and will go into effect in 2019 for small farms and 2020 for very small farms.

CSU is partnering with Colorado Department of Agriculture – CDA (The local regulatory authority) to conduct non-regulatory “on-farm readiness reviews” to discuss the rule and general produce safety on farms in all of Colorado. If you would like to schedule a free review, contact Cristy Dice at CDA at 303-869-9282/cristy.dice@state.co.us or Seth Urbanowitz at the Delta Extension office 970-874-2195.

HEMP Growth and the Risks Involved

Hemp is a crop which has been increasing in popularity in our area over the last couple of years. The following press release outlines the risks associated with producing hemp. This information was developed by the CSU Extension Agriculture & Business Management (ABM) Team.

• HEMP Risks

Any questions regarding the content of the press release should be directed to ABM Team members, Jeff Tranel, Jenny Beiermann, or Brent Young.

Additional HEMP info can be found in the links below:

• COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Plant Industry Division Rules Pertaining to the Administration and Enforcement of the Industrial Hemp Regulatory Program Act
• Current Impacts of Outdoor Growth of Cannabis in CO 0.308
• Hemp-and-Marijuana-Research-FAQs-and-Guidelines-may-2017

Onion Trials

Onion variety trials were conducted in Delta, CO this past growing season. 12 varieties were trialed. Evaluations were performed on emergence, fusarium, pink root, yield and maturity. Statistically significant differences were observed with a number of evaluation criteria, including incidence of fusarium and yield.

Click here to view trial results

There is interest among onion growers in western Colorado in continuing to provide this information. If you are interested in sending varieties, please do so by late February. Please send $250/coated variety with checks payable to the Delta Extension Fund.

Delta Extension Office – ATTN: Seth Urbanowitz
525 Dodge St
Delta, CO 81416

Thank you to Brent Hines and Hines Farms; American Takii; Crookham Seed; and Seminis for making this year’s onion trial a success.