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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Florida Grower”
By Ernie Neff The June 10 federal citrus crop forecast increased the expected Florida Valencia orange crop by 2% but dropped the state’s grapefruit and tangerines/tangelos production expectations. The forecast was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The projected Valencia crop rose 500,000 boxes from the May forecast, to 22.5 million boxes. NASS declared …
By Peter Chaires It is typical for research and program planning to begin well before the current year’s programs and projects are completed and reports are filed. This always presents a challenge. However, the rapidly changing dynamics in the citrus industry has impacted this process in a profound way. The loss of growers, acreage and infrastructure is front and center …
By Frank Giles Since HLB was first confirmed in Florida more than 15 years ago, the state’s citrus crop has been on a steady decline. This season is set to finish with historically low production. Every segment of the industry has felt the pain of HLB’s endemic march. On the one hand, it is easy to understand why some would …
By Clint Thompson Strong market prices for some specialty crops have been tempered by input costs that have spiked to levels many growers had not experienced before the COVID-19 pandemic. No Florida specialty crop producer was immune from feeling the financial pinch this year from rising expenses associated with fertilizer, chemicals, diesel and freight. “Our input costs are so much …
By Clint Thompson Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Nikki Fried formerly launched the FDACS Farmer Stress Awareness Initiative on Thursday in Plant City, Florida. Fried hopes to create awareness about a concern not easily talked about in the agricultural sector – stress and its impact on mental health. “We know the suicide rate for farmers is double …
In the May episode of the All In For Citrus podcast, Lauren Diepenbrock, an entomologist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), discusses her research on the lebbeck mealybug. The pest was first identified in Florida in the Boynton Beach area in 2009 in a natural habit. “It was not until 2019 that we found it in …
By Frank Giles In late May, the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) hosted growers interested in the prospect of producing blackberries in Florida. Several University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) scientists have been studying the crop in recent years. Zhanao Deng, UF/IFAS professor of environmental horticulture, is conducting trials of existing blackberry varieties at …
By Frank Giles In early spring, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) announced the selection of ten geographically varied roundtables with participants representing diverse perspectives. According to the agencies, these regional roundtable hearings are one important mechanism to consider the regional variation in implementation of WOTUS, given the diverse water quality …
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried is announcing the continued partnership between the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide summertime meals for Florida’s school children. The Summer BreakSpot Program provides meals at no cost to children 18 and under while schools are closed for the summer. …
The Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed rule to require climate disclosures by public companies could severely impact family farms and ranches and intensify the already concerning rate of consolidation in agriculture. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economists discuss potential impacts of “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate Related Disclosures for Investors” proposed rule in the latest Market Intel. The …
