Tallahassee, Fla. – Late last night, Congressional leaders agreed upon a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues setting new case records, the bill will provide some direct assistance to families and additional funding for food production and distribution, among other priorities. On the bill, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried offered the following statement: “For more than …
DeSantis Calls Reservoir ‘A Top Environmental Priority’
(NSF) — Gov. Ron DeSantis backed a controversial reservoir being built in the Everglades while announcing the state will use a pool of environmental money to help Miami-Dade County protect Biscayne Bay from continued degradation. DeSantis said his office will continue to support the $1.6 billion Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir, which was approved by the Legislature in 2017 but has …
UF Hemp Program Overseer: Good Science Takes Time
“Good science takes time.” That is the message Jerry Frankhauser is preaching. The assistant director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station who oversees the University of Florida hemp research program stresses that like other projects at other universities, the UF/IFAS Industrial Hemp Pilot Project will take between 3 and 5 years before they have a handle on how hemp will …
Plan Now to Keep Workers Safe During Next Harvest Season
It is likely the coronavirus pandemic will be a threat for most of the country next year, even as vaccines have begun to be administered. Vegetable and specialty crop producers are encouraged to be prepared when planning for next season’s harvest, specifically for how to keep their H-2A workers healthy. Allison Crittenden, Director of Congressional Relations at the American Farm …
Food-Safety Concerns Sought for Produce Industry
The University of Florida (UF) and Rutgers University are teaming up to find out what food-safety issues are the biggest concerns across the produce industry. Members of the produce industry are invited to participate in an anonymous online survey that will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher Michelle Danyluk said the survey …
New UF Blueberry App First Phase in Two-Part Project
A new University of Florida (UF) smartphone app will provide immediate help to the state’s blueberry producers who are gearing up for the upcoming season. It is the first phase of a two-part project that Patricio Munoz, the UF/IFAS blueberry breeder and an assistant professor of horticultural sciences, tackled in hopes of consolidating chunks of information into one place that …
Heat Brings Out Antioxidants, Increases Red in Tomatoes
December 17, 2020 By: Brad Buck, bradbuck@ufl.edu, 352-875-2641 (cell) Turn up the heat, and get more nutrition from your tomato, University of Florida researchers say. Furthermore, when you buy a tomato, it will be about as red as it can be, thanks to the UF/IFAS methods deployed for the study. The findings are crucial to an industry in which Florida …
Fruit Drop Weighs Heavily on Florida Growers
Numerous Florida citrus growers are experiencing heavy fruit drop this fall. “For some growers, it’s the worst fruit drop they have experienced; 50%-plus,” says grower Lee Jones with Cross Covered Caretaking. Grower Jim Snively, with Southern Gardens Citrus, said he is hearing talk of around 30 to 50%-plus fruit drop. “I’m hearing pick-outs that are 20% to 70% below last …
Growers’ Input on Pests Needed
Entomologist Lauren Diepenbrock is seeking Florida citrus growers’ help in determining information gaps and future directions for her research on pests. To get that help, she’s asking growers to participate in a survey, which is available here. Diepenbrock, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher, would like to have growers take the survey by March 31, …
Pandemic Fuels Some of ’20’s Most-Searched UF/IFAS Extension Information
December 15, 2020 By: Kirsten Romaguera, 352-294-3313, kromaguera@ufl.edu GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The coronavirus pandemic occupied space in everyone’s minds this year, prompting online searches about any variety of topics related to it. The year’s most popular UF/IFAS Extension EDIS publications were no exception, with two of the top 10 being brand-new documents related to food safety and the coronavirus. In …











