(FDACS) — Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried offered the following statement regarding formal commitments recently made by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer to protect American seasonal produce growers from unfair trade practices harming the industry: “While discouraging that the USMCA (U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement) and its implementing legislation lacked protections for our seasonal producers, I thank Ambassador Lighthizer for his formal commitments to …
Start the New Year at the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference
By Abbey Taylor Every year, southeastern produce growers kick off the new year at the annual Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference (SERFVC) in Savannah, Georgia. The SERFVC will take place on Jan. 9–12 at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center. Featuring a top-notch trade show and extensive educational sessions, the event is organized by the Georgia Fruit and …
Sneak Peek: January VSCNews Magazine
The January issue of VSCNews magazine explores the latest technology and research, giving growers a guide of what to look for in 2020. Kevin Folta, a horticultural sciences professor at the University of Florida, looks at how far technology has advanced over the past 20 years. He discusses the accelerating pace of genetic discovery and what technological advancements in crop …
Pumpkin, Calabaza Breeding Program Set to Carve Out New Niche Market for Growers
(UF/IFAS) — Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Shultz yielded popularity to an almighty pumpkin in the 1966 animated TV Special “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.” Today, pumpkin popularity for holiday decor, healthy snacking, and scrumptious recipes during fall and winter months has given rise to innovative research led by Geoffrey Meru, assistant professor of vegetable breeding, genetics and genomics at …
ITC Affirms That Mexican Dumping Threatens U.S. Tomato Growers
(FTE) — In a unanimous decision, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made an affirmative determination that dumped Mexican tomato imports threaten the U.S. industry with material injury. This determination comes on the heels of an announcement last month by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which found that Mexican tomatoes had been dumped in the U.S. market at an average …
New Rules Aimed at Protecting Tomato Crops
(NSF) — New federal inspection rules are now in place for tomatoes and peppers, a month after Florida agricultural officials expressed concern that a virus had been found in tomatoes imported from Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that tomatoes and peppers from Mexico, Israel and the Netherlands must be inspected for tomato brown rugose fruit virus, …
Sneak Peek: December VSCNews Magazine
In the December issue, VSCNews magazine is ending the year with new ideas for growers in the deep Southeast. Broccoli is a staple vegetable in grocery stores across the county, but most of the crop is produced on the West Coast. Researchers involved in the Eastern Broccoli Project are working to change that. From Maine to Florida, vegetable specialists are …
Tropical Research and Education Center to Host Open House
(UF/IFAS) — On Dec. 4, the South Florida community has an opportunity to engage in innovative, high-tech research at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC) open house. The center, located at 18905 Southwest 280th Street in the heart of Homestead, is a hub of research and development that helps South Florida be one of the world’s leading agricultural and …
New Bed Design Can Save Growers Money
(UF/IFAS) — From Florida to Virginia, farmers are enjoying the fruits of Sanjay Shukla’s labor. His compact-bed geometry system allows growers to plant crops in tall soil beds, and the result is thousands of dollars in annual savings. New research by Shukla and his team shows that with savings of up to $102,000 per crop, annually, for a typical, 250-acre …
Research to Reduce Pepper Diseases; Boost Production
(UF/IFAS) — Pepper is popular. Consumers eat all kinds, including jalapenos, habaneros, chilis and more. Because people eat so much of the fruit, peppers are worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the Florida and national economies. In fact, in 2018, bell and chili peppers alone were a $181 million-a-year industry in Florida and a $628 million-a-year industry …