By Clint Thompson An emerging weevil pest is cause for concern for celery and parsley producers in South Florida. Julien Beuzelin, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) assistant professor in entomology, discussed the impact that Listronotus sparsus could have on those two crops. It could stunt the growth of celery plants and cause a quality issue. …
Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture Coming to GCREC
To protect crop yields and the environment, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is increasingly leveraging powerful tools such as technology driven by artificial intelligence (AI). In an effort to expedite such development, UF/IFAS will build a 19,000-square-foot AI hub at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) in Balm, about 25 miles southeast of Tampa. …
Georgia Pumpkin Producer: We Had Phenomenal Yields
By Clint Thompson Pumpkin season has come and gone for one Georgia farmer. Yields exceeded expectations. Disease pressure was low. Demand was high. Drew Echols couldn’t have asked for a better year this season. “We did really well, couldn’t have asked for any better. We had phenomenal yields. We picked over 3,000 bins,” said Echols, owner of Jaemor Farms in …
Farmland Preservation Grants Available Through NCDA&CS
RALEIGH – County governments and nonprofit groups may now apply for funding assistance from the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund for farmland preservation projects. Applicants have until Dec. 19 to apply. “The latest study from the American Farmland Trust projects North Carolina losing more than a million acres of agricultural land over the next 20 years,” …
FDACS Announces Preliminary Damage Assessment for Agriculture Following Hurricane Ian
Tallahassee, Fla. – The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried released the FDACS preliminary damage assessment for agriculture following Hurricane Ian. The assessment considered losses to agriculture production and infrastructure and are estimated between $1.18 billion and $1.88 billion. “While today’s assessment is a preliminary snapshot of the losses to Florida agriculture, …
USTR Declines Section 301 Petition, But Recognizes Southeastern Grower Challenges
This week the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it will pursue avenues to assist the Southeast seasonal produce industry in coordination with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) after members of Congress requested an examination of certain issues in a Sept. 8, 2022, Section 301 petition. The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) released …
FFVA Statement on USTR’s Response to Section 301 Petition
This week the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it will pursue avenues to assist the Southeast seasonal produce industry in coordination with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) after members of Congress requested an examination of certain issues in a Sept. 8, 2022, Section 301 petition. The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) released …
Pecans’ International Future a Present Concern
By Clint Thompson The future of global trade in pecans is currently on the minds of pecan industry leaders. What will Mexico’s growing industry look like in a few years? Will the U.S. relationship with India improve so producers can better take advantage of its huge market? Those are questions that Samantha McLeod, executive director of the Georgia Pecan Growers …
Natural Disasters: Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst
By Clint Thompson Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. That should be the mindset of specialty crop producers, especially in the wake of Hurricane Ian. Farmers should always be prepared for the next natural disaster. In the Southeast, that may come in a variety of forms, says Bart Hester, agent with Country Financial in Moultrie, Georgia. He discussed …
AI Center Coming to Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
To protect crop yields and the environment, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is increasingly leveraging powerful tools such as technology driven by artificial intelligence (AI). In an effort to expedite such development, UF/IFAS will build a 19,000-square-foot AI hub at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) in Balm, about 25 miles southeast …