By Clint Thompson The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association’s new consumer-focused social media marketing campaign, #EveryBiteCounts, continues the organization’s effort to educate consumers about the importance of supporting local farmers. With the hashtag #EveryBiteCounts, the goal is to educate consumers about the impact of purchasing in-season domestically grown fruits and vegetables, says Chris Butts, executive vice president of the …
North Florida Watching for Powdery Mildew
By Clint Thompson North Florida watermelon farmers and industry leaders have yet to see a widespread attack of any one disease, such as powdery mildew. But they are paying close attention to the plants that are in the ground. Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) regional specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, is …
Field Day Leads to Reboot of Old Citrus Varieties
By Peter Chaires The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) field day on Dec. 3 at the A.H. Whitmore Foundation Farm was a productive and memorable day. The event was well attended and provided growers, nurserymen and industry leaders with an overview of essential research taking place at the farm. The fruit display and tour drew attention to …
Water Farms Provide Multiple Benefits in Florida
By Frank Giles More than a decade ago, Doug Bournique, executive director of the Indian River Citrus League, had a thought. What if citrus growers who had groves that had become non-productive could take that land and use it for water storage to help reduce discharges into sensitive waterways like the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers? It was a novel …
Supply-Chain Disruptions, Inflation and War Are Pushing Prices up on the Farm
By Frank Giles Just when the world took somewhat of a collective breath, hoping the COVID-19 pandemic might be easing, Russia invaded Ukraine. The conflict and the highest inflation rate in 40 years in the United States have focused attention on agriculture and food security. For farmers in Florida and around the world, the confluence of events has presented challenges …
2021 Was a Banner Year for Florida Real Estate
By Frank Giles The Florida real estate market is on fire. That was the take-home message of the Lay of the Land Conference held in Lakeland, Florida, in April. The conference, now in its 17th year, is hosted by SVN | Saunders Ralston Dantzler Real Estate. Attendees got a deep dive into how the U.S. and Florida economies are faring …
Controlled Environment Agriculture: Future Growth Expected in Industry
By Eric Butterman for CAES News Next time you partake of a crisp, green salad, think about where your leafy greens come from. Many producers of high-value crops are shifting from field production to controlled environment agriculture. That is where the University of Georgia’s Marc van Iersel comes in. Van Iersel, the Vincent J. Dooley professor of horticultural physiology in …
Irrigation Showcase: UGA-Griffin Breaks Ground on Site
By Ashley N Biles for CAES News Industry professionals, homeowners and researchers will soon get a firsthand look at new irrigation technologies in action at a demonstration irrigation site being constructed on the University of Georgia’s Griffin campus. On March 28, workers broke ground on the project, which is a collaboration between the UGA Center for Urban Agriculture, UGA Cooperative …
How to Prevent Fruit-Boring Squash Insects
By Ayanava Majumdar, Olivia Fuller, David Lawrence and Jacob Kelley Squash and related cucurbits are favorite summer vegetables in farms across the Southeast. Though cucurbits grow fast under the right conditions, numerous insect pests feeding at various crop stages can make cucurbits a messy ordeal! In Alabama, cucumber beetles, squash vine borers and squash bugs arrive routinely during the young …
U.S. Drought Monitor: Florida’s Dry Conditions Isolated to Southern Area of State
By Clint Thompson Rainfall has alleviated much of the drought in the Southeast. Dry conditions still persist in South Florida, while the bulk of drought in Georgia is isolated to the south-central and southeast regions of the state. This is according to Thursday’s release of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Florida’s dry conditions stretch to Monroe and Miami-Dade counties and as …