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This the second installment of four special Q&A features honoring Larry Black, the 2021 Florida Grower Citrus Achievement Award winner. He is VP and General Manager of Ft. Meade, FL-based Peace River Packing Co. How has your fertilizer and plant nutrition program changed since HLB come on the scene? BLACK: Maintaining optimum tree nutrition is critical with endemic HLB. Infected …
As blue-green algae makes headlines again this summer, fertilizer from farms and urban sources are again under scrutiny. Last year, the state legislature passed the Clean Waterways Act to address continuing challenges with water quality. The 111-page bill addresses agriculture, using biosolids as fertilizer, regulation of septic tanks, wastewater treatment systems, enhanced penalties, and other rules. It is part of …
As a fourth-generation grower, citrus runs in Brad Turner’s blood. From an early age, he worked his family’s groves near Litha, FL, and continued to grow and work as a caretaker for citrus operations until 2016. For Turner, like many others, HLB took its toll on his groves, robbing valuable yields and quality from once productive trees. That set him …
No industry is more synonymous with the great state of Florida than the citrus industry. Florida’s citrus growers, packers, and processors contribute more than $6.762 billion to our state’s economy, and we support more than 33,000 jobs. We have endured countless hurricanes, droughts, pests, and diseases, and we continue in the fight of our lives against citrus greening. But there …
The Florida Citrus Research Foundation (FCRF) provides oversight and support for the A.H. Whitmore Foundation Farm near Leesburg. The foundation and farm were initiated in 1959 as a means of supporting the Florida citrus industry through citrus field research, trial plantings, and cropping new citru ]]>
By Clint Thompson The mandate that all non-U.S individuals entering the United States show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination will impact specialty crop producers hoping to get H-2A workers into the country in time for the spring crop. That’s the fear anyway shared by American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Director of Congressional Relations Allison Crittendon. “I think it could cause …
By Clint Thompson Downy mildew disease in Southeast grape production is bad enough. The problem is exacerbated as disease resistance continues to worsen. Phil Brannen, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Fruit Disease Specialist, explains the concerns that producers in Georgia and Alabama should have about the potential for further resistance developing. “There’s already been resistance to the strobilurin (quinone outside …
This the third installment of four special Q&A features with Larry Black, the 2021 Florida Grower Citrus Achievement Award winner. He is VP and General Manager of Ft. Meade, FL-based Peace River Packing Co. How important is it to bring young people into the citrus industry? BLACK: The citrus industry and the entire agriculture sector have great opportunities for young …
By Clint Thompson The Jan. 30 freeze event that impacted numerous specialty crops across Florida has created an ‘unknown’ outlook for the tomato industry. Josh Freeman, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) associate professor in horticultural science, discusses what the damage sustained by tomatoes in the southern part of the state means for production in north …
By Clint Thompson A planting delay for some Florida potato producers this year might have saved some from a damaged crop due to the Jan. 30 freeze event. Lincoln Zotarelli, associate professor at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), confirmed delays due to seed arriving late amid the current supply chain shortage. Seed that would …
