Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Florida Farm Bureau President John L. Hoblick held a town hall meeting on Thursday with the state’s agriculture community on pressing issues. Some of the topics of discussion included: Ensuring agriculture and all related industries are essential at the federal, state and local levels. Promoting the continued and efficient processing of H-2A worker visas. Inter- and intra-state weight waivers for …
Florida’s Tomato Industry Crippled by Pandemic
By Clint Thompson With restaurants closed across the country due to coronavirus pandemic, little, if any, of Florida’s tomato crop is being harvested right now. Bob Spencer, President of West Coast Tomato in Palmetto, Florida, said his company farms between 3,500 and 4,000 acres every year but estimates that he’s losing 90% of his business right now. Since about 70% …
UGA Economist Fears Coronavirus’ Impact on Fruit and Vegetable Industry
By Clint Thompson The coronavirus pandemic may have struck a blow to the country’s fruit and vegetable industry and could have repercussions for the foreseeable future, says Greg Fonsah, University of Georgia Agribusiness Extension economist. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused global fear, it was initially announced that the U.S. Embassy in Mexico would stop interviews of seasonal workers, …
Coronavirus Concerns Impacting U.S. Agriculture
By Ashley Robinson U.S. agriculture has always had a great responsibility on its shoulders — to keep food on the tables of consumers despite the challenges that come its way. However, the situations facing production agriculture now in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic are weighing heavily on the minds of farmers. “There is a lot of anxiety and concern …
Precision Sprayer Can Reduce Herbicide Use
By Arnold Schumann, Nathan Boyd, Shaun Sharpe and Jialin Yu In the March 2019 issue of VSCNews, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) smart sprayer technology using machine vision for Florida vegetable and strawberry crops (VSCNews.com/smart-sprayer-technology-for-better-weed-control) was introduced. Subsequently, a series of herbicide spray trials were conducted to prove that the smart sprayer performs well …
New Method to Combat Brazilian Peppertree Problem
By Karla Arboleda Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) are now approved to release a specific type of thrips to help control the Brazilian peppertree problem. INVASIVE SPECIES Brazilian peppertrees are an invasive shrub that cover about 700,000 acres of Florida. Carey Minteer, an assistant professor at UF/IFAS, worked on a portion of …
Florida Tomato Committee Names McAvoy Researcher of the Year
(UF/IFAS) — He may hold the title “emeritus,” which means “retired,” but Gene McAvoy remains active with University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension and research, helping bring farmers’ concerns back to UF/IFAS scientists. In fact, he just won the Researcher of the Year Award from the Florida Tomato Committee. For the past 22 years, McAvoy …
2020 Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame Honorees Announced
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame Foundation announced the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame inductees for 2020. The induction ceremony will be held at the Florida State Fair’s Agricultural Hall of Fame Banquet on Feb. 11. “Agriculture touches the lives of every Floridian and plays a monumental role in our economy and culture. The …
Cutting Costs With Smart Sprayers
By Yiannis Ampatzidis Traditional broadcast sprayers usually treat the entire field to control pest populations, potentially resulting in unnecessary application to areas that do not require treatment. These sprayers apply agrochemicals uniformly, even though distribution of weeds is typically patchy. This results in wastage of valuable compounds, increased costs, crop damage risk, pest resistance to chemicals, environmental pollution and contamination …
Vegetable and Specialty Crop Seminars Cover Crucial Issues
By Ashley Robinson Last year, AgNet Media incorporated vegetable and specialty crop (VSC) seminars into the 28-year-old Citrus Expo. The change was met with positive feedback from both growers and industry members. Therefore, AgNet Media decided to expand that side of the program and debut the Vegetable and Specialty Crop Expo (VSC Expo) this year, being held in conjunction with …