By Clint Thompson Hot ocean waters in the Gulf of Mexico are concerning for the Southeast. Parts of the Gulf have temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. They could spark hurricane development very quickly, and unfortunately, there is not much preparation time for specialty crop growers in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Pam Knox, University of Georgia Extension agricultural climatologist, says people …
Rubio, Colleagues Introduce Land Grant Research Prioritization Act
U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) introduced bipartisan legislation last week to authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make priority research grants available for land-grant universities to research and develop agricultural applications of artificial intelligence (AI), advanced mechanized harvester technologies, invasive species control and aquaculture. “Florida’s land-grant universities are constantly innovating to address …
A Preview of Florida Citrus Breeding Projects
By Peter Chaires The New Varieties Development & Management Corp. (NVDMC) board of directors has completed its 2023-24 budgeting process. Like other citrus industry organizations and private companies, the NVDMC board sought to address the need for immediate and short-term benefits, without abandoning a necessary focus on the future. Most of the funding will be directed to near-term benefit, with …
Sen. Ossoff Introduces Legislation to Strengthen Georgia’s Citrus Industry
Washington D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is leading the charge to support Georgia’s farmers and strengthen the state’s growing citrus industry. Sen. Ossoff introduced the Georgia Citrus Development Act of 2023 to ensure Georgia citrus growers have a seat at the table when guiding key decisions for the industry. Sen. Ossoff’s bill would add a new Georgia member to …
Registration Ongoing for Tomato Conference in September
By Clint Thompson Registration is ongoing for the upcoming Florida Tomato Conference scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 13, at the LaBelle Civic Center in LaBelle, Florida. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Hendry County Extension Director Craig Frey highlighted what growers and industry specialists can expect at this year’s event. “Our goal is to make it useful …
CRAFT Accepting Applications for Existing Tree Therapies Program
The Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) Foundation has reopened the application window for its Existing Tree Therapies Program. Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Aug. 31. Participants will be selected through a random lottery, administered by a third-party entity. The program is designed to provide the industry with a better understanding of the best use patterns, combinations and …
Perfect Storm: Weather Events Impacted Georgia’s Watermelon Season
By Clint Thompson Intense heat in recent weeks quickly led to the conclusion of this year’s watermelon harvests in most of South Georgia fields. The two-week deluge of rainfall in June also contributed to the crop’s shortened harvest window this year. “The extreme weather events really beat the vines up and it also introduced disease. That coupled with, once they …
Same Story: Imports Impacting Georgia’s Specialty Crops
By Clint Thompson The more things change, the more they stay the same. Another spring vegetable season for Georgia producers was marred by rising imports that deflated market prices. “While we were in D.C. (recently), one of our growers was talking about $4 a box was the market price for squash. It was what it had fallen to when imports …
Final U.S. Citrus Forecast Has Several Changes
The final U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS) citrus forecast for the 2022–23 season, issued July 12, has several changes from the June forecast. FLORIDAFlorida’s all-orange forecast rose approximately 1% to 15.85 million boxes, up 100,000 boxes from June. The full increase is in the Valencia orange forecast, which rose to 9.7 million boxes. Florida’s all-grapefruit …
Watermelon Research: UGA Scientist Highlights Work Done on Tifton Campus
By Clint Thompson Watermelons are one of the most valuable vegetable crops that South Georgia growers produce every year. It is only appropriate that the University of Georgia (UGA) conducts research that will benefit farmers for the foreseeable future. Ted McAvoy, UGA Extension vegetable specialist, is tasked with researching watermelons and the different types that producers want to grow, on …