2019 Citrus Achievement Award winner Bob Behr says the industry needs to get more aggressive in telling its story to the masses.
Industry Responds to EPA WOTUS Announcement
(Washington, D.C. (USDA-September 12, 2019) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue praised the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for taking another step to fulfill President Trump’s pledge to repeal and replace the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. “Repealing the WOTUS rule is a major win for American agriculture. The extreme overreach from the past Administration had government taking …
Cloud-Based Software Helps Farmers on the Ground
A University of Florida agricultural engineer has developed software that can help farmers find the best places to plant crops and to identify fruit and vegetable varieties that perform better against diseases. Now, Yiannis Ampatzidis is leading an effort to refine the software so it can help growers even more. To help farmers protect and even increase their harvests, Ampatzidis, …
Invasion Risk of Hemp Under Research
By Karla Arboleda While the road to hemp production is still under way, University of Florida (UF) researchers are analyzing the risk it poses for invasion. Researchers began digging deeper into what future hemp growers and consumers can look forward to through the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Industrial Hemp Pilot Program. Susan Canavan, a post-doctoral agronomy researcher …
‘It’s More Than Just Work’
University of Florida Extension Agent Gene McAvoy retires. If you ask any Florida grower if they know who Gene McAvoy is, they’ll probably reply with a smile and say “yes.” That is the kind of impact McAvoy has had in his 22-year run as an Extension agent in Hendry County, Florida. On July 31, McAvoy officially retired from the University …
VSC Expo Presentations Now Available
The 2019 Vegetable & Specialty Crop (VSC) Expo saw great success as growers piled into the Lee Civic Center on Aug. 15–16 in North Fort Myers, Florida. Attendees experienced a dynamic trade show and seminar sessions tailored toward vegetable and specialty crop growers. The educational program, titled “Growing Stronger,” featured presentations on the latest research from the University of Florida …
Dorian’s Swing Threatens 770,000 Acres of Ag Land in Florida East Coast Counties
GAINESVILLE, FL (UF/IFAS) — Hurricane Dorian began its much-anticipated northward swing Tuesday morning and is now expected to skirt Florida’s Atlantic coast, threatening a dozen coastal counties that are home to 9 million residents and more than 770,000 acres of agricultural land. Though most agricultural production in these counties occurs 10 miles or more inland, crops could be lost to …
Keeping an Eye on Dorian
Update Sept. 3, 2019: After being stalled over the Bahamas for the majority of the holiday weekend, Hurricane Dorian is expected to start moving north today, still staying off the east coast of Florida. Gary England from the University of Florida released another update this morning about how the storm may impact northeast Florida as it slowly starts heading north: …
Quincy FL Hemp Workshop Postponed for Hurricane Dorian
(UF/IFAS) — The UF/IFAS Industrial Hemp Pilot Project Workshop scheduled for Sept 4 in Quincy, FL is postponed on account of Hurricane Dorian. We have not yet determined a future status of the workshop and will follow-up as soon as we can. You can view the recording of the workshop held in Gainesville in these two video links (Video 1 / Video …
Creating Blackberry Varieties for Florida
The team at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) works on a multitude of crops historically grown in the Central Florida region. However, GCREC researchers have also been dedicating their time to finding new alternative crops for Florida. One of those crops is blackberries. Zhanao Deng, professor of ornamental …