Billie Rooney and her husband, Scott, run a 40-acre farm near Live Oak, where they grow blueberries, blackberries, and sunflowers and raise livestock. Farming is a second career for the Rooneys. So, they had a lot to learn. She and hundreds of other farmers and…
Read More UF/IFAS Field Days: Boosting Agricultural Knowledge For Florida Growers
Florida strawberry growers are a resilient bunch. They’ve survived the back-to-back punches from hurricanes Helene and Milton. Through hard work and efficient problem-solving, they have planted the fruits you’ll enjoy from December through April. Kenneth Parker, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, works…
Read More Following Hurricane Milton, Florida Growers Show Resilience In Ensuring Fresh Strawberries Are Available This Season
DADE CITY, Fla. – Combat-injured Marine Corps veteran Mary Katherine Mason-Alston makes shortbread with a family recipe that goes back to her great-grandmother. To sell to people far and wide from her Dade City store, she needed a food permit, which she obtained through help…
Read More ‘Lanky Lassie’s Shortbread’ UF/IFAS Extension Incubator Equals Success For Marine Corps Veteran
Hurricanes Helene and Milton left many homeowners with flooded septic tanks. To make sure your system is ready for future storms, a University of Florida scientist has suggestions for you. “If you are one of those homeowners with a flooded septic system, it’s likely not…
Read More Florida Hurricane Recovery: UF Expert Urges Septic System Inspections
Graduate students from across the University of Florida can leap into the future workplaces of agricultural technology. Through two Smart Ag certificate programs, started in 2022, the agricultural and biological engineering department (ABE) offers classes in which students can learn and apply artificial intelligence concepts.…
Read More University Of Florida SmartAg Certificates Prepare Students For Agriculture’s AI Job Market
Artificial intelligence (AI) can help feed the world and preserve our natural resources. To maximize the bandwidth of AI, scientists are working together to develop robotics and precision agriculture, use drones effectively and more. Recognizing the strength of collaboration, universities across the South are launching…
Read More Southern Land-Grant Universities Create AI Centers To Encourage Faster, Accurate Solutions To Practical Problems
Scientists throughout the South are using artificial intelligence (AI) to help growers save labor costs and time, spray with precision, detect diseases, control food quality, maintain animal health and help grow wheat. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences invention assesses plant stress…
Read More Southern Scientists Use Artificial Intelligence To Reduce Costs, Labor On Farms
People with a green thumb for growing tomatoes are giving University of Florida scientists good data to help them find tastier tomatoes. Through a citizen science program, Denise Tieman, a UF/IFAS research associate professor of horticultural sciences and her lab are getting viable data from…
Read More Citizen Scientists Help University Of Florida Researchers Find Best-Tasting Tomatoes
Want to make cheesecake from home and sell it? You’re hardly alone, but that’s a tricky prospect. “People love cheesecake. But it doesn’t meet Florida’s Cottage Food Law. You can’t make it from your home. If you have to refrigerate the product, you can’t make…
Read More Aspiring Food Entrepreneurs Can Call UF/IFAS Specialist For More Info On Food Safety
Florida’s oyster population has declined during the past 15 years because of overharvest, hurricanes, changing environmental conditions and more. In particular, Apalachicola Bay has seen a pronounced reduction. “Oyster farming has been seen as a way to continue the supply of oysters because the wild…
Read More New Technologies May Help Oyster Farmers Increase Their Harvests, Reduce Labor