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Former state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is set to become the chairman of the Board of Directors of Alico, Inc., a leading Florida citrus grower, the company announced Monday. Putnam, who has been a board member since 2020, will assume the chairman role in February,…
Read More Former Florida Ag Commissioner Adam Putnam To Become Chairman of Alico, Inc. Board
Precision agriculture made a giant leap since its emergence in the 1980s, fueled by the advent of satellite-based navigation and remote sensing technologies. GPS receivers installed on tractors and imaging sensors aboard spacecraft enabled mapping and measuring the key in-field variables (crop health, soil, terrain,…
Read More Elevating Precision Agriculture With EOSDA Crop Monitoring
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced Wednesday the preservation of a Florida family farm through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. An approximately 1,449-acre portion of the Canaan Ranch, a 3,040-acre working tree farm in Gilchrist…
Read More Florida Ag Commissioner Announces Preservation Of Canaan Ranch In Gilchrist County
Lois McNamara has been growing wildflowers for more than two decades, but she still remembers the species that endeared her to the hobby: blue larkspur. “My daughter brought me seeds one year and threw them in a flowerbed, and the result was so beautiful that…
Read More Summer Seed Saving: A Master Gardener Shares Tips On Wildflower Propagation
Summer brings daily storms in the Sunshine State, and with the rain, you need to control flooding in some neighborhoods. Florida is swimming in 76,000 stormwater ponds. Designed to control flooding, stormwater ponds are not as effective as natural ponds at removing nitrogen, a pollutant…
Read More Natural Ponds In Florida Remove Nitrogen More Effectively Than Stormwater Ponds
On a campus known for its stately brick buildings, the University of Florida’s newest structure stands out: a 400-square foot pavilion with timber columns, some straight, others erected at an angle. Holes allow light – and water – to stream through the roof and touch…
Read More University Of Florida Pavilion Promotes Sustainable Construction
Crave that cup of coffee in the morning? Globally, consumers drink more than 2.2 billion cups daily. Someone grows all that joe: More than 100 million farmers worldwide produce coffee. Coffee beans consumed across the globe come from two species: Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora,…
Read More University Of Florida Scientists Study How To Bring You ‘Climate-Smart Coffee’
Ninety percent of Florida’s agricultural operations are small farms with gross sales under $250,000, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In South Florida, small farmers benefit from an ideal subtropical climate but need more options for high-value fruit and vegetable crops to grow profitably…
Read More New UF/IFAS Vegetable Crop Specialist Driving Innovative Research, Crop Diversification To Florida’s Small Farms
As we celebrate National Blueberry Month in July, a University of Florida dietitian says the fruit could be called “power berries.” “Blueberries have fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese and potassium, and they have some of the highest antioxidant levels of all the common fruits…
Read More Power Through July With National Blueberry Month
As a soil biologist and agent for UF/IFAS Extension Nassau County, David Hébert teaches everything from selecting compostable food items to identifying microorganisms. Most recently, he’s done so from within a bustling Fernandina Beach shopping center. Hébert’s affiliation with Amelia Plaza began in 2023, when…
Read More UF/IFAS Extension Partners With Pizzeria To Teach Composting Basics