The Free Press – Your Source For Tampa Area Local Breaking News, National Stories, Politics, Sports, Florida Agriculture, Legal, Florida Agriculture, and Jobs.
Ever since Florida farmers have been growing tomatoes, they’ve picked them by hand or hired laborers. It’s painstaking work that might be made easier soon with machine-harvestable tomatoes developed by University of Florida scientists. Now that the varieties are available, growers in Florida’s $400 million-a-year…
Read More Machine-Harvestable Tomatoes Available From UF/IFAS; Growers Hope Cultivars Can Help Lower Labor Cost
Blackberries are already known for their health benefits, and someday, they might provide even more antioxidants than the ones you buy now, say University of Florida researchers. UF/IFAS researchers are trying to breed and grow blackberries, which ripen in April, May and June in the…
Read More Blackberries In Florida May Become Even More Nutritious In The Future
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced Wednesday that Costa Farms is the 2024 winner of the Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Award. The Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Award has been presented annually since 1994 and spotlights environmentally innovative growers and ranchers who share a commitment to protecting and preserving…
Read More 2024 Winner Of Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Award In Florida Announced
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) announced Tuesday that Sandra Moore is the 2024 Woman of the Year in Agriculture. “I am so pleased to announce Sandra Moore as this year’s Woman of the Year…
Read More Segrest Farms’ Sandra Moore Wins 2024 Woman Of The Year In Florida Agriculture
In collaboration with Farm Credit, entrepreneurs are invited to apply online for the 2025 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge on the American Farm Bureau Federation’s behalf. This national business competition, now in its eleventh year, highlights American startups that are creating ground-breaking answers to problems…
Read More Florida Farmers: Compete For A Chance To Win $100,000 In The Ag Innovation Challenge
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for food security and human survival, and it is an element that cannot be replenished. That is why using phosphorus efficiently is essential and the focus of a national research effort led by leading scientists across the country to promote…
Read More UF/IFAS Scientists Host Next ‘STEPS’ Toward Phosphorus Sustainability With National Think Tank In South Florida
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – Do you have a scholar ready to grow their gardening skills? UF/IFAS Pasco County Cooperative Extension invites you to help your child blossom by signing up for the Junior Master Gardener Youth Education Summer Series beginning Wednesday, June 5, 2024. WHAT: …
Read More Pasco County Extension Offering Junior Master Gardener Classes
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson issued an emergency rule Friday that prevents importing some cattle because of the evolving spread of a type of avian influenza in dairy herds outside of Florida. Known in livestock as Bovine Associated Influenza A Syndrome, the strain has been found…
Read More Florida Agriculture Commissioner Simpson Restricts Cattle Imports
Florida is full of caterpillars this month. But what are they and what can you do about them? Are they dangerous? Fast facts from University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension agent Jackie Lebouitz: One of the most commonly spotted caterpillars is…
Read More Caterpillar Cascade: Where Are All These Caterpillars Coming From Across Florida? UF/IFAS Has Answers
Florida’s citrus industry got some bitter news Thursday as it enters the final months of the 2023-2024 growing season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report that reduced estimates of orange and grapefruit production. Overall, the new numbers indicated the industry will slightly outpace…
Read More Florida Citrus Forecast Takes A Hit