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Wilton Simpson, the Republican seemingly on track to become Florida’s next agriculture commissioner, said if elected, he will seek to block the purchase of Sunshine State farmlands by governments hostile to the U.S. Campaigning in Jacksonville on Thursday, Simpson, who most recently served as Florida…
Read More GOP Ag Commissioner Candidate Wilton Simpson Says He Will Work To Block Florida Farmland From Foreign Purchases
Shifting about $1 million from marketing and public relations into reserves, the Florida Citrus Commission hopes to weather the impacts of Hurricane Ian, which exacerbated an already-anticipated decline in this season’s citrus crop. The money shift and a few smaller changes allowed the commission on…
Read More Florida Citrus Leaders Look To Weather Ian
Agriculture is an integral part of Florida’s economy, directly contributing over $10 billion in sales revenues annually and supporting over 133,000 jobs. But farmers face numerous challenges: pests, diseases, labor, rising costs and more. To protect crop yields and the environment, the University of Florida…
Read More AI Center Coming To Gulf Coast Research And Education Center; Will Provide Boost For Agriculture
With its combination of punishing wind and widespread flooding, Hurricane Ian caused up to $1.56 billion in estimated losses for the state’s agriculture industry, according to a University of Florida preliminary assessment. The assessment, by the University of Florida-Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, estimated…
Read More Hurricane Ian Agriculture Losses In Florida Could Hit $1.56B
State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Thursday requested a federal disaster declaration for 17 counties after Hurricane Ian caused widespread damage to farms and ranches. Fried sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture pointing to farm and ranch losses in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto,…
Read More Disaster Declaration Sought For Florida Farms, Ranches
Stationed at UF/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center (UF/IFAS IRREC) in Fort Pierce, Sandra Guzmán is an assistant professor whose research and extension work are all about water and how to conserve it. She applies precision irrigation technologies for the management of water resources…
Read More Hispanic Heritage Profile: Sandra Guzmán
Florida citrus growers face the possibility of producing the smallest crop since the Great Depression, which might be overly optimistic for an industry ravaged by Hurricane Ian as the new season gets underway. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday released an initial forecast for…
Read More Florida Citrus Growers Head Into ‘Tough’ Year
A week after Hurricane Ian stormed across Florida, farmers and ranchers continue waiting for flood waters to recede to get a full picture of the destruction to citrus groves and cattle operations. The storm killed at least 200 cows at a dairy farm in Myakka…
Read More Florida Farmers Try To Sort Out Hurricane Ian Damage
Honey bees not only create an agricultural product, they help facilitate the Florida agriculture industry, pollinating crops and bolstering our food supply. When Hurricane Ian made landfall last week, many of the local colonies were devastated, said Amy Vu, a statewide apiculture Extension specialist with…
Read More FAQs: Hurricane Ian Impacts To Beekeeping In Florida
As they begin to assess groves damaged by Hurricane Ian, Southwest Florida citrus growers are seeing conditions potentially worse than after Hurricane Irma, which played a key role in citrus production falling by more than one-third in 2017. Matt Joyner, executive vice president and CEO…
Read More Florida Citrus Growers Face ‘Gamut Of Damages’ From Ian