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Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced today the preservation of over 386 acres of agricultural land in Heart Bar Ranch, Osceola County, through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. The land will be protected under a…
Read More Florida Commissioner Wilton Simpson Announces Preservation Of Farmland In Osceola County
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
Researchers at UF/IFAS are harvesting their first crop of potentially disease-resistant wine grapes in Florida. The first crop at UF/IFAS’s Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra, Florida, of Pierce’s disease-resistant grapes, showed no signs of disease. The grape variety was developed by the…
Read More Disease-Resistant Wine Grapes Could Be Boon For Florida’s Viticulture
How do plants adapt when they go into space? That’s the question the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hopes to answer with a novel space-based experiment happening Thursday at 9 a.m. EST when a UF/IFAS horticultural sciences researcher launches with…
Read More University Of Florida Space Biologist Prepares For Launch On Thursday
You may have seen small trees in white shrouds on hills along the highways. They protect citrus trees from the Asian citrus psyllid and therefore, citrus greening disease. New University of Florida research shows the trees grown under the individual protective covers (IPCs) also grow…
Read More Mesh Bags Protect Citrus Against Greening, May Improve Tree Health And Fruit Quality Later
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla – Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson announced Friday the conservation of a local family-owned farm in St. Lucie County through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. The program has secured a rural land…
Read More Florida Preserves 490-Acre Family Farm In St. Lucie County Through Conservation Program
Florida’s strawberry season doesn’t return until December. But University of Florida scientists work year-round to support an industry with a $500 million-a-year farm-gate value in Florida. Among their research endeavors, UF/IFAS scientists search for ways to help growers control diseases that can damage strawberries. Most…
Read More University Of Florida Scientists Use AI Algorithm To Improve Strawberry Disease Detection
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced Thursday the preservation of Lowder’s Gulf Hammock, a 691-acre family-owned timber and wetland property in Levy County, through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. The land will be protected under…
Read More Florida Ag Commissioner Announces Preservation Of 691-Acre Levy County Family Farm
Instead of taking what the broker or retailer feels like paying, small- and medium-sized farmers who sell directly to consumers should track costs, determine what they want to earn and set their own produce prices, University of Florida experts say. Growers should base their prices…
Read More When Pricing Produce To Sell Directly To Consumers, Farmers Urged To Know Their Costs
The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded a $650,000 grant to a UF/IFAS researcher to study a plant that could help mitigate the opioid epidemic, a national health crisis responsible for more than 130 deaths each day. Mitragyna speciosa, or kratom, is…
Read More Grant Funds University Of Florida Research For Potential Opioid Relief