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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced new efforts to provide COVID-19 testing for farmworkers as the fall harvest season begins, in partnership with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), and local county governments. Beginning this week,…
Read More Florida Agriculture Commissioner Announces Farmers COVID-19 Testing Efforts
By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224, bradbuck@ufl.edu, 352-875-2641 (cell) HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – As laborers return to the fields this fall in Florida, both unauthorized workers and those authorized to plant and pick crops through a guest workers visa are vulnerable to the coronavirus. In fact, an…
Read More COVID-19 Risk factors Vary by Farm Workers’ legal Status
by: Brad Buck FLORIDA, UNITED STATES – Yiannis Ampatzidis and his research team combined their collective minds to find the artificial intelligence technology to best help farmers save money and better care for their crops. Out of that process, they invented a system known as…
Read More New AI technology ‘Agroview’ named UF Invention of the Year
PASCO COUNTY, FL. – Step up your gardening game while learning at home with free, online offerings from UF/IFAS Pasco County Cooperative Extension Service during the Gardening 365 Virtual Educational Festival Saturday, October 3, 2020. Join highly-trained Master Gardener Volunteers and UF/IFAS Horticulture team members…
Read More UF/IFAS Pasco Extension Gardening 365 Educational Festival
U.S. NEWS – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced up to an additional $14 billion for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19. Signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) has now begun and…
Read More $14 Billion Available for AG Producers Amidst COVID-19 Struggles
BAKER COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has announced that a Florida landowner is being nationally recognized for his proactive conservation and environmental practices, and outstanding stewardship of fish and wildlife resources. The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies has…
Read More Florida Landowner Nationally Recognized for Conservation Efforts
FLORIDA, UNITED STATES– As the Florida Panhandle continues with recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) are providing updates on resources deployed by the department’s Office of Agriculture Law Enforcement (OALE) and Florida Forest Service. “Hurricane Sally has…
Read More Florida Forest Service & Agricultural Law Enforcement Efforts to Support Hurricane Sally Response
LAKE ALFRED, Fla.— Outbreaks of foodborne diseases threaten the daily lives of millions of Americans, resulting in recalls and sometimes loss of life. Providing an integrated food safety system for fresh fruits and vegetables that protects the food supply through production, harvest, and processing is…
Read More UF Researchers Receive a Multi-Million Dollar Grant to Improve Food Safety in Fresh produce
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a hub designed to assist local and regional food producers as the USDA and its partners develop, share and assess resources on local and regional food system responses to COVID-19. The hub, which…
Read More USDA LAUNCHES RESOURCE HUB FOR LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM RESPONSE TO COVID-19
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – Harvest healthy new habits and food this growing season. The UF/IFAS Pasco County Extension Community Garden Program is now leasing FREE garden plots to Pasco residents. Pasco Extension pairs applicants with an appropriate community garden location in Dade City, Land O’…
Read More UF/IFAS Pasco Extension Offers FREE Community Garden Plots