Column

Friends, as this year comes to a close, I am grateful for those of you who supported Higgenbotham Auctioneers and attended our auctions. We have been blessed with meeting many people from many paths in life.  We don’t know everything, but we listen to our clients’ goals and needs. We are not in the business […]

As the year comes to a close, I’m giddy with excitement like my teenage daughter Holly Kate on Christmas Eve. Even though it’s the right time of year, there’s a different reason. Longtime readers of this column know the Florida agriculture industry has long been a central focus of mine. Twelve years ago, I started

The horse’s digestive tract is designed to be continuously processing forage. Ideally, horses should be on pasture grazing most of the day, which produces a continuous amount of saliva. The saliva creates a protective buffer for the stomach that decreases the risk of ulcer formation.  A high fiber diet maintains their gut health with constant

For this month’s column, we wanted to focus on industry sustainability. With all of the hardships the Florida Citrus Industry has been through in the past decade, making sure the industry remains sustainable has taken on a larger importance. A key to sustainability may be found in incorporating new tools into the regular maintenance of

Florida growers enrolled in the Best Management Practices (BMP) Program have a little breathing room to remedy fertilizer applications that were washed away by Hurricane Ian earlier in the year. The hurricane struck Florida in mid- to late September and caused a significant amount of damage and flooding. Once the flood waters receded, Florida growers

Friends, I am counting my blessings! I am facing the physical, economical, and political storms with a grateful heart! Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. —

Agribusiness (a portmanteau of “agriculture” and “business”) is an emerging term for the business sector that encompasses farming and all farming-related commercial activities. This includes every step in the process that delivers agricultural products to the market — production, processing, and distribution. In any country with land that can be worked, agribusiness is an important

Also called “swamp fever,” Equine Infectious Anemia is a viral disease that causes a range of clinical signs from no apparent illness to extremely severe, including collapse and death. Positive cases tend to be diagnosed when movement requires a Coggins test to be performed.  Clinical signs of EIA are non-specific to the disease itself and

If you’ve heard the buzz and have been curious about the patented Tree Defender Individual Protective Covers for your citrus trees, we have some exciting news in this month’s column! We have received formal approval from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) that Tree Defender IPCs are now eligible for a cost share up to

Hurricane Ian caused a lot of flooding in Florida citrus groves, and this created ideal conditions for phytophthora, which caused diseases like foot, crown and root rot, and fruit brown rot. Phytophthora is caused by two fungus-like organisms, Phytophthora nicotianae and P. palmivora.  The spores of these organisms are attracted to roots, and the root damage caused by flooding gives these