Category Archives: Column

17 Jan
High-Density Citrus Plantings Could be Path to Increased Profits

Florida citrus growers have seen harvests decrease and production costs increase ever since citrus greening was discovered in south Florida in 2005. Profits have decreased due to the damage caused by the disease, but researchers with UF/IFAS advise that high-density plantings could possibly allow citrus growers to increase profits, until a more viable treatment or

17 Jan
Being Proactive in Food Protection

Public refrigerated warehousing (PRW) — cold storage — is about much more than large buildings, floor space, storage racks, dimensions, a refrigerated or frozen environment, and thousands of bundled, boxed or cased packages or storage containers on pallets. In a word, it’s about protection. When it comes to food and food ingredients, PRW is the

17 Jan
Getting Ready for a Great Year in Your Yard and in Your Garden

The New Year has arrived, it’s time for new year’s resolutions and you should include plant and garden resolutions too. Resolutions that will add life to your outdoor space. Here are the gardening tips for the month of January to get your lawn and garden started off the right way. One of the first things

17 Jan
New Year, New Horse!

It’s that time of year again, when we all think about, getting healthier and being more organized. This is also a great time to evaluate your horse supplies and daily activities. Checking expiration dates on medications, refreshing your first aid kid, cleaning out cobwebs and feed bins. Starting fresh will allow you to toss unusable

12 Dec
The Results of a UF/IFAS Study on Controlled-Release Fertilizer

by MIKE ROBERTS Nutrition is a major force in the fight to combat the citrus production losses caused by citrus greening. A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) horticulturist, Tripti Vashisth, shares the results of a recent study that indicates that citrus yield and fruit quality can be improved with constant

12 Dec
Deck the Lawns with These Care Tips

by WILLIAM “BILL” DOTY Like the holiday song says, most people indoors at this time of year decking the halls with boughs of holly and decorations.  What it doesn’t tell us— and most homeowners wish it was spelled out as easy as the lyrics to a song— is how to deck our lawns with just

12 Dec
Planting the First Seed

By Baxter Troutman What is farming? I can give you some dictionary definitions — the practice of agriculture or aquaculture, or the activity or business of growing crops and raising livestock — and I can list some synonyms from the thesaurus — agriculture, cultivation, ranching, husbandry, and agronomy, just to name a few — but

12 Dec
The Right People, Protection, and Equipment for Cold Storage

By Ben Adams, Jr Like Santa Claus and his elves at their toy-making tasks in the bitter cold of the North Pole, it takes hardy souls to help keep food products “on ice” and safe for future preparation and consumption. It also takes highly protected transport equipment to help them do their jobs. I’m referring

12 Dec
Drone Use in Agriculture

By Patrick Spinosa The use of technology in agriculture is becoming a more common method to efficiently keep ag operations running smoothly. The rise of agriculture technology can be seen in the increasing popularity of drone use on the farm. The advanced sensors and digital imaging capabilities of drones make them ideal for gathering information