ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, I was invited to join the recently established Board of Directors for the Florida AgriTourism Association during its inaugural meeting. If you know what I know, then you can appreciate how significant an association devoted to supporting agritourism in Florida will be for the members of our agriculture industry.
THE CRAFT BEER INDUSTRY has grown like wildfire, and a UF/IFAS team is researching if Florida growers could benefit by filling a need in this niche industry: growing beer-quality hops. UF horticulturist Brian Pearson recently won third place in the Early Career Award for scientists at the American Society of Horticultural Sciences (ASHS) for his
Hops could be cropping up in Florida Read More »
THE BOYS OF FALL are all ready to tee it up and kick off for this year’s football season, but that’s not the only thing that kicks off in September — so does Central Florida’s fall gardening season. Now is the time to approach things a little differently in regard to your landscape’s health.
Early fall considerations for your lawn and garden Read More »
IN 2008, A SITE with an intriguing name hit the World Wide Web. It’s The Art of Manliness (www.artofmanliness. com). Five years later, a contributing writer offered a column that came to my attention a few weeks ago. The title is “9 Rules for Starting Your Own Farm.” It’s an interesting and fun-to-read piece by
Rules to remember when starting your own farm Read More »
LAST MONTH’S COLUMN began a discussion of the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Foods Rule (the Sanitary Transport Rule, or STF), one of the seven pillar rules embodied by the sweeping Food Safety Modernization Act that became law in January 2011.
PRWs and the Sanitary Transport Rule Read More »
FLORIDA’S CITRUS INDUSTRY has suffered significant losses due to citrus greening since the bacteria was detected in a South Florida grove in 2005. Annual harvest numbers have fallen year after year while the costs to maintain a grove in the face of HLB has doubled. The question has long been, “How long can the citrus
Citrus industry’s clock is ticking; researchers working to find a solution in time Read More »
IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE that August is here and that we’re this far into it already! Here are some helpful tips to keep your garden and lawn healthy and beautiful.
For a lawn budding with beauty Read More »
WE IN FLORIDA have known for quite some time how grand, how diverse, and how wonderful agriculture in the Sunshine State really is — and how much more grand it’s destined to be. Now, a bunch of folks way up north, in the U.S. Midwest, are learning about Florida’s special place in American agriculture, too.
MSU Extension takes a close look at Florida ag Read More »
CITRUS GREENING IS A SCOURGE on the Florida citrus industry, but it highlights the value of ag tech, science, and innovation in an amazing way. So many are working on the issue, and the ingenuity of those in agriculture is on full display. Below are some of the research efforts in the works right now.
Citrus greening putting ag research on display Read More »
NOW THAT WE’RE well into July, here are some tips you can arm yourself with for your lawn and garden. This month is the time for summer fertilization of your lawn. It’s also a good time to repair, renovate, or plant. It is key to work in as much organic materials, such as peat, manure,
The battle for your lawn and garden Read More »
