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article and photos provided by NRCS Highlands County is known to be home to a predominance of large cattle grazing ranches and citrus groves. Nestled within this rural landscape is Vera Farms — a small 33-acre sheep farm, ornamental plant nursery, and small-scale vegetable production farm owned by Pedro Velez and his wife Maria.   The […]

Citrus Industry Speculates on Future of Season in Wake of Milton by PAUL CATALA & JESS McDONALD Just a month ago, Florida citrus growers were cautiously optimistic about the season ahead. While no one was expecting a drastic change, there were hopes that perhaps greening treatments were starting to even out the losses.  Now, in

Sweet Hill Flowers Micro Farm a Mighty Success by RYAN MILEJCZAK When it’s time to buy flowers, most people simply head to our local grocery store or florist. But what they don’t realize is that the flowers in that local supermarket are far from fresh; in fact, they often come all the way from South

Florida Growers Assess & Adjust in Wake of Hurricane Milton by REBEKAH PIERCE photos provided by RYAN ATWOOD The timing of Hurricane Milton couldn’t have been much worse for Florida growers. The storm blew through the middle of the state just two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the west coast and Big Bend region.  As

by FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES On October 23, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson and the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame Foundation announced Cary and Marcia Lightsey, Madeline Mellinger, and Jim Strickland as the 2025 Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame inductees. Since 1980, the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame has honored men

by RYAN MILEJCZAK Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida This Thanksgiving, households across Florida and the nation will be preparing snap beans for their holiday meal. But have you ever wondered where those snap beans come from? Well, there’s a good chance they were grown right here in Florida.  Snap beans, not to be

How One Man Uses His Talent to Stirrup Some Style by REBEKAH PIERCE photos provided by JARED PHARES Most 12-year-olds spend all their waking hours thinking about the upcoming basketball game, watching their favorite gamers on YouTube, or where they’ll hang out with their friends next weekend.  But when Jared Phares was 12, he was

by REBEKAH PIERCE As the air turns just a little bit crisper and we inch closer to winter, it’s time, once again, for the Highlands County Let It Grow Garden Festival and Plant Sale. Since its modest beginnings, this day (much like the plants it celebrates!) has blossomed into a vibrant event, drawing plant lovers

by ANDREA NIKOLAI, UF/IFAS Polk Extension The Peanut Butter Challenge is an annual jar collection for local food pantries hosted by UF/IFAS Extension and Florida A&M University (FAMU) Cooperative Extension. Launched in the Florida Panhandle counties in 2012, it is again spreading statewide this year.  Unopened jars of peanut butter can be donated to the

by BRAD BUCK, UF/IFAS  First, University of Florida scientists developed technology to kill weeds, instead of strawberries. Now, UF/IFAS researchers are designing a machine that can surgically eliminate weeds while preserving the tomatoes and peppers around them utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and sensor fusion. Vinay Vijayakumar, a doctoral student working under the supervision of Yiannis