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by BRAD BUCK, UF/IFAS As we enter the state’s strawberry-growing season, establishing young strawberry plants in the field requires substantial water. New University of Florida research shows that growers can save as much as 67% — or up to half a million gallons per acre per season by alternating sprinkler cycles on and off — […]

UF’s SmartAg Certificate Programs Teach Application of AI Concepts by BRAD BUCK, UF/IFAS Graduate students from across the University of Florida can leap into the future workplaces of agricultural technology. Through two Smart Ag certificate programs, started in 2022, the agricultural and biological engineering department (ABE) offers classes in which students can learn and apply

Ben Hill Griffin Nursery Ventures Into Vegetables, Greens, Herbs, and Flower Products by REBEKAH PIERCE photos by JESS McDONALD Beloved performer Dolly Parton famously said, “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” As Florida’s citrus industry continues to struggle amid the citrus greening crisis, more producers are having to adjust their

Polk County Farm Bureau Takes Home Prestigious Apex Award by RYAN MILEJCZAK Agriculture is a complicated industry, requiring intense coordination at all levels to ensure farmers can do their job and put the food we eat on the table. The farm bureaus across our nation at the federal, state, and local level are essential to

by RYAN MILEJCZAK Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida Sweet, fragrant, and easy to peel, tangerines are one of the tastiest members of the citrus family, and they’re also one of Florida’s most iconic crops.  This fruit takes its name from the port of Tangier in Morocco, with “tangerine” simply being an adjective for

How the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence Is Already Changing the Face of Florida Agriculture by REBEKAH PIERCE Could artificial intelligence be used to grow the perfect tomato? Nathan Boyd, Associate Director for the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture at the University of Florida, certainly thinks so. The idea came to him after

Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest in Eustis Celebrates 35 Years of U-Cut Sand Pine  by PAUL CATALA photos by MIRANDA LOVE When Jack and Judy Ewing moved with their daughters to a 33-acre plot in rural Eustis in 1980, they had no idea the move would be the beginning of a Florida winter wonderland.  When their

by BRAD BUCK A combination of herbicide and fertilizer can prevent the nasty nutsedge weed from harming tomatoes, new University of Florida research shows. That, in turn, should mean more of the fruit going to the grocery store and your kitchen. An increase or decrease in tomato production is critical because it’s a $400 million-a-year

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