by SCOTT ANGLE To build a better blueberry, the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is building a better blueberry lab. By mid-2022, we expect to complete U.S. higher education’s premier blueberry breeding headquarters. It will allow us to expand the team dedicated to delivering Central Florida blueberry growers the cultivars to […]
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Longwood Boy Places Second in Inaugural Cooking Competition by PAUL CATALA Nathaniel Forkin could’ve made the recipe easier by simply going to the supermarket and buying a box of pre-made lasagna noodles. But instead, the 9-year-old Longwood boy chose to meticulously make the noodles from scratch using flour, eggs, water, parchment paper and a roller.
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2021 Harvest Up 4.9 Million Pounds From Last Year by PAUL CATALA Blueberry grower Kyle Hill credits man and machine for helping to overcome the blueberry blues. In 2020, the Florida Blueberry Growers Association reported a season yield of only 17 million pounds of blueberries on about 5,500 acres, harvested statewide from mid-April through May.
Executive Director of CRDF Tweaks Approach to Research by HEATHER MACHOVINA Rick Dantzler, executive director of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation, recently spoke to a group of citrus growers from Highlands County about the future course of Florida citrus. Since 2009, CRDF has funded 462 projects and spent $165 million in an effort to keep
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Cantaloupe Thrive in Florida’s Warm Climate by ERIKA ALDRICH Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida It’s that time of year when sweet cantaloupe is fresh from the Florida field, ready to add flavor and a generous serving of vitamins and minerals to your smoothies, fruit salads, and other dishes. While the Sunshine State is
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sponsored by FARM CREDIT OF CENTRAL FLORIDA by ERIKA ALDRICH It’s that time of year where you’ll see them in grocery stores, side-of-the-road produce stalls, and farmer’s markets: one of America’s favorite berries, the Florida blueberry. These little blue dynamos pack a punch when it comes to flavor and nutrition. While Florida is not the
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Natalia Peres worked more than a decade as the only female faculty researcher at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm. It didn’t bother her. It bothers me. As an administrator, I’m always looking for talent, and the absence of women indicates we’re overlooking talent. GCREC Director Jack Rechcigl feels the
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Florida State Fair Executive Director Cheryl Flood Maintains Balance Between Education, Entertainment by PAUL CATALA For her entire life, Cheryl Flood has been involved in agriculture, from her rural upbringing near Lake Wales to her current role as executive director of the Florida State Fair in Tampa. And as a sixth-generation Floridian and Sarasota native
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Polk County Farm Bureau Executive Director Carole McKenzie Talks About Her Work Behind the Scenes If you’re familiar with the Polk County Farm Bureau, then you know the great work it does. A lot of that work wouldn’t get done if it weren’t for the dedication of one woman in particular. Central Florida Ag News
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Florida Industrial Hemp Conference to Offer Education, Guidance, Community by HEATHER MACHOVINA The industrial hemp industry is forging ahead in the Sunshine State as we approach the Second Annual Florida Industrial Hemp Conference and Exhibition in May. While this is the second attempt at putting on this conference since hemp growing became legal in the
Networking Opportunity Read More »
