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7th-Generation Rancher Leigh Ann Wynn Talks About Female Role Models, Her Future as Next PCFB President   Leigh Ann Wynn didn’t have to search very far for examples of strong women in agriculture. Wynn, a seventh-generation Florida cattle rancher, grew up around two of the best: her grandmother, Marnel Lightsey, and her mother Marcia Lightsey. […]

From Steer to Blueberries and Citrus, Lausanne Walter’s Family Knows Agriculture  by TERESA SCHIFFER Lausanne Walter loves the farm life. Her family has been operating a farm in Bartow since 1996. For her, the farming lifestyle is perfect for raising a family.    “All three of my kids have become hard workers who value responsibility,”

Sponsored by Ag America Lending Agriculture is a resourceful industry and farmers understand the potential of raw land more than anyone. While each operation holds a unique story of success and lessons, below are five strategies that increase profitability of American farmlands. after input costs but before interest or tax. · Asset turnover ratio: an

Florida Climate Perfect for Peanuts by ERIKA ALDRICH Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida Peanuts are a favorite snack for most, whether they are roasted, in the shell, used in candy, made into peanut butter or peanut oil, or in some other manner. According to the Florida Peanut Producers Association (FPPA), each American consumes

Warner University’s Ag Program Tailored for Potential by TERESA SCHIFFER When Warner Southern College opened its doors in Lake Wales in 1968, there were just 27 students in that first freshman class. Forty-three years later, the campus is thriving as Warner University with roughly a thousand students on campus every year. Since 2013, when Agriculture

UF Researchers Discover a Potential Way to Control Greening by HEATHER MACHOVINA UF researchers have uncovered another potential tool in the fight against citrus greening. Known as FANA molecules, these small, single-stranded nucleic acids can be used to silence the HLB bacterial pathogen and shut down essential processes in the psyllid vector. Headed by Dr.

Polk County’s Special Olympics Equestrian Team Builds More Than Skill by PAUL CATALA When Angel Woessner first approached the horses in the stable about two years ago, she was nervous and cautious. But since that first day at Bartow’s Rockin’ W Ranch, Woessner has won more than 50 medals and trophies, has grown accustomed to

Beef Industry Taking Ups and Downs in Stride by TIM CRAIG For the Florida livestock industry, it’s been a 13-month crash course on how to survive a pandemic and keep the essential industry operations going — and growing, if possible — in order to do what it does every year: provide quality meat products that

Polk Graduates Talk About the Ag Programs That Sparked Their Careers

You Say Tomato, We Say Florida’s Finest