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Dade City’s Ergle Christmas Tree Farm helps the holiday spirit bloom by PAUL CATALA For at least a decade, Tony and Tracy Sanderson have driven  roughly eight miles south for their Christmas centerpiece.  The Trilby couple — and in the past with their now-grown son, Blain—have made Dade City’s Ergle Christmas Tree Farm their go-to […]

Traders Hill Farm Takes Sustainable Farming to Another Level by TERESA SCHIFFER Farming is changing rapidly in the 21st century. We are seeing major improvements in the way farmers care for the land they cultivate, innovations in the technology used to plant, care for, and harvest crops, and greater emphasis on overall sustainability and environmental

Lake Wales Photographer Adam Strang Bass Captures Images of Old Florida by PAUL CATALA It’s not hard to picture the scene. Adam Strang Bass lives in the world he captures in his photographs. After a day of fishing with his children on Lake Marion Creek east of Haines City, he’s on his home porch frying

Polk County Farm Bureau Recognizes Ag Teacher and Ag Program of the Year by TERESA SCHIFFER When the coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains early this year, consumers got a crash-course on where their food comes from. Suddenly, local farms found themselves in the spotlight as farmers and ranchers began offering their products for sale to

Acupuncture Can Help Variety of Ailments in Horses, Dogs by TORY MOORE, UF/IFAS correspondent Acupuncture is widely known but not fully accepted as a form of “go-to” treatment for humans or animals. But whether it be helping a mare overcome unexplained infertility, get a stallion in the right mindset for breeding or bring comfort to

Brad Phares: The Businessman, the Artist, the Cowboy by MARY TOOTHMAN He majored in agriculture at the University of Florida, went on to get a law degree, has written several books and wound up in a cow pasture in boots, a Greeley cowboy hat, a paintbrush and an easel.   No law office was in

Florida Citrus Struggling, but Still a Leading Crop by ERIKA ALDRICH Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida Citrus is one of The Sunshine State’s leading agricultural products, and despite challenges presented by citrus greening and more, Florida’s citrus growers are still optimistic about the future of citrus. Oranges were first introduced to the New

Umatilla’s Treadwell Farms Harvests First Hemp Crop by HEATHER MACHOVINA In June of 2019, Florida Gov. DeSantis signed into law that a hemp program would be created in Florida beyond just the pilot projects that were happening with some of the universities. At the beginning of 2020, rules were finished for hemp processing facilities, allowing

Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida Celebrating Fall With Florida Pumpkins and Squash by ERIKA ALDRICH Fall is upon us, and that means it’s pumpkin and squash season. These members of the gourd family, called the cucurbit family, are synonymous with fall. Whether it’s a carved jack-o’-lantern flickering on the porch on Halloween night

  Despite Expected Drop in Production, Growers Encouraged That Mexico, Brazil Face Same Challenges by TERESA SCHIFFER This year’s citrus harvest wasn’t exactly one for the record books, but overall, it was respectable. Coming in at 67.65 million boxes of Florida oranges produced and marketed, growers were satisfied with their haul. There were some issues