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Scarlett Jackson Moves On to National Competition for Excellence Award by TIM CRAIG For Scarlett Jackson, the journey to winning the 2021 Florida Farm Bureau Excellence in Agriculture Award may have started in college, in a general education speech course all students must take. Her speech that day was on the things she grew up […]

story by CAROLE MCKENZIE, Polk County Farm Bureau Executive Director photos by MACI MAY, Bartow High School FFA   Congratulations to Selena Paul of Kathleen Middle School, who has been named the Polk County Farm Bureau Outstanding Ag Teacher of the Year!    An ag teacher for nine years, Paul had initially planned to be

Florida Is Second-Largest Producer of Bell Peppers in U.S. by TERESA SCHIFFER   Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida   If Peter Piper lived in Florida, he would love this time of year – it’s a great time to pick a peck of peppers! In fact, Florida is the second-largest producer of bell peppers

UF/IFAS Extension’s Guide Identifies Invasive Plants by TORY MOORE, UF/IFAS correspondent Florida’s climate makes a cozy environment for a variety of plant species. The downside is that invasive and potentially destructive species often try to call Florida home, too. A new guide developed by UF/IFAS Extension Seminole County outlines which plants to avoid and which

Intricate, Carefully Planned Details Make Carillon Tower One of a Kind by TIM CRAIG   Even the drive into Bok Tower Gardens is a work of art.   As the road twists and winds, the trees and landscape alternately reveal and hide the 205-foot tower in a playful, hide-and-seek fashion. The drive into the gardens

UF/IFAS Researchers Try Their Hand at 22 Hops Varieties  by BRAD BUCK,  UF/IFAS correspondent   If you hopped over to the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center and tasted the craft beer made from hops grown by scientists at the University of Florida, you’d notice it’s a little bitter, but researchers and brewers say that’s

Florida Hemp Farmers Use Lessons of Previous Years to Forge Ahead by TERESA SCHIFFER When then-Governor Rick Scott opened the door in 2017 for universities to cultivate hemp for research projects, he introduced a possible new avenue for Florida growers. Now, years later, growers throughout the state are testing the waters to see just how

Lakeland artist Daniel Butler works to preserve the disappearing natural Florida landscape. story by PAUL CATALA photos by MICHAEL WILSON Daniel Butler has spent time in ditches, standing in the muck in bemired shoes, among strands of trees during humid summer days and out in open pastures amid hovering flies just to picture it right.