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by JUDI BENTLEY photos by DAVID AUSTIN The Master Gardener Volunteers 2023 Let It Grow Garden Festival and Plant Sale is just around the corner! This is the fifth year for the event, and it keeps getting bigger and better each year. The festival is set for Saturday, Nov. 18 from 9 a.m. until 4 […]

2023 Woman of the Year in Ag Reflects on Service, Giving Back by PAUL CATALA On Oct. 18, Saundra TenBroeck was diligently doing what she’s done for the past 28 years — teaching, guiding, and mentoring students at the University of Florida. A day later, the UF/IFAS State Extension Horse Specialist and associate professor for

Marshal Sewell’s Pain and Loss Become a Lifeline for Others by Ryan Milejczak Farming is one of the most important jobs in our society. Any time you eat a meal, you have numerous farmers and agricultural workers to thank for making it all possible. Despite the importance of this work, however, many people aren’t aware

Painter Blair Updike Uses Art to Advance Conservation by K. MICHELE TRICE photos by LEXI WHAREM Artists have long been the voice of activism, crying out for change through their work. Blair Updike, eighth-generation Floridian and former mayor of Highland Park, is an artist whose activism shines through in her oil paintings. Updike says she

by TERESA SCHIFFER Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida When it comes to vegetables, it’s hard to find one more refreshing than the always cool cucumber. That perky crispness is the result of cucumbers being more than 95 percent water. Amazingly, that high water content has the effect of lowering the inside of this

Murals Memorialize Florida’s Roots in Ag by PAUL CATALA Throughout much of Florida’s history, agriculture has played an integral part in the state’s economy and the prosperity and day-to-day lives of its residents. In recent years, the ag industry’s visibility has shifted somewhat as more people crowd into the state and tourism, construction, and development

by PAUL CATALA Angela Shope says “from day one” she’s known she wanted to get a career that would combine environmental conservation and law enforcement. And at 22 years old, Shope has accomplished that: She’s now a law enforcement officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Shope graduated from South Florida State

Culinary Initiative Poised to Pick Up Steam as Awareness Spreads by PAUL CATALA Polk County is cooking up something good, and now there’s a plan to use that recipe to put heads in beds and forks in mouths, all while highlighting and honoring the county’s unique agricultural heritage. Visit Central Florida (VCF), Polk County’s official

Westwood Middle Teacher Says Students Rose to the Challenge by K. MICHELE TRICE With more than 250 students actively participating, the Westwood Middle School agricultural program was recently named the 2023 Ag Program of the Year by Polk County Farm Bureau. The Westwood Middle School program is under the guidance of Dawn Coatney, who is

Bartow High’s Lexi Sanchez: It Never Feels Like Work by K. MICHELE TRICE Lexi Sanchez, agriculture teacher at Bartow High School, was recently named the 2023 Ag Teacher of the Year by Polk County Farm Bureau. Sanchez teaches animal science and agricultural business at Bartow High. “The Ag Teacher of the Year and Ag Program