From the Editor’s Desk

Since 1947, the U.S. Forest Service has been reminding us that “only you can prevent forest fires.” Now, the Florida Forest Service is calling on residents to help the state’s reforestation efforts, and they’re making it easy to participate. Florida Ag Commissioner Wilton Simpson and the Florida Forest Service just announced the opening of the […]

There are two particular fruits that don’t stand a chance in our house: blueberries and watermelon. And when I say they don’t stand a chance, I mean there are no rules, no niceties, and no sharing. Once the fruit makes it in the door, all bets are off … and waking up early to get

Mental health challenges in the agriculture sector have long been a problem, but only recently have they begun to gain traction in conversations and awareness.  In fact, research shows that the suicide rate for farmers and ranchers is 3.5 times higher than other professions. That’s one of the reasons we featured Marshal Sewell and Mind

Back in November, I talked about how impressed I was with the youth in our area and their keen insight into agriculture. In that column, I talked about the insightful poetry of Frostproof High School’s Alex Bryant and a project that 13-year-old Girl Scout River Selser was working on. For that project, Planting for Pollinators,

Now that the Polk County Youth Fair and Agri-Fest are over, don’t mistakenly think the excitement is ending. Central Florida Youth in Agriculture’s Youth Livestock Showcase & Sale is taking place March 20-23 at the Polk County Agricultural Center in Bartow. Livestock and ag are positively booming in Polk County, and CFYIA is open to

It’s been good to see so much effort focused on making it easier for Florida growers and ranchers to get their goods out into the community. Over the past year, Visit Central Florida’s has continued its push to create a network and website where growers in Polk and nearby can list their crops so that

Did you know that Florida has its own Arbor Day? Sure, we still champion trees and their benefits with other states collectively in April, but individual states hold their own celebrations to coordinate with their planting seasons. Florida celebrates in January — the third Friday in January, to be exact — because that’s when many

Farmers are blessed to have an abundance of many things — patience, fortitude, resilience, you name it. But time … well, we all know that’s not on the list. You may have seen the articles we published earlier this year in July and October discussing Visit Central Florida’s Culinary Initiative. The goal of that initiative

The past month has been a busy one in the ag community, and it has filled me with admiration of and appreciation for the incredible people in it. The Polk County Farm Bureau held its 81st Annual Membership Meeting on October 12, where the community recognized the accomplishments of Lexi Sanchez, Dawn Coatney, David Byrd,

If you’re a grower, you are already well-versed in the 4Rs of nutrient stewardship. They’re likely pretty high up on your list of rules, maybe right after the Ten Commandments but just a smidge above the honey-do list. For now, we’re going to take a departure from the 4Rs you know so well and instead