From the Editor’s Desk

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

Is there any time more exciting than fall in Florida? I’m not a pumpkin spice girl, but lead me to a pumpkin patch and I’m in heaven. Central Florida farms host some pretty exciting events and festivals, meaning that your support gives back to the ag community when you go out and have a good

If you’ve been a reader of our publication for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard us talk about the importance of ag education. (Come to think of it, you’d be hard-pressed to find an edition of Central Florida Ag News that doesn’t emphasize that point.) When people think of “education,” they often think of

Floridians know summer. They know the heat, the humidity, the frequent rains, and last but not least, they know the hurricanes. As we head into the height of hurricane season, that threat is top of mind for Florida growers. In last month’s edition of Central Florida Ag News, we took a bird’s-eye view of the