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by BRAD BUCK Ever since Florida farmers have been growing tomatoes, they’ve picked them by hand or hired laborers. It’s painstaking work that might be made easier soon with machine-harvestable tomatoes developed by University of Florida scientists. Now that the varieties are available, growers in Florida’s $400 million-a-year industry hope they can use mechanized harvesting, […]

provided by the FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND AGRICULTURAL SERVICES TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In addition to previously issued safety protocols and polices, and in response to USDA confirmed cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in domestic livestock in eight states, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson today issued Emergency Rule 5CER24-4. The Emergency Rule imposes specific restrictions

Bartow, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued its April 2024 citrus crop revised forecast for the 2023-2024 harvest season today. Florida citrus growers are expected to harvest 18.8 million boxes of oranges this season. Additionally, the USDA forecasted 2 million boxes of grapefruit and 500,000 boxes of tangerines and tangelos.   Though the forecast for oranges

provided by FLORIDA CITRUS MUTUAL Bartow, Fla. – The Florida Legislature’s Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget includes $47 million to champion the Sunshine State’s citrus industry for the following:  Additionally, the Florida Legislature’s Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget includes a $100 million annual appropriation for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, which aims to protect working agricultural operations

by BRAD BUCK, UF/IFAS Florida is home to over 315 species of native wild bees, which thrive on flowers for survival. But some bees are in critical decline. While the public is increasingly interested in conserving pollinators and in pollinator-friendly gardening, a 2020 University of Florida survey showed a knowledge gap in consumers’ ability to

by BRAD BUCK, UF/IFAS  We’re at the height of the Florida strawberry harvesting season – a time when the state’s growers are doing all they can to make sure consumers can choose from among the best of their favorite fruit at the market. Kenneth Parker, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association,  thanked Vance

If you’re perusing the produce section, you generally seek fresh, pleasant-looking fruit – the kind most consumers want to buy. Usually, that means you see few, if any, blemishes. Fruit bruising has many causes: compression, impact or vibration during harvesting, transportation and packaging operations, says Xue Zhou, a doctoral student at the UF/IFAS College of

by BRAD BUCK, UF/IFAS You ask most Southwest Florida farmers who they turn to for science-based agricultural information, and they’ll say, “Gene McAvoy.” It’s no accident the growers know him. “When I first started to work in Southwest Florida, I would just ride around and cold-call visit farmers,” says McAvoy, now a UF/IFAS Extension agent

Provided by FLORIDA CITRUS MUTUAL Bartow, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued the January 2024 citrus crop forecast today for the 2023-2024 harvest season. The federal agency estimates production to be 20.5 million boxes of oranges this season. Additionally, the USDA forecasted 2.4 million boxes of grapefruit and 550,000 boxes of tangerines and tangelos. This