Departments

by HANNAH CLAYTON, Polk County FFA Federation Officer “Learning to do, doing to learn, earning...

by JODY WITTER, Polk County FFA Federation Officer The role of youth in agriculture has...

by JESSICA ANDERSON Spring is always a busy season in the world of agriculture but...

by CLAYTON KEENE, Lake Wales Senior, Polk County FFA Federation Officer January has been jam-packed...

by JESSICA ANDERSON Throughout November and the beginning of December, Polk County FFA members were...

by ALEX BRYANT, Frostproof High School There are many men on this earth,Both cowboys and...

by JESSIE WHITEHEAD, Polk County FFA Federation Vice President Fall is officially upon us, and...

by JASMYN BILLANO, Polk County FFA Federation President School bells are ringing, and fall is...

The 2023-2024 school year is off to a busy start! Our students attended several events...

by JESSICA ANDERSON To say this year has been a busy year may be a...

by JESSICA ANDERSON To say this year has been a busy year may be a...

by CHARLEIGH WOOD, Polk County FFA Federation President The month of March has been nothing...

by JESSICA ANDERSON The Polk County students have once again made their mark at the...

by MYKAELA BILLINGSLEY, Polk County FFA Federation Officer Photo by TOM HAGERTY This year the...

by HANNAH CLAYTON, Polk County FFA Federation Officer December was a busy month for many...

Students Score Well in Competitions, Gear Up for Sub-Districts by JESSICA ANDERSON Polk County FFA...

by JASMYN BILLANO, Polk County FFA Federation Vice-President From hurricanes to cold fronts, Polk County...

by TESSA MULLIS, Polk County FFA Federation Officer With school back in session, FFA chapters...

by LINDSEY TRUE, Polk County FFA Federation Vice President Hey everybody! Welcome to the 2022-23...

by CHARLEIGH WOOD, Polk County FFA Federation President School may have been out for the...

Cattlewomen’s Annual Fun Shoot Funds to Go to Scholarships by DAPHNE RENELUS If you’ve never...

The Florida Everglades is an extraordinary ecosystem unlike any other in the world! It is...

Polk County Farm Bureau members traveled to Tallahassee this month to hold discussions of key...

by MATT NORMAN The great outdoors have long served as a way to explore and...

When you live in an agriculture minded state and strive to keep a healthy lifestyle...

Farm Safety 101 While the total number of agricultural fatalities has been decreasing in recent...

Florida’s Favorite Red, Juicy, Triangle by MARY TOOTHMAN There’s no question that watermelon is a...

How Did the Farm’s Switch from Citrus to Berries Pan Out? by MARY TOOTHMAN  The...

Looking to the Soil for Solutions in the Fight Against Greening On 15 acres at...

Adding Citrus to Your Summertime Cookout We have determined that every day is cookout day...

Preserving Our Way of Life With more than 1,000 people moving to Florida every day...

WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF FUN cooking and eating Central Florida blueberries since I...

  For good health and good rating, snap the beans and boil the collards FARM-GROWN...

SO, YOU AND THE KIDS went strawberry picking. Or, you and the kids went strawberry...

THE 2017 ANNUAL POLK COUNTY YOUTH FAIR has come and gone. Every year is a...

TWO AMERICAN SOLDIERS sustained significant injuries across the street from one another, a year apart...

ONE OF THE JOYS of living in Central Florida is just-picked citrus. We had citrus...

OVER THE PAST few years, schools around Polk County have been adding new components to...

WHEN I SAY we’re off to a great year, boy, oh boy, do I mean...

THE SHOPPER in the family knows how pricey meat is. It’s easy to spend what...

AGRICULTURE IN FLORIDA is high-tech. It’s not Old McDonald’s Farm anymore, and in order to...

THE BEGINNING OF EACH school year ushers in a whole new set of experiences for...

AS FLORIDA’S COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, directing more locally grown products to Florida’s school cafeterias and...

State’s Bronson Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory modernized FLORIDA’S FARMERS AND RANCHERS face a variety of...

IN RECENT REPORTS, there has been talk of doing away with agriculture education due to...

FOR CENTURIES, Florida’s farmers and ranchers have served as Florida’s original conservationists and great stewards...

FLORIDA IS KNOWN for its white sandy beaches, world-class attractions, and (my personal favorite) citrus...

AS WE ARE KICKING OFF our new year, I am sure most, if not all...

THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE will begin its annual 60-day legislative session on January 12, and I’m...

IT IS ALWAYS exciting to have a new chapter established in the FFA, especially when...

THE REASON for Christmas , the birth of baby Jesus, goes back more than 2,000...

FRESH IS BIG in the world of food. And food doesn’t get much fresher than...

WATER IS THE BIGGEST long-term challenge facing Florida. And that is exactly why I have...

{Amp•li•fy — increase of volume} THE THEME of the 2014-15 National FFA year was to...

THE POLK COUNTY FFA chapters and 4-H clubs have been all about fundraising this year!...

THERE’S SOMETHING fishy in the state of Florida. And it’s all over the place. Just...

THE 2015-2016 school year is well under way! We have a lot of exciting events...

IN THE PHOTO: Since the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services assumed responsibility of...

IT’S TOO darn hot ! That’s a given in Central Florida. But we still have...

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN. The school buses will in route, the bells will be ringing...

WHEN FLORIDA gives you lemons, you should make something tasty. Maybe tart. Could be tangy...

“WHY DO YOU FARM?” This is a question that most farmers and ranchers hear over...

FLORIDA GROWERS just harvested the smallest orange crop in nearly 50 years, and all because...

IN THE PHOTOS: Left, FFA youth ham it up during the 87th Annual Florida FFA...

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL the graduating seniors — the Class of 2015! You have made it...

SINCE THE ARRIVAL of European explorers in the 1500s, agriculture has played a critical role...

ANTICIPATION can be disappointing. We were at a dog show in Georgia — you know...

EACH YEAR, immediately following the end of the Legislative Session, the Polk County Farm Bureau...

MORE THAN 47,000 farms in Florida work day in and day out to produce the...

AG LITERACY DAY was held April 21, and our local FFA chapters spent their day...

NOW IS THE TIME to get stuffing. Not turkeys, that’s months away, but sweet peppers...

FLORIDA IS HOME to more than 1.5 million veterans who have served our nation proudly...

AS I WRITE this column, Polk County Agri-Fest is in full swing! Our special guests...

BAILEY BUCHANON, 17, of Lake Gibson FFA, was recently selected to represent the Polk County...

WHEN IS A CHEESE and tomato sandwich not a sandwich? When it’s a pizza...

| Thomas Perry discovers his ability to be a frontrunner for his community | AT...

In the photo: Members of the Frostproof Middle FFA get together for a photo on...

FLORIDA’S FARMERS and ranchers face a variety of threats, including pests, disease, and market changes...

WE HARVEST STRAWBERRIES in spring and pull off the road to buy them at farm...

The EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) has once again made an attempt to expand federal...

Photo captions: (Top left) The Fat Chance Show Team won the Team Herdsman Award. (Bottom...

THE RADISHES are poking their little green heads up in the garden. It won’t be...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Can you smell that? It smells like pigs, cows, barbecue, cake, walking...

OUR ECONOMY is more global than ever. Boundaries, currencies, and cultures are no longer impediments...

KNOWN AS THE NATION’S “winter salad bowl,” Florida produces an abundance of the freshest and...

| ’Tis the season to serve and think about your future in the ag industry...

IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS, BUT THAT’S NOT NEWS. The problem is what to get for the...

As I reflect on things I am thankful for this month, I would like to...

It has been a great privilege to represent Florida as Commissioner of Agriculture for the...

If food looks wonderful, chances are that it tastes as good as it looks. Our...

For 30 years, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer...

I’m late. I’m late for a very important These hectic days it seems like we...

“Living to Serve” is the last phrase in the FFA motto, and Florida FFA members...

We think we know what the face of hunger looks like when we see starving...

There’s nothing more frustrating than picking out strawberries at the grocery store, just to find...

Advantage Hedging & Topping: Citrus Trees Responding to Nutrition and ‘Drastic Cuts’ Like many people...

A foodie in a farmers’ market is like being a kid in an old fashioned...

Hello Everyone! I’m very excited to be a new member of the Central Florida Ag...

Florida’s farmers and ranchers have not only fueled our people and economy for the last...

Bringing home the bacon is easy if you have money and a store nearby. But...

They say that all great ideas come from finding a solution to a problem.  The...

Thanks to a new technological development by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and...

They are pretty and they smell good. Inside, they look like marvels of engineering. Or...

As many of you know, one of America’s favorite beverages is at grave risk.  Though...

Florida’s blueberry growers spend $6,000 to $8,000 an acre on pine bark to make sandy...

Life is all about choices. Pick and choose what you want to do with what...

Despite the federal government’s long history of egregious overreach and land grabs, it recently outdid...

Farm Credit of Central Florida Chairman of the Board, David J. Stanford, a Winter Garden...

It’s Florida and life’s a peach . . . at least it will be if...

This year, Florida’s land grant universities—the University of Florida and Florida A&M University—celebrate the 100th...

There’s nothing like taking something Southern and making it something Southerner—a dish with Florida flair...

The psyllids in our citrus groves, the pythons in the Everglades, and the lovebugs on...

The way kids fuss over food, it’s a wonder any of them grow up. We...

Florida’s sunshine and temperate climate provide for more than a great vacation destination. Our unique...

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones as they are sometimes called, are emerging as new...

This year, the Panama Canal will celebrate its 100th anniversary since the first ship passed...

Is it toe-may-to or toe-maa-to? That depends on where you are from and how you...

Okay, the holidays are over. Now we settle back into the same-ol’, same-ol’ routines. That...

Residential landscaping is a big deal in Central Florida and it’s a labor of love...

Florida exports $4 billion in agricultural commodities each year to more than 140 other countries...

In November, families representing 50 operational farms and ranches from all across the state gathered...

Did you ever sit back, cross your legs on a hassock, pull your hat over...

More than 500 years ago, when European settlers landed in Florida, livestock were raised and...

There was a time when “crabby” was an insult. These days it’s delicious. Stone crabs...

We live in a culinary smoothie. Florida food is a bit of this and a...

When deciding whether to irrigate during frost-freeze conditions or when to apply nutrients during wet...

Fall lasts about three days in our neck of the woods, or so it seems...

A lot of people today use smartphones and mobile app technology to have up-to-date information...

We grow a lot of fruits in Florida. Most folks barely know about some of...

As Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture, improving the nutritional value of school meals by adding more...

Two years ago, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services launched Operation Outdoor Freedom...

Cooking wild pig doesn’t have to be a boar. We can harvest wild hogs all...

Ham and eggs, peanut butter and jelly, citrus and fish . . . some things...

Crack! An undeniably commanding sound when heard from a ten to twelve foot long whip...

Florida farmers will have much needed help soon with complex government regulations and technological equipment. ...

Citrus makes up roughly $9 billion of Florida agriculture’s $100 billion yearly contribution to the...

Florida agriculture has played an important role in Florida’s 500-year history, providing food and fiber...

Seventy-one-year-old Benny McLean Jr.’s family used to grow citrus organically before anybody cared about organics...

July 4: Dad’s done. The ribs are bare and the corn cobs look like modern...

Man-made disasters can create enormous problems for our natural environment, and the BP oil spill...

The hunt is over. The kill is cleaned. … Now, what do you do with...

| Lauren Lewis laying the foundation for tomorrow’s industry | After earning her Bachelor’s and...

| Couple is feeling at home at Lake Howard Heights | Bill Adams grew his...

Ranch-style houses proliferate in suburbia across the United States. But the true Florida ranch house...

In the photo: Entomologist Phil Kaufman shows the size difference between the invasive Asian tiger...

Remember Clara Peller? No? She was the 81-year-old bewigged and wrinkled lady with a bad...

During the school year, Melissa Gulvin organizes school trips to agricultural locations, so students attending...

Way back in the Dark Ages, about 1978, I wrote my first food page. It...

A decade ago, Rich Budell notes, a GPS device wasn’t all that common. Times, he...

Strawberries are like potato chips … it’s hard to eat just one. And since we...

One of the amazing aspects of the modern technology we’ve known over the past few...

There is a costly import from Brazil that Floridians don’t want or need: the fire...

When Pat Allen goes to work, he expects to be stung. But his hurt is...

We taste with our eyes. If food doesn’t look good, our eyes tell our stomach...

A new electronic timekeeping software makes it easier for growers to track employee hours in...

Where would we be without peanuts and peanut butter? Kids would be eating a lot...

WHILE HUMAN BEINGS have been hunting since the dawn of creation, the ways this sacred...

FISH IS LIKE OLD-FASHIONED PEANUTS. It comes in two flavors – plain and salted. Some...

WITH ALL OF THE AMAZING technologies that are literally available at the tip of a...

Pomegranates might have been the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, but since no...

In the photos: Left, Rainbow Springs in Dunnellon; center, Blue Spring State Park near Orange...

A little splash will do ya when it comes to adding flavor … as long...

WHILE MANY OTHER industries have suffered during difficult economic times, Florida agriculture remains one of...

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE like the red, white and blue on a patriotic holiday. It’s the...

While many things in the world of agriculture have changed over the past year, several...

In the city of Frostproof, The Friendly City, Latimer Maxcy established one of the largest...

There’s almost nothing better on a hot summer day than a tasty ice-cold slice of...

The only full-time agriculture chef in the United States, Justin Timineri, sat down with us...

Although it’s nice to hear the word honey as a term of endearment from a...