Grilling season, Central Florida corn season blend together well
CENTRAL FLORIDA CORN is in season. That’s great news for folks who make toothpicks.
Central Florida
Strawberry-harvesting robots, more of the sweeter varieties, and new U-picks
A ROBOT THAT CAN PICK strawberries may ease the industry’s labor problem and revolutionize the way crops are harvested. “This machine itself is being designed specifically for the strawberry,” says Gary Wishnatzki, a third-generation family-owner of Plant City’s Wish Farms, who is partnering in the project. “We’re not going to stop with strawberries … There’s …
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Hurricane Matthew spares Florida citrus
HURRICANE MATTHEW gave the state of Florida quite a scare during the first week of October. It held the potential to inflict great devastation on the state’s inhabitants and infrastructure. It was especially troubling to Florida’s agricultural industry, with the citrus industry having a lot to lose.
MSU Extension takes a close look at Florida ag
WE IN FLORIDA have known for quite some time how grand, how diverse, and how wonderful agriculture in the Sunshine State really is — and how much more grand it’s destined to be. Now, a bunch of folks way up north, in the U.S. Midwest, are learning about Florida’s special place in American agriculture, too.
Citrus greening putting ag research on display
CITRUS GREENING IS A SCOURGE on the Florida citrus industry, but it highlights the value of ag tech, science, and innovation in an amazing way. So many are working on the issue, and the ingenuity of those in agriculture is on full display. Below are some of the research efforts in the works right now.
Harvest time: Double cropping — a watermelon season preview
THE END OF APRIL marks the beginning of watermelon harvest season in Central Florida, and for growers like Andy McDonald, it’s especially sweet. That’s because McDonald double crops, planting the watermelon seedlings in his Plant City strawberry fields. McDonald takes advantage of any lull in strawberry picking in early February to place the plants into …
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Maintenance and upkeep of your lawn
THIS PAST WINTER, if we want to call it that, was nearly nonexistent in Central Florida. That said, this doesn’t change the fact that there are several key items that need to be completed now to keep your lawn in tip-top shape.
Herd sale for new Ona White Angus cattle breed is canceled
THE PLANNNED SALE of a herd of Ona White Angus cattle, a new and Central Florida-hardy breed of cattle, has been canceled.
Mature compost can make a difference
IN LATE SPRING 2015, I had the opportunity to visit the UF/IFAS Balm Research Center and meet with plant breeder Dr. Zhanao Deng. He explained to me that he was setting up a trial for the discovery of new varieties of pomegranates that will grow and produce in our subtropical climate. His need was to …
2015-16 Citrus Forecast: Experts take a look down the path of this year’s harvest season
JUST AS CITRUS GROWERS have done for many years, area industry folks gathered together to listen to the estimates for the upcoming harvest via the USDA Citrus Crop Forecast.