Gainesville

Dinner of Distinction award recipient, Rep. Jake Raburn

Supporting UF/IFAS innovation and research through legislative leadership HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY Representative Jake Raburn has now earned what I call the “grand slam” of legislator-of-the-year awards from the agriculture community. Last year, the Florida Farm Bureau and Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association named him their top lawmaker. The Florida Forestry Association did so this year.

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The house that blueberries built

Florida blueberry pioneer is recognized for his contributions THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA’S Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences prides itself on growing blueberries all over the state. More than 95 percent of the state’s 5,000 acres of the fruit are planted in cultivars developed by UF/IFAS. Blueberries have also helped us with a crucial crop

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Meet Dr. Sandy Wilson of UF/IFAS

| New leadership for UF/IFAS Horticulture to strengthen the industry and research ties | UF/IFAS HAS 14 ACADEMIC departments and two schools, so I spend a lot of time finding the right people to lead them. Finding a new chair for the Department of Environmental Horticulture was easy, because I already employed an ideal candidate

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Harvest time: Organic blueberry growers battle odds in niche market

Seventy-one-year-old Benny McLean Jr.’s family used to grow citrus organically before anybody cared about organics. Before herbicides and chemical fertilizers were introduced in the mid-1960s, they sprayed with sulphur and lime. [emember_protected custom_msg=”Click here and register now to read the rest of the article!”] So when McLean’s son, Matt, came home from college 13 years

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Developing the future of horsemanship

| Instructing local students while strengthening the relationship between rider and equine | The location may have changed, but the enthusiasm and excitement that happens each summer for students in the Florida 4-H Horsemanship School never dwindles. From June 9-14 (for Western Riding) and June 23-28 (for English Riding) of this year, students ages 11-18

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A brief look at Florida’s oldest industry — cattle ranching

| Commissioner’s AgriCorner | This April, Florida celebrates 500 years since Juan Ponce de Leon landed in St. Augustine and became the first European to discover our great state. Not long after the Spanish discovered Florida, they introduced cattle to the New World and established Florida’s oldest industry – cattle ranching. [emember_protected custom_msg=”Click here and

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