“I think that I shall never see/ A poem lovely as a tree…” So goes the first two lines of poet Joyce Kilmer’s 1914 poem “Trees,” an homage that could be the official verse of Arbor Day. Originally set aside to encourage the planting of trees in the 1800s—a practice that is as old as civilization [...]
The United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, is a household name in the U.S., though this large department of the government is best known for their work in the agriculture setting, but the reality is that the USDA does so much more. In addition to agrarian efforts, overseeing nutrition in public settings and administering [...]
You’d have to have been living under a rock the past few years not to understand that the Earth needs our help. From Global Climate Change and greenhouse gases to plastics in the ocean and animal species on the brink of extinction, we should all be ‘going green’ and changing our ways, or we will [...]
It’s no secret that pollinators are of vital importance to the country’s agriculture industry, and most people have heard that many pollinators—such as honeybees and Monarch butterflies—are in trouble. Similarly, those pollinators that aren’t experiencing troubles like reduced numbers or documented colony collapses are needed to take up the slack of those that are in [...]
Cover crops have grown quickly in esteem in the agriculture industry, and for good reason: they offer a lot of advantages on the farm and the ranch both. While cover crops have many benefits, like most things in agriculture, they do take some time and effort to reap all the rewards they offer. […]
Researchers predict that we’ll be a population of 9 billion or more and counting by 2050, and each and every one of those mouths will need to eat. It’s an issue that the powers that be are attempting to solve proactively, and there are many avenues identified already for attacking such a problem. From GMO [...]
As a guest columnist for Central Florida Ag News magazine, this article of mine was recently published in the February 2016 edition. If you’ve been anywhere near a grocery store produce section in the last few years, then you’ve likely seen the “Fresh From Florida” label on everything from strawberries and oranges to chicken and [...]
In the last eight years or so, a strange phenomenon has been occurring: bees have been dying at an alarming rate. Every winter, almost a third of all bee colonies die, and it is happening in Canada and Europe as well. […]
Good news for commercial carriers on Florida highways! Drivewyze PreClear bypass service has recently reached an agreement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement (OALE) to allow qualified carriers to bypass 22 agricultural inspection stations in Florida. There are already 440 weigh stations and inspection sites using [...]
The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) started 2015 with a laundry list of topics for discussion. The meeting started with a summation of 2014 which included several FFVA-supported bills that had passed addressing citrus funding and the UF/IFAS budget. Agricultural proponents are still hoping to pass a bill that exempts certain farm related products [...]
