The incentive programs available for Florida citrus growers looking to replant or renovate their citrus groves are plentiful in Florida. The disease HLB, also known as citrus greening, has devastated Florida’s citrus industry since its detection in 2005, and the latest figures indicate that the Florida citrus industry will need to plant 20 million new [...]
The craft beer industry is growing quickly, and a UF/IFAS research team is exploring whether Florida growers could benefit from the growth of this niche industry through supplying this much-needed crop to large and small breweries. The research was started in the backyard of UF horticulturist Brian Pearson, who wanted to see if he could [...]
Florida agriculture may be one of the strongest in the nation, but the tropical climate, abundant sunshine and plentiful rains (barring drought!) that created a land so favorable to agriculture also welcome a lion’s share of pests and pathogens to attack the fruits of The Sunshine State’s labors (and the vegetables, nuts, livestock and so [...]
The agriculture industry is an enterprise of innovation, and few innovations are quite as welcome as those that are good for the environment and will save producers money at the same time. Such is the case of a web-based monitoring system developed by the University of Florida’s Institute for Food and Agriculture Studies, known as [...]
Farming and ranching are ventures fraught with pitfalls, and Florida has its fair share of difficulties and hardships. Considering factors such as fickle weather that can be hot as a furnace, dry as a bone, wet as a fish or downright dangerous, and Florida’s host of pathogens and pests, being in agriculture in Florida is [...]
The U.S. has not had diplomatic ties with Cuba since 1961, but the recent efforts by the Obama Administration to renew governmental relations with the Caribbean island nation have put Cuba-U.S. ties on the front burner. It’s front-page news, and the U.S. agriculture industry—especially in Florida—has taken notice. Recently, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack was part [...]
The results from a recent study conducted by the UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources are in: Floridians care about the endangered species in the Sunshine state. Nearly 90 percent of people surveyed support imposing fines on those who harm endangered species. Another 88 percent maintained that damaging habitats and [...]
Florida’s blueberry and strawberry crops provide billions of dollars of revenue for the state each year. They are some of Florida’s most important agriculture commodities. They are also two crops that are rather expensive to grow and so when danger approaches, such as with pests, farmers must be proactive. The University of Florida is one [...]
The University of Florida is one of Florida Agriculture’s best partners. They have been instrumental in helping with the serious citrus greening issue and many other agriculture initiatives. The news of late is they have come to the rescue of avocados. According to a news release about a recent UF study, a new liquid treatment [...]
The Sunshine State News posted an article this October touting the impact agriculture makes on Florida’s economy. The article reports that there are nearly 48,000 farms on more than 9 million acres in Florida that grow 300 different products. The industry contributes more than $100 billion to our state’s economy and supports 2 million jobs. [...]
