HLB Conference Coverage Sponsored by: In this report, Dr Calvin Arnold, Director, USDA Horticulture Lab in Ft Pierce FL, describes a concept that he says is being talked about more and more as a possible citrus psyllid and HLB control measure.
The 2009 Southeast Regional fruit and Vegetable Conference will start Friday the 9th in Savannah, Georgia and run through Sunday the 11th. The event, will offer commodity production sessions as well as specialty workshops. Charles Hall of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association tells us a little more about the scheduled Food Safety Focus Forum.
With the Beltwide Cotton Conference well underway in San Antonio, many cotton producers are listening to four days of educational reports, discussions, seminars and workshops. And many will be reviewing the final numbers of 2008 and looking to the latest forecast for in 2009. Agriculture department chief economist Joe Glauber tells us what to expect.
This in today from the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (GFVGA):
The Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Vegetables is pleased to announce that more than $85,000.00 has been awarded for nine 2009 research projects. These are the first research grants awarded since the new vegetable marketing order and commission was approved by vegetable growers in February of 2008. Bo Herndon, Chair of the Commission stated, “As vegetable growers we are extremely pleased we have been able to come together under this marketing order and are able to provide funds to our UGA scientists for this research. The projects funded will give direct assistance and information to help our growers in producing their crops.” Read the rest of this entry »
This just in from Gene McAvoy, County Extension Director, Regional Vegetable Agent IV, UF/IFAS Hendry County Extension, LaBelle, Florida: Over the weekend, reports indicate that late blight is showing up everywhere across Southwest Florida on both tomato and potato. Late blight is caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans, which is a pathogen of potato and tomato. This disease can spread quickly and devastate a tomato or potato field within a few weeks if not properly controlled. Read the rest of this entry »
HLB Conference Coverage Sponsored by: While many in the citrus industry are elated that so much money has been made available by the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) and other sources to support HLB, or “citrus greening” research, many also remain concerned about the market overburdened with juice in the pipeline and cash prices to growers depressed as a result. Hear University of Florida economist Alan Morris’ comments in this report.
This week’s Commissioner’s Spotlight from Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson is about the January celebration of Arbor Day in Florida. More information is available on the FDACS Division of Forestry web site by clicking on Arbor Day.
In commemoration of Arbor Day in Florida, the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa is coordinating the planting of 112 native trees. The trees are provided by a grant through a partnership of the USDA Forest Service, the Florida Division of Forestry and the National Football League to promote urban reforestation in the Tampa Bay Watershed in conjunction with Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa Bay. Information about the planting on January 10th is available by clicking on Florida Arbor Day Tree Planting @ MOSI.
The National Cotton Council and its cooperating partners are welcoming attendees to San Antonio today for the start of the 2009 Beltwide Cotton Conferences. This annual forum is recognized as the global champion for cotton technology transfer. Four days of individual reports, panel discussions, hands-on workshops and seminars all designed to enlighten industry members about the latest research developments and their practical applications in cotton production and processing.
America’s search for cleaner electricity has developers studying dozens of government flood-control dams from North Carolina to Oregon to see if it makes financial sense to retrofit them with hydroelectric turbines. The studies are part of a broader trend that has developers looking at everything from millpond dams in New England to locks and dams on navigable waterways such as the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.
One example among many could be orange juice. While cash prices to growers for oranges are way down from a year ago, consumer prices at the supermarket remain higher than market forces seem to justify. A number of people in farm country are asking this question, and this report from USDA tries to provide at least some general answers to the question overall.
HLB Conference Coverage Sponsored by: In this report hear Dr Calvin Arnold, director of USDA’s Horticulture Research Lab in Ft Pierce FL, discuss his views on the progress of HLB research over the past three years or so since the tree disease known to many growers as “Greening” was discovered in Florida. Among other things, Arnold says there are three legs to the HLB research equation, hear what those are and which one Arnold thinks will produce the best short term results for the grower community.
The Beltwide Cotton Conference starts today in San Antonio, but Karen Nikitopoulos, communications program manager for the Georgia Cotton Commission, says they are already looking forward to their annual meeting at the end of the month.
The Georgia Cotton Conference will be held in Tifton on January 28. For more information logon to their website.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Associaton, in a press release, has named the person who will take over for CEO Terry Stokes….
DENVER (January 3, 2009) – The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association announced today Forrest L. Roberts (photo) will be its next chief executive officer. Roberts, 42, will start January 20, 2009.
“We are thrilled Forrest will be joining us as CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. We are certain Forrest brings the right experience, vision and optimism to lead the nation’s oldest, largest and most respected cattle organization,” said Andy Groseta, rancher from Cottonwood, Ariz., and NCBA president. Read the rest of this entry »
2008 was a tough year on many AgNet family and friends it seems, all the way through. AgNet regrets to report the loss on New Year’s Eve of Gloyice Elmore Ard, whose son, Sam Ard, Florida cattle industry legislative representative, says was “a unique and special man”. Friends may offer condolences on-line by clicking here.
Gloyice Elmore Ard, March 8, 1928 - December 31, 2008
Captain Gloyice Ard, 80, died peacefully with his family by his side Wednesday, December 31, 2008, following a 3-year battle with cancer. He was a member of the Orange Beach United Methodist Church. Funeral services were held January 3 in Robertsdale, AL. One of Gloyice’s greatest passions was the Camp Rap-a-hope childrens cancer program. He provided the initial impetus for the Orange Beach Fishing Association’s (OBFA) involvement in annually taking children suffering from cancer deep-sea fishing. Gloyice was a tireless advocate for this program, and for this reason the family requests that donations in lieu of flowers be given to: Camp Rap-a-Hope, Capt. Ard Fund, 2701 Airport Blvd,Mobile, AL 36606. Read the rest of this entry »
Well it’s a new year, and some consumers are glad to leave 2008 behind them with the record gas prices, unfortunate recession and high food bills. We paid about 6 percent more in 2008 than in 2007 to keep food on the table and Agriculture Department Food Price Economist Ephriam Leibtag tells us if we are going to break our budget this year.
Lawmakers in Florida are set for a special Legislative Session in Tallahassee for the next couple weeks, and as we look toward the rest of winter and spring we see a busy crystal ball full of ag news coverage from state and national circles. Also in this report, some dates and travel hints for those planning to attend Florida Farm Bureau Legislative activities in Tallahassee this year on Tuesday March 17th.
Our hats are off to any mainstream news outlet in Florida that takes time to report on one of the state’s most important industries, that of agriculture, once in a while. As a daily agriculture news reporter and farm broadcaster in Florida for 30 years now, it has always amazed me that more major news outlets don’t invest a little time and effort to cover this major industry more regularly for readers and listeners in this fourth most populous state. But once in a while when they do, we are glad to recognize their efforts, as I do in this post and short radio commentary herein. If you want to read the entire 26-part series that ran in December in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, you can do so on-line by clicking here. And you can hear my radio commentary by clicking the icon below.
In this new product feature, a discussion with Dan Sherrod, Product Development Manager for Insecticides for DuPont, who says not only does DuPont’s Coragen offer growers excellent control of a wide variety of targeted pests, it does so with a good environmentally friendly attitude toward beneficial insects and the environment overall.
Foodies who love to blog are invited to visit the recently launched Foodie News blog on the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Voice of Agriculture Web Site.
HLB Conference Coverage Sponsored by: In our continuing series on the recent HLB Research Conference, AgNet’s Ernie Neff catches up to Southern Gardens Citrus VP of Grove Operations, Jim Snively for comments. Southern Gardens, a division of U S Sugar Corp., has been a leader in citrus “greening” research since the start of the problem in Florida. As far as the present status of advice from the scientific community globally, Snively says he’s encouraged the advice at this time seems to be consistent. However, he adds today’s advice is temporary for grove management until the time more long-term answers can be learned.
HLB Conference Coverage Sponsored by: More with citrus grower Juan Barcello (photo) from the Dominican Republic, speaking with Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff at the recent International Research Conference on Huanglongbing (HLB) in Orlando, FL. Barcello says recent finds of HLB in his country have growers worried and working on several fronts to get ready if and when HLB gets into commercial citrus areas of the country.
A gift that seems to be gaining in popularity is All Terrain Vehicles, or better known as ATV’s, especially for the tween population. But some health and safety experts are concerned about the potential hazards these vehicles pose. Scott Heilberger gives us a few tips to help ensure a safe post-holiday ride.
The SE Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference is pleased to announce that over 1,200 growers and suppliers have pre-registered to attend the conference at the close of the pre-Christmas registration. This is more than a 30% increase in grower registration over the same period last year. In 2008 the total attendance for the conference was 2,027 including growers, exhibitors and educators.
NAP. TAP. ELAP. Farmers and ranchers who don’t know what those acronyms represent may want to pay a quick Web visit to the USDA’s Farm Service Agency Web site to learn more about its Disaster Assistance Programs. The site, www.fsa.usda.gov/ca, offers a handy chart that provides a listing of disaster assistance programs for farmers and ranchers, along with a description of the program, eligibility requirements, risk management requirements, payment methods and payment limitations.
In this report, Dr Calvin Arnold, Director, USDA Horticulture Lab in Ft Pierce FL, describes a concept that he says is being talked about more and more as a possible citrus psyllid and HLB control measure.
Farmers are going to be a part of this and Everett Griner is telling us just what they are doing. 
The 2009 Southeast Regional fruit and Vegetable Conference will start Friday the 9th in Savannah, Georgia and run through Sunday the 11th. The event, will offer commodity production sessions as well as specialty workshops. Charles Hall of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association tells us a little more about the scheduled Food Safety Focus Forum. 
With the Beltwide Cotton Conference well underway in San Antonio, many cotton producers are listening to four days of educational reports, discussions, seminars and workshops. And many will be reviewing the final numbers of 2008 and looking to the latest forecast for in 2009. Agriculture department chief economist Joe Glauber tells us what to expect. 
While many in the citrus industry are elated that so much money has been made available by the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) and other sources to support HLB, or “citrus greening” research, many also remain concerned about the market overburdened with juice in the pipeline and cash prices to growers depressed as a result. Hear University of Florida economist Alan Morris’ comments in this report.
This week’s Commissioner’s Spotlight from Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson is about the January celebration of Arbor Day in Florida. More information is available on the FDACS Division of Forestry web site by clicking on 
The Beltwide Cotton Conference starts today in San Antonio, but Karen Nikitopoulos, communications program manager for the Georgia Cotton Commission, says they are already looking forward to their annual meeting at the end of the month.
Association announced today Forrest L. Roberts (photo) will be its next chief executive officer. Roberts, 42, will start January 20, 2009.
Lawmakers in Florida are set for a special Legislative Session in Tallahassee for the next couple weeks, and as we look toward the rest of winter and spring we see a busy crystal ball full of ag news coverage from state and national circles. Also in this report, some dates and travel hints for those planning to attend Florida Farm Bureau Legislative activities in Tallahassee this year on Tuesday March 17th.
reporter and farm broadcaster in Florida for 30 years now, it has always amazed me that more major news outlets don’t invest a little time and effort to cover this major industry more regularly for readers and listeners in this fourth most populous state. But once in a while when they do, we are glad to recognize their efforts, as I do in this post and short radio commentary herein. If you want to read the entire 26-part series that ran in December in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, you can do so on-line by 
In our continuing series on the recent HLB Research Conference, AgNet’s Ernie Neff catches up to Southern Gardens Citrus VP of Grove Operations, Jim Snively for comments. Southern Gardens, a division of U S Sugar Corp., has been a leader in citrus “greening” research since the start of the problem in Florida. As far as the present status of advice from the scientific community globally, Snively says he’s encouraged the advice at this time seems to be consistent. However, he adds today’s advice is temporary for grove management until the time more long-term answers can be learned.
More with citrus grower Juan Barcello (photo) from the Dominican Republic, speaking with Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff at the recent International Research Conference on Huanglongbing (HLB) in Orlando, FL. Barcello says recent finds of HLB in his country have growers worried and working on several fronts to get ready if and when HLB gets into commercial citrus areas of the country.
