An article in the January Cold Hardy Citrus Connection newsletter offered basic nutrition management information for North Florida growers. It was written by Lisa Strange with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Taylor County Extension and Clay Olson, UF/IFAS Extension faculty, emeritus. A grower’s first nutrient management consideration is to have a soil test, the …
New, Nutty Twist to Your Morning Cup of Coffee Created by VA Farmers
A new and nutty twist to your morning cup of coffee. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. If you haven’t tried Peanut Coffee yet, you may want to change up your regular cup of Joe. Thanks to Peanut Farmers in Virginia, they’ve created a ground peanut coffee that’s ready to brew at home. Peanut Coffee is a naturally …
Weekly Livestock Market Report Week Ending 2-19-2021
Here are the weekly livestock market reports for Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, for the week ended February 19, 2021, compiled by the Livestock Market News Service for all three states. AL Livestock Market Report: At Alabama Livestock Auctions for the Week ended-February 19, 2021, receipts at 21 markets totaled an estimated 2,000 head compared to 10,591 last week and 9,650 …
Fried & FDACS Launch Bilingual Farmworker Vaccine Education Campaign
With the COVID-19 vaccine becoming available for at-risk populations in Florida, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services launched a bilingual vaccine education campaign to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among Florida’s farmworkers and agriculture community. A recent study found that food and agricultural workers are among those most at risk of death from COVID-19, facing a 39 percent increase in excess …
Miss Florida Citrus Is Out and About
Miss Florida Citrus, Leila Sabet, is continuing to represent the Florida citrus industry at various events, most recently at the Indian River Citrus League’s Treasure Coast Fun Shoot at the Vero Beach Shooting Club. While there, she helped sell raffle tickets, took photos with the competition winners, and helped promote Natalie’s Orchid Island citrus products. She also attended the first Florida …
Agricultural Issues Surfacing during Georgia Legislative Session
Week six of the 2021 Georgia State Legislative Session was a short, but busy one for lawmakers. According to Georgia Agribusiness Council (GAC) President Will Bentley, a lot of things are starting to surface that GAC has been working on. And while Bentley notes the GAC Annual Meeting and Legislative Breakfast could not be held this year due to Covid-19, …
Wild Edible Plants You Can Transform into a Cooking and Baking Flour
The wild plants you can transform into a popular cooking and baking ingredient. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. There are many wild edible plants that you can make into flour – the ingredient you use to cook and bake with, that is. However, some of these need to be mixed and matched with other grains in order …
Commissioner Nikki Fried on Tropical Storm Eta Secretarial Disaster Declaration
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture informed Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried it has granted a Secretarial disaster declaration for several key counties impacted by Tropical Storm Eta, rain, flooding, and wind that occurred from Nov. 7 through Nov. 10. The storm was projected to cause at least $85 million in crop losses, especially in seasonal produce. Those counties include Collier, Hendry, Lee, and Miami-Dade …
Rules Clarified for Buying / Selling Seeds and Plants Online From Other Countries
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is providing additional guidance to help online buyers and sellers comply with U.S. laws when they import seeds and live plants from other countries. The information, available on the APHIS website, is essential to help protect critical U.S. agriculture infrastructure and natural resources from potential invasive pest and disease …
Parasite Hijacks Iron in Honey Bees
(USDA/ARS) — An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist has discovered the Nosema ceranae parasite that causes major problems and death in honey bees works by hijacking its host’s iron for itself. Iron is as essential a micronutrient for honey bees as it is for people. Honey bees usually get enough to meet their needs from their flower pollen diet. They use iron …