Emergency Order Issued as Assessments Continue (Tallahassee, FL/February 4, 2022/FDACS) — The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) had staff in the fields as producers continue to assess damages caused by recent freezing temperatures and work to salvage impacted produce. On Thursday, the Florida Department of Transportation issued an emergency order helping farmers impacted by freezing temperatures to move as …
Georgia Citrus Association Conference Coming Up
The Georgia Citrus Association invites growers and industry members to its annual conference on Feb. 28 at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center. The event will last from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes topics like regenerative farming, organic production, nutrient management, winter production and new varieties. “We’re super excited because we didn’t get to have the conference last …
Growers Discuss Priorities for 2023 Farm Bill
The 2018 Farm Bill is set to expire in 2023, so preparations are underway to craft the behemoth legislation into law sometime next year. However, it is common for negotiations to extend into the following year. Whether the new farm bill is passed in 2023 or 2024, there’s a lot of work ahead. The farm bill was the focus of …
Citrus Recovery Act Seeks to Update Florida Citrus Commission
It is set to be a busy legislative session for agricultural interests in Florida. One of the bills making its way through the process is SB 1002, the Citrus Recovery Act. Sen. Danny Burgess (R-District 20) introduced the bill to amend the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC). The FCC is the governing body of the Florida Department of Citrus. The Citrus Recovery Act …
Driverless Technology Rapidly Rolling Toward Reality
What would have been seen as science fiction a decade ago is quickly becoming reality. In December, autonomous trucking startup TuSimple completed a truck run on the open road without a human in the vehicle. The 80-mile trip on surface roads and highways in Arizona between a rail yard in Tucson and a distribution center in Phoenix was completed successfully. According to …
Consumers Prefer Florida OJ
Consumers are more likely to buy orange juice (OJ) if they think the fruit comes from Florida, new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) research shows. In fact, top reasons consumers purchase OJ include taste, health benefits and origin of the fruit. According to the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC), while 80% of OJ consumers who responded to …
Fertilizer Price Spike Highest Since Great Recession
During January’s Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference in Savannah, Georgia, Daniel Tregeagle, an Extension economist with North Carolina State University, gave a presentation on economic and regulatory trends impacting citrus and specialty crop growers. MODEST MARKET GROWTH The biggest blip on the proverbial economic radar has been COVID-19 and its continuing effects. Tregeagle noted these impacts mostly will be transient, and the …
Why She Grows Citrus in Georgia
When Lindy Savelle ended her career in federal law enforcement, including stints overseas, she and her husband decided to move back to land they owned in South Georgia. They researched different crops they might grow and settled on citrus. She tells her story in a recent Grower Talks Podcast produced by the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. “Citrus is that one commodity …
Fertility Recommendations for Citrus Discussed at Conference
The Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference was held this past weekend in in Savannah, Georgia. Various topics were discussed including fertility recommendations for citrus. Dr. Kelly Morgan, with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), told AgNet Media that he talked about the research projects they’ve conducted over the past few years. And Morgan told us he has taken on some …
Smart Technology Cuts Spray Costs
As they battle HLB, growers must control costs wherever possible, including by applying pesticides and fertilizer more efficiently. With that in mind, Yiannis Ampatzidis is engaging artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a low-cost, smart tree-crop sprayer that can automatically detect citrus trees, calculate their height and leaf density, and count fruit. That way, growers target their spray more efficiently, so it lands on trees …