By Clint Thompson Calvin Moody has been a dairyman for more than two decades and has never experienced what he’s had to go through over the past few weeks. “This is absolutely the first time in my lifetime that we’ve ever had to dump milk. I’ve been in the dairy business for over 20 years and never had to dump …
UF/IFAS Extension Helps Get Food Directly From Farmers to Customers During Pandemic
(UF/IFAS) — As the novel coronavirus disrupts the usual methods to deliver food from farms to consumers, UF/IFAS Extension agents are helping connect growers with customers. Two such specialists are Sarah Bostick, an agriculture agent with UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County and Lisa Hickey, a sustainability agent with UF/IFAS Extension Manatee County. The two are now working together to encourage farmers …
Florida Farmers Worried About Presence of Foreign Produce
During the Florida Farm Bureau Federation (FFBF) and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Town Hall last week concerning COVID-19 and its effects on Florida agriculture, one issued discussed was how fresh produce growers were having difficultly moving their products. But foreign produce continues to be prevalent in stores. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said this is something …
The Day South Florida Agriculture Changed
Submitted by Gene McAvoy, Regional Vegetable Extension Agent IV Emeritus with UF/IFAS “Up to the end of Feb our growers were having a banner year and it looked like this season would be one of those homeruns that come around every 5-6 years.” Here is a report that I prepared on the state of S Florida ag and shared with …
Extension Specialist: Soybean Rust Overwinters in two Alabama Counties
By Clint Thompson Soybean farmers need to be wary of soybean rust disease, which overwintered in Baldwin County, Alabama and Mobile County, Alabama, according to Edward Sikora, professor and Extension plant pathologist in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Auburn University. He stresses that the pathogen’s presence in Alabama doesn’t mean there will be an outbreak of the …
UF/IFAS Offers More Resources for Growers
(UF/IFAS) — UF/IFAS Extension is collaborating with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to compile a list of farms, distributors, and farmers markets selling Florida-grown food directly to final consumers. The intention is to build a directory of sellers who are moving Florida-grown foods to consumers during the market disruptions caused by COVID-19. The list may include …
COVID 19 Response: Your Grocery and Food-Safety Questions Answered
(UF/IFAS) — It’s a battle of facts vs. myths in the rush to get information to the public about how consumers can safely shop for groceries and handle food during the coronavirus pandemic. To get the correct data, we asked three experts with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) to answer common questions: Keith Schneider, a UF/IFAS …
Florida Watermelon Farmers Face Uncertainty Due to COVID-19
(UF/IFAS) — As fruit and vegetable farmers in South Florida decide what to do with produce once destined for now-closed schools and restaurants, watermelon farmers in North Florida have recently finished planting their crop. Given the uncertainty around the market for fresh produce, the decision to plant came down to economics, said Mark Warren, agriculture agent for UF/IFAS Extension Levy …
FDACS Agricultural and Seafood Availability Notice
(HCCGA) — FDACS has created the attached form for producers to fill out with their product availability. Once submitted, FDACS will utilize to forward to their Fresh From Florida contacts, as well as the Florida Department of Corrections, food banks and make connections with other State Departments of Agriculture in hopes of providing market opportunities to move product during the Coronavirus …
Florida Cattlemen’s Convention Coming in June
The 2020 Florida Cattlemen’s Association (FCA) Convention and Trade Show will take place June 22-25. And according to FCA Director of Field Services, Dusty Holley, while they are monitoring the COVID-19 situation, for now the convention is still full steam ahead. Learn more about the annual FCA Convention & Trade Show, at floridacattlemen.org. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsNovember 8, 2025Florida …