TALLAHASSEE – Two Oriental fruit flies have been found in Orange County, Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson has announced. During routine trapping activities on Friday, June 20, a USDA fruit-fly technician collected two suspect Oriental fruit flies from a fruit fly trap hanging in a sweet orange tree in the Winter Park area of Orlando. The fruit flies were confirmed by …
FL Cattle Practices Changing for Long-term
Livestock producers are really feeling the pinch when it comes in input costs as prices for fuel, feed, and fertilizer continue to rise. We’ve talked before about how many are having to update their management stratgies, and University of Florida’s Dr. Matt Hersom said many of those changes will need to be more than just temporary. Â Report (1:00 mp3)
CITRUS EXPO: Most Comprehensive Seminars for All Growers!
August 20 & 21 Lee Civic Center Ft Myers is the date this year for the World’s Premier Citrus Expo, still free for citrus growers and unquestionably the best attended citrus grower seminar and trade show event anywhere. Citrus Expo planning is entering its home stretch and only a few exhibit spaces remain available. Exhibitors should visit the website and …
FDOC Budget Has Flexibility To Deal With Challenges of Times
In the first of these two weekly features on Florida Department of Citrus News, Chairman Ben Albritton Jr discusses budget matters and how up to $20-million dollars being set aside for possible investments into research could impact orange juice advertising next season. In the second report, Albritton discusses the possibility that Florida Citrus Mutual may be able to handle FDOC …
Greening Research From A Growers Perspective
V P of Production for Orange-Co In Arcadia, Jerry Newlin is also very involved at the industry level in efforts to guide greening research. Jerry is a leader of the Florida Citrus Production Managers’ Association and more recently, chairman of the Citrus Research Greening Task Force and a member of the Citrus Expo Steering Committee. In these reports, Newlin discusses …
Sealing a Sweet Deal
Florida Governor Charlie Crist called the deal announced this week to buy US Sugar the missing link to providing true restoration of the Everglades. Meanwhile, US Sugar president Robert Buker says the sugar industry will remain strong. Report (1:00 mp3)
NRCS Conservation Innovation Grants
USDA has announced $14 million in Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) to fund 45 projects in 40 states to develop and refine new technologies and approaches that will help farmers conserve and sustain natural resources on their operations. In Florida, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was awarded a grant of more than $950,000 based on paying for environmental services on Florida …
Florida Agri-Women Awards Scholarships
HOMESTEAD, FL- Florida Agri-Women is pleased to announce their two scholarship award winners for 2008. In the undergraduate studies category Ms. Jamie Stolarz of Davie has been awarded the scholarship. She is pursuing a degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition with a specialization in Dietetics from the University of Florida. She has a 3.94 GPA and is a University …
FL Voluntary Drive to Help Beef Checkoff
The Florida Cattlemen’s Association put together a task force to look at ways they could help with the problem of dwindling beef checkoff dollars in the state, and one idea was to start a voluntary drive. Florida Beef Council’s Brad Etheridge is excited about this idea. Report (1:00 mp3)
Hundreds Mourn Loss of Citrus Grower Mason Smoak
The recent loss of Lake Placid citrus grower Mason Smoak is mourned by community and industry this week, as hundreds lined up to support family Tuesday evening before funeral services today. Find details of the services and lots more information about Mason contained in an earlier post on this website by clicking here.