UF/IFAS Hopes to Grow Vanilla, Meet Consumer Demand

Dan Education, Florida, Nursery Crops, Research, Specialty Crops

For dessert, how about a scoop of ice cream flavored with vanilla from Florida’s farmers? Because so many consumers enjoy vanilla, University of Florida scientists hope to help Florida farmers grow the bean. Consumers have an appetite for vanilla. The U.S. leads the world in imported vanilla beans, said Alan Chambers, an assistant professor of horticultural sciences at the UF …

Self-Seeding Plants for Your Vegetable and Herb Garden

Dan Nursery Crops, This Land of Ours, Vegetables

If you love to garden, but just don’t seem to have the time. You may consider planting a self-seeding plants in your vegetable and herb garden. Cathy Isom has some tips about the crops that like to replant themselves. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Self-Seeding Plants for Your Vegetable and Herb Garden Crops that replant themselves are …

‘Infectious Interest in Horticulture’ Helps Earn UF/IFAS Professor Top Honor

Dan Education, Florida, Industry News Release, Nursery Crops

University of Florida environmental horticulture professor Sandra Wilson loves to teach, but just as importantly, she loves to hear about the successes of her former students. They find employment in their field. They get married. Those moments bring a gleam to her eyes. Former students are now adjunct professors, scientists, an entrepreneur, a horticultural and landscape foreman and more, she …

UF/IFAS Experts: Skip the Roses and Go Straight for the Orchids on Mother’s Day

Dan Florida, Industry News Release, Nursery Crops

What’s better than roses on Mother’s day? Orchids, which are easier to take care of and can last for years, according to University of Florida experts. Wagner Vendrame, a professor of environmental horticulture at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, specializes in growing and preserving orchids and says orchids make a great Mother’s Day gift. “Between a bouquet …

USDA Seeks Feedback from Growers about 2018 Crops, Stocks, Livestock Inventories and Values

Dan Cattle, Field Crops, Florida, Nursery Crops, Pork, Sheep-Goats, Specialty Crops

During the next several weeks, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct two major mid-year surveys, the June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey. The agency will contact nearly 700 producers across Florida to determine crop acreage and stock levels as of June 1, 2018. “Two of the most important and well-known surveys NASS …

Post-Irma Ag Relief Could Come Soon

Dan Citrus, Economy, Field Crops, Industry News Release, Legislative, Nursery Crops

Florida farmers awaiting federal disaster relief to help cover losses from Hurricane Irma last September may learn more details this week about the highly anticipated program. The $2.36 billion Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program is expected to offer a direct-payments model that would not hold growers to traditional payment limitations and would establish a state-managed program to handle tree losses. …