Dr. B. Todd Campbell, a research geneticist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Coastal Plains Soil, Water, and Plant Research Center in Florence, S.C., is the recipient of the 2017 Cotton Genetics Research Award. The announcement was made during the 2018 Beltwide Cotton Improvement Conference, which convened as part of the National Cotton Council-coordinated 2018 Beltwide Cotton Conferences. In recognition, …
A Fair Fight for Florida Farmers
On the face of it, it’s not a fair fight. Farming in Florida is hard enough, but then the rules of that fight constantly change. New bugs and diseases raid crops. Volatile markets say plant now while the weather says plant later. Consumers keep changing their minds about what to eat. New plant varieties give farmers a fighting chance by …
Support for Organic Agriculture Research, Extension, and Education
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced the availability of $17.6 million in grants focused on organic agriculture research, education, and extension activities. These grants are funded through a competitive process by NIFA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. “America’s organic industry continues to be one of …
Drone Camera Helps Spot Glyphosate-Resistant Pigweed
Agriculture Department scientists are developing a drone camera system that can help find the weeds that are resistant to glyphosate. Stephanie Ho has the story. Drone Camera Helps Spot Glyphosate-Resistant Pigweed Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Opportunities to Develop Preliminary Data For Future Grant ProjectsMay 1, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Critical Funding To Enhance Brahman GeneticsApril 24, 2026Strong …
USDA’s Agricultural Research Service Pays It Forward with Research Achievements
With the year drawing to a close, the U.S. Department of agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is preparing for 2018 with renewed vigor, building on its scientific and technological accomplishments to date—from a food nutrient database that consumers can access with the click of a mouse to a natural tire rubber made from guayule, a small flowering shrub native …
Solutions to Citrus Greening Top 10 2017 UF/IFAS Stories
From lobsters to oranges, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences embraced stories of resilience and change during 2017. The top 10 stories for UF/IFAS during 2017 include finding ways to manage a disease that is crippling the citrus industry to helping lobstermen find damaged traps after Hurricane Irma to researchers discovering a new ant species in …
UF Studies Shows What Some Bugs Do for Love, Like Sacrificing a Leg
Males of many species must compete for mates, often using body parts scientists call “weapons” to defeat their opponent, survive and in some cases, produce more offspring, University of Florida researchers say. As an example, deer develop antlers, which help them compete with other male deer for female attention and to survive battles with predators in the wild kingdom. Now, …
UF Assistant Professor Wins National Agronomy Award for Innovative Sugarcane Research
A University of Florida plant scientist, who has created varieties of sugarcane that are grown across more than 90 percent of Florida and in several Central American countries, has been given a national award for his innovative work. The American Society of Agronomy has awarded the Early Career Scientist Award to Hardev Sandhu, a sugarcane specialist at the UF Institute …
UF/IFAS-Developed Sorghum Cultivars Can Produce Thousands of Gallons of Ethanol
Sweet sorghum is not just for breakfast anymore. Although sorghum is a source for table syrup, scientists see a future in which we convert sorghum to biofuel, rather than relying on fossil fuel. That potential just grew as University of Florida researchers found three UF/IFAS-developed sorghum varieties could produce up to 1,000 gallons of ethanol per acre. “Sweet sorghum has …
APHIS Wildlife Services to Begin Field Trials on Feral Swine Toxic Bait
In November, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) accomplished two key tasks as part of its efforts to evaluate an oral toxic bait for use with invasive feral swine. First, on November 6, 2017, APHIS Wildlife Services (WS) received an Experimental Use Permit (EUP) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to conduct sodium nitrite toxic bait field trials …