In January, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) hosted virtual “Florida Citrus Squeeze” events at elementary schools throughout Florida with Chef Paula Kendrick and Miss Florida Citrus Leila Sabet. The program was announced in December to Florida food service personnel and teachers that participate in the division’s Harvest of the Month Program. Participating schools were sent citrus, and virtual …
The Goals of Pest Management
Editor’s note: This article grants one continuing education unit (CEU) in the Core category toward the renewal of a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services restricted-use pesticide license when the accompanying test is submitted and approved. Integrated pest management (IPM) uses a combination of methods to keep pest populations at an acceptable level, which are economical and have little …
Grant Looks at Mitigating Climate Change Impacts on Florida Grasslands
(UF/IFAS) — A professor with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has been awarded a $500,000 grant to study how climate change is threatening subtropical grasslands and the ways they sustain agriculture, wildlife biodiversity, and ecosystems and their benefits to humans. Subtropical grasslands – such as those in Central-South Florida — are wide expanses of …
Florida’s First Conservation Easement Protecting Grassland of Special Environmental Significance Recorded in Columbia County
With funding support from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and local and state partners, a 518-acre sandhill grassland ecosystem with over 243 native plant species has been permanently protected by Alachua Conservation Trust and North Florida Land Trust. Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT), North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) and partners are pleased to announce the finalization of one of the first …
New Dietary Guidelines Include Role for Juice
The newly released 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) continue to reinforce that nutrient-dense 100 percent fruit juices, such as orange juice (OJ), count as a fruit serving. They also continue to include 100 percent fruit juice as a part of a healthy dietary pattern. The guidelines support the incorporation of beverages such as 100 percent OJ into the daily …
New Dietary Guidelines Favorable to Peanuts
The theme of the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines was “Make Every Bite Count”. And according to a story from Tyron Spearman, the new recommendations show peanuts in a favorable position for healthy dietary patterns at every stage of life. Introducing the ?Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health …
QLA Now Available for Producers Affected by 2018-19 Natural Disasters
(USDA/FSA) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that signup for the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program will begin Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Funded by the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, this new program provides assistance to producers who suffered eligible crop quality losses due to natural disasters occurring in 2018 and 2019. The …
Cotton Byproducts Supplement Cattle Feed
(ACES) — With cotton harvest complete, producers now wait for ginning to wrap up, as preparations begin for another year. Livestock owners, on the other hand, are gearing up to purchase cotton byproducts to supplement minerals and feeds throughout the winter months. Alabama Cooperative Extension System beef specialist, Kim Mullenix, said the Southeast is one of the largest cotton producing regions …
USDA, HHS Release Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Washington, D.C., December 29, 2020) – Nutrition in America took a major step forward today with the publication of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. Jointly published by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) every five years, the guidelines provide science-based recommendations designed to foster healthy dietary patterns for Americans of all ages – from …
Peanut Institute Shares Research on Eating Lightly Salted Peanuts
The Peanut Institute, the company put together by the American Peanut Shellers to do peanut research, is sharing research conducted on people eating lightly salted peanuts and how a medical condition may be reversed. This research was conduted by researchers at Harvard. The study is the first of its kind to look at the affects of peanut consumption on a …