The conflict in Syria has caused more than $16 billion in crop and livestock losses and destroyed farming assets, according to a 2017 report from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. Since 2011, household livestock ownership in the war-torn nation has plummeted, down by 47 percent for poultry, the report states. Against that backdrop, in an area deemed not …
Earth Day, UF Researchers Say Conserve Water Now or Pay the Price Later
Florida residents are using more and more water every day, leaving future Floridians with more expensive options to meet anticipated needs, according to University of Florida researchers. Earth Day, April 22, is a great time to start conserving water. “Water is a natural resource, and if we don’t take care of it we will really struggle to leave something for …
UF Leads Trend to Open Food Businesses with Workshops
Kimberly and George Vecchio wanted to reinvent their 20-acre farm near Vero Beach from mostly animals to produce so they could start a food business. Though George had been a gourmet chef for more than 20 years, they didn’t know how to start the new enterprise. “We didn’t know what questions to ask, or even where to start, even though …
UF/IFAS Joins 15 Other Universities in Telling Congress How They Feed the World
Federal Investment in Agricultural Research is Essential for US Farmers to Stay Competitive; FedByScience—Universities Telling Stories of Discovery—Launches Alongside 2018 Farm Bill China Has Outspent U.S. on Agriculture Research for the Past Decade; University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Joining National Initiative to Turn the Tables A new effort to boost federal investment in agricultural research—FedByScience—launched in …
New Lantana Plants Protect Native Flora and Enhance Landscapes
Home and property owners often enhance their landscapes with the beautiful lantana, but some of the plant’s varieties may escape yards, spread to areas where they shouldn’t go and cross-pollinate Florida’s native lantana. That’s why, in 2004, the head of the Tampa Bay Wholesale Growers Association asked University of Florida plant scientist Zhanao Deng if he could breed sterile, non-invasive …
Acclaimed Cattle Nutrition Expert Named Director of UF/IFAS NFREC
When Glen Aiken wasn’t helping his grandfather wrangle cattle in the smothering Texas heat, he was traveling with his father to meat packing houses across the region. “I swear I visited every meat packing plant between Oklahoma City and El Paso before I was 12 years old,” Aiken joked. So, when it came time to choose a college major, animal …
Tasty Tomatoes and Other Produce
UF/IFAS Expert Urges Scientists to Breed for Flavor For 20 years, Harry Klee, a professor of horticultural sciences at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, has been using genetics to improve flavors and smells in tomatoes and other produce that induce the consumer to buy more of them. As Florida farmers continue to harvest this year’s tomatoes, Klee …
UF Joins New Center to Create Fuel from Plants
The University of Florida is one of 17 institutions partnering with the University of Illinois in the $115-million Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI). Researchers will work to develop efficient ways to grow, transform and market biofuels. Fredy Altpeter, professor of agronomy in the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, will lead the UF/IFAS portion of the …
Termites Topple Pine Trees – a Concern as Hurricane Season Nears
Most termites don’t kill trees, but Asian subterranean termites are slaying some pine trees in South Florida and damaging the rest of the local urban tree canopy, a new University of Florida study found. “Our beloved native slash pine is lethally stressed by this termite, which is unexpected,” said Thomas Chouvenc, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of urban entomology. Not only …
How Much Seafood Did You Eat? Photos Jog Memory, Aid Scientific Recommendations
Seafood can be a tasty source of protein that supports a healthy, balanced diet. But too much of anything is not always beneficial, said Anne Mathews, a food and human nutrition scientist with the University of Florida Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences. To assess health risks versus benefits of consuming certain seafood products, scientists analyze seafood for nutritional value …