Hands holding strawberries. Courtesy, UF/IFAS photography

Savor The Flavor, Pack In Some Nutrition This Florida Strawberry Season

You can taste them now – sweet, succulent strawberries. February and March mark the peak time for Florida strawberry production, and University of Florida experts point to several reasons consumers gobble up the juicy fruit. “Strawberries are tasty because they are sweet and slightly tangy.…

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Hands holding strawberries. Courtesy, UF/IFAS photography

Following Hurricane Milton, Florida Growers Show Resilience In Ensuring Fresh Strawberries Are Available This Season

Florida strawberry growers are a resilient bunch. They’ve survived the back-to-back punches from hurricanes Helene and Milton. Through hard work and efficient problem-solving, they have planted the fruits you’ll enjoy from December through April. Kenneth Parker, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, works…

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Mason-Alston in her military uniform.

‘Lanky Lassie’s Shortbread’ UF/IFAS Extension Incubator Equals Success For Marine Corps Veteran

DADE CITY, Fla. – Combat-injured Marine Corps veteran Mary Katherine Mason-Alston makes shortbread with a family recipe that goes back to her great-grandmother. To sell to people far and wide from her Dade City store, she needed a food permit, which she obtained through help…

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Students in the University of Florida’s SmartAg certificate programs learn to apply artificial intelligence concepts to make themselves more employable in the AI-in-ag workforce. Courtesy, Adam Watson, UF/IFAS. All photos are, “Courtesy, Adam Watson, UF/IFAS.”

University Of Florida SmartAg Certificates Prepare Students For Agriculture’s AI Job Market

Graduate students from across the University of Florida can leap into the future workplaces of agricultural technology. Through two Smart Ag certificate programs, started in 2022, the agricultural and biological engineering department (ABE) offers classes in which students can learn and apply artificial intelligence concepts.…

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Jack Rechcigl, director of the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. Courtesy, UF/IFAS.

Southern Land-Grant Universities Create AI Centers To Encourage Faster, Accurate Solutions To Practical Problems

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help feed the world and preserve our natural resources. To maximize the bandwidth of AI, scientists are working together to develop robotics and precision agriculture, use drones effectively and more. Recognizing the strength of collaboration, universities across the South are launching…

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AI_Ampatzidis” shows Ampatzidis working in his lab. Courtesy, UF/IFAS photography.

Southern Scientists Use Artificial Intelligence To Reduce Costs, Labor On Farms

Scientists throughout the South are using artificial intelligence (AI) to help growers save labor costs and time, spray with precision, detect diseases, control food quality, maintain animal health and help grow wheat.  University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences invention assesses plant stress…

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