UF/IFAS Extension agent David Hébert, wearing a hat and an orange shirt, teaches a composting workshop within the Townies Pizzeria garden in Fernandina Beach. (Courtesy of David Hébert)

UF/IFAS Extension Partners With Pizzeria To Teach Composting Basics

As a soil biologist and agent for UF/IFAS Extension Nassau County, David Hébert teaches everything from selecting compostable food items to identifying microorganisms. Most recently, he’s done so from within a bustling Fernandina Beach shopping center. Hébert’s affiliation with Amelia Plaza began in 2023, when…

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Study co-author Kendall Breland uses a BenthoTorch instrument to measure the concentration of individual microbial communities in a soil sample. (Courtesy of Amelia Westmoreland)

University Of Florida Study Reveals Environmental Impact Of Artificial Sweeteners

The human body’s inability to break down sucralose, an artificial sweetener found in many zero-calorie food and drink products, is well established by scientific research. The compound is so stable that it escapes wastewater treatment processing and is in drinking water and aquatic environments. “We…

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Farm Labor (File

Agricultural Safety Center, UF/IFAS Release Heat-Related Illness Toolkit

The Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (SCCAHS) and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have partnered to create an online toolkit to help protect agricultural workers from the summer heat. Last year’s sweltering summer temperatures convinced SCCAHS…

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Agronomist Sudeep Sidhu stands beside a field of cotton. (Courtesy of Sudeep Sidhu)

University Of Florida Scientist Tests Methods For Boosting America’s Cotton Crop

The United States leads the world in cotton exports by value, accounting for $5.7 billion, or 33%, of exports of the textile, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But researchers hope to bolster American production even more through a pair of studies designed to…

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