Category: Florida Agriculture

The agricultural production losses Florida experienced due to Hurricane Debby have an estimated value between $93.7 million and $263.2 million, according to a preliminary UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program (EIAP) report based on producer surveys. The Category 1 storm made landfall Aug. 5 near Steinhatchee,…

Read More Hurricane Debby: Florida Agricultural Production Losses Top $93M, UF Economists Estimate

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…

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

The community of termite scientists have achieved a major milestone. An international team of 46 researchers has unveiled a new, comprehensive classification system for termites, shedding light on this often-misunderstood group of insects. All living species are classified through a process called taxonomy, which is…

Read More International Team Of Scientists Make Taxonomic Breakthrough By Rewriting The ‘Termite Dictionary’

People with a green thumb for growing tomatoes are giving University of Florida scientists good data to help them find tastier tomatoes. Through a citizen science program, Denise Tieman, a UF/IFAS research associate professor of horticultural sciences and her lab are getting viable data from…

Read More Citizen Scientists Help University Of Florida Researchers Find Best-Tasting Tomatoes

Want to make cheesecake from home and sell it? You’re hardly alone, but that’s a tricky prospect. “People love cheesecake. But it doesn’t meet Florida’s Cottage Food Law. You can’t make it from your home. If you have to refrigerate the product, you can’t make…

Read More Aspiring Food Entrepreneurs Can Call UF/IFAS Specialist For More Info On Food Safety

University of Florida scientists have identified the root causes threatening the health and productivity of some of Florida’s most beloved tropical fruits: dragon fruit, guava and passion fruit. The reveal: New species of the microscopic roundworms known as nematodes that live in the soil and…

Read More UF/IFAS Scientists Uncover Root Causes Threatening Guava, Passion Fruit, And Dragon Fruit In South Florida

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced today the preservation of over 386 acres of agricultural land in Heart Bar Ranch, Osceola County, through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. The land will be protected under a…

Read More Florida Commissioner Wilton Simpson Announces Preservation Of Farmland In Osceola County

Florida’s oyster population has declined during the past 15 years because of overharvest, hurricanes, changing environmental conditions and more. In particular, Apalachicola Bay has seen a pronounced reduction. “Oyster farming has been seen as a way to continue the supply of oysters because the wild…

Read More New Technologies May Help Oyster Farmers Increase Their Harvests, Reduce Labor

Researchers at UF/IFAS are harvesting their first crop of potentially disease-resistant wine grapes in Florida. The first crop at UF/IFAS’s Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra, Florida, of Pierce’s disease-resistant grapes, showed no signs of disease. The grape variety was developed by the…

Read More Disease-Resistant Wine Grapes Could Be Boon For Florida’s Viticulture

How do plants adapt when they go into space? That’s the question the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hopes to answer with a novel space-based experiment happening Thursday at 9 a.m. EST when a UF/IFAS horticultural sciences researcher launches with…

Read More University Of Florida Space Biologist Prepares For Launch On Thursday