With citrus greening sweeping the sunshine state, many local farmers are looking to diversify yet again. Lee County agriculture and natural resources director Roy Beckford has seen this cycle many times. He works with the University of Florida IFAS office in Southwest Florida and recalls how the coconut industry took a hit, and then growers planted decorative palms, which took another hit during the housing crisis.
Similarly, produce crops see their share of crises and now more than ever diversification is the name of the game. Instead of citrus, we are now at the height of peach season in south Florida. Even blueberries are starting to take hold, and now a new fruit is making headway—the luffa. Dr. Roy Beckford will be in the studio today to talk about the fruit which, when mature, makes the exfoliating sponges most are familiar with. It’s the immature luffa that people are growing for food.
We’ll also talk about about another way farmers are branching out- into Agri-tourism with Lee County’s Urban Farm trail.
