Agriculture

Officials said that some farmers may have avoided additional devastating losses from Helene, but only because they had not yet replanted after Debby hit just eight weeks before.

Advocates of the technology say it will ease the sector’s labor shortage, help farmers manage rising costs, and provide workers with respite from extreme weather — issues that are closely related to climate change.

The amount of land in Florida dedicated to growing citrus continues to shrink.Reports issued last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Florida had 17 percent fewer acres used for growing oranges, grapefruit and other citrus than in 2023, though the harvest during the 2023-2024 growing season was valued 6 percent higher than the previous season.

The Gulf Coast Citrus Growers Association, which represented growers in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties, announced it was closing down last month. It’s another sign of the decline of Florida’s citrus industry, which once produced about 80% of the nation’s citrus, but right now produces less than 17%. For context, in 2003–2004, the state's growers had a record crop of more than 240 million 90-pound boxes of oranges. Based on the latest forecast, they'll produce about 18 million boxes this season. We discuss what the Gulf Coast Citrus Growers Association was, and to try and look into the future of Florida’s citrus industry.

Military veterans can learn agricultural skills through a program at UF. WGCU’s Cary Barbor has more.

The bus was transporting 53 farmworkers shortly after 6:30 a.m. when it collided with a pickup truck in Marion County, about 80 miles north of Orlando, the Florida Highway Patrol said.Then driver of the pickup was later arrested on driving under the influence-manslaughter charges.

Florida has expanded rules blocking importation of some cattle because of the spread of a type of avian influenza in dairy herds in other states. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson on Monday issued an emergency rule that requires most dairy cattle being imported into Florida to meet federal testing and movement requirements for Bovine Associated Influenza A Syndrome.

An study undertaken by the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning explores possible impacts of development and sea level rise on Florida’s agricultural lands and their conservation values.

They're huge, sometimes bedecked with dark green and bright yellow-orange coloration and almost always looking like something out of a Hollywood apocalypse flick."They" are the eastern lubber grasshopper. These grasshoppers seemingly on steroids are out in force throughout the Southeast, including some parts of Florida. They’re munching away on landscape plants, citrus and vegetable crops, while gardeners and growers are trying to minimize the damage.

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension is offering online workshops to teach the basics of planning, implementing and building a farm operation for newcomers venturing into agriculture. Instructors will deliver the workshops in English and Spanish.