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A corn field, fallow field, and a field with tall grass or sugarcane in the Everglades Agricultural Area.

Making soil health more sustainable with Basaltic Rock Dust

by Mike Loizzo
January 13, 2025

Imagine using ordinary volcanic rock to solve some of agriculture’s biggest challenges. That is the goal of a team of researchers at the University of Florida. Dr. Jehangir “Jango” Bhadha, associate professor in the UF/IFAS department ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Basaltic Rock Dust, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Everglades Research And Education Center, Greenhouse Gas, Jango Bhadha, Jehangir Bhadha, Maria Silveira, Range Cattle Research And Education Center, Soil Health, USDA-NIFA
Corn and cotton

UF/IFAS researchers deploy drones to perfect nutrient rates

by Megan Winslow
January 13, 2025

The ability to detect crop nutrient deficiencies and promptly modify fertilizer application to address them is invaluable to agricultural producers — especially growers operating under slim profit margins. Identifying how much of a particular ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, UF/IFAS
Tags: Algorithm, Ayush Sharma, Best Management Practices Lab, BMP, Citra, Corn, Cotton, Crop, Drone, Environmental, Extension, Fertilizer, Grower, Hastings, Hastings Agricultural Extension Center, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Lakesh Sharma, Megan Winslow, NDVI, Nitrogen, NMP, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, North Florida Research And Education Unit, Nutrient, Nutrient Management Program, Plant Health, Plant Science Research And Education Unit, Producer, Recommendation, Research, Soil Fertility, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Sustainable, Suwannee Valley, UF, UF/IFAS
A wide shot of a poultry barn with young chicken eating.

Poultry Litter Biochar: sustainably boosting crop yields and soil health

by Mike Loizzo
January 12, 2025

What if agricultural waste could be transformed into a resource that boosts crop yields and improves soil health? A team of UF/IFAS researchers believes poultry litter biochar (PLB) has the potential to do just that. Dr. Andressa Freitas and ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Andressa Freitas, Biochar, Fertilizer, Phosphorus, Poultry Litter, Soil Health, Soil Nutrient Management, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Vimala Nair
Five people on a soils judging team stand in a soil pit, analyzing the soil horizons.

UF Soils Judging Team returns to competition after two decades, competes in Southeast Regional Contest

by Mike Loizzo
December 18, 2024

After a nearly 20-year hiatus, the University of Florida Soils Judging Team made a successful return to the field. The four-member squad competed in the 2024 Southeast Regional Collegiate Soils Judging Contest hosted by the University of Kentucky ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Clubs & Volunteers, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Agronomy-Soils Club, College Of Agriculture And Life Sciences, Heather Enloe, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Soils Judging, VP Promise
Soil core sampling in a sandy field.

Decadal Soil Changes: UF/IFAS study aligns with World Soil Day 2024

by Mike Loizzo
December 5, 2024

This World Soil Day (Dec. 5), as we celebrate the theme "Caring for Soils: Measure, Monitor, Manage," UF/IFAS researchers are launching an initiative to better understand soil health dynamics. A team of scientists, including Dr. Yang Lin, Dr. ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Carbon Storage, Dynamic Soil Properties, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nikolaos Tziolas, Sabine Grunwald, Soil Health, Soil Mapping, Soil Survey, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, World Soil Day, Yang Lin
Several cattle graze in a pasture also used to grow pine trees.

Researchers to examine how integrated crop-livestock systems can enhance agricultural resilience and sustainability

by Mike Loizzo
December 4, 2024

The UF/IFAS-Embrapa Collaborative Climate Change Research Fund is backing a study on integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS). Embrapa is the state-owned research corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. The study aims ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, Livestock, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Climate Change, Clyde Fraisse, EMBRAPA, Global Food Systems Institute, Index-based Insurance, Integrated Crop-livestock Systems, Jose Dubeux, Nikos Tziolas, Sarah Strauss, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences
ANSERV Labs

Know your soil: UF/IFAS lab analysis reveals composition prior to planting

by Megan Winslow
October 31, 2024

Franta Majs is a common fixture at Florida plant shows and sales. He doesn’t attend to shop, however. He’s on hand to offer advice. (more…) READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, UF/IFAS
Tags: Acidity, Amendment, ANSERV Labs, Extension, Fertilizer, Franta Majs, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Lime, Macronutrient, Megan Winslow, Micronutrient, Nutrient Management Program, PH, Plant, Planting, Research, Soil, Soil Test, Test, UF, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Analytical Services, University Of Florida

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