Did you know that the first grapes grown in North America were muscadine grapes? Native to the southeastern United States, muscadines can still be found growing wild in Florida and are also grown commercially.1 Muscadine grapes are distinct ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, SFYL Hot TopicTallahassee may have been windy and gray last Wednesday, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of those attending this year’s Taste of Florida Agriculture. Taste of Florida is attended by many agricultural organizations from around the ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture, Livestock, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot TopicWhen we think of horses, we often think of speed, power, and elegance. However, supporting all this beauty and potential are four important things—hooves! Lack of proper hoof care can lead to a host of health problems and can even leave horses ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Livestock, SFYL Hot TopicHave you ever picked up a piece of produce at the grocery store—say, a bell pepper, as I did recently—and noticed that it was grown in someplace you didn’t expect? In my case, I found a bell pepper that was grown in Holland (the Netherlands). ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm ManagementBiological control is the practice in agriculture and environmental stewardship of using the “natural enemies” of pests and invasives to control these unwanted plants or animals.1,2 These natural enemies may be predatory, parasitic, or infectious ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Conservation, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot TopicWe’ve all been there: you’re about to enjoy a piece of fruit, and all of a sudden you notice that the sticker is still attached. If you’re like me, you may have wondered, why is there a sticker on my fruit? (especially if you had trouble ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, SFYL Hot TopicYou’ve probably seen the terms “pasteurized” or “ultra-pasteurized” on dairy and juice products before. Maybe you know that pasteurization, named for the French scientist Louis Pasteur, involves heating something to temperatures that ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Food Safety, SFYL Hot TopicYou may have heard that low temperatures can damage citrus trees and greatly impact the citrus industry—but did you know that the most common way to combat freezes in Florida is to encourage ice to form on and around citrus trees? It seems ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, SFYL Hot TopicJust as our diets change with the seasons, so do the diets of grazing cattle and other livestock. In the spring and summer, these animals munch on perennial grasses, but in the fall and winter these grasses go dormant. Livestock producers sometimes ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, Livestock, SFYL Hot TopicYou may have seen these small, oblong, rather mysterious orange fruits at your grocery store or farmers market. Did you know… Kumquats are a citrus fruit. In fact, they are the smallest citrus fruit. (UF/IFAS Plant Identification Learning ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, Health & Nutrition