Take a serious step forward in becoming a farmer with our eight-week series that covers all aspects of starting a farm business, including market research, business planning, production, pricing, sales, marketing, legal and regulatory. Guest ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Farm Management![closeup on hands of farmer using a weed cutter carefully around a newly sprouted plant. [credit: uf/ifas]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/wp-content/blogs.dir/40/files/2024/02/2024_Ag_blogSmallFarmSchool_1338x357.png)
“Your preparation for the real world is not in the answers you’ve learned, but in the questions you’ve learned how to ask.” -- Bill Watterson What’s With All the Questions!?! KEY QUESTIONS • Who? ✔ • What ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Farm Management![a girl wearing black clothes looks an an oversized analog alarm click. [credit: pixabay.com, un-perfekt]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/wp-content/blogs.dir/40/files/2024/01/2024_Ag_impatientChildClock_pixabayUn-PerfektCROP1338x357TINY-2.jpg)
"If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four hours sharpening the axe." -- Abraham Lincoln As a kid, we sometimes couldn't wait for Christmas and we tore into the presents early. Finally, when the big day arrived, we ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Farm Management![aerial view of rural town with an array of homes surrounded by multiple farms and farmland. [credit: unsplash.com, luca j]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/wp-content/blogs.dir/40/files/2023/12/2023_Ag_farmlandByTown01_unsplashLucaJCROP1338x357TINY.png)
"There is no there there." -- Gertrude Stein, Author "Where" your farm business is located is a very important question. It matters in many ways. Like the Ashton Kutcher movie, "Dude, Where's My Car?", you don't want the location of your farm ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Farm Management
“I’m interested in farming, but I don’t know where to start.” (more…) READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture![a woman walks through a corn field and scans growing crops. [credit: unsplash.com, gonzalo facello]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/wp-content/blogs.dir/40/files/2023/11/2023_Ag_farmingOrganicWomanCornfield_unsplashGonzaloFacelloCROP1338x357TINY.png)
"It isn't what you do, but how you do it." —John Wooden, Hall of Fame basketball coach Last time we talked about some of the thousands of different products, the "what" you can produce on a farm, from livestock to bees and fish, from trees ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Farm Management
I just love growing food hydroponically! Why? I am more likely to harvest it and eat it, too. Over 600,000 YouTubers love how I teach hydroponics in 8 minutes. You can get growing with that free video, but maybe it only 'wet' your appetite? ... READ MORE
Category: 4-H & Youth, Agribusiness, Agriculture, , Clubs & Volunteers, Community Volunteers, Conservation, Crops, Curriculum, Events, Farm Management, Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Work & Life![Batch of new chicks in the brooder, won't be ready for pastures for weeks. [CREDIT: UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, Rod Greder]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/wp-content/blogs.dir/40/files/2023/09/2023_Ag_chickBrooder_ufsaraextRodGrederCROP1338x357TINY.png)
There are as many microorganisms in a spoonful of healthy soil as stars in the sky and neurons in the brain. Astounding facts! I'm not sure which is more mind-bending. There are almost as many different ways to farm and things to produce. KEY ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Farm Management
KEY QUESTIONS • Who? • WHY? • What? • Where? • When? • How? Today, we're about the "why." We'll start with a quote about reason, from JP Morgan, the famous American banker and financier: "A man always has two ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Farm Management![photo illustration of corn (close up) against a blue sky with white clouds. [credit: pixabay.com, skitterphoto]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/wp-content/blogs.dir/40/files/2023/08/grassandsky_EDIT1338x357.png)
KEY QUESTIONS • WHO? • Why? • What? • Where? • When? • How? So, you want to get started farming, but don't know where to begin. Simple: start by lining up your vision, mission, values, and guiding principles. Be ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Farm Management