UF/IFAS Extension Jackson County is pleased to announce that Abigail (Abbey) Payne is the new Commercial and Environmental Horticulture Agent. Abbey will be focusing on consultations and educational programs for specialty crop farmers in the county which includes fruit and vegetable producers as well as ornamental, nut, and sod production growers. Abbey will also be coordinating the Jackson County Master Gardner Program that provides homeowners with educational programming and consultation on gardening, lawn, and landscape maintenance. Abbey’s educational programming will utilize a wide range of tools for local horticulturists including educational classes, electronic newsletters, publications, and educational videos. Abbey will provide consultation services including plant, insect, weed and disease identification, soil and nematode testing, as well as management recommendations to address these issues.
Abbey is native to Kentucky who moved to Florida two years ago. Prior to her current position, she was a grower for a local nursery in the area, and most recently, a Program Technician for the Farm Service Agency of USDA. Abbey has a background in ornamental horticulture and floriculture. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in General Horticulture with a minor in Floriculture from Western Kentucky University in 2020. She will start working on a master’s degree with the University of Florida in the coming years.
If you have questions about specialty crop farming or home gardens and landscapes, contact Abbey at the UF/IFAS Extension Jackson County office at 2741 Penn Ave, Marianna, FL; by phone at 850-482-9620, or via email at payne.abigail@ufl.edu. You can also follow the horticulture program by signing up for email newsletters at subscribe.ifas.ufl.edu. Once on the site, select Gardening in the Panhandle for homeowners or Panhandle Ag e-News for commercial farmers. If you are a Facebook user, like and follow the Master Gardner page @JacksonFLMasterGardeners. Commercial farmers can find information tailored to them at @FlaPanhandleAgriculture.
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