Please see caption below story.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences will be hosting an upcoming sustainable agriculture networking and outreach event on Monday, September 19 from 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Frog Song Organics (4317 NE U.S, Highway 301, Hawthorne, FL 32640) and Hawthorne Community Market (7040 U.S. Highway 301, Hawthorne, FL 32640).

To help promote sustainable agriculture in north central Florida, UF/IFAS researchers and Extension agents have been exploring both the needs of producers in our region and possible resources to help meet those needs. This event, funded in part by a Southern SARE grant, will help them put their ideas into action by bringing north central Florida Extension agents and producers together to network with each other, discuss their needs and share their ideas to promote sustainable agriculture. The event is additionally sponsored by the UF/IFAS Field and Fork program and the UF/IFAS Small Farms team.

Please join us for an evening of on-farm learning, great food, and important discussion about the future of farming in north central Florida and how we can create a vibrant and useful network that will help us both address our challenges and share opportunities.

The event will feature:

• A farm tour exploring future trends for farming and marketing local food
• A great dinner featuring local food
• Updates on UF/IFAS resources for sustainable agriculture
• A conversation about how to develop a network for farming in our region

Please check out our official registration page (http://bit.ly/AgKickoff ), website (http://agnetworkncfl.wixsite.com/home), and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/agnetworkncfl/) for more details and to register for the event. Registration is free! If you have any additional questions, please contact Katie Stofer at agnetworkncfl@gmail.com.

Caption: This event, funded in part by a Southern SARE grant, will help bring north central Florida Extension agents and producers together to network with each other, discuss their needs and share their ideas to promote sustainable agriculture. UF/IFAS Photo by Tyler Jones.

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By: Nicole Taylor Baldwin, 954-257-0142, ntbaldwin@ufl.edu

Source: Katie Stofer, 352-474-2328, agnetworkncfl@gmail.com

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