What: The UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural Extension Center is hosting a centennial anniversary dinner and Field Day tour event showcasing over 100 years of advancement and commitment to the Tri-County Agriculture Area, an epicenter of potato growth and development across the state.
Where: 9500 Cowpen Branch Road, Hastings, FL 32145
When: Saturday, March 28, 2026; Field Day Tour begins at 1:00 p.m. with the 100th Anniversary Celebration Dinner Event to follow from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
Cost: Free
Registration: Please see the Eventbrite link for registration.
About: The UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural Extension Center invites guests to celebrate its centennial with Field Day tours, interactions with guest speakers, and attendance at a 100th Year Celebration dinner.
Through partnership with local crop producers and commitment to innovation and research, the UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural Extension Center has cemented its place as a valuable resource across the Tri-County Agriculture Area for more than a century.
“It’s a really unique center because we do not have faculty stationed onsite, so it requires a lot of relationship building and trust,” said former UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural Extension Center Director, Christian Christensen, Ph.D.
Today, the Center provides cutting-edge research across two main crops, potatoes and cabbage, focusing on areas like horticultural disease and nutrient management, variety and breeding development, and precision agriculture technology investigations.
“What we’re continuing to do now is research projects to help growers make their farms more efficient, make their crops more profitable, or have higher yields,” said current UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural Extension Center Director, Zack Scarbrough.
Guests can check out new technologies as well as historical farming equipment extending back to the 1950s and learn from UF/IFAS faculty, experts, and researchers during the annual Field Day portion of the event. Transportation by tram provides guests with access to different grow sites and facilities across the research farm to explore the legacy and future of agricultural innovation.
Scarbrough hopes the Field Day event draws the community together, “What it’s going to do is not just allow for fun, but bring a lot of people back together to see the work continue and the goals we’re hoping to achieve in the future.”
Once the Field Day portion concludes, guests are invited to join a panel of invited speakers, including local growers, faculty from UF/IFAS, and representatives from the Florida Farm Bureau, for a 100th Year Celebration dinner followed by a roundtable discussion and Q&A session.
The event is free and open to the public. News media is welcome to attend.
Media contact: Jamie Groh, Public Relations Specialist, (o) 352-294-3313, (c) 561-713-6822, jamieg@ufl.edu
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ABOUT UF/IFAS
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.
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