Category: UF/IFAS

Dr. Jorge E. Pena, professor of entomology and nematology and PhD. student Daniel Carrillo, UF's Tropical Research and Education Center, Homestead, FL evaluating infestations of the red palm mite. 2010 Annual Research Report Photo.

UF launches initiative to support rapid-response research when invasive pests threaten Florida agriculture

by Lourdes Mederos
September 14, 2026

When a new invasive pest or plant disease appears, scientists have a small window of opportunity to address the threat before it spreads and becomes a much larger problem, potentially devastating Florida's agriculture, nursery industries, natural ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, Crops, Events, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS
Tags: Agriculture, Challenge 250, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Nursery, One Night In The Tropics, Rapid-response, Safeguard Ecosystems, Top News
Gloved hands labeling petri dishes. UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones

Are food recalls becoming more common? UF food expert puts recalls into perspective

by Lourdes Mederos
September 10, 2026

Recent recalls involving eggs and salmonella-linked jalapeños, along with investigations into cyclospora and other produce-related illnesses have fueled concerns by consumers that food recalls are becoming more frequent. While the steady ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, Food Safety, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Cyclospora, Featured, Food Recalls, Food Safety, Food Supply, Foodborne Pathogens, Keith Schneider, News, Outbreak, Salmonella
close up of fruits and vegetables including kiwi, potatoes, beans and peppers

UF’s Food is Medicine Initiative gaining momentum to harness the power of cross-campus collaboration

by Chris Vivian
September 10, 2026

Improving health is a shared goal, but the key to addressing complex health challenges is bringing everyone to the table to share knowledge, learn from one another, and find solutions. Through our Food is Medicine (FiM) Initiative, UF is bringing ... READ MORE

Category: Health & Nutrition, UF/IFAS
Tags: Featured, Food Is Medicine, Health, Nutrition, Special Topics
11. The margined calligrapher (Toxomerus marginatus) did not shift its activity timing in relation to human modification. 12. Photo Credit – Corey T. Callaghan

Pollinators keep a later calendar in human-modified landscapes — A UF study explains the phenomenon

by Lourdes Mederos
September 9, 2026

Human development may be changing more than where pollinators live — it may also be changing when they are active. University of Florida researchers at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) found that pollinator ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, , Community Volunteers, Conservation, Forests, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Citizen Science, Conservation, Ecology, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Human Development, INaturalist, Nature, Pollinators, Special Topics, UF/IFAS
Dr. Lawrence Reeves, inspecting a bag of mosquitoes collected with an aspirator (essentially a vacuum for mosquitoes) from boulders at Cochise Stronghold, Dragoon Mountains, Cochise Co., Arizona. 15. Photo Credit: Photo: Dan Killingsworth

Mosquito species known only from Mexico recorded in U.S. for first time

by Lourdes Mederos
September 8, 2026

While most people may associate mosquitoes with Florida’s swamps, Arizona’s deserts and mountains are also home to a surprising variety of mosquito species. A University of Florida mosquito scientist has documented one of those species ... READ MORE

Category: Health & Nutrition, Home Landscapes, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Florida, Florida Medical Entomology Lab, Invasive Species, Lawrence Reeves, Mosquito, Mosquito Diversity, Mosquito-borne Disease, Public Health, Top News
Geomatics students working with surveying equipment at the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC). Photo taken 12-03-25

Media Alert: UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center to Host Landscape, Nursery, and Controlled Plant Production Field Day

by Jamie Groh
September 1, 2026

What: The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC) will host its Landscape, Nursery, and Controlled Plant Production Field Day to provide visitors with ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS
Tags: Agricultural Research, Apopka Florida, Community Outreach, Controlled Environment Agriculture, Extension Education, Featured, Field Day, Florida Agriculture, FNGLA, Geomatics, Green Industry, Landscape Horticulture, Mid-Florida Research And Education Center, MREC, Nursery Industry, Ornamental Horticulture, Plant Production, Plant Science, Space Biology, UF Research, UF/IFAS
Photo of interns while capturing tegus, surveying alligator nests and capturing pythons.

Fighting Florida’s invasive species, UF/IFAS interns are on the front lines gaining hands-on experience

by Lourdes Mederos
August 27, 2026

From tracking pythons in Big Cypress National Preserve to trapping invasive tegus in South Florida, University of Florida students are stepping out of the classroom to gain hands-on experience in some of the state's most vulnerable ecosystems ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Invasive Species, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Argentine Black And White Tegu, Coservation, Ecosystems, Everglades National Park, Invasive Species, Pythons, Wildlife
The South Florida 4-H TechGarage Solar Car Team celebrates together in Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway before setting out across Texas. o Pictured from left: Gavin Vilarchao, Oliver Collins, Lars Erik Wiik, Saakshar Patel, Caiden Douglas-Jacques, Zayn Zyoud, Tomas Negron, Sam Merlin, Aiden Phipps, Emily Herman, Jose Moncada, Emily Boudreaux, Harley Duarte, and Makayla Derival. o Photo by Allan Phipps

4-H goes solar: South Florida teens build a national championship-winning solar car earning a national title

by Lourdes Mederos
August 26, 2026

A 14-member team of South Florida teenagers is redefining what workforce development looks like through 4-H at UF/IFAS Extension Broward and Palm Beach counties. Instead of raising livestock or growing vegetables, these students are designing, ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Professional Development, UF/IFAS, Work & Life
Tags: Engineering, Florida 4-H, STEM, TechGarage Solar Car Club, Top News, UF/IFAS Extension, Workforce Development, Youth
Natural Area Teaching Laboratory boardwalk covered in high water. Photo taken 06-25-21.

NSF awards UF $1.79M grant to harness AI-powered environmental forecasting with help from HiPerGator

by Lourdes Mederos
August 25, 2026

Water and carbon are key resources people rely on every day, from the availability of drinking water and preventing floods to storing carbon in forests and wetlands. The National Science Foundation has awarded a $1.79 million grant to ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, Conservation, Natural Resources, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Conservation, Flood, HiPerGator, Jiangxiao Qiu, National Science Foundation, Research, The Water Institute
Jacksonville skyline with tall buildings and a stormy sky.

Learn with Extension: How a Duval County grandmother learned to heal 

by Aaron Alexander
August 20, 2026

 In 2008, a devastating car accident left Princie Mikel, a retired nurse and grandmother in Duval County, “tore up from the floor up,” as she put it. After the crash, she had two broken hands, seven broken ribs, a crushed sternum, ... READ MORE

Category: Health & Nutrition, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Duval County, Family, Family And Consumer Sciences, Youth And Community Sciences

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