Category: Farm Management

Cover Crops in Sandy Soil: Legumes and Grasses Differ in Nitrogen Cycling

by Mike Loizzo
October 29, 2025

Florida’s sandy soils typically have low organic matter and high permeability. That means a greater risk of nutrient leaching before a plant or tree can use what it needs. Cover crops are an option for improving soil fertility because they ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Carbon, Cover Crops, Inorganic Nitrogen, Juma Bukomba, Legumes, Mary Lusk, Nitrogen, Sandy Soils, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Sorghum, Sudangrass, Sunn Hemp

Unlocking Nutrients In Florida’s Rice Fields

by Mike Loizzo
October 13, 2025

The Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) boasts organic-rich soil, ideal for farming. Rice producers, however, must deal with phosphorus and iron tightly bound in the soil, making them unavailable to plants. New University of Florida Institute ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Farm Management, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Everglades Agricultural Area, Everglades Research And Education Center, Flooding, Iron, Jango Bhadha, Nutrient Management, Phosphorus, Rice, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Sugarcane, Suraj Melkani

Flooded Rice Crop Rotation May Slow Carbon Loss, Subsidence in Everglades Organic Soils

by Mike Loizzo
October 8, 2025

South Florida’s muck soils store carbon built over thousands of years. However, decades of drainage for agriculture have resulted in a shift in redox condition resulting in soil, organic matter, and subsequent carbon losses. A new University ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, Water
Tags: Dynamic Soil Properties, Everglades Agricultural Area, Everglades Research And Education Center, Histosols, Jango Bhadha, Jehangir Bhadha, Rice, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Xue Bai

Protecting Florida Citrus and Groundwater

by Mike Loizzo
September 29, 2025

Florida’s citrus groves have faced enormous challenges over the last two decades. The Asian citrus psyllid has spread citrus greening disease, known as Huanglongbing, or HLB, to trees across the state. The result is a decline in citrus production ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Research, Water
Tags: Aquifer, Citrus, Davie Kadyampakeni, HLB, Huanglongbing, Imidacloprid, Qudus Uthman, Sandy Soils, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Water

Students Gain Hands-On Experience through Summer Internships and Research

by Mike Loizzo
September 14, 2025

Undergraduate students in the UF/IFAS Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences (SWES) spent Summer 2025 turning class lessons into real-world practice. Through internships, research experiences and fieldwork, they gained skills for ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Farm Management, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching, Water
Tags: Environmental Management In Agriculture And Natural Resources, Internship, Nature Coast Biological Station, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Summer Experience

UF/IFAS for Your Soil and Water Testing Needs — Science You Can Trust

by Mike Loizzo
August 24, 2025

When it comes to caring for your yard or garden, accuracy and expertise matter. The UF/IFAS Extension Soil Testing Laboratory (ESTL) provides precision, reliability, and support to make a difference in your soil management. The ESTL offers a ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Lawn, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, Water
Tags: Extension Soil Testing Lab, Franta Majs, IFAS Analytical Service Laboratories, Landscaping, Lawn, Nutrient Management, Soil Fertility, Soil Health, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Turfgrass

UF/IFAS researchers deploy drones to perfect nutrient rates

by Megan Winslow
January 13, 2025

The ability to detect crop nutrient deficiencies and promptly modify fertilizer application to address them is invaluable to agricultural producers — especially growers operating under slim profit margins. Identifying how much of a particular ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, UF/IFAS
Tags: Algorithm, Ayush Sharma, Best Management Practices Lab, BMP, Citra, Corn, Cotton, Crop, Drone, Environmental, Extension, Fertilizer, Grower, Hastings, Hastings Agricultural Extension Center, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Lakesh Sharma, Megan Winslow, NDVI, Nitrogen, NMP, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, North Florida Research And Education Unit, Nutrient, Nutrient Management Program, Plant Health, Plant Science Research And Education Unit, Producer, Recommendation, Research, Soil Fertility, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Sustainable, Suwannee Valley, UF, UF/IFAS

Researchers to examine how integrated crop-livestock systems can enhance agricultural resilience and sustainability

by Mike Loizzo
December 4, 2024

The UF/IFAS-Embrapa Collaborative Climate Change Research Fund is backing a study on integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS). Embrapa is the state-owned research corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. The study aims ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, Livestock, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Climate Change, Clyde Fraisse, EMBRAPA, Global Food Systems Institute, Index-based Insurance, Integrated Crop-livestock Systems, Jose Dubeux, Nikos Tziolas, Sarah Strauss, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences

Making organic grain and forage production in the Southeast profitable and sustainable

by Mike Loizzo
October 20, 2024

As the market for organically grown products increases, producers are struggling to keep up with demand. While conventional farming relies on inorganic means to boost production and control pests, organic farming has more limited options. UF/IFAS ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Farm Management, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Double Cropping, Forage, Gabriel Maltais-Landry, Organic Farming, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, USDA-NIFA

Retired UF professor leaves enduring legacy online through sustainable agriculture course

by Megan Winslow
August 19, 2024

It’s been years since University of Florida Professor Emeritus George Hochmuth set foot inside a classroom, yet students from all over the world still benefit from his lessons every day. As the architect of Coursera’s Sustainable Agricultural ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Fruits & Vegetables, UF/IFAS
Tags: Agricultural, Agriculture, Class, Course, Coursera, Crop Production, Farm, Farming, Free, George Hochmuth, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Lecture, Megan Winslow, Nutrient Demands, Nutrition, Online Course, Professor Emeritus, Soil Fertility, Soil Testing, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Student, Sustainable Agricultural Land Management, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Practices, UF, UF/IFAS, University Of Florida

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