In The Field magazine Hillsborough edition

Letter from the Editor

Merry Christmas everyone! It’s the most wonderful time of year. It’s also the time of year that we SHOULD give ourselves permission to slow down and reflect upon the year behind us. I never seem to get that memo. Slowing down doesn’t work for me. I seem to keep going full steam ahead, trying to reach that point that I get to slow down. Anyone else with me?

STAFF

Publisher/Photography

Karen Berry

Senior Managing Editor/ Associate Publisher

Sarah Holt

Editor

Patsy Berry Sales

Karen Berry

Sarah Holt

Melissa Nichols

George Domedion

Creative Director/Illustrator

Juan Alvarez

It’s also that time that we reflect on our goals, or “resolutions,” we had for the year. Did you reach yours? If so, good for you! If not, forgive yourself, reset and find new goals. You don’t necessarily have to wait until the new year. Set smaller, more obtainable goals and pat yourself on the back for reaching them. If you are feeling super overwhelmed, try this exercise. Be very still, reflect on the past year, and write down 10 things you are thankful for. You may be surprised at the outcome!

Whatever you do to celebrate, please keep in mind the true reason for the Christmas season.

Luke 2:8-12 (NIV)

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

And that, my friends, should bring you peace.

So, In The Field readers, are you ready to take on a fresh new year? I am! I’m looking foreward to the blessings waiting for me. I hope you are, too.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. - Numbers 6:25

Photography

Karen Berry

Paul Sombric (cover) Captured By Crown

Staff Writers

Al Berry Sandy Kaster

James Frankowiak

Sean Green

Contributing Writers Woody Gore John Dicks

Social Media

Victoria Saunders

In The Field Magazine is published monthly and is available through local Hillsborough County businesses, restaurants, and many local venues. It is also distributed by U.S. mail to a target market, which includes all of the Greenbelt Property owners, members of the Hillsborough County Farm Bureau and Strawberry Grower’s Association.

Letters, comments and questions can be sent to P.O. Box 5377, Plant City, Florida 33563-0042 or you are welcome to email them to: info@inthefieldmagazine.com or call 813-759-6909

Advertisers warrant & represent the descriptions of their products advertised are true in all respects. In The Field Magazine assumes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers. All views expressed in all articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Berry Publications, Inc. Any use or duplication of material used in In the Field magazine is prohibited without written consent from Berry Publications, Inc.

Published by Berry Publications, Inc.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

-Dennis Carlton Jr. - President

Greetings,

My best wishes to each of you and your families as we celebrate this special time of the year. It is a great time to enjoy the company of family and friends, as well as look to the coming New Year.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to my fellow farmers and ranchers for our collective efforts in providing fruits, vegetables, row crops, beef cattle and dairy products to consumers across the U.S. and beyond. Their dependence upon agriculture is significant and will increase as our population grows.

We do this with an eye to sustainability and enhancement to production despite ongoing challenges from the weather, rising costs and the need for labor. As Florida Farm Bureau President Jeb Smith has noted, “The sustainability of a farm involves many dimensions, including effective and responsible leadership, resource conservation, productivity and profitability. Above all, agriculture is a business, and it must be profitable to sustain any of its dimensions.”

I am proud to be part of this industry and I am committed - just as each of you - to do what we must to carry forward our industry into the future and meet the growing needs of our global community. An important part of that is the continuing need to educate consumers of all ages about agriculture and its importance. That is an important, ongoing initiative of our association throughout the year.

Our outreach takes many forms. From educating

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

youngsters as we do at Ag-Venture, to participating in the Florida State Fair and Florida Strawberry Festival, we continuously reach out to the community to help them understand our role and its importance. As President Smith has noted, “preserving domestic food production is vital for the health of our families, as well as our country.”

As you and your family and friends enjoys this holiday season, you might want to consider a visit to the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds for a ride through the Festival of Lights and visit to Santa’s Village where you can learn about the legacy of agriculture here in Hillsborough County.

Let me close by reminding those of you who are not Hillsborough County Farm Bureau members to please consider joining and help strengthen our “Voice” as we strive to tell the story of agriculture and its importance to us all. Visit www.hcfarmbureau.org for more information on membership benefits and volunteer opportunities.

Dennis Carlton Jr.

Dennis Carlton Jr. - President

Board of Directors

Dennis Carlton Jr, President; Carl Bauman, Vice-President; Tony Lopez, Treasurer; Madison Astin Salter, Secretary; Tiffany D. Randall, Jake Cremer, Brittany Coleman, Travis Council, Drew Futch, Rep. Lawrence McClure, Sammi Wilcox, Michelle Williamson, Casey Runkles, Gayle Yanes

By Libby Hopkins

E ndang E r E d S p E ci ES Florida Bonamia

The Florida Bonamia or the Bonamia grandiflora as it’s known by its scientific name, is a rare species of flowering plant in the morning glory family known by the common names Florida Lady’s Nightcap, Florida bonamia, and Scrub Morning Glory. It is endemic to Central Florida, where there are about 100 known populations remaining, many of which are within the bounds of the Ocala National Forest. The plant has declined in recent decades primarily due to the development of its habitat, which is being converted to urban zones and citrus groves. This is the primary reason that the plant was federally listed as a threatened species in 1987.

Florida Bonamia is a perennial flowering vine. Its showy blooms vary slightly in color from a bright blue in the morning to a pale lavender by the afternoon, at which time, the blooms close. They are solitary, five-lobed and funnel-shaped with white throats. Leaves are grayish-green and ovate with pointed tips, entire margins and tiny hairs.

They are alternately arranged. Stems are hairy and herbaceous, arising in multiples from a single woody root mass and extending outward in different directions along the ground, unlike other morning glory species, which tend to be high climbing. Fruits are capsules that usually contain four smooth, oblong seeds.

The plant occurs in Florida scrub habitat on deep, dry, white sand in clearings among sand pines (Pinus clausa) and other

scrub flora. Other rare plants in the region include highlands scrub hypericum (Hypericum cumulicola), papery whitlowwort (Paronychia chartacea), scrub plum (Prunus geniculata) and scrub lupine (Lupinus aridorum).

It is adapted to the occasional wildfire that naturally occurs in the scrub habitat. Fire clears brush and heavy forest canopy which shade out the morning glory, providing the clearings that it requires.

Fire suppression efforts are generally detrimental to the species. Controlled burns and other methods of clearing excessive vegetation are part of the recovery plan. Where the morning glory is provided appropriate habitat, it can become plentiful and even abundant. It has the capacity to introduce itself into newly cleared, sandy plots and take hold vigorously; however, it does not tolerate much disturbance once established.

14th Annual Florida Ag-Expo –Good News for Producers

By Jim Frankowiak

Specialty crop growers in attendance at the 14th annual Florida Ag Expo received a range of good news about the industry and its future, as well as enhanced capabilities planned for the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCEC).

The day-long event, which was held at the GCREC in Balm, began with remarks by Dr. Scott Angle, UF/IFAS Senior Vice President, who detailed plans for the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Agriculture that is to be built at the GCREC. The 19,000-square-foot facility will serve research, extension and development initiatives.

Keynote speaker, International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) President Cathy Burns, offered insights on emerging food trends, noting varied opportunities for fruit and vegetable growers. While she recognized the industry’s challenges that include inflation, labor, climate change and the impact of the global pandemic, Burns listed significant positive developments.

“Health and nutrition are now at the center of the conversation worldwide,” she said. “There is a growing realization that we can’t medicate ourselves out of disease and illness. Thinking of food as medicine is a concept that is taking off.”

Burns said there are more than 100 produce prescription programs active in nearly 40 states. “IFPA is supporting the inclusion of produce prescriptions as a covered benefit within the federal health system would reach more than 150 million Americans,” she said.

Food, nutrition and health have also become popular social media platform subjects and Burns said this is anticipated to grow rapidly over the near term. “Research has also shown that 75 percent of consumers are interested in a connection to a farm,” Burns said. The IFPA will support messaging on social media, as well as monitoring content for accuracy.

The anticipated recession was the focal point of remarks by Dr. Jerry Parrish of Florida State University (FSU). “The recession is coming based upon current signs, but Florida will fare better than the rest of the U.S.”

Greg Fowler, Senior Vice President of CNI, discussed the global supply chain and implications for crop protection products during the coming year. “Those supply chain issues are on the mend globally,” he said. Producers should have a plan and communicate with their suppliers. “That plan should have second choices,” he added. “Overall, 2023 should be okay for crop protection.”

Following the presentations, speakers participated in a question-answer discussion with audience members. Ag-Expo afternoon sessions included Breeding Program presentations by GCREC researchers:

• Breeding Efforts for Resistance to Neopestalotiopsis Disease in Strawberry - Seonghee Lee and Vance Whitaker

• Breeding Strategies to Incorporate Novel Resistance for Protection Against Bacterial Spot and Target Spot of Tomato - Sam Hutton

• Blackberry Breeding and Variety Trials - Zhanao Deng

• Viability of Artichoke and Hops as New FloridaShinsuke Agehara Pest Management presentations included:

• Techniques to Optimize Herbicide EffectivenessNathan Boyd

• Arthropod Management Using Biological, Cultural and Physical Controls – Sriyanka Lahiri

• Spray-Advisory System for Management of Foliar Diseases in Florida Watermelon – Mathews Paret

• Peeking Under Plastic: What Happens to Soil Microbes When You Fumigate – Sarah Strauss

Readers interested in presentation details may visit: gcrec. ifas.ufl.edu and link to individual presenters. The 14th Annual Florida Ag Expo was organized by AgNet Media in partnership with UF/IFAS GCREC, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA), Florida Tomatoes and the Florida Strawberry Association (FSGA). Reclamation

FARM BUREAU PARTICIPATES IN “HEALTH AND WELLNESS” DAY AS PART OF FARM-CITY WEEK

By Jim Frankowiak

Farm-City Week is a national celebration that is held annually to highlight contributions local farmers and rural communities make towards improving life in cities. This recognition, held the week leading up to Thanksgiving, began in the late 1950s when then President Dwight Eisenhower signed a proclamation declaring national Farm-City Week.

Ever since, rural agricultural areas have partnered with nearby cities to sponsor farm tours, food distribution efforts, public proclamations and poster or essay contests.

This year, Hillsborough County Farm Bureau (HCFB) partnered with Tampa Family Health Centers to host a Farm-City Week event where numerous groups in the community set up a “Health and Wellness” day. HCFB Executive Director Kaylee Poppell and Florida Farm Bureau District 5 Field Representative Ellen Cruz provided information on dairy and made butter with community members, as well as passed out non-perishable goods donated by HCFB board and Farm Bureau members.

AG-VENTURE HOSTS HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY THIRD-GRADERS

By Jim Frankowiak

Ag-Venture, the “hands-on” agricultural learning experience for Hillsborough County third-graders, had nearly 2,900 participants at the Florida State Fairgrounds the last week of October and first week of November. Designed to teach the importance of agriculture, Ag-Venture has been held annually since 1994.

This year’s event consisted of 10 stations with five hosted by Hillsborough County Farm Bureau (HCFB) and a like amount by the Hillsborough County Extension Service.

The Farm Bureau tracks included:

• Strawberry DNA – presented by Brianne Reichenbach, Michele Williamson, Samantha W. Bryant, Brittany Martin and Ellen Cruz

• Goods from the Woods (Forestry) – led by Nathan Bartosek and assisted by multiple foresters from the Florida Forest Service

• Pollination – Soil and Water Conservation District Executive Director Betty Jo Tompkins and Melissa Jackson

• Let’s Get Growing! (Plant life cycle) – Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful team members and HCFB board member Gayle Yanes

• Beef – Cade McCullough, Sydney Bagony and CattleWomen Association members

The Extension station topics and presenters were:

• Pizza Garden – Adrian Bowden, Norma Ross, Pam Bradford, Shawn Steed and Lisa Leslie

• Tropical Fish – Eric Cassiano, UF/IFAS Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory

• Dairy – Sonya Rose, Allison William and Kimberly BraggArmatrout

• Bees – members of Tampa Bay Beekeepers

• Water Wise – Lynn Barber, Heather Crowley, Will Stone, Paula Stephens and Susan Haddock

The overall goal of Ag-Venture since its inception has been to help Hillsborough County third-graders develop an understanding of where food comes from and the impact agriculture has on their daily lives. Student attendees are divided into groups with each having its own brightly colored “cowboy” hats to help set the tone for the day’s activities. Each group tour consists of station stops representing different aspects of agriculture with a variety of hands-on activities that balance both plant and animal science

Tampa Bay Fishing Report December 2022

December means pleasant fishing days with lower humidity. It also means that winter is just around the corner, as are those wretched north and northeast winds, negative low tides, and cooler water.

Since winters are on the way, perhaps we should understand how cooler temperatures can affect fishing. Temperatures affect almost every living creature, including fish. Low temperatures have inconsistent sensitivity levels on most fish when it comes to hot or cold. Consequently, everything has a comfort zone when it comes to temperature. As a result, the key to a good day of catching is looking for water temperatures that support these zones. When you find them, you’ll typically find fish. Typically during the winter, you might find areas like rocks and deep bars, dark creeks, rivers, canal bottoms, and deeper protected waters around jetties holding feeding fish. So, what comfort zones are we looking for when trying to catch fish? Three of the most targeted fish by Tampa Bay inshore anglers are Snook, Redfish, and Trout. Their respective comfort ranges average overall around 70-86 degrees. Individually, Snook appreciate 56-84 water temperatures, Redfish 65-75, and Spotted Sea Trout feed readily when the water temperatures are approximately 65 degrees up to about 80 degrees. It doesn’t mean you can’t catch them with varying degrees of water temperature, but your

chances improve when water temps make them happy.

Snook Canals, rivers, creeks, and deeper muddy-bottom flats are winter Snook tickets. As the water cools, Snook look to these areas for protection, and you’ll frequently find them sunning on shallow bars near deeper water. Deep-water bridges, pilings, and docks along the Hillsborough, Alafia, Little Manatee, and Manatee Rivers are good starting places. Try baits like small finger-size mullets, cut ladyfish, pinfish, and jumbo shrimp. You’ll find them all over Tampa Bay from the southeast shore, including the Alafia River, Picnic Island, Simmons Park, Bishop Harbor, Cockroach Bay, Joe Island, all the way down into Bradenton and Sarasota. Fishing is also good around Weedon Island, 4th Street, Cypress Flats, Rocky Point, and the Double Branch area. Tampa Bay offers good Snook fishing, especially at night around lighted docks and bridges.

Redfish action during the winter months is usually hot. Schooling fish are common around the flats near Weedon Island, Double Branch, Rocky Creek, Simmons Park, Bishops Harbor, Tarpon Key, Indian Key, and Joe Island. It’s not uncommon for large Bulls to work the outer edges and channels on low-tide days. Redfish are notorious for working schools of large mullet. For that reason, if you’re serious about catching this awesome

Capt. Woody Gore (www.captainwoodygore.com)

pugilist, learn to distinguish their wakes, typically more extensive and higher, from those of mullet. As you fish an area, be perceptive of any changes in water movement left, right, and ahead as this almost always indicates the presence of fish. Look for Redfish around many of the same areas as Snook.

Spotted Sea Trout Incoming or outgoing tides, live shrimp, artificial shrimp, Corks, and any good grass flat, and you’ll almost certainly catch Trout this month. Look for broken bottom areas (grass flats with plenty of potholes) around Pinellas Point, Tarpon Key, Fort Desoto, Picnic Island, Simmons Park, Bishop Harbor, and Joe Island down into Bradenton and Sarasota. Upper Tampa Bay sports good Trout fishing around Weedon Island, 4th Street, Cypress Flats, Rocky Point, and the Double Branch area. Fishing potholes for Trout can also produce the occasional tasty Flounder.

Cobia should begin showing up as the water temperatures drop in the panhandle. They show up first along the beaches during their migration and occasionally frequent our hot water runoffs around local power plants. Large shrimp, small crabs, and pinfish will do the trick. If you are interested in artificial lures, try a large worm bait about 8 to 10 inches rigged on a Jighead. Cobia cannot resist anything resembling an eel.

Other

Sheepshead around the bridges, oyster bars, rocky areas, and deep water docks should improve this month. Try using green mussels, shrimp, or oysters. Scrape the pilings to get them going.

Inshore Kingfish action should pick up along the beaches and Egmont Channel, particularly as the water temperatures drop.

Grouper action is always good during the cooler months. Try trolling large jigs on down riggers or planners, or use a MirrOlure 25+ diving lure.

813-477-3814

Capt. Woody Gore operates Tampa Bay's #1 Outdoor Fishing Guide Services. Guiding and fishing in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater areas for over fifty years, he offers first-class customer service, family-oriented charters, and a lifetime of memories.

Visit his website, www.captainwoodygore.com Email: fishing@captainwoodygore. com

“Jingle Bells” was written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas. The song was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh.” It was supposed to be played in the composer’s Sunday school class

In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas (the Dutch version of Santa Claus) arrives from Spain, not from the North Pole.

Hallmark introduced their first Christmas cards in 1915.

Ever wonder about the string on a box of animal crackers? Introduced around Christmas in 1902, the string was intended to be used to hang the cracker boxes on your Christmas tree.

Washington Irving is credited with creating Santa’s flying sleigh in 1819 and cartoonist Thomas Nast began illustrating our current image of Santa in Harper’s Weekly in 1863.

during Thanksgiving as a way to commemorate the famed Medford sleigh races.

HOPEWELL

ww w.HopewellFuneraI.com

FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1971

Figures of Speech

At a recent Plant City Chamber of Commerce Contact Breakfast I sat at a table with three local funeral home managers, Edwena Haney, Verna McKelvin and David Wolf. Edwena used a phrase I had not heard for years. She ended a sentence with “As a figure of speech.” “Figure of Speech,” now just what does that mean?

I went to Google on my computer and looked it up, and this is what I found:

Figures of speech

An expression that uses language in a nonliteral way, such as a metaphor or synecdoche, or in a structured or unusual way, such as anaphora or chiasmus, or that employs sounds, such as alliteration or assonance, to achieve a rhetorical effect.

Huh? No kidding. I do declare. I asked around to see if I could get an answer. Nobody seemed to know. I’ll bet if my English teacher, Mrs. Smith, Mac Smith’s mother, was alive she would have an answer I could understand.

As a last resort I went back to Google for the answer. I did not get an answer I could understand, but I found some examples of “Figure of Speech.”

You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice. The evening news is where they begin with “Good Evening,” and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it’s still on my list. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. Where there’s a will, there are relatives. And lastly the one most everyone can understand. Well, his goose is cooked! There you have it. Now you know a figure of speech when you hear it or read it.

As a kid I remember we would have fun seeing who could come up with the most tongue twisters. The most familiar most people remember is: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

See if you can read this one without making a mistake. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood? A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood.

Try these two: But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought I thought I thought. If the thought I thought I thought had been the thought I thought, I wouldn’t have thought so much.

A skunk sat on a stump. The stump thought the skunk stunk. The skunk thought the stump stunk. What stunk the skunk or the stump?

I have always thought the dictionary is filled with words that are seldom used. Open any page and you’re likely to find a word you have never heard, whether it’s gongoozle, which means to stare idly at a watercourse and do nothing, or zwodder, a feeling of drowsiness. We see it, and think to ourselves that we absolutely must use it in conversation.

Sometimes people never understand what you’re saying. They hear what they want to hear. Point in case! About a week before this last Christmas I was at the checkout stand at a local grocery store. The lady in front of me wanted to buy some postage stamps to mail some Christmas cards. Here’s the way the conversation went.

“Ma’am, I got these Christmas cards I need to mail today. I need 14 stamps, please.”

The clerk said, “O.K., I have books of 6 first class or 12 second-class stamps.” “OK”, she said. “I’ll take 14 second-class stamps.”

“I’m sorry,” the clerk said, “We only sell the stamps in books of 12.” “Yes. I need 14 stamps, please.”

The clerk replied, “Okay. So two books will be $11.04.”

The customer replies, “What! That seems like a lot of money for 14 stamps.” Clerk: “No, madam. That is for 24 stamps. We only sell them in books of 12.” Customer: “But I only want 14.”

The clerk remained calm and said. “Lady, we are not a post-office, we only sell stamps in books of 12. In order to get 14 stamps you will have to buy two books. I am sure you can use the rest of the stamps later. Now, if it’s a real problem there’s a post office just around the corner past the fire station, which will be open in the morning.”

Very loudly she says, “Don’t you understand I only need 14 stamps?”

The clerk at the cash register politely said, “Sorry, I cannot help you.” With that the lady said, “ Well give me one book!”

She turned and looked at me and said, “I’ll hand deliver the other two cards tomorrow.”

People not only hear what they want to hear, but have trouble writing what they want to say. As an example, here are some notes a teacher friend of mine collected over the years.

“My son is under a doctor’s care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him.”

“Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was sick, and I had her shot.”

“Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday.”

“Please excuse Jason for being absent yesterday. He had a cold and could not breed well.”

And I leave you with this, which has nothing to do with anything written in this column.

“If you can’t have a midnight snack why do we have a light in the fridge?

Editor’s Note: This Rocking Chair Chatter was originally printed in the December 2015 issue

Wish Farms Celebrates its 100th Anniversary with PixieRock®

Plant City based, international grower and year-round marketer of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and pineberries, Wish Farms, celebrated a major milestone. The company welcomed guests to its 100th anniversary celebration, the second annual, PixieRock® music festival.

The event took place Saturday, November 12, on the front lawn of the Wish Farms’ headquarters in Plant City. Attendees rocked to live performances from world-renowned artists Blanco Brown, Saint Motel, Bishop Briggs and headlining act, ZZ Top. PixieRock® featured gourmet food, hand-crafted beverages, and a silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind items and experiences.

“PixieRock® was born out of our family’s love for live music and a desire to support great causes,” said Gary Wishnatzki, Wish Farms third generation owner and self-proclaimed, Head Pixie. “Not only does this give us an opportunity to make a difference in our community, it gives our employees, growers, vendors, customers and friends a chance to celebrate all who have contributed to our century of success.”

The event raised money for the company’s charitable giving throughout the year and beyond. Begun in 2019, The Wish Farms Family Foundation has been focused on three pillars: food insecurity, youth education, and community. With the company covering the costs of the event, all proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships went to beneficiaries Feeding Tampa Bay, Shriners Children’s and the Wish Farms Family Foundation. Funds raised at the silent auction benefitted Redlands Christian Migrant Association.

The event had 56 corporate and individual sponsors. Top industry donors were Jerue Trucking, Sonoco Highland, Farm Credit of Central Florida, Patterson Companies, Packaging Corporation of America, and Sweet Life Farms.

“This year’s PixieRock® raised an astounding $640,000. We had an amazing energy and response from the community. Seeing the legendary ZZ Top perform here was the icing on our birthday cake,” said Wishnatzki. “This impressive amount raised would not be possible without the generosity of our fifty-six sponsors and more than 1,100 attendees.”

About Wish Farms:

FEEL GOOD. EAT BERRIES. MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

It isn’t just a catchy phrase, giving back is engrained in the company culture. Through the Wish Farms Family Foundation, a portion of profits are dedicated to their three pillars of giving: Food Insecurity, Youth Education and Community. With a defined mission, they hope to make the world a better place.

Founded in 1922, Wish Farms is a fourth-generation, family operated company. As a year-round supplier of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and now Pink-A-Boo Pineberries®, it grows both conventional and organic varieties. Nationally recognized for innovation, Wish Farms utilizes patented traceability technology to ensure quality and safety by tying consumer feedback to specific information from each day’s harvest. For more information, please visit www.wishfarms.com.

Founded in 1922, Wish Farms is a fourth-generation, family operated company. As a year-round supplier of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and now Pink-A-Boo Pineberries®, it grows both conventional and organic varieties.

NEWS BRIEFS

Compiled by Jim Frankowiak

USDA Grant to Connect Florida Schools with Underserved Farmers/Producers

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has signed an $11.4 million cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS). The program provides grant funds to the FDACS Division of Food, Nutrition, and Wellness (FNW) to connect underserved farms with Florida schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP).

USDA Launches New Online Loan Assistance Tool

Farmers and ranchers now have a new, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) online tool to help them navigate the farm loan application process. It can be accessed at https://lat. fpac.usda.gov and helps determine eligibility for a Farm Service Agency farm loan, loan options and available help for completing forms.

FDACS Temporarily Suspends BMP Visitation Visits

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has temporarily suspended Best Management Practice (BMP) implementation verification visits for several counties, including Hillsborough and Polk, impacted by Hurricane Ian. The emergency order covers the November and December timeframe and may be extended, if deemed necessary.

USDA Surveying Producers to Increase/Improve Access

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is surveying producers nationwide to help improve and increase access to its programs and services for farmers, ranchers and land managers. The survey is gathering information on programs available through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMS). The survey is available online at: farmers.gov/survey.

District offers Ways to Save Water and Money During the Holidays

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) is offering six easy ways to prepare for your holiday meals and parties without running up your water bill. During the holidays, water plays a role in everything from food preparation to the cleanup process. Here’s how to incorporate water conservation into your holiday preparations:

• Defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator or the microwave instead of running hot water over them.

• Rinse vegetables and fruits in a sink or pan filled with water instead of under running water. This water can then be reused to water houseplants. A running faucet can use up to 4 gallons per minute.

• When washing dishes by hand, fill one sink or basin with soapy water and fill the rinsing sink one-third to one-half

full. Avoid letting the water run continuously in the rinsing sink.

• Select the proper size pans for cooking. Large pans require more cooking water than may be necessary.

• Scrape food scraps into the garbage can or a composting bin, rather than rinsing them into the sink’s garbage disposal. A garbage disposal uses up to 4.5 gallons of water per minute.

• Run your dishwasher only when you have a full load. Dishwashers use between 7 and 12 gallons per load. For more water conservation tips, please visit the District’s website at WaterMatters.org/Conservation.

USDA-NRCS Offers Conservation Funding Opportunities

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida has several assistance opportunities for agricultural producers and private landowners for key programs. This includes the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).

Through these conservation programs, NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to help producers and landowners make conservation improvements on their land that benefit natural resources, build resiliency and contribute to the nation’s broader effort to combat the impacts of climate change. To learn more, contact the NRCS office at 201 South Collins Street, Suite 201, Plant City, FL 33563. Telephone: 813/7521474.

NRCS Seeks New Website Feedback

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is seeking feedback on its new website. The new website, NRCS.USDA.GOV, is designed for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who use or want to learn more about NRCS programs. Although the new site is a work in progress with added content coming soon, the NRCS wants public comment to help improve the site.

“We provide compassionate care for you and your family.”

At South Florida Baptist Hospital, the team members who wear this badge give you high-quality care in a comfortable atmosphere. Our wide range of specialty services includes comprehensive orthopedic care, sports medicine services and total joint replacement procedures. We have a comprehensive gynecology program that offers a variety of women’s services, and our weight loss surgery program meets nationally recognized standards. And if surgery is required, we have surgeons who are experts in minimally invasive robotic surgical procedures, which means shorter hospital stays and smaller incisions that reduce the risk of infection. All of this means you get outstanding, compassionate care right here in Plant City. Learn more: SouthFloridaBaptist.org

It’s not just an ID badge. It’s a badge of honor.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FAIR HOSTS FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS AND SANTA’S VILLAGE

By Jim Frankowiak

The Hillsborough County fairgrounds is hosting the nearly two-mile drive thru Festival of Lights and Santa’s Village through the holiday season and into the first week of 2023.

Upon entering the fairgrounds at 215 Sydney Washer Road in Dover, visitors will drive through an animated light tunnel that is nearly twice as long as last year’s, featuring more than one million lights. The expanded Santa’s Village has an Arctic Plunge snow tube along with a reindeer carousel and holiday train ride for walk-thru attendees.

There are also opportunities for visits and photos with Santa, craft stations in Santa’s Workshop, holiday movies within the Holiday Plaza and a chance to pet and feed critters in Santa’s Interactive Barnyard. Camel rides and petting are available at Santa’s Camel Pen and Main Street also offers a selection of holiday treats and gift items, as well as picnic tables and fire pits.

Ticket costs are $25 per car or $80/bus and may be purchased online or at the fairgrounds. Days and hours of operation are available by visiting Hillsboroughcountyfair.com. Telephone: 813/737-FAIR.

FLORIDA SHALLOTS

By Sandy Sun, M.S. Clinical Medicines, B.S. Nutrition Science

The shallot, a lesser known cousin of garlic, is also a culinary and nutrition superstar. A member of the allium family, along with onions, chives, and garlic, the shallot is high in vitamins, minerals, and a host of nutrition-boosting compounds, such as flavonoids and polyphenols. Some of these compounds may help combat heart disease, strokes, and cancer, as well as lower blood pressure and cholesterol. During the cooler fall and winter months is the perfect time to plant shallots and onions.

Shallots are very much like scallions (green onions) but grow in clusters of small bulbs similar to garlic. They look like smaller onions with a papery skin. Once peeled, the color is like that of a small red onion, and you can separate them into cloves as you would garlic. You can slice or dice them to eat raw or cooked. Both the leaves and the bulbs are edible and delicious with a delicate, mild flavor of both spicy and sweet notes. When cooked, the flavor is sweet and caramelized. The most common varieties are Jersey shallots and French Grey shallots.

NUTRITIONAL PROFILE

Fresh shallots are low in calories with little to no fat, sodium or cholesterol. Shallots contain a large number of active compounds that may help ward of cancer, heart disease, high blood glucose, and strokes. They may also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol and support the immune system. Like onions, garlic, and other alliums, shallots have antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Shallots are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, a 100g serving of fresh shallots contains 72 calories, 2.5 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 17 g carbohydrate, and 2.5 g of dietary fiber. It also provides 15% of the Daily Recommended Value (%DV) for vitamin B6, 13% for vitamin C, 5% for magnesium, 4% for phosphorus, and significant amounts of folate and potassium.

Promote a Healthy Heart

Shallots are very flavorful, thanks to its sulfur-containing compounds. These include allicin and sulfoxides, which also give alliums many of its health-boosting properties. Hydrogen sulfide gas also keep blood vessels dilated and relaxed and in turn, it keeps blood pressure lower.

Shallots promote cardiovascular health in other ways as well. This allium can lower blood triglycerides and total cholesterol. It also lowers inflammation from oxidative stress by neutralizing highly reactive oxygen molecules and preventing them from damaging blood vessel linings. This helps decrease the risk of heart attack and atherosclerosis. Additionally, shallots can reduce the risk of clots in blood vessels by preventing clumping of platelet cells.

Fight off Disease

Shallots have many compounds that help fight off disease. It has both antibacterial and antiviral properties and may also help fight off infection from other microbes including yeasts/ fungi and worms. Shallots are also a good source of selenium, a trace mineral that must be obtained from the diet. Selenium plays an important role in making antioxidant enzymes and preventing certain cancers and heart disease.

How to Select and Store

Fresh shallots are the best choice for maximum flavor and nutrition. Choose fresh cloves that are plump and firm with intact skin. Avoid any that are soft, shriveled, or sprouting.

Store fresh shallots uncovered in a cool, dark place away from heat and sunlight. Whole heads can be stored for up to a month in room temperature. When ready to use, take the head of shallot and separate into the individual cloves by applying firm pressure with your hand or a knife. Remove the skin from the individual cloves by smashing or tapping with a knife until the skin loosens.

How to Enjoy

Shallots are delicious eaten raw or cooked. Raw minced shallots can be added to salad dressings, butter, and sauces. When cooked, shallots develop a sweet, mellow flavor. Shallots can be fried, pickled, roasted, or sauteed. More ways to enjoy fresh shallots include:

• Cut off the top ¼ inch of a whole head of shallot, drizzle with olive oil, and roast in the oven for a creamy, mellow flavor

• Infuse your favorite oil with shallot cloves to drizzle over any dish

• Sauté minced shallots to add flavor to any pasta sauce, meat, or vegetable dish

• Mince and mix with herbs to create a crust for roasted meats

• Mince and add to marinades, salad dressings, dips, or cream cheese

• Slice or dice and use in any stir-fry

• Fry sliced shallots and use as a crispy topping for casseroles or soups

• Dice and sauté with garlic and onions to build up flavor in any dish

Enjoy the delicious aroma and flavor of fresh Florida shallots today while boosting your heart health.

SELECTED REFERENCES

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/

2022 Hillsborough County Fair Results

Beef Showmanship

Junior Grand Champion Maddox Sewell Reserve Champion Raeleigh Tilson

3rd Overall Macyn Sewell 4th Overall Molly Monday

5th Overall Jarrett Willis Intermediate Grand Champion Bella Ballard Reserve Champion Emilee Taylor

3rd Overall Kayla Peacock 4th Overall Ali Taylor 5th Overall Makayla Register

Senior Grand Champion Case Watson Reserve Champion Spencer Baylor

3rd Overall Morgan Chancy 4th Overall Gillian Matheson

5th Overall Maddy Council

County Bred Show

Grand Champion Kaylee Marsh Reserve Champion Bella Ballard

3rd Kayla Peacock

4th Nathan Sewell

5th Spencer Baylor Heifer Class 1

1st Jarrett Willis 2nd Benjamin Kanoza 3rd Jadyn Lucas 4th Aubrie Sullenberger

Class 2

1st Spencer Baylor 2nd Brady Manis 3rd Benjamin Kanoza

Class 3 1st Bella Ballard 2nd Raeleigh Tilson 3rd Carter Manis 4th Mitchell McClamma, Simmons

Class 4

1st Kaylee Marsh 2nd Bailey Keys 3rd Hannah Cook 4th John Paris 5th Vistal Bradley

Class 5

1st Kayla Peacock 2nd Nathan Sewell 3rd Nathan Sewell 4th Hannah Cook

Class 6

1st Nathan Sewell 2nd John Parris

Steer

Champion

Gillian Matheson

Reserve Levi Sampson 3rd Maddox Sewell 4th Dakota Lapointe 5th RJ Christopher Class 1 1st Jessie Parker

2nd Ryan Beauchamp 3rd Colby Schibler

Class 2

1st Maddox Sewell 2nd Gracelyn Grooms 3rd Josiah Garcia, Simmons 4th Brady Manis

Class 3

1st Kendall Hall 2nd Nathan Sewell 3rd Parker Scott 4th Gabija Davila 5th Mia Peters

Class 4

1st Julia Jones 2nd Nathaniel Lezema 3rd Hannah Cook 4th Kipras Davila 5th Nicholas Kouimanis

Class 5

1st Levi Sampson 2nd Carter Manis 3rd Payton Thomas

Class 6

1st RJ Christopher 2nd Makayla Register 3rd Lola Strickland 4th Abigail Michnowicz 5th Caroline Crim

Class 7

1st Gillian Matheson 2nd Kayla Hanson 3rd Jessie Parker 4th Ely Evans, Simmons

Class 8

1st Emilee Taylor 2nd Kaylee Marsh 3rd Bryant Brody 4th Mason Howard

Class 9

1st Dakota LaPointe 2nd Morgan Walls 3rd Spencer Baylor 4th Riley Guy

General Beef Show

Grand Champion

Case Watson Reserve Champion Bella Ballard

3rd Overall Kayla Peacock 4th Overall Bella Ballard

5th Overall Macyn Sewell

Class 1

1st Benjamin Kanoza 2nd FFA, Spoto 3rd Jadyn Lucas 4th Camryn Lallemand 5th Molly Monday

Class 2 1st Makenna Svede 2nd Jarrett Willis 3rd Martin Hofrichter 4th Katelyn Hosea 5th Aubrie Sullenberger

Class 3

1st Brady Manis 2nd Alivia Knight 3rd Benjamin Kanoza 4th Lila Potter 5th Emily New

Class 4

1st Spencer Baylor

2nd Colton Taylor 3rd Kaylee Hudson 4th Montana Campomor 5th Molly Monday

Class 5

1st Bella Ballard

2nd Alli Taylor 3rd Kaylee Hudson 4th Carter Manis

Class 6

1st Raeleigh Tilson 2nd Devin Ethridge 3rd Mitchell McClamma, Simmons 4th FFA, Spoto 5th Connor Grier

Class 7

1st Kaylee Marsh 2nd Bailey Keys 3rd Kamryn Colon

4th Hannah Cook 5th Morgan Chancey 6th FFA, Spoto

Class 8

1st Bella Ballard

2nd Macyn Sewell 3rd Caroline Crim 4th John Paris 5th John Paris

Class 9

1st Tuzdae Register 2nd MorganChancey 3rd Nathan Sewell 4th Carly Varnum

Class 10

1st Sarah Menendez 2nd Kaylee Hudson 3rd Sawyer Price 4th Nathan Sewell 5th Dylan Martin

Class 11

1st Kayla Peacock 2nd Kamryn Colon 3rd Kierlyn Parham 4th Lauren Dowdell 5th Hannah Cook

Class 12

1st Case Watson 2nd John Paris 3rd Gillian Matheson 4th Frank McBride

Class 13

1st Nathan Sewell 2nd John Paris

Grand Champion Gilliam Matheson

Reserve Champion Maddox Sewell

3rd Overall Maddy Council

4th Overall Madison Hurley 5th Overall Levi Sampson

Class 1

1st Anna Lane 2nd Ryan Beauchamp

3rd Crystal Keene

4th Colby Schibler

Class 2

1st Maddox Sewell

2nd Lauren Dowdell 3rd Savannah Rice

Class 3

1st Gracelyn Grooms

2nd Brady Manis 3rd Josiah Garcia, Simmons 4th Alivia Knight 5th Nicole Lietz

Class 4

1st Parker Scott

2nd Kendall hall 3rd Nathan Sewell 4th Chloe Crim 5th Gabija Davila 6th Cody Rice

Class 5

1st Madison Hurley

2nd Nathaniel Lezema 3rd Hannah Cook 4th Nicholas Kouimanis 5th Kipras Davila 6th Andrew Phillips

Class 6

1st Julia Jones

2nd Megan Dempsey 3rd Payton Thomas 4th Kyndall Bass 5th Carly Varnum

Class 7

1st Madelynn Council

2nd Levi Sampson 3rd Carter Manis 4th Lola Strickland 5th Hallie Peacock

Class 8

1st Makayla Register

2nd RJ Christopher 3rd Kayla Hanson 4th Addison Johnson 5th Abigail Michnowicz 6th Caroline Crim

Class 9

1st Gillian Matheson

2nd Emilee Taylor

3rd Mason Howard 4th Nevaeh Trujillo

5th Jessie Parker

6th Ely Evans, Simmons

Class 10

1st Dakota LaPointe 2nd Morgan Walls

3rd Spencer Baylor 4th Brody Bryant 5th Kaylee Marsh 6th Riley Guy

Steer Show

Grand Champion Bella Ballard

Reserve Champion Gabby Howell

Class 1

1st Alexandra Jirinec 2nd Tuzdae Register 3rd Makayla Watson 4th Dowdell FFA 5th Colby Schibler

Class 2

1st Maddox Sewell 2nd Kendall Hall 3rd Jayden McDaris 4th Marshall FFA 5th Rebecca Holcomb

Class 3

1st Connor Scott 2nd Macyn Sewell 3rd Shelby Lawrence 4th Mia Peters 5th Carter Schrier

Class 4

1st Kendall Donaldson 2nd Emilee Taylor 3rd Gracelyn Grooms 4th Plant City FFA 5th Sawyer Price

Class 5

1st Bella Ballard 2nd Gabby Howell 3rd Morgan Walls 5th Spoto FFA

Showmanship

1st Emilee Taylor 1st Gabby Howell 1st Maddox Sewell

2nd Macyn Sewell 2nd Bella Ballard 2nd Connor Scott

3rd Sawyer Price 3rd Jessie Parker 3rd Kendall Hall

Swine Show

Grand Champion Brock Sampson

Reserve Champion Brantley Newsome

Class 1

1st Hunter Jones 2nd Kendall Gillespie-Gee 3rd Brooke Purkey 4th Peyton Van Eepoel

5th Bennie Rice 6th Hannah Rice 7th Hayden Van Eepoel 8th Coen Whitehead

Class 2

1st Autumn Brazil 2nd Kyndell Drawdy 3rd Chesnee Wink 4th Lacey Merrell 5th Megan Dempsey 6th Parker Williams 7th Lila Potter 8th FFA, Steinbrenner 9th Maci Davis

Class 3

1st Marlee Howard 2nd Kace Zinke 3rd Jayde McConnell 4th Rebecca Holcomb

5th Spencer Baylor 6th Jaxson Lane 7th Brooklyn Ball 8th Bryce Purkey 9th Reese Beasley

Class 4

1st Brock Sampson 2nd Tanner O’Neal 3rd Emersyn Nasworthy 4th Kaygenn Wood 5th Bentley Bridges 6th Madison Corson 7th Danica Gill 8th Lena Bent 9th Newsome FFA 10th Kortney Whitmer

Class 5

1st Ellie Smith 2nd Alafia Kids 3rd Tomlin FFA 4th Karisa Sheldon 5th Taylor Smith 6th Brodie Layton 7th Wyatt Drawdy 8th Thomas Payton 9th Hallie Peacock 10th Rylee Davis

Class 6

1st Sarah Dooley 2nd Emilee Taylor 3rd Lauren Dix 4th Karoline Kmetz 5th Levi McDonald

6th Makayla Register 7th David Hudson 8th Chad Dempsey 9th Lily Dailey

Class 7

1st Kiah Swilley 2nd MacKenzie Nolte 3rd Kaylee Hudson 4th Kendall Donaldson 5th Braxton Battaglia 6th Blake Chancey 7th Gabriel Arce 8th Lennard FFA 9th Rodgers Middle FFA

10th Hillsborough Federation

Class 8

1st Brylynn Newsome 2nd Randall FFA 3rd Tyler Gonser 4th Abigail Strom 5th Devyn Hutchings 6th Bryce Runkles 7th Carly Varnum 8th Gillian Matheson 9th Nadia Rhoton 10th Makayla Mahoney

Class 9

1st Dallas Edwards 2nd Landon Mallory 3rd Jackson Sturgis 4th Cooper Davis 5th Alyssa Chancey 6th Hadleigh Zahradka 7th Tytan Gill 8th Gaither FFA

Class 10

1st Brantley Newsome 2nd Raegan Hyder 3rd Macey Council 4th Alyssa Fletcher 5th Hudson Brown 6th Royce Simmons 7th Cooper Newman 8th Southern Belles & Beaus 4-H 9th Pride McCoy

Class 11

1st Simmons Career Center 2nd Rylee Dailey 3rd Colby Holcomb 4th Jake Sonnenberg 5th Sarah Sukel

Showmanship

1st Cooper Davis 1st Jayde McConnell

1st Kaygenn Wood

2nd Megan Dempsey 2nd Ellie Smith 2nd Emilee Taylor

3rd Spencer Baylor 3rd Hunter Jones 3rd Jackson Sturgis

Market Goat

Grand Champion Dowdell FFA

Reserve Champion Plant City Sr FFA

1st Kendall Donaldson 1st Dowdell FFA 1st Plant City Sr FFA 1st Morgan Walls

2nd Jace Walls 2nd Gabriel Holt 2nd Makenna Svede 2nd Durant FFA

3rd Esdras Vanegas 3rd Gillian Matheson 4th Levi Holt

Poultry Show

Purebred Best of Show Emma Zimmerman

Reserve Best of Show

Xaria SingletaryThomas

Grand Champion Commercial Pullet Kendall Donaldson

Grand Champion

Purebred Bantam Hen

Xaria SingletaryThomas

Grand Champion

Purebred Bantam Hen Mason D’Azzo

Grand Champion Purebred Large Fowl Hen Emma Zimmerman

Grand Champion Purebred Turkey Ruca Rhoton

Reserve Champion

Commercial Hen

Victor Rivera

Reserve Champion Purebred Bantam Hen

Buchanan Middle FFA, Cody Hojnacki

Reserve Champion Purebred Goose Gideon Miller

Reserve Champion Purebred Large Fowl Cock Brady Manis

Reserve Champion Purebred Large Fowl Pullet Colton Bridges Rabbit Show Grand Champion Tyla Billups

Reserve Champion Riverview FFA, Eva Daniel

Buck Junior

Best of Breed English Lop Shelby Lawrence

Buck Senior

Best of Breed Himalayan Makalyn Howell

Best of Breed Polish Jason Peoski

Best of Breed Mini Lop Maddie Novotney

Best of Breed Holland Lop Faith Manis

Best of Breed English Spot Andrew Phillips

Doe Senior

Best of Breed Kayla Peacock Market Turkey

Grand Champion Tytan Gill

Reserve Champion Cameron Ipock Market Lamb

Grand Champion Austen Lynch

Reserve Champion Plant City FFA

Herdsman Taylor Stewart

Class 1

1st Kierlyn Parham 2nd Annika Legg 3rd Savannah Rice 4th Cody Rice 5th Simmons Career Center 6th Madison Corson

Class 2

1st MorganPelham 2nd Rebecca Holcomb 3rd Rodgers Middle FFA 4th Hannah Rice 5th Colton Bridges 6th Makayla Watson

Class 3

1st Durant FFA 2nd Carly Clark 3rd Tyler Ferrell 4th Cole Marshall 5th Reece Patino 6th Sarah Rogers

Class 4

1st Chesnee Wink 2nd Brylynn Newsome 3rd Addison Hoerle 4th Bryan Ferrell 5th Carter Marshall

Class 5

1st Levi Sampson 2nd Mackenzie Paul 3rd Ian Mercer 4th Southern Belles & Beaus 4-H 5th Taleen Sonoqrot 6th Kendall Donaldson

Class 6

1st Emersyn Nasworthy 2nd Grace Merrell 3rd Tomlin FFA 4th Ciera Diaz 5th Gaither FFA 6th Kenzie Palmer

Class 7

1st Plant City FFA 2nd Carter HerndonStalvey 3rd Marissa Pelham 4th Renata Blatt

Class 8

1st Riley Silkworth 2nd Steinbrenner FFA

3rd Peyton Eatman 4th Lauren Hauck 5th Gideon Miller 6th Brock Sampson

Class 9

1st Austen Lynch 2nd Aubree Palmer 3rd Brightyn Willis 4th Delaney Morotti 5th Jack Kennedy

Class 10

1st Braxton Willis 2nd Taylor Stewart 3rd Brantley Newsome 4th Garrett Ganas 5th Reid Patino

Breeding Sheep Show

E1 Late Spring Ewe Lamb 3/1/22-8/31/22

Reserve Champion Riley Silkworth

Reserve Champion Adelyn Jensen

Black Face

1st Riley Silkworth 2nd Gaither FFA 3rd Kaylee Snyder 4th Levi Sampson 5th Riley Silkworth 6th Gaither FFA 7th Nathaniel Akri 8th Marissa Pelham 9th Mia Moskowitz

Rare

1st Mackenzie Paul 4th Tomlin FFA 5th Plant City FFA, Hayven Harrell 6th Annie All

White Face

1st Adelyn Jensne

2nd Adelyn Jensen 3rd Makinley Jensen 4th Lila Schidt

5th Regina Guiterrez 6th Ashlyn Clark

7th Shelby Southerland

8th Harleigh Clark 9th Josie Clark

E1B Late Spring Ewe Lamb 3/1/22 – 8/31/22

Black Face

1st Nadia Rhoton 2nd Tomlin FFA 3rd Tomlin FFA 4th Plant City FFA, Micah Pentecost 5th Tomlin FFA 6th Tomlin FFA

7th Alexsandra Goulding 8th Samantha Wallner 9th Connor Cummins

E2 Early Spring Ewe Lamb 11/1/21 – 2/28/22

Grand Champion Kamryn Colon

Black Face

1st Kamryn Colon 2nd Mackenzie Paul 3rd Kaylee Snyder 4th Riley Silkworth 5th Brock Sampson 6th PeytonEatman 7th Taylor Stewart 8th Abigail Stewart 9th Rodgers FFA 10th Rodgers FFA

Rare

Grand Champion Kaylee Snyder

Reserve Grand Champion Riley Silkworth

1st Kaylee Snyder

2nd Riley Silkworth

3rd Brightyn Willis 4th Lila Potter 5th Reece Patino

White Face

1st Mackenzie Paul 2nd Makinley Jensen

E3 Yearling Ewe Lamb

Black Face

1st Marissa Pelham 2nd Ashlyn Clark 3rd Ruca Rhoton

4th Kamryn Colon 5th SerenityKeating 6th Savannah Rice 7th Clayton Raburn 8th Anna Koch

Rare

1st Nadia Rhoton 2nd Taylor Stewart 3rd Plant City FFA, Kenley Connell

4th Plant City FFA, Ella Connell

5th Kaylee Snyder 6th Simmons, Colby Schibler

White Face Supreme Champion Brightyn Willis

Grand Champion Brightyn Willis

1st Brightyn Willis

2nd Adelyn Jensen 3rd Makinley Jensen 4th Braxton Willis 5th Camila Gutierrez 6th Harleigh Clark 7th Sydney Clark 8th Shelby Southerland

E4 2-Year-Old Ewe 11/1/19-10/31/20

Black Face

1st Marissa Pelham 2nd Makinley Jensen

Rare

1st Madia Rhoton 2nd Marissa Pelham 3rd Lila Potter

White Face 1st NoreenDoyle 2nd Marissa Pelham

E5 3-Year-Old Ewe 11/1/18-10/31/19

Black Face

1st Rodgers FFA 2nd Gideon Miller

Rare 1st Abigail Stewart

E6 Aged Ewe Born before 10/31/18 and less than 6 years of age

Rare 1st Kyle Hadfield

White Face

1st Thomas Weaver

2nd Jacob Hardesty

Herdsman

Nathaniel Akri

L1 Late Spring Ram Lamb 3/1/22 – 8/31/22

Grand Champion Shelby Southerland Reserve Champion Peyton Eatman

White Face 1st Shelby Southerland

L2 Early Spring Ram Lamb 11/1/21-2/28/22

Grand Champion Lila Potter Reserve Champion Keely Wells

White Face 1st Peyton Eatman 2nd Gaither FFA

L3 Yearling Ram Lamb 11/1/20-10/31/21

Black Face

1st Ruca Rhoton

Rare 1st Lila Potter 2nd Keely Wells

White Face

1st Shelby Southerland

Showmanship

1st Noreen Doyle

1st Shelby Southerland 1st Brightyn Willis

1st Nadia Rhoton

2nd Josie Clark

2nd Brock Sampson

2nd Levi Sampson 2nd Makinley Jensen

3rd Gideon Miller

3rd Reid Patino 3rd Tomlin FFA 3rd Kamryn Colon

Dairy Show Grand Champion

Colby Schibler

Grand Champion

Kenslee Heinke

Grand Champion Austin Boyd Grand Champion Kenslee Heinke

Grand Champion Kleigh Glenn

Reserve Champion Colton Shoop

Reserve Champion Brianna Shepard Reserve Champion Austin Boyd Reserve Champion Austin Hammer Reserve Champion Brianna Shepard Junior Champion Mya Salter Junior Champion Henry Salter

Junior Champion Austin Boyd Junior Champion Colton Shoop Junior Champion Sarah Rogers Reserve Junior Champion Austin Boyd Reserve Junior Champion Kanslee Heinke

Reserve Junior Champion Mya Salter Reserve Junior Champion Klytie Turner Senior Champion Colby Schibler

Senior Champion Kenslee Heinke

Senior Champion Austin Boyd Senior Champion

Kenslee Heinke

Senior Champion Kyleigh Glenn

Reserve Senior Champion Brianna Shepard Reserve Senior Champion Kenslee Heinke Reserve Senior Champion Austin Boyd Reserve Senior Champion Andrew Hammer Reserve Senior Champion Brianna Shepard

Summer Heifer Calf

Brown Swiss 1st Sarah Rogers

Holstein

1st Austin Boyd 2nd Mason Raburn 3rd Clayton Raburn 4th Jackson Raburn

Jersey

1st Garce Salter 2nd Riverview FFA 3rd Colby Holcomb 4th Rebecca Holcomb

Spring Heifer Calf 3/1/22 – 5/31/22

Guernsey 1st Kenslee Heinke

Holstein

1st Kenslee Heinke 2nd Payton Carlisle 3rd Taylor Carlisle

Jersey 1st Mya Salter

Winter Heifer Calf 12/1/21 – 2/28/22

Ayshire

1st Austin Boyd 2nd Olivia Owens 3rd Michaela HuntCruz

Holstein

1st Jaylene Carey 2nd Jacob Carey 3rd Simmons, Sarah

Dominez

4th Michaela HuntCruz

5th Simmons, Joshua Polk 6th Spoto FFA 7th Robert Campoamor Jersey 1st Speros Georgiou Fall Heifer Calf 9/1/21-11/30/21

Ayrshire

1st Dylan Wilhite 2nd Olivia Owens 3rd Brianna Shepard

Guernsey 1st Colby Holcomb

Holstein

1st Henry Salter 2nd Simmons, Yaneisi Robles

Jersey

1st Grace Salter 2nd Henry Salter 3rd Autumn Gould 4th Morgan Cook 5th Gabriel Arce 6th Andrew Hammer 7th Kyleigh Glenn 8th Aubrey Cook 9th Kyleigh Glenn 10th Riverview FFA 11th Annaliese Llaverias

Summer Yearling 6/1/21-8/30/21

Ayrshire

1st Austin Boyd

Brown Swiss

1st Colby Schibler 2nd Riverview FFA 3rd Riverview FFA

Holstein

1st Riverview FFA 2nd Thomas Campoamor

Jersey

1st Mya Salter

2nd Logan Shoop 3rd Andrew Hammer 4th Aubrey Cook 5th Riverview FFA

Spring Yearling 3/1/21-5/31/21

Brown Swiss

1st Riverview FFA

Guernsey

1st Colton Shoop

Holstein Henry Salter

Jersey Andrew Hammer Winter Yearling 12/1/20-2/28/21

Brown Swiss

1st Anna Koch

2nd Riverview FFA

Holstein

1st Colby Holcomb

2nd Ella Strickland

3rd Rylie Marszal

4th Spoto FFA

5th Spoto FFA

6th Ryan Beauchamp

7th Taylor Carlisle

8th Simmons, Quinton Goike

Jersey

1st Rebecca Holcomb 2nd Rebecca Holcomb

Fall Yearling 9/1/20-11/30/20

Brown Swiss

1st Sarah Rogers

2nd Klytie Turner

3rd Makayla Watson 4th Simmons, Josiah Garcia

Holstein

1st Anna Kock

Jersey

1st Kyleigh Glenn

Two Year Old 9/1/19-8/31/20

Ayshire

1st Dylan Wilhite

2nd Michaela HuntCruz

Brown Swiss

1st Brianna Shepard 2nd Sarah Rogers

Guernsey

1st Kenslee Heinke

Holstein

1st Austin Boyd 2nd Steven Ragan

Strawberry Festival Pageant Veteran Now Director of Marketing for Wish Farms

Through creative marketing and strategic planning, Maloney and her team are building Wish Farms into an internationally recognized brand.

When 17-year-old Amber Maloney first met Gary Wishnatzki in 2001, she didn’t realize she was speaking with the man who would one day become her boss. She was a contestant in the Florida Strawberry Festival Queens Pageant and Wishnatzki Farms, so named at the time, was her sponsor. Before the festival, Gary invited her to join him at his office just east of the Plant City Farmer’s Market, excited to show her the produce and agriculture company he and his family had been building for three generations. One phase of the pageant required her to present a 30-second speech about her sponsor in front of the judges. Amber joked, “I could barely pronounce Wishnatzki!”

As she strutted across the Festival stage in early 2002 hoping to dubbed Queen, little did she know, she was actually destined to earn a different title: Director of Marketing for Wish Farms, the company captained by the man who’d welcomed her.

Maloney attended the University of Florida where she majored in advertising and was a member of University of Florida’s dance team, The Dazzlers. After graduation, she coached The Dazzlers and coordinated marketing and promotions for UF’s Athletic Association, all while earning her Masters of Science degree in Management. In 2009 she moved to Atlanta, taking a job for a large telecommunications company on its business to business (B2B) sales team. “I learned so much from that role. It gave me a lot of confidence and built character,” she recalled.

In 2011, Gary decided his newly minted Wish Farms should have a department dedicated solely to building the brand and he needed someone to spearhead the operation. Maloney, recently back from Atlanta, was quick to apply for the job and the reunion nine years in the making was complete.

Since then, Wish Farms’ marketing team has grown from one person to many. Gary’s son and daughter, the fourth generation, are actively involved: Nick Wishnatzki as Public Relations Manager and Elizabeth Peterson working in both sales and marketing. Brand Manager Hailey Clark and Marking Coordinator Morgan Falcon also serve vital roles. “Each member of the marketing team is instrumental to the company’s success,” she said. “We also have a lot of fun together.”

While it may be fun, it’s definitely a lot of hard work. The company’s marketing efforts focus on three distinct audiences: retail customers, growers, and consumers. Strategic collaboration is premier. Working with the sales team, Maloney and her squad analyze data, implement marketing campaigns, develop new product offerings and present fresh ideas at industry events. Focused on building brand awareness and loyalty, staying ahead of market trends, and organizing community events like PixieRock®, this team keeps Wish Farms moving forward.

Strategic analysis and use of social media plays a big part as well. When a TikTok trend of creating butter boards (a charcuterie board slathered in butter with lots of goodies on top) went viral, Maloney and team saw an opportunity to create their own version of the board with a strawberry cream cheese spread.

Helping to cultivate creativity, the marketing pod, sometimes called the “fun room,” of Wish Farms’ whimsical corporate office, was designed as a collaborative space where everyone could share ideas. The team also holds brainstorming sessions in the treehouse and have team lunches and interdepartmental meetings in the office cafe. “You just can’t help but be inspired here,” said Maloney.

When Pink-A-Boo® Pineberries were introduced last year the marketing team came up with a campaign to educate consumers about the new fruit. It was extremely successful. “We had millions of people tagging pineberries and engaging with our efforts. It was great to see how much traction we were getting for a product that had never been introduced in the marketplace before,” she said.

The passion Maloney feels for the brand she markets and the company’s culture is palpable. She beamed and said, “I love my team and the work we do.”

She’s already looking to the future as her team continues to build the Wish Farms brand locally, nationally, and internationally. “In the agriculture industry there are important stories to tell and we’re here to tell them.”

Declan 4, Husband Matt Maloney, Amber, Cora 5

Marketing Team at Wish Farms: Nick Wishnatzki, Amber Maloney Elizabeth Peterson, Hailey Clark, Morgan Falcon

The Best Season

For many people, including me, this is the very best season of the year.

Agree or not, certainly you have to admit that there’s a whole lot going on at this time of year!

Christmas and the Holidays bring on a commotion of happenings like none other listed on the calendar. Spiritual services and secular gatherings, festive affairs with family and friends all are a force to focus our time and attention.

Personally, I’m one of those who falls into the camp of loving the season. The lights and sights, smells and sounds, all delight the senses, leaving me to linger and long for more.

I suspect most of us have memories flooding to the forefront of our minds just as soon as the sounds surround our ears of a holiday favorite like Martina McBride belting out Winter Wonderland. Standing out in my mind, at least in the past, were the things that seem to be centered on days of my youth, and particular presents I was blessed to receive.

As time and age progress, the memories don’t fade, but they do give way to new mental images; particularly of kids, and even more particularly, grandkids giggling and squealing over gifts that a new generation generally requires multitudes of rechargeable batteries in order to operate!

To soak it all in and savor the moment, it’s best to slow things down a bit. Granted it’s more than just a slight challenge to share the instants with small children whose energy is overflowing with excitement. Still, it is our responsibility as adults to encourage the youngsters to look at the gift at least for a split second before ripping into the next.

Such celebrations and cheer do, of course, spill into exhaustion. Frankly, it’s why we give thanks for holiday football. Now that’s something we can at least pretend to care about, but secretly use as an excuse to retire to

the recliner for a brief snooze. With any luck, we can most certainly, and at a minimum, stretch it to run through halftime.

At some point, though, during the day of festivity, generally what sets in is the delightful realization that there is, after all, still left in the year yet another week (but sadly only one of such weeks) until the next worldwide celebration of New Year’s Day.

While this gap week may, indeed, result for many as just another week of back to work, to many others in America there is fast becoming a new tradition of taking off a few days (if not the entire week) to recuperate before gearing up again for the grind of an another new year.

Interesting is that as recent as just five years ago, a survey of more than 1,000 workers found that only 18% of people planned to work that entire week between Christmas and New Year’s. I suspect that now even less will be working everyday of the gap week.

It’s apparent that to more and more people, the last week of the year has become a time most looked forward to. It’s a week that’s now considered as the “Best Season” of the year.

Frankly, it’s sort of like the sweet spot on the calendar when finally you can catch your breath between the bliss of Christmas spirit and the hurrah of Happy New Year. Time it right and you can even score with some 1/2 price Christmas candy from one of the Wal-Stores (as in Walmart or Walgreens).

That alone is enough for some people to label it the “Best Season!”

However you celebrate it, I hope yours is great. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and, of course, have a successful and Happy New Year!

John Dicks is both a Lawyer and Businessman, including an interest in farming. He and his family have owned a Blueberry Farm and have Agricultural lands which they lease for cattle operations, as John says, “to someone who knows and handles cattle much better than I do!”. John is both a Gator, having received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, and a Seminole, with his Law Degree from Florida State University.

serves as Of Counsel to Trinkle

a law firm in Plant City where he also served nine years as City Commissioner,

John

Redman,

including three terms as Mayor.

by John Dicks | Photo by iStock

A Closer Look by

Kudzu (Pueraria montana)

reducing soil erosion caused by such poor farming practices (deep plowing) in the South. It was during this era that the imported Kudzu (Pueraria montana) went from being a charm to a champion.

An estimated 85 million kudzu plants were distributed to southern landowners to reduce soil erosion with the added benefit of adding nitrogen to a barren soil to revitalize the land. The government paid farmers up to $8 per acre as an incentive to plant their agriculture land in Kudzu. This plant soon grew to be celebrated as a hero. Numerous kudzu clubs, kudzu festivals were formed, and kudzu queens were crowned in honor of the imported kudzu. It did not take long for this previously celebrated foreign guest to become a nuisance. In states such as Florida, the warm climate, plentiful rainfall, and long growing seasons created the perfect environment for kudzu to thrive to invasive proportions and few diseases or insect predators had populations in North America to keep the plant in check. By the early 1950s, farmlands had become abandoned to the uncontrollable spread of kudzu.

Christmas is upon us, and I hope ya’ll are enjoying some time with family and dear friends. Last month we looked at mistletoe, a parasitic but beloved plant that has become associated with Christmas. This month we are featuring a familiar invasive plant that is described as “the vine that ate the South.” Not as endearing as mistletoe, but nonetheless worthy of a closer look.

If you were raised in the South, you may have heard fables that this plant is full of breeding snakes, and that the plant itself grows a mile a minute, is impossible to stop and will eat large cities every year. When one witnesses Kudzu blanketing unmanaged roadside trees, abandoned houses and vehicles, it makes the fables seem true and supports popular misconceptions that the fables are true. The short and simple truth is that this plant was intentionally introduced to North America and has a history of our government encouraging its propagation and later realizing such encouragement was not in our best interests. While the tragic misunderstanding of the plant has resulted in terrible outcomes, the plant itself has virtue and like anything else in nature, invasive or not, environmental balance, not eradication is what we should strive for.

Kudzu was introduced to North America in 1876 as a display at the Japanese Exhibition of the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, the first official World’s Fair. Again in 1883 at the New Orleans Exposition, and in 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair. For 30 years the plant was regarded as an exotic ornamental plant in much the same way we regard modern imported ornamentals, beautiful and harmless. Seeds could be ordered through mail order catalogs and were imported and marketed as plants that could bring shade to the porches and courtyards of southern homes, the grapelike aroma of its flowers made the Eden created by such enclosures all the better. In addition to the popularity as a sweet-smelling ornamental, Kudzu was marketed as an inexpensive forage plant for livestock because of its rapid growth rate.

The Dust Bowl era (1930s-1940s) was in part a result of the practice of deep land in the American Great Plains, to increase the yield of certain crops such as grains, famers were told. The unintended result of the (then) popular agriculture practice was that doing so destroyed the native grasses that kept the topsoil and its water content intact. This practice led to the topsoil being devoid of any root systems that could hold the topsoil together and soil erosion became a new problem for agriculture in North America. Combined with natural draught conditions, the great dust bowl of infertile, sandy topsoil led way to local famine. Eventually the government became involved, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service was established by congress in 1933 and charged with the task of

The environmental effect of uncontrolled kudzu growth soon became apparent. General observations and reports suggested that the shading created when kudzu envelopes trees and other native plants reduces the native plant biodiversity. Kudzu will smother seedlings and saplings of younger trees and can increase the canopy density in larger older trees making them more susceptible to windthrow during storms. Controlling kudzu growth along utility lines and railroad tracks becomes increasingly expensive and failure to control such growth creates safety and service concerns. Kudzu is not susceptible to many diseases and insect pests in North America yet serves as a host for agricultural threats such as the fungus (Phakopsora pachyrhizi) that causes Asian soybean rust and the kudzu bug (Megacopta cribraria), a natural pest of kudzu that routinely migrates from kudzu to feed on soy creating an economic impact in soybean crops.

By 1953, the ecologic damage created by uncontrolled kudzu inspired the United States Department of Agriculture to ban kudzu as a permissible cover crop. By 1962 the Natural Resource Conservation Service limited its recommendation of kudzu usage to areas far removed from developed areas. In 1970, the USDA formally listed kudzu as a “common weed” in the South and it was not until 1997 that congress placed it on the Federal Noxious Weed list. Although kudzu was only regarded as “noxious” on a federal level for a few years, it remains a “noxious weed” in many states, including Florida.

Control of kudzu is difficult; mechanical control can take as much as 10 years to completely eradicate a stand of rootstock and stored nutrients. Kudzu is however a food for many animals including human beings and is considered a known “famine food.” My personal take on invasive species is for us humans to become a consumer of such species when possible. The biggest problem with us becoming the primary consumer is that is that there are many chemicals used for the control of invasive plants such as kudzu, therefore, the safety in becoming a consumer of invasives when camping, for example, is questionable. It is safer for us to assume chemicals are being used to control kudzu and do not consider consuming kudzu from the wild, especially in state and county parks and potentially state forests. Livestock can feed on kudzu as well and have the potential to be an effective biologic method of control. Kudzu is a fantastic plant to use for basket weaving, rope making, and other creative endeavors. Because this plant is not only invasive but also considered “noxious.” I will encourage you to take a closer look at this plant for its virtues and consider the benefits of harvesting unwanted stands of it. If you do so, please practice due diligence and make sure you research enough to be 100% sure of the plant’s identity.

Sean Green

The photo is Kudzu overtaking the historic Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, FL photo credit: Upfish-Sinclair (reddit.com)

2022 Hillsborough County Fair Results

Jersey

1st Andrew Hammer

2nd Colby Holcomb

3rd Colby Holcomb

4th Speros Georgiou

5th Kaylee Cloete

6th Aubrey Cook

7th Riverview FFA

3 year old 9/1/18-8/31/19

Ayshire

1st Colby Schibler

2nd Brianna Shepard

Brown Swiss

1st Simmons, Ely Evans

2nd Sarah Rogers

Guernsey

1st Kenslee Heinke

Holstein

1st Simmons, Colby Schibler

Jersey

1st Kyleigh Glenn

2nd Simmons, Josiah Garcia

Four year old 9/1/17-8/31/18

Ayshire

1st Sylan Wilhite

Brown Swiss

1st Austin Boyd

Holstein

1st Kenslee Heinke

Aged Cow

Born before 9/1/17

Ayshire

1st Brianna Shepard

2nd Dylan Wilhite

Brown Swiss

1st Sarah Rogers

Holstein

1st Kelsi Gray

Jersey

1st Kyleigh Glenn

Showmanship

1st Logan Shoop

1st Austin Boyd

1st Kenslee Heinke

2nd Grace Salter

2nd Henry Salter

2nd Andrew Hammer

3rd Kaylee Cloete

3rd Mason Raburn

3rd Klytie Turner

First Flat for 2022 - 2023 Strawberry Season

Sanway Farms had the first flat of strawberries of the season picked on Wednesday, November 9 at about 8:00 am. The long awaited strawberry season is underway! Get out and enjoy Florida grown strawberries today.

Woof to Wellness

By Libby Hopkins

Scot Hill of Riverview has been a chef for 30 plus years and a dog lover since he was a child. “I’m an Alabama boy born and raised,” Hill said. “I love the warmth of southern cooking, but then, having lived in Portland, Atlanta St. Croix, Tennessee, then to Tampa Bay and having travelled the world over, I have an immense love for making all flavors and cuisines. I also love growing my own herbs, vegetables, and now keep my own chickens for their fresh eggs. I’m fascinated with all of nature and am always looking to infuse my garden’s awesome bounty into our diets. Nourishing my family, both my human and pupper children, is one of my very favorite things.”

In 2020, in the middle of the mayhem of the COVID-19 pandemic, something happened to Hill’s family. A 10-week-old spoodle puppy named Lily Lou, adopted a COVID-displaced Chef and his family of isolated e-learning teenagers, a stircrazy wife and some very well-attended-to tropical fish. “Suddenly we found ourselves with a lot of extra time on our hands,” said Hill’s wife Lisa. “Our café and catering company, The BrightSide in downtown Tampa, had to close its doors due to COVID and would sadly never reopen.”

For a chef, the lack of his loyal clientele, his kitchen staff and his creative outlet, drove him absolutely insane. “When the pandemic hit in March 2020 and my cafe and catering business closed its doors, I went downright stir crazy,” Hill said. “I had to get busy, get building something, I just had to take control of this crazy, out of control situation! Analyzing things, I thought, what I truly love is to create and to delight my loyal foodie patrons, which is not possible right now and for the foreseeable future. And while I enjoy nourishing my two teenagers, well, it’s just not the same. The light bulb came on when I looked down at my feet. My Spoodle (Standard Poodle) pupper, Lily Lou, awaiting a peanut butter and bacon pupper-biscotti I’d just taken out of the oven. I’ve been making my dogs custom cookies, supplement bone broths, and

food toppers for all my adult years, for fun, for home healing if they had an ailment, or just for their longevity and energy levels.” Woof Creek was born!

Lilly Lou landed in the Animal ER on New Year’s Day of 2021 due to a severe cough from a throat blockage, so thought their vet, a new level of need was found for what Hill had been doing. “Thankfully, no blockage was found in Lily’s trachea; severe allergies were to blame for her cough and deep discomfort,” Lisa said. “Rather than take the kidney and liver challenging medication options their vet offered, Scot was then inspired to dive even deeper into dog health and nutrition, certifying as an Advanced Canine Nutrition Specialist. He began sourcing even more poignant ingredients like functional mushrooms, exotic proteins, and pure organic superfoods.”

The only matter became the high cost of such premium ingredients sourced from the most reputable producers anywhere, but there was no other option. “Nothing but the best for our fur baby,” Lisa said. “With the level of health and help Scot’s toppers and treats had offered our Lily and neighbors, family, and friends’ pup and the sense of completion I saw in Scot and his passion for the work, I asked, ‘why not fetch a bunch of tennis balls at once?’”

Hill started making toppers for dog food the help with common pet ailments. “So, a canine nutrition business was born, Woof Creek Nutritious Nature, a dog wellness company, for more tail wagging years,” Lisa said.

Lily became Woof Creek’s Chief Tasting Officer, but quickly became overwhelmed as the business grew, impacting more dogs around Tampa Bay and beyond, “She made the plea to her pawrents to hire more help, so the hunt for a second spoodle pup was on,” Lisa said. “Months of searching led us to sweet and silly rescue, Layla Mae. Woof Creek Chief Qual-

ity Assurance Officer, Lily’s adopted little sister and lovable vacuum cleaner, Layla, is yet another bright side to our family’s lives!”

If you would like to learn more about Woof Creek and their products, you can visit their website at www.woofcreek.com.

REPEAT CHAMPIONS

By Libby Hopkins

FFA is a dynamic youth organization that changes lives and prepares members for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. FFA develops members’ potential and helps them discover their talent through hands-on experiences, which give members the tools to achieve realworld success.

Members are future chemists, veterinarians, government officials, entrepreneurs, bankers, international business leaders, teachers and premier professionals in many career fields. Many FFA members are champions before they become future leaders, just like the FFA students at Barrington Middle School in Lithia. They became national champions again in the FFA Conduct of Chapter Meetings LDE this year. “I opened the agriculture program at Barrington Middle in 2009,” said Barrington Agriculture teacher, Greg Lehman. “Teaching is my second career. I grew up in Hillsborough most of my life and have been involved with agriculture my entire life. My father and grandfather were citrus farmers. I followed in their footsteps. I am married to Pamela, who teaches sixth grade language arts at Barrington as well. We have three grown children, three grandchildren and another on the way.”

Lehman and Shelby Mauch are the two agriculture teachers at the school and they love inspiring their students to excel in FFA. “We provide numerous opportunities for students to have hands-on learning projects

by participating in SAEs (supervised agriculture experiences),” Lehman said. “Students grew a vegetable garden, grow and sell nursery plants, show and sell livestock. We are currently housing 14 pigs and six head of cattle. We are in the process of building a large coop to house chickens.”

All of this responsibility led to Lehman’s students wanting to compete in FFA competitions. “The team placed second in state for Conduct of Chapter Meetings in 2021 when they were in seventh grade,” Lehman said. “After that they were highly motivated to win the state contest. They practiced several times a week before and after school and for extended times during the summer. The students also studied written and oral questions at home between practices.”

This first win made the want to work harder to win again the next time. Since they had one win under their belt, the community and former FFA students wanted to help Lehman’s students make it to the next completion in Indianapolis. “I would like to thank Brandy Evans and Kennco Manufacturing for sponsoring much of the expenses for the students’ travel to Indianapolis, “I would like to recognize our Conduct team from 2017 that placed third nationally and our 2019 team who were also national champs. These students created a legacy of success that motivated those that followed.”

Conduct of Chapter Meetings is a combination of FFA Opening and Closing Ceremonies and Parliamentary Procedure. Students have 13 minutes to demonstrate the FFA ceremonies, debate and vote on an assigned main motion plus additional secondary motions. They must also answer an oral question pertaining to parliamentary law and take a written test. “Our team members include Camryn Varnadoe (serving as chairman), Hallie Peacock, Ashlyn Demanovich, Jessie Parker, Danielle Ricks, Alexandra Jirinec, Morgan Walters and Karoline Kmetz,” Lehman said.

Lehman’s students were beyond thrilled when they won in Indianapolis. “In the words of one of the team members, Ashlyn, ‘Winning feels unreal. I never used to be comfortable speaking in front of people. Being able to represent Florida and win nationally is so rewarding. I never could have imagined winning, and our team has grown so much this past year,’” Lehman said.

4,044± acres for agricultural use. 2.1± miles of road frontage on Neal Road, as well as 1 mile of frontage on Chiquita Drive. This property has 23 wells with a max GPD of 26,266,800. This property also features a metal building consisting of 3,120 SF. Just 15 minutes from I-75, Port Charlotte, and Punta Gorda. Sale Price: Soliciting Offers

Open pasture with plenty of room for residential agricultural and recreational uses. This property features road frontage on Holloman Road and Old Hopewell Road with easy access to all the amenities of Plant City, Brandon, Lithia, and Tampa. Sale Price: $590,000

Reed Fischbach,

Lelaulu,

Holloman Road 32± Acres, Plant City, FL

FROM THE SCIENTIFIC FIELD

By J. Scott Angle

for being “instrumental in breeding new varieties of strawberries such as pineberry, which we market as Pink-a-Boos.”

Whitaker has used Wish Farms acreage for years as part of his trials of new berries, as did Vance’s predecessor, Craig Chandler. Vance also credits Gary with being a marketer and proponent of his best-flavored varieties like Sensation® and Medallion®. Vance has provided technical advice on transplants and varieties to Gary’s side business, Harvest CROO Robotics.

Wish Farms has also hosted research by the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center’s Natalia Peres involving the use of ultraviolet light system to control a pathogen called powdery mildew.

Gary has asked Steve Sargent of the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department to evaluate new clamshell packages and shipping containers for cooling efficiency. And Yiannis Ampatzidis of the UF/IFAS ABE is also advising Gary on the use of artificial intelligence in robotic harvesting.

I’ve got a lot of 100th birthday parties on my calendar these days. Only one featured ZZ Top.

Pixie Rock at Wish Farms in Plant City wasn’t, strictly speaking, a centennial celebration. The Wishnatzkis didn’t need to mark their milestone with a single blowout evening. They’re skillful stewards of their family and farm history on a daily basis.

Their #AgIsAmerica story starts on the streets of Manhattan in a single pushcart selling fruits and vegetables. It continues with the Wishnatzkis migrating to Hillsborough County. It unfolds today with the Wish Farms name and pixie mascot on millions of clamshells in homes across the nation.

In addition to its compelling rags-to-riches arc, Head Pixie (yes, that’s the title on his business card) Gary Wishnatzki presents the family history as a century of progress. Gary highlights the role of science in the farm’s history he so lovingly documents in Generations of Sweetness: Stories That Shaped My Family and the Journey to Wish Farms.

It starts with one of the most ancient of technologies—the wheel—and the embrace of innovation advances to today’s artificial intelligence-guided machine harvesting.

That’s where our stories—those of UF/IFAS and Wish Farms— intersect. We’ve been delivering science to Florida growers for even longer than there have been Wishnatzkis growing strawberries in Plant City. Hence my birthday party schedule.

Earlier this year I spoke at the 100th anniversary of our North Florida Research and Education Center in Marianna. Hurricane Ian postponed our turf science program centennial celebration that had been scheduled in Citra. In the next six months I plan to be at events marking a century of science at our Everglades Research and Education Center, our Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE), and our Hastings Agricultural Extension Center.

But our history plays out on farms like Wishnatzki’s. So I am not surprised but gratified to see Gary include UF/IFAS in the Wish Farms story.

It’s there in the book on page 126. The photo of UF/IFAS strawberry breeder Vance Whitaker has a caption that credits him

Gary’s book wraps up with a nod to UF/IFAS for coming up with hundreds of varieties of strawberries over 75 years. The tie between science and agriculture will only get stronger. Innovation keeps Florida growers profitable against global competitors.

When I visited Gary in November, I could see from his dazzling year-old headquarters that he’s in this for the long haul. We talked in his treehouse lounge with curved walls and tilted windows that give it an Alice-in-Wonderland feel. I went down the wooden slide like a log on a flume. I marveled at the sculpture trees that give the space a cozy Hobbit feel. And the two of us grabbed strawberry-shaped guitars and had ourselves a ZZ Top moment.

The pushcart business had grown into a campus that could host a little ol’ band from Texas that had grown into arena rockers.

Gary’s son Nick, the Wish Farms manager of public relations (Pixie of the week when I visited, and busy shepherding a Good Morning America advance team around the property), will be the fourth generation of Wishnatzki to make a living in Plant City on strawberries.

There’s plenty more family involved in the business, including Gary’s wife Therese. The next generation are Vice President of Sales and Marketing James Peterson, who’s married to Gary’s daughter Elizabeth, and Nick, whose husband Stephen Cramer is in accounting. James and Elizabeth’s sons Will and Joey could be fifth generation Wish Farmers.

I believe they’ll run things in some ways like Gary has—with the help of science, with Vance and even with Vance’s successor.

Happy 100th, Wish Farms

Scott Angle is the University of Florida’s Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources and leader of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

Courtesy of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Coconut Snapper with Spinach Endive Sauté

1. Season fillets with salt and pepper.

2. In large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat.

3. Cook fillets 3 to 4 minutes per side until cooked through.

4. Remove fish from skillet and keep warm.

5. For coconut sauce, return pan to heat and cook garlic, ginger and 1/4 cup onion until tender.

6. Add coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, hot sauce and bring to a boil.

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 (6-ounce) snapper filets

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 cup diced onion, divided 1 cup canned coconut milk

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 head Belgian endive, thin sliced

1 (10-ounce) bag spinach, washed

Strawberry Pops

7. Lower heat and add cilantro; simmer for 5 minutes.

8. In a separate, large skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat.

9. Sauté remaining 1/4 cup onion, endive and spinach until greens are just wilted.

10. Serve fillets with sauce over sautéed vegetables.

• 12 Florida strawberries

• 12 (4-inch) lollipop sticks or popsicle sticks or 6-inch bamboo skewers

• 1 cup lightly crushed whole grain cereal

• ½ cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse strawberries and remove leaves.

2. Dip berry in yogurt, then in the cereal.

3. Insert sticks into the narrow end of the strawberry. 4. Serve immediately.

Chef Justin Timineri

UF study: UV lamps can control strawberry pest

By Brad Buck

With about 11,000 acres -- mostly in west-central Florida -- strawberries are worth $399 million annually in Florida. That represents 10% of the national strawberry value and most of the domestically produced winter crop in the United States. Those economic figures make it critical for strawberry growers to keep pests and disease at bay.

While producers began planting for this year’s harvest in October, they’re acutely aware of the potential scourge of the twospotted spider mite, which eats into their fruit.

Farmers find it difficult to manage the bugs and pathogens with conventional sprays.

But University of Florida scientists have found that by shining UV light on a research field of strawberries in the middle of the night, they can zap spider mites. Soon, scientists hope commercial farmers will be able to use this method.

Researchers such as Natalia Peres, a plant pathologist at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC), have already shown they can use the ultraviolet lamp to thwart strawberry pathogens in the field.

Now, in a new study led by Sriyanka Lahiri, UF/IFAS researchers have found the UV lamp can effectively control the mites by applying light twice a week, at night.

The study gives scientists and growers data about the amount of UV light necessary to significantly reduce the number of spider mite eggs in strawberry fields –without reducing fruit yield, she said.

“An added advantage is that UV light does not leave any residue behind and can be applied using automated robotic units already in production by commercial sources,” said Lahiri, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of entomology, also at GCREC.

Scientists need more field trials to further confirm the benefits of the UV light treatment on the mites as well as other pests such as thrips.

Because spider mites and thrips are more difficult to control using these doses of UV light at night, scientists need to explore a combination of insecticides and higher doses of UV light.

“Since very few miticides (sprays) are currently effective in suppressing twospotted spider mites in strawberries, the use of UV light provides an effective physical control method that can be used in fields and in high-tunnel strawberry production systems,” Lahiri said. “If left unmanaged, this pest will feed voraciously on leaves and cover the plant with webbing, causing tremendous fruit loss.”

Peres sees even more possibilities for the UV lamp technology.

“UV is another tool in the growers’ constant fight against pests and diseases,” she said. “It is particularly effective against diseases and pests that are present on the surface of the plants. Thus, other tools are still needed for those pathogens that are more deeply colonized into the strawberry tissue or flying insects that might not be present at the time of the application.”

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. ifas.ufl.edu | @UF_IFAS

From the best of the best in youth and open livestock competitions to education programs like Ag-Venture, there’s always something to learn, watch or do in agriculture at the Florida State Fair. Congratulations and thanks to all within our community who invest their time and effort and represent the rich agricultural heritage and future of Florida.

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LAWN EQUIPMENT/ SUPPLIES

USED ZERO TURN MOWERS

Prices begin at $1,750 Call Alive 813-759-8722

USED HUSQVARNA

Lawn tractor with 48" deck. Bagging system included. In good condition. $995.00 Call Alvie 813-759-8722

USED SNAPPPER RIDING MOWER

42" cut. Good condition! $900.00 Ask for Alvie 813-759-8722

PRODUCE

FRESH PRODUCE

Forbes Road Produce. Open everyday from 7:30am - 8pm. Forbes Rd. & I-4 @ exit 17. Come out and see us!

MISC.

FREE Wooden Shipping Pallets All sizes! Call Alvie 813-759-8722

24 HOUR SERVICE

Coggins Plumbing licensed • bonded • Insured. www.cogginsplumbing.com 813-643-7173

FARM BUREAU INSURANCE

We have you covered! Call us today. 813-752-5577

ALAN’S AIR CONDITIONING

Residential, Commercial Sales SVS & Repair. Legendary service for over20 years! 813-752-0821

SHOWER STALLS - FIBERGLASS

Scratch and dent shower stalls - fiberglass perfect for hunting camps. $150 you pick! Call us! 813-752-3378

FOR RENT

Millcreek Pine Bark Row Mulcher. For blueberry farms, six yard, PTO drive need at least a 30hp tractor. Call 863-604-2526 for rental details.