In The Field magazine Hillsborough edition by Berry Publications, Inc

Hillsborough County Farm Bureau

Contents

VOL. 9 • ISSUE 10

Feature Steve Mathis Pa ge

Segrest Farms

Page 10

Page 40 Bringing Farming Back

Page 43

Page 14

Caladiums

Page 47

Market Watch

Page 17

Recipes

Page 50

Tampa Bay Fishing Report

Xtreme Cuisine

Page 18

Page 52

Rocking Chair Chatter

Hurricanes: Preparing Your Landscape

Page 22

Page 70

Mosaic Hunger Relief

Off The Wall Growing

Page 24

Page 78

Hot Peppers

4-H Begins A New Year

Page 33

Page 91

Recently Discovered

Page 35

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2013

Insurance Services: 813.685.5673 Member Services: 813.685.9121

OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Danny Aprile ..............................President Jemy Hinton ..............................Treasurer

Business Up Front

Alpaca Farm

Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Bill Burnett .........................Vice President

Cover photo by Stephanie Humphrey

Sweet Blossom

100 S. Mulrennan Rd. Valrico, FL 33594

DIRECTORS FOR 2012-2013

Amanda Collins, Roy Davis, David Drawdy, Jim Dyer, James Frankowiak, Stefan Katzaras, Greg Lehman, Kenneth Parker, Jake Raburn, Alex Ritzheimer, Marty Tanner, James Tew, Patrick Thomas, Ron Wetherington, Michelle Williamson, Will Womack, Ray Wood

Judi Whitson, Executive Director 813.685.9121

Farm Bureau Insurance Special Agents Valrico Office 813.685.5673

100 S. Mulrennan Rd., Valrico, FL 33594 Tommy Hale, CLU, ChFC, CASL, CPCU Agency Mgr. Julie Carlson, John McGuire

Plant City Office 813.752.5577

1302 S. Collins St., Plant City, FL 33563 Jeff Sumner Bill Williams

Tampa Office 813.933.5440

1046 W. Busch Blvd., Ste. 100 Tampa, FL 33612 Greg Harrell, Jeff Harper, Ralph Russo

AGENCY MANAGER Tommy Hale

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2013

From the Editor

ITFM Staff PUBLISHER/PHOTOGRAPHY Karen Berry EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Al Berry SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR/ ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Sarah Holt EDITOR Patsy Berry OFFICE MANAGER Bob Hughens

I waged war with myself as to whether or not I should mention the petri dish burger I saw on the news. It could seriously stir some people up. But I felt that I had to write about it. I mean really, who would ever believe that someone would take the time and effort, never mind the mass quantity of money, to “grow” a hamburger in a petri dish? Dr. Post, the mind behind the petri burger, had this to say, “Twenty years from now if you have a choice in the supermarket between two products that are identical and they taste and feel the same and have the same price – and one is made in an environmentally friendly way with much less resources and provides food security for the population and doesn’t have any animal welfare connotations to it – the choice will be relatively easy. People will start to prefer this type of product and then it will gradually transform meat production.” Is he serious? I’ll stick with meat that grew the way nature intended, on the hoof. I also don’t want to hear the “bull” (pun intended) about the environmental impact of the cattle industry. I am not going to list all the things that have a larger impact on our environment, as it is just my opinion, an opinion that I am sure is shared by many of our readers. So Dr. Post, go ahead and eat your petri burger. For me it’s beef, REAL grown on the hoof, Fresh From Florida beef. That’s what’s for dinner!

Until Next Month,

Sarah

The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. –Numbers 6:25

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.

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE AUGUST 2013

SALES MANAGER Danny Crampton SALES Al Berry Tina Richmond Danny Crampton Melissa Nichols CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mona Jackson PHOTOGRAPHY Karen Berry Al Berry Stephanie Humphrey STAFF WRITERS Al Berry Sandy Kaster James Frankowiak Sean Green Ginny Mink Libby Hopkins CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Woody Gore Les McDowell

Index of Advertisers ABCPizza......................................................................................93 AceAirConditioning&Electric............................................75 AgTechnologies...........................................................................73 Agro-CultureLiquidFertilizers................................................56 AntiochFeedandFarmSupply..............................................46 AquariusWaterRefining..........................................................79 AstinStrawberryExchange......................................................15 BPowerfulPromos.....................................................................93 Badcock...........................................................................................23 BankersSouth...............................................................................60 Bill’s Transmissions.......................................................................21 Bingham..........................................................................................85 BrandonAutoServices,Inc......................................................36 BrandonRegionalHospital.....................................................48 Brewington’s..................................................................................21 Broke&Poor...............................................................................90 CameronFinancial......................................................................23 CecilBreedingFarm....................................................................20 CF Industries..........................................................42 Chuck’s Tire & Automotive ................................13 Crescent Jewelers.................................................. 71

Index of Advertisers Dad’s Towing....................................................................87 Discount Metals...............................................................92 Dr. Barry Gaffney O.D. PA.............................................83 Driscoll’s............................................................................74 Eshenbaugh Land Company..........................................37 Everglades Farm Equipment...........................................96 Farm Bureau Insurance/Jeff Sumner..............................88 Farm Credit ......................................................................79 Felton’s ..............................................................................51 Fischbach Land Company..............................................45 Fishhawk Sporting Clays ................................................19 Florida Mineral, Salt & Agricultural Products.............58 Florida Strawberry Growers Assoc................................59 Forbes Road Produce......................................................12 Fred’s Market.................................................................. 36 Gator Ford........................................................................95 Gier Roofing Services ......................................................75 Grimes Hardware Center ...............................................65 Grove Equipment Service ..............................25, 39 & 81 Halfacre Construction Company...................................90 Harold’s Feed & Pet Supply .............................................3 Harrell’s Nursery, Inc.......................................................93 Haystack Farms, Inc........................................................75 Haught Funeral Home....................................................67 Helena Chemical-Tampa ................................................92 Hillsboro State Bank........................................................69 Hillsborough Community College.................................71 Hillsborough County Farm Bureau Insurance.............57 Home Protection Pest Control..........................................9 I-4 Power Equipment ......................................................29 Jane Baer Realty...............................................................94 Jarrett-Scott Ford................................................................2 Johnson’s Barbeque..........................................................82 Jon & Rosie’s Tree Farm.................................................93 Ken’s Well Drilling & Pump Services, Inc.....................44 Key Plex ............................................................................84 Lake Miriam Pawn..........................................................75 Loetscher Auto Parts .......................................................82 Malissa Crawford............................................................63 Mark Smith Excavating..................................................93 Moreno Ranches .............................................................49 Mosaic...............................................................................77 Myers Cleaners.................................................................44 Pathway BioLogic............................................................34 Plant City Homestyle Buffet..............................................5 Plant City Times & Observer.........................................77 Plant City Tire & Auto Service, Inc...............................93 Platinum Bank..................................................................38 QLF Specialty Products...................................................12 Railroad Credit Union.....................................................87 Savich & Lee / Stalnaker.................................................17 Seedway ............................................................................13 Shrimp & Co Express.....................................................11 Son Shine Opry................................................................75 Southside Farm & Pet Supply .............................16 & 62 South Florida Baptist Hospital .........................................7 Southwestern Produce Company...................................27 Squeal Deal.......................................................................93 Stephanine Humphrey.....................................................74 Super Service Tire & Auto..............................................58 The Hay Depot................................................................28 Thompson Nursery & Vineyard ...................................13 Timberlane Pet Hospital & Resort................................41 Trinkle, Redman, Swanson, Coton, Davis & Smith .................................................................65 Vertigro .............................................................................53 Walden Lake Car Wash ..................................................93 Wells Memorial................................................................36 Willie’s ...............................................................................74 Woodside Dental..............................................................89 Zaxby’s..............................................................................76 W W W. 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100 South Mulrennan Road • Valrico, FL 33594 • 813-685-9121

Why The Farm Bill Is IMPORTANT To ALL of Us! Dear Readers: I encourage you to read the article in this edition of IN THE FIELD about the Xtreme Cuisine Cooking School that’s been in place across the state since 2006. Our Women’s Committee, some board members and volunteers have just completed a series of classes that help introduce youngsters age 9 to 15 to the world of cooking and good nutrition. My thanks to those who were involved in this initiative. Drawing your attention to Xtreme Cuisine is a way for me to offer information about the pending farm bill, as programs such as this are embodied in this important legislation. In late June, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected the proposed 2013 bill, but there’s much more to this bill than farming, much of it misunderstood. Florida Farm Bureau President John Hoblick, in an op/ed column published in THE GAINESVILLE SUN, offers some valuable insights that I want to share with you. I have highlighted some of his comments: “… The farm bill is actually a collection of programs designed to build a continuum of support for all of our citizens. Its provisions involve poor households, the domestic agricultural enterprise that supplies us with food, fiber and renewal fuels and natural resource conservation.” “… Separate titles in the proposed bill target increased funding for food banks, supplemental food assistance for the elderly and fruit and vegetable purchases for elementary schools with high percentages of low-income students.” “… Eighty percent of the total farm bill budget is devoted to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other direct food assistance initiatives.”

“..agricultural producers provide more than food. They are the first caretakers of our natural resources, maintaining greenspace, wildlife habitat and freshwater recharge areas throughout our nation.” “... In Florida farms and ranches are mainstays of our economy. They generate an economic impact of more than $100 billion annually. During the past five years of national recession, agricultural enterprise has helped to preserve the economic stability and viability of communities across our state.” “... Congress has wisely adopted farm bills periodically for more than 60 years to construct a safety net for citizens in need, for children, for domestic food production and for natural resource protection. This safety net benefits everyone.” “…We must have a collaborative, bipartisan effort to preserve it. The current farm bill has been extended until September 30. I sincerely hope that the Congress can craft a new bill worthy of its grand purpose. I ask for your goodwill in making this process a success.” In my judgment, we must recognize the farm bill is much more than legislation impacting agriculture in this country. I urge you to take to heart what Mr. Hoblick has stated and hope that our lawmakers will act accordingly. Your encouragement to your congressman would be helpful. Thank you,

Danny Danny Aprile – President

Board of Directors

Danny Aprile, President; Bill Burnett, Vice-President; Jemy Hinton Member-at-large; Amanda Collins, Roy Davis, David Drawdy, Jim Dyer, Jim Frankowiak, Stefan Katzaras, Greg Lehman, Kenneth Parker,Jake Raburn, Alex Ritzheimer, Marty Tanner, James Tew, Patrick Thomas, Ron Wetherington, Michelle Williamson, Will Womack and Ray Wood, Judi Whitson, Executive Director 8

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• Termites will eat wood two times faster when listening to heavy metal music. • None of Elvisʼs films got nominated for Oscar, but he did win three Grammy Awards – for his gospel recordings. • John Lennon wrote “Good Morning, Good Morning” after hearing a corn flakes cereal commercial. • Marilyn Monroe was given a white poodle named ʻMafiaʼ from Frank Sinatra. • Duran Duran was named after a mad scientist from the Jane Fonda movie “Barbarella.” • The first CD that was pressed in the U.S. was Bruce Springsteenʼs “Born in the USA.” • Before composing, Beethoven often dipped his head in cold water. • Like humans, birds can learn music while they are still in the egg stage. • Mozart was five years old when he wrote his first piece of music. • The first pop video was released in 1975. It was “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. • In 1976, Barry Manilow sang a chart topping song named “I Write the Songs”... the song wasnʼt written by him. • When Madonna was 15 years old, she got grounded for the whole summer for sneaking out to see David Bowie in concert. • Make music not war: Monacoʼs national orchestra is bigger than its army. • When Billy Crystal was a child, his babysitter was the legendary Billie Holiday.

Hey Readers, hidden somewhere in the magazine is a No Farmers, No Food logo. Hunt for the logo and once you find the hidden logo you will be eligible for a drawing to win a FREE No Farmers No Food Sticker. Send us your business card or an index card with your name and telephone number, the number of the page which you found the logo and where on that page you located the logo to the address below.

InTheField® Magazine

P.O. Box 5377 • Plant City, FL 33566-0042 *Winners will be notified by phone. You Too Can Be A Winner!

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2013

Business Up Front

WHAT DO UFO’S AND DRAGON FRUIT HAVE IN COMMON? THOMPSON’S NURSERY & VINEYARD

andy Thompson is no agricultural newbie. Recently he shared his background with us since he owns Thompson’s Nursery & Vineyard. He said, “In the eighth grade I started taking a double period of agriculture. I had two periods of agriculture in the eighth, two periods in the ninth and also two periods in the tenth and eleventh. When I was a senior, I was teacher’s assistant in the Ag class so that pretty well got me started in agriculture. I was on all the judging teams at Franklin and Hillsborough. As a matter of fact, at Franklin Junior High School, the three years I was there ‘54, ‘55, ‘56, we took first place in beef, second place in dairy and second place in swine judging. So we did pretty good and basically the same thing at Hillsborough High School in judging. I was president of the Hillsborough County Federation of FFA in 1959. I was secretary of the Hillsborough County Federation in 1958. I went to the National Convention in 1959. We lived on a 30 acre

farm back then. Of course agriculture was just a part of my life. When I was like 16 years old I owned 12 or 15 head of cattle and I had a registered hog. I was pretty well into agriculture then and knew quite a lot about budding and canning and things of that nature. That’s basically how I got started out here.” It’s no wonder that someone with such extensive experience would continue in the industry. As we continued the conversation he elaborated on his current business and its location. He said, “I bought this property out here in 1983. I’ve been here about 30 years and actually when I bought the place I had an extra house in between that was not finished and for 21 years I used that house just to store stuff. When property taxes got so high I decided that I had to do a little something to bring some more income. I refinished the house and made a rental house out of it and I still needed some extra funds so I was undecided

By Ginny Mink between blueberries and grapes. I ended up putting Muscadine grapes back there. I have three acres of Muscadine grapes. This is the fifth year that I’ll have u-picks back there. We enjoy doing that, my wife and I, and we have a certified kitchen back there and my wife makes homemade jelly and jams and things of that nature. It takes quite a while to make it, and she was only making like eight or nine jars at a time, so I tried to convince her to make bigger batches so she could make it a lot faster and she informed me that wasn’t the way you made jelly. She makes some of the best jellies and jams that I know of in this country! Of course we have people that come down here on vacation and they stop by and pick up a couple of cases of her jelly on their way back home. It’s getting to be pretty popular. Also, we actually make some wine here, but we’re not licensed to sell wine. What we do is we’ll run a special sometimes, like when people pick 10 pounds of grapes we’ll give them a small bottle of wine, or if they buy 10 jars of jelly then we’ll give them a small bottle of wine. So we can give the wine away, but we cannot sell it.” Free wine sounds good to us! While grapes are certainly a big part of their nursery and vineyard, they are not the sole product growing on site. Randy continued, “We grow Florida peaches through the University of Florida Stone Fruit Program. We raise ‘em here and we bud ‘em here and we sell ‘em here. We’ve been doing that now for about two and a half years, and we sell quite a few trees. As

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a matter of fact this year we sold pretty close to 1,800 to 2,000 trees! So we sell quite a few Florida peach trees and that’s very interesting because these trees are only two and a half to three feet high and if you plant them before November, next spring you’ll have some peaches on your tree. They grow very fast. The University is improving them so they’ve got about 20 varieties. The varieties that we grow and sell here are the ones that were actually made for Central Florida and we have one, it’s called a UFO, which is a flat peach and the flat peach’s been around for a long, long time. The problem is that they’ve never got it where they can ship it or anything. The University took it (and I guess they operate on peaches like they operate on people) and they put new genes in it so they’ve got it now where you can actually use it as a commercial peach if you want to. These peaches are very flat and they look funny. They’re quite a conversation piece. The University did a little taste test a few months ago with the UFO, the flat peach, and it seems that the UFO is one of the best tasting peaches on the market. A lot of people want them. Probably 25 percent of what we sell now are the UFOs so they are a good tasty peach. We had the peach trees quite a while and we just love doing that along with the grapes.

they freeze; the cold will kill them. I thought I knew how to handle that but I had nine rows of those things and quite a pretty good-sized investment about six years ago. I bought about $2000 worth of visqueen and we covered them. The problem is, in the winter we have storms that come up and the storms blew all my visqueen loose and froze all my Dragon Fruit. I lost probably $35,000 in Dragon Fruit! I had nine rows back then. I tore down six rows but I still have three rows left. Just now we’ve had a couple of mild winters and we have Dragon Fruit everywhere! We’re actually producing some fruit now, we also sell the plants here. People in Florida can grow these and they’re delicious. As a matter of fact, there are three different kinds of Dragon Fruit with flesh in them. We have a white flesh, a magenta flesh, and we have a red flesh. Of course the magenta is really only a combination, a mix between, the red and the white. The red Dragon Fruit is second to none in lycopene, which you know is a good cancer chemical in there. They are about the highest fruit with lycopene there is so the Dragon Fruits are very popular.” In addition to the peach trees and Dragon Fruit, Thompson Nursery & Vineyard also sells Muscadine grape vines and fertilizer. You can give them a call whenever you have a question about one of their products and they will gladly assist you. Make sure you check out their website for all your planting needs: www.thompsonsnurseryandvineyard.com or call 813.451.3391 or 813.685.5175

Returning to the grapes Randy elaborated, “We’ve got about 10 varieties of Muscadine grapes and we have two brand-new varieties, one of them came out in 2007. Dr. Dennis Gray, from the University developed that, of course it takes a lot of years to develop a new grape. It’s a black Muscadine and it’s much larger than a lot of Muscadines. It’s very, very tasty. In 2009, he came up with another one that was called the Delicious. The first one he came out with was the Southern Jewel and that one was a bunch grape. The Delicious is not a bunch grape, it is also a black Muscadine but that kind is very, very delicious. The demand for them since they been out? Well, if I would’ve had 10,000 of those over a year ago, I probably could’ve sold every one of them for 15 bucks apiece. That’s how popular they are. We’ve got some of them in our vineyard now, the Southern Jewel and the Delicious. What we do in our vineyard is, we take care of it. We don’t use any insecticide at all down there. You might say that our vineyard is pretty well what they call green. There’s no poisons down there at all!” No doubt that’s something to be proud of. Florida peaches and Muscadine grapes are certainly appetizing but Randy’s nursery is up on all the newfangled produce as well. In fact he says, “We started in the nursery business just about five years ago and we also grow, what we call trops and exotics, Dragon Fruit. A lot of people don’t even know what Dragon Fruit is. Dragon Fruit is actually a cactus. I started in the Dragon Fruit business but the only problem with the Dragon Fruit are W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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lpacas are pretty interesting animals. We were informed that there are two types of alpacas, they are: Huacaya and Suri. Apparently the US has a considerably larger percentage of Huacaya versus Suri (maybe that’s why Tom Cruise’s daughter got that name?) Anyway, since we thought the camel/llama-like alpacas were intriguing and since there appears to be increased interest in these animals, we decided to visit the Sweet Blossom Alpaca Farm in Plant City. Debbie Pettis is one of the owners and she shared a little about how they got their start. She said, “About eight and a half years ago we moved to Plant City for a change in lifestyle really. Basically at that point in time we had no agricultural experience. Then we started off with three donkeys just because I loved the animal. I think in 2008, two years after moving to Plant City, I read an article in the newspaper about alpacas and went and visited a couple of farms. That’s where the alpacas started from, those couple of visits to farms around Florida. So we decided that was what we were going to jump into, and that’s exactly what we did! That was in May 2009, that’s when we got our first four alpacas.” We asked Debbie what drew her to the alpacas. She told us, “The animal itself because of how unique they are, but also the fact that you could raise these animals yourself and basically every year they give you fiber. I look at them as sort of a green animal, you know they are easy, you get the fiber off of them and they keep living. They produce the fiber throughout the whole year and then you shear them again, very similar to sheep. Whereas all around us we have cows and they go off to slaughter eventually and I didn’t really care for that because of how attached I can get to animals especially if I’m out there every day taking care of them. So that’s what attracted me to them, they are easy on the environment, our pastures, and they’re relatively easy to take care of. The fiber side of these animals is the whole purpose of why the United States imported alpacas. I think in the late, or mid-80s, they imported the first alpacas and it was solely to breed them and increase the population here in the US, that was the main focus. Now the focus is more on the fiber than breeding and breeding and breeding but we still need to keep breeding because we need to increase the volume of fiber coming off of these animals because now we’re getting into the whole mass production. We have a fiber co-op now where farms can send in their fiber and they produce all sorts of products made out of these alpacas’ fiber for anyone to purchase. So they keep saying, “Hey, we need more fiber to meet the demands for these products.” The need for more alpaca fiber is there. It’s just whether the alpaca breeders can keep up with that demand because the gestation period for these animals is 11 ½ to 12 months. It takes quite a while to get another alpaca on the ground.”

By Ginny Mink

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Alpacas serve a purpose in Debbie’s mind and thusly she explained to us why they are so valuable. She continued, “Right now the top seller through the co-op is these alpaca blankets. They’re not blanket, blankets, they’re more like throws. Alpaca fiber is almost a cross between cashmere, silk and mohair. You know how soft it feels against your skin? Well this is what these blankets feel like. I don’t have one yet but my plan is to get one next month when it’s my birthday. So I can’t actually feel it but from what I’ve heard it’s a fabulous blanket. Some other examples are socks, they breathe, and your feet don’t sweat in W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

need to use it. They can spin it into yarn themselves, they can make their own roving and do their own felting and all that.” If you want more information about alpacas, or Sweet Blossom Alpaca Farm, you can check out their website: www.sweetblossomalpacas.com. By the way, they’re really cute! •

them. I have a couple sweaters, very nice, scarves, yarn (it’s great for crafters) skeins of yarn. People are doing what they call ‘nuno felting’ where they take the fiber and can make a purse. You can form the fiber into shapes, so I’ve seen purses made out of this fiber, you can dye it or you can go all natural. There’s like 22 colors of these animals, so you have a wide range of all-natural colors. That’s really the route that we go with our fiber products. I don’t do any dying. I leave it as is, the true colors. It’s completely 100% recyclable. There’s just so much information out there about alpacas and the fiber and the uses of the fiber. People just keep coming up with different ideas of what they’re doing with it. I don’t have the time to really be on the creative side of this. I basically send out my fiber to the fiber co-op and to the fiber mill. The mill takes your own fiber and processes it into yarn, skeins of yarn, or you can have roving made out of it. You get it back with the animal’s name. So I can say this is what this animal’s fiber produced. It’s really a neat way for people to associate the fur on the animal (people call it fur but it’s actually fiber) and here’s what was made out of it and they can visually see that.”

In closing, we asked Debbie about her farm and her goals. She explained, “We have about 45 alpacas. It’s kind of a small to medium size herd throughout the US. Now, here in Florida, it’s getting on sort of the large size of a herd compared to a lot of the Florida farms. I’m taking a guess, I haven’t done accounts in the last three years or so, but I want to say there’s probably 20-25 farms here in Florida. Some don’t sell their alpacas, some just have them to get their fiber and make products out of them. I do breeding and sell the animals to start-up farms as well as I sell their products. I use their fiber and I sell it raw as well because there’s a lot of spinners out there that don’t have the land, or the time, or the desire to take care of the alpacas so they will come to an alpaca farm and just buy raw fiber. Then they can use it however they W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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John Ciani (center) started The Odessa Organic Farmerʼs Market because he wanted to give the community organic produce at cheaper price than most grocery stores. His son Chris Ciani (far left) started The Suzanne Ciani Brain Cancer Foundation to help find a cure for brain cancer. His mother, Suzanne (center) passed away this past April.”

n my never-ending quest to find the coolest farmer’s markets in Hillsborough County, I happened to come across the Odessa Organic Farmer’s Market in Odessa, just outside of Tampa. Upon my arrival at the market, I immediately got the sense that everyone who came to the market was treated like family. Everyone, including myself, was greeted with the warm smile of John Ciani, the market’s manager. He and his family have been running the market for almost three years. “I started the market out of my passion for eating healthy and I wanted to give the people in the community organic produce at a cheap price,” John said. “We sell everything basically half the price you would pay at the grocery store.” Farmer’s markets, like Ciani’s, have become an integral part of the urban/farm linkage and have continued to rise in popularity, mostly due to the growing consumer interest in getting fresh produce directly from the farm. Markets, like the Odessa Farmer’s Market, allow people to have access to locally grown, farm fresh produce, allows farmers to develop a personal relationship with their customers, and cultivate consumer loyalty with the farmers who grow the produce. Direct marketing of farm products through farmers markets continues to be an important sales outlet for agricultural producers nationwide. According to the USDA’s National Farmer’s Market Directory, there are over 7,000 famer’s markets in the United States. W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Market Watch THE ODESSA ORGANIC FARMER’S MARKET By Libby Hopkins

The market is open Friday and Saturday’s from 11 - 4 and Sunday’s from 10 - 3. The market also has a food truck rally with live music and a night market on the second Friday of the month, and other green events as well. “I wanted to give the community something to do on a Friday night,” John said. “It also promotes the market and the local farms in the area.” In addition to the food trucks, the market offers some beautiful fresh organic produce ranging from peppers to corn. During my visit to the market I was able to grab a bite to eat and I took home some great vegetables. Another item I picked up during my visit was an orange bracelet that reads, “Fear Not.” It’s the motto to the Suzanne Ciani Brain Cancer Foundation. Suzanne is John’s wife who passed away from brain cancer this past April, and his son, Chris Ciani, runs the foundation. “In September of 2011, my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer. After going through treatments, my mom wanted to help in some way,” Chris said. “She wanted to not only help in finding a cure, but she also wanted to help anyone we could on the way, both cancer fighters and their loved ones.” The whole Ciani Family is very supportive of the foundation and what they are trying to accomplish. “Anything we have planned, the family has been there to spread the word and help get people there to support the event,” Chris said. The foundation will be hosting a 5K on October 20 of this year to raise money for cancer research. “Ultimately our goal is to find a cure and prevention for brain

cancer,” Chris said. “We want to do anything that we can to raise money for research and we also want to help all the fighters and their caregivers.” Chris and the whole Ciani family believe the first step in cancer prevention is to eat organics. This is also another reason his dad started the market. Sustainability is also very important to John Ciani and his market. He gets the produce he sells from three different organic farms in the Odessa area. “Sustainability is extremely important to me and whatever we do, we make sure it’s local,” John said. If you are looking for something to do on a Friday night or during the weekend, take a ride out to the Odessa Organic Farmer’s Market, you’ll have a great time, meet some wonderful people and get some awesome produce as well. For more information on the market, you can visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ pages/ Odessa-OrganicFarmers-Market or call John Ciani at 813-944-8654. The market is located at 8701 Gunn Highway in Odessa. For more information on the Suzanne Ciani Brain Cancer Foundation, you can visit them on the web at www.scbraincancer.org.

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AUGUST 2013

Fillet The Catch by Captain Woody Gore

hen planning a fishing trip whether it’s for fun or a nice meal, you’ve got to decide if it’s a C.P.R. trip (catch, photograph and release) or you’re keeping a few for dinner. There's absolutely nothing wrong with keeping a few for dinner, in fact one of the satisfactions many receive from fishing is a good fish dinner. However, packing the freezer full of fish only to become freezer burned and tossed in the garbage is a travesty to our environment. Nutritious and delicious fish spoil easily, so it’s essential to keep them in top shape from field to table. If keeping a few for dinner, here are a few steps to help keep them fresh and un-spoiled.

A plastic spray bottle filled with Clorox does nicely. Spray the area thoroughly then flood with clean water.

LET

T HE

in to the ribs. Lift the flesh and using the shears, cut each rib. Using shears to cut heavy rib bones saves your knife edge.

CUT T ING B EGIN:

There are various ways of filleting fish, it seems like everyone has their own method. I use this quick and easy method taught by my father. Before we begin its important that you have a couple of quality knives, they are a must, so don’t hold back on on your cleaning equipment, it makes cleaning much easier. You’ll definitely need a sharp 7” and 9” fillet knife, cut resistant cleaning glove, and quality pair of poultry scissors.

3. With the knife at a slight angle down and towards the rear, slice along the backbone stopping ½ inch before the tail fin. Do not cut fillet completely off, it helps you hold the fillet when skinning.

AFT ER T HE CATCH: 1. Immediately bleed them by cutting their throat and gills. 2. Make a cut from the anal opening upward to the pectoral fins and remove the entrails. 3. Fill the cavity with ice and place the fish under the ice in an ice chest. If you place them in a plastic garbage bag first, it keeps the ice chest cleaner. 4. You’ll be amazed at the bloodless white color of each fish fillet. Many boat ramps and fish camps furnish cleaning facilities for the angler’s convenience, but a constant and seriously important point you must always remember, the cleaning facility and table is always covered with Bacteria! So, whenever using a cleaning table, always disinfect the surface or areas that may contact your fish. 18

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1. Place fish on cutting surface with belly facing away from you. Make a cut down and around the gill plate to the backbone. The knife blade is angled slightly toward the front of the fish.

4. With the fillet attached and skin down on cleaning surface, hold the fish close to the tail. With the knife at 30 degrees slowly slice back and forth between the flesh and the skin. Do not cut through the skin. 5. With the fish’s head pointing in the opposite direction, belly facing away, repeat steps one, two, three and four.

2. Turn the knife toward the rear and slice along the backbone down to, but not

6. Now with two skinless fillets the only bones are those from the ribcage. Ribs are large, easy to see, with plenty of meat, and can be removed after cooking. However, if W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

you have a bone fixation and want them out simply lay the fillet on its side, ribs facing up and away from you. Find the top of the ribs, place the knife at 45 degree angle and cut down, under and away.

some good action in deeper water and around the fish attractors using free-lined greenbacks. Also check out the deep grass flats (3-4 ft.) using a popping cork with greenbacks, small pinfish (the flats are full of them) or shrimp.

7. Almost done. Thoroughly wash each fillet, place it in a clean zip lock with ice and then in the cooler with ice. To stay fresh fish must remain cold.

MACKEREL & B LU EFISH - Tampa Bay is loaded with big Spanish mackerel and bluefish and fishing this month should be great. Just look for schools of threadfins, put out a chum bag and hold onto your rod and reel. I’m seeing mackerel catches up to 3 and 4 pounds and some of the biggest blues ever. This is some real excitement on light tackle but you need to use small wire leaders or heavy 60# leader and inexpensive 2/0 long shank silver hooks. For some exciting top water action try tail hooking your bait and let it work against the current. This forces the bait to the top for some great top water strikes.

8. Regardless of how you found the cleaning station, never compound the issue by leaving your own mess. Before leaving, rinse it thoroughly then with your spray bottle of Clorox disinfect the table, your knife and scissors. Before putting your equipment away always rinse and dry everything. Cleaning fish takes patience and practice. Do not become discouraged on your first attempt. Many saltwater facilities are okay with putting remains back into the water for scavengers. And practically every cleaning station has pelicans floating nearby waiting for a quick meal. Try to avoid tossing whole carcasses into the water as the exposed bones may lodge in their throats when swallowed. It doesn’t take much longer to cut the fishes head off and trim the backbones with your scissors. The last thing you want is a helpless bird choking on something you carelessly tossed into the water. We’ve all seen unsightly carcasses floating around the launch area. To help prevent this, puncture and cut the air bladder and eyes.

COB IA - Markers and sandy flats equal Cobia. These fish frequent markers, especially those holding threadfins. They also cruise the flats following rays and manatees. When marker fishing, keep a chum bag out, you just never know what might show up.

TARPON - Tarpon fishing at the bridge has its good and bad days. Recently we’ve been seeing nice pods along the beach. Threadfins, crabs and larger sardines should do nicely. I’m hooking a few in upper Tampa Bay while Mackerel fishing, especially if I’m cutting chunks of bait and feeding it over the side into the current. They should start to show around the upper Bay bridges. Fish the bridge light lines at night. SNAPPER - Grey Snapper seem to be showing up everywhere. Pieces of live shrimp or cut sardines on a ¼ oz. knocker rig usually works great. Just find a bridge, rock pile, dock or just about any structure and its fish-on.

“Give Me a Call & Let’s Go Fishing” – 813-477-3814 Captain Nothing beats good fresh fish, so take enough for dinner and put Woody Gore is the area’s top outdoor fishing guide. Guiding and the rest back for another day. fishing the Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs, Bradenton, and Sarasota areas for over fifty years; he offers world AU GU ST FISHING REPORT class fishing adventures and a lifetime of memories. REDFISH - August should see more redfish action around the Tampa Single or Multi-boat Group Charters are all the same. With years Bay area. This past month we could find lots of fish but getting of organizational experience and access to the areas most experithem to bite with any consistency was sometimes difficult. Those enced captains, Woody can arrange and coordinate any outing or we did catch we got on dead baits. Occasionally we’d catch one or tournament. Just tell him what you two on a cut pinfish, sardine, threadfin or ladyfish, but not with need and it’s done. Visit his website at: the action we’re used to seeing. With tons of bait around its likely WWW.CAPTAINWOODYGORE.COM, send an email to the fish are not that hungry but at least they’re out there. The Bay area notoriously produces good catches of redfish, you just need to wgore@ix.netcom.com or give him a call at 813-477-3814. find the ones ready to eat. Redfish tend to push into the Mangrove lined shores and oyster bars on incoming tides. Early morning topwater artificial lures on the grass flats offers some good visual excitement as well. Work both incoming and outgoing tides. SNOOK – ONE MORE MONTH… Snook fishing will continue strong this month with larger fish still on the beaches. Expect to see them bunching up near passes and deeper holes. They often appear to have lockjaw but patience seems to pay off when looking for larger fish. Many report catching good fish with dead bait left on the bottom. Artificial lures usually produce some awesome action and if you’ve passed the learning curve you can have a great time tossing plastics to waiting snook. SPOTT ED SEA T ROU T - Trout fishing can always be fun especially when you find some larger fish willing to eat. I’ve been getting into W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2013

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2013

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recently received a nice letter from one of our readers. Mrs. Green said her cousin, who lives in Pinecrest, south of Plant City, sent her a copy of “In The Field” and marked page 22, Rock’n Chair Chatter, that had the story of the headless chicken that supposedly took place in Fruita, Colorado where she has lived most all her life. Being a chicken enthusiast she wanted to share more about their “Headless Chicken Festival” and her love for chickens. She writes: “While my small town doesn’t have much more than a dozen or more homes, a few outhouses and dinosaur museum, we do have a ‘Headless Chicken Festival.’ We have many events during this two-day festival, chicken dance contest, car show, music and entertainment, good egg award, chicken games, chicken eating contest, dirt jumping contest, a 5K run, and a ‘Miss Headless Chicken’ beauty contest. It is held the third weekend in May every year.

Without going into detail I will tell you that ‘Mike, the Headless Chicken’ died on a cool March night in 1947. Ever since then the community has held this Olympic-style, two-day event in honor of him. Most people are not sure if it is true or an urban legend, but one thing is for sure, if Mike the Headless Chicken was alive today he would have his own show on television.” Mrs. Green writes that she has always had chickens, and loves the convenience of having fresh eggs. She continues, “Last week I went to the chicken coop around dark to collect the eggs and lock them in for the night when I noticed Florence still sitting on her nest. The next morning when I went to the chicken yard Florence was still on the nest. She looked like she was not comfortable and was in pain. I picked her up and checked her rear end. It appeared to be flexing. Thinking she might be having a problem passing the egg, I decided to take action.”

“I checked my book on chickens and decided she was constipated and could not pass the egg. I had rubber gloves, but no lubricant, so I headed straight for the nearest CVS some 20-miles 22

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AUGUST 2013

away. After finding the aisle where all this stuff is located I was stunned. There were so many different lubricants to choose from. An attendant walked by and I asked him if he could help me find one that was not scented, warming, flavored, spray-on and had a clear color. He asked if I had an allergy issue. I said, “No sir, it’s for a chicken.” “He looked at me like I was crazy. I explained the situation about Florence the chicken. He shook his head as if to say, ‘woman are you out-of-your-mind,’ handed me one of their generic brands and walked away.” “I headed home and put on the rubber gloves, and applied the lubricant. That’s when I discovered she wasn’t having an eggpassing problem. She was brooding.” “The next morning when I went to the chicken yard, there was Florence, all perky and happy, scratching for food. I really think she enjoyed the application ‘cause she followed me all over the chicken yard while I put in fresh water and feed.” I recall when I was a child my mother had chickens. She had two hens that always squabbled over one particular nesting box. We had 14 individual nesting boxes, but the one on the lower left seemed to be better for the two hens. One afternoon I was standing outside watching the chickens, when one of the hens jumped into the nesting box and kicked the other hen out. The one that was kicked out was so upset she strutted around the chicken yard raising a fuss. She went over to Rufus the rooster and took him to the nest. The rooster jumped on the nest with the hen and had a few words with her. Then he jumped down and had a “chat” with the other hen. The upset hen backed off and settled down. There’s nothing like having a good man around the chicken pen. I read recently where a hen in China adopted two orphaned puppies after their mother died. The owner of the chicken said he once saw the hen fight off several other chickens that were trying to steal the puppy’s food. W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

A few years ago, when Joe DeLegge was the Bartow, Florida City Manager, he was faced with chickens digging up yards, and roosters crowing constantly before dawn. Citizens said they had had enough, and wanted the city to do something about it. The Commissioners ordered a revision to a 1922 bird sanctuary ordinance that makes it illegal to kill, capture or even “annoy” any of their local feathered friends. “We’re going to catch them and move them somewhere or give them to somebody who wants them,” DeLegge said. “The ordinance revision also would let residents capture chickens on their property." When I was a senior at Plant City High School I would spend Friday and Saturday nights at the Fire Station as a volunteer. They paid $4.00 a night. One Saturday night Earl Bone and I caught a chicken in downtown Plant City, and turned it loose in the fire station around 9 p.m. that evening. When I slipped in just before the midnight deadline and eased into bed I discovered they had hidden my mattress. After searching in the dark to the snickering of those already in bed, I finally found it on top of the pool table. I guess the joke was on me, because Earl Duncan, assistant fire chief served fried chicken for Sunday lunch. This “chicken” column would not be complete without the question, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” I have no idea! •

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2013

Mosaic Hunger Relief

Gathering Fosters Regional Discussion Of Food Insecurity By Jim Frankowiak

he numbers – both locally and globally – pretty much say it all. Hunger is something one in six people in Central Florida struggle with every day. Around the world there are 850 million people unsure of where their next meal will come from, while here 750,000 face that same uncertainty, as well. Among those 750,000 are 250,000 children. This is a situation that will increase in severity as the world’s population grows from seven billion currently to nine billion in just a few decades. The causes, effects and hoped for solutions of this worldwide challenge were all addressed during a recent forum organized by The Mosaic Company. The forum was held “...to spearhead a regional conversation about hunger relief efforts and the need to create a sustainable food supply,” the company said. The gathering at the Florida State Fairgrounds, hosted by Mosaic’s Senior Vice President of Phosphate Operations, Bo Davis, attracted community leaders and organizations from throughout the 10-county area. Keynote speaker, noted photojournalist John Stanmeyer, documented the global food crisis while on assignment for NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Magazine. His comments and photography reflected not only the causes of this crisis, but the impact on individuals residing in different countries he visited while developing his story. “Two billion of the seven billion survive on $2 or less a day and 70 percent of that income is devoted to feed-

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ing them,” he said. “Rising food costs are leading to starvation. He also noted that 825 million live on less than $1 a day. Adding to this problem is the fact that while the earth’s population continues to grow, lands devoted to agriculture are diminishing and an alarming volume of commodities are being diverted “from going into our stomachs to others uses such as the production of ethanol,” he said. “That leads to higher food costs, but global economy is not matching those increases with higher wages.” Stanmeyer, whose photography was on display at the forum, also detailed other matters that have had impacts on food production from flooding in the U.S. to contaminated soils and water sources in India. “Lost harvests are one factor, but the loss of equipment and facilities used in the production of these commodities are longer term setbacks. Even more disheartening is the growing number of suicides that have been attributed to lost harvests,” he said. Waste is another consideration. There are certain areas of the world where economies are on the rise and the result has altered the food eating habits of residents. “There’s an economic explosion in China and the Chinese are becoming meat eaters,” said Stanmeyer. To meet this demand livestock feed has been diverted to China from other parts of the world, but the Chinese are wasting from 30 to 40 percent of the food available to them.” In Bangladesh, where the poor in that country survive on less than $2 a day, he cited the steaming of rice as a way to address a portion of the challenge “since steamed rice is thicker and tricks the body into thinking it has more to eat than it really has.” The political upheaval in Egypt is reported with regularity, but few realize “the primary cause of that unrest is the absence of affordable food,” Stanmeyer said, an understanding he gained while visiting that country on assignment.

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Stanmeyer’s travels have also included visits to Mosaic operations both in the U.S. and Canada where he became aware of the importance of crop nutrients produced by the company as essential for increased yields. “The use of crop nutrients is responsible for yields 40 percent greater than without nutrients,” he stated. But the answer to this crisis requires more and that led to comments from a panel that included Thomas Mantz, executive director of Food America Tampa Bay, Rebecca Brislain, executive director of the Florida Association of Food Banks, Patrizia La Trecchia, Ph.D., a University of South Florida faculty member in the Patel College of Global Sustainability. Neil Beckingham, Mosaic’s Sustainability Manager, rounded out the panel. WFLA-TV news anchor Keith Cate served as panel moderator. The panelists shared their insights into the specific issues facing the hungry of Central Florida and possible ways to address those needs. In addition to awareness, the panelists discussed ways to remove the barriers to donation of available food resources and advances that have been made such as offsetting out of pocket costs to farmers always willing to donate available crops plus the equipment needed to pick up and deliver those commodities. They also noted the more frequent need for food from the needy and how food banks and other organizations have shifted to more mobile operations to better serve those in need. Companies such as Mosaic have supported this mobile pantry concept by donating refrigerated shipping equipment for both storage and delivery. Several of those units were on display at the fairgrounds. Political activities were also discussed by the panelists during a dialogue session with the audience. It was noted that for every $1 dollar expended for food stamps, $1.79 came back into the community, a little know fact that helps counterbalance costs of that assistance to the needy program. The forum also learned of other options either in use or being evaluated to help mitigate the challenge of increased and unmet food demands and they ranged from optimal use of natural resources and proper use of herbicides and pesticides to the development of “dark stores,” fully enclosed structures devoted to food production. The session concluded with the presentation of individual $10,000 checks by Mosaic to 12 food banks helping to meet the food insecurity challenge faced in Central Florida. Attendees were encouraged to work toward resolution of the challenge of the hungry through volunteerism, donations, as well as helping foster greater awareness of this increasing global need. • W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2013

Adopt-A-Pet

Cohen is a 1 & 1/ 2 year old Female, spayed dog who wants her very own kid, backyard and pool (if possible). She loves to play and needs a home with lots of love and attention!!

Conta ct: Ti mberla ne P et Hospi ta l a n d Resort a t 813- 754- P E TS if you would like to meet Cohen a nd ma ke her your new fa mily member!!

Special thanks to Nikki Dudack for the wonderful photo!

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17th Annual IFAS/CALS TailGATOR to be held on Oct. 5

lumni and friends of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences are invited to TailGATOR 2013: Friends, Food and Football on Oct. 5 in Gainesville.

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and CALS have hosted this annual event since 1997. TailGATOR will begin three hours prior to kickoff of the UF vs. Arkansas game in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. TailGATOR tickets are $12.50 in advance and $15.00 at the door. Individuals can register online at www.cals.ufl.edu/tailgator. Attendees have the option to purchase a limited number of football tickets while registering. “We’re thankful for our many IFAS and CALS alumni, friends and supporters,” said Valerie Dailey, CALS Alumni and Friends President. “We want to emphasize these relationships that are so important to us through the theme ‘Friends, Food and Football.’” Attendees will be able to engage with departmental and major representatives through interactive booths and exhibits, meet current CALS students, and dine on Hill’s BBQ. There will be no formal program. In addition, attendees will be able to bid on the silent auction items in support of the CALS Alumni and Friends Scholarship Endowment. Awards from this endowment are open to students from any CALS major. Silent auction items include an Anarchy 60# R/H bow, Busch Gardens tickets, gift cards to local businesses and much more. “In 2012, we were able to raise more than $2,000 through our TailGATOR silent auction to support scholarships,” said Dailey. “This helps us to provide financial support for future leaders in agriculture, natural resource, life science and related industries.” Although traditionally recognized at TailGATOR, this year’s CALS Alumni and Friends Award of Distinction and Horizon Award recipients will be formally recognized at the IFAS Dinner of Distinction the night prior to TailGATOR. The 2013 Award of Distinction recipients are Andy Andreasen, BSA ‘74, MAG ‘82, of Marianna and Arlen Jumper, BSA ‘53, MAG ‘58, of Homosassa. The 2013 Horizon Award recipients are Kelly Padgett Mosley, BSA ‘04, of Green Cove Springs and Crystal Kelts Snodgrass, BSA ‘03, MS ‘05, of Palmetto. These awards recognize alumni and friends for their contributions to UF, IFAS, CALS, and the agriculture, natural resource, life science and related industries and professions.

Fri. & Sat. August 16 & 17 • 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Fri. & Sat. September 20 & 21 • 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

*** All Items Are 8 lbs. Unless Otherwise Noted.***

VEGETABLES Foodhooks........................$22 Baby Butter Beans ...........$15 Green Beans......................$14 Pole Beans ........................$14 Speckled Butter Beans ...$14 Blackeye Peas...................$14 Butter Peas .......................$14 Crowder Peas ...................$14 Pinkeye Peas.....................$14 Sugar Snap Peas ..............$15 Zipper Peas.......................$14 Green Peas ........................$14 White Corn........................$14 Yellow Corn.......................$14 Cream White Corn 4# ......$6 Cream Yellow Corn 4#......$6 Collard Greens..................$13 Mustard Greens ................$13 Turnip Greens ...................$13 Spinach ..............................$13 Cut Okra ............................$13 Breaded Okra....................$13 Whole Okra .......................$13 Sliced Yellow Squash.......$13 Sliced Zucchini .................$13 Brussel Sprouts ................$14

Baby Carrots.....................$14 Broccoli .............................$14 Cauliflower........................$14 Mixed Vegetables ............$14 Soup Blend .......................$14

FRUITS Blueberries 5# ..................$15 Blackberries 5# ................$15 Raspberries 5# .................$15 Dark Sweet Cherries 5# ..$18 Mango Chunks 5# ............$15 Pineapple Chunks 5#.......$15 Whole Strawberries 5# ...$15 Peaches..............................$15 Rhubarb #5 .......................$15 FRESH GEORGIA PEACHES 25 lbs....$25

GREEN PEANUTS 8 lbs....$15

GEORGIA PECANS (Frozen) Halves and Pieces 1 lb bag................................$9 2.5 lb bag ....................$22.25 5 lb bag ............................$44 10 lb bag ...........................$87

CALS Alumni and Friends is dedicated to building a network to enhance awareness and promote the quality programs of UF IFAS through fraternity among graduates, former students and friends. For more information on CALS Alumni and Friends or TailGATOR, visit www.cals.ufl.edu or call (352) 392-1963. W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2013

Dry Creek

It had to be white cause I wanted to be good. Riding a white horse to school, I would if I could. Here’s one of me with dime store cap guns. This of Dad and Me watching Gun Smoke, just father and son. When Gun Smoke started I’d be standing in front of that Old Zenith, ready to draw. When Matt Dillion pulled his gun I was always the one to fall. Here’s one from 54, where the hat covers my head and rests on my shoulders. Here’s one at ten riding proudly on my Burro ole Tonka, dreaming of a horse when I got older. So you see my whole life has been in Cowboy Pictures since fifty three. Boots and Hats, spurs and saddles with my rope hanging on my family tree. I hear ACTION, ACTION.....My mind comes back to reality as I look down the road where Dry Creek’s director has his hands in the air waving for me and my stead to come running down the road. I kick old Miss Ellie up into a lope. I’d better get this smile off my face and show some cowboy grit. Thank you Lord for letting the little boy in me, Live My Cowboy Dream.

Living The Dream By Les McDowell Pictured: Les with his dad

Watch Dry Creek on BlueHighwaysTV, Channel 246 on Verizon Sat nites at 7:30. Go to DryCreekT V.Com for more information. Check us out at drycreektv.com

sit on my horse and look down the road where a camera is set up. I sit and wait for the directors voice to yell ACTION! I can’t help but smile as I think, I'm living the dream.

My dad always told me to follow my dream. If you stick with it... it will come true. Well, here I am on the set of Dry Creek dressed like my heroes I watched on Saturday mornings. What is it about a Western that made such an impact at such an early age and stayed with me through out my life? As they set up another light near the camera, then a reflector, I find that question running through my mind. There was a certain honesty that Westerns brought into each episode. Keep your word, do the right thing, treat women with kindness. Carry your own load, work hard and feed your animals before you eat. Westerns branded all these things in my soul. Oh....I’ll never measure up to my Cowboy Heroes that rode the silver screen. But as I shake a hand after making a deal I’m reminded to keep my word because of them.

“My Life In Cowboy Pictures”

Let me open up this picture book and share...

I open this picture album and some are yellow and faded. But even as a little boy due to the big brim, my face was always shaded. No it’s not a police or fireman hat on my head that sat. It’s a cowboy hat. 28

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UF Study Shows

Local Food Makes Up 20 Percent of

Florida’s Eat-At-Home Market By Tom Nordlie

loridians are buying more food grown locally or regionally and retail sales are higher here than in other states, according to a University of Florida study. It showed local food represents about 20 percent of all Florida food purchased for at-home consumption, except restaurant take-out food, said Alan Hodges, an Extension scientist with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. The study was based on a statewide consumer survey. Prior estimates from other states had local food accounting for about 5 percent of all food sales, he said. “We are doing relatively better in Florida, in moving toward food self-sufficiency,” Hodges said. “I can only attribute that to the favorable year-round growing conditions we have for fruits and vegetables.” Hodges’ study is part of a larger project that involves consumer preferences about local food, said Tracy Irani, a UF professor of agricultural education and communication and development director for the Center for Public Issues Education, or the PIE Center. Irani and graduate assistant Joy Goodwin headed the portion of the project that examined consumer preferences. Irani said data suggest local food sales might be up because consumers are paying closer attention to the things they eat, due to nutrition and health coverage in the media. Increased awareness results in increased sales, she said. However, consumer participants said their purchase of local food would be likely to increase with increased advertising and marketing of local foods.

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“Consumers perceive that there are health, quality and economic benefits to locally grown,” Goodwin said. “That will continue to motivate purchase behavior, all other things being equal.”

• The average spent on local food was $1,114 per household. That number was higher in Central and North Central Florida, compared with South Florida or the Panhandle.

Projections based on the statewide consumer survey indicate that local food sales in Florida totaled $8.3 billion in a one-year period. An estimated $6.1 billion was spent at grocery stores but only $320 million in restaurants, Hodges said.

• Almost three-fourths of the total estimated revenue — $6.1 billion –- was spent on local food at retail grocery stores. Consumers also spent $1.8 billion at farmers’ markets, roadside stands and U-pick farms. Restaurants and other food-service establishments accounted for $320 million, and other prearranged farm-to-consumer sales totaled $103 million.

“Restaurants have huge potential there to buy locally produced meats, vegetables and other items,” Hodges said. “My suggestion is, if you want to see more local food on the menu at your favorite dining spot, ask for it.” Hodges and postdoctoral research associate Thomas Stevens headed the economic study. They mailed surveys to 7,500 Florida households, receiving about 1,600 responses. The researchers took survey results and used regional economic analysis computer software to make projections about local food sales statewide. The survey was mailed in mid-2012 and asked respondents about the previous year’s purchases. Some highlights of the results: • Two-thirds of respondents said someone in the household bought local food at least once in the previous year. • Among all Florida households, 62 percent bought local foods at farmers’ markets, 53 percent from retail supermarkets, 28 percent from restaurants, and 5 percent from community-supported agriculture or other direct transactions.

Because there is no accepted definition of what constitutes “local” food, Hodges’ survey allowed respondents to define the term – and most often defined it as food produced within 100 miles of the consumer, he said. The study is available on Hodges’ website, at http:/ / tinyurl.com/ cg8v3lc. The larger project investigates ways of connecting farmers and consumers. It’s supported by a specialty crops block grant obtained by the UF/IFAS PIE Center. Information about the larger project is available at http:/ / piecenter.com/ localfood. The grant was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; the study also received support from Alachua County and UF’s offices of sustainability. To watch an interview with Hodges about the local food study, visit http:/ / tinyurl.com/ bycexkd; to see Hodges and others from the larger project discuss local food, visit: http:/ / tinyurl.com/ axjxosm.

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AUGUST 2013

A New Garden Grows in the Community

father and what he instilled in me,” Martinez said. His first attempt at the garden didn’t go as well as planned. He planted blueberries and tomatoes. He went out of town and a local Boy Scout troop agreed to maintain the garden while he was away. Needless to say, the troop didn’t hold up their end of the agreement and the blueberries and tomatoes died. “It’s a joke that I had four epic failures out of seven years of trying to do the garden,” Martinez said. The produce that is grown in the garden is donated to those in need in the communities that surround Winthrop. This was one of the reasons Katrina and her husband wanted to be a part of the community garden project. “When Bryant had mentioned that the food was going to go to the needy families in the community, that pushed me into overdrive,” Hockman said. “We have given several loads of food to ECHO to help those in need.” ECHO stands for The Emergency Care Help Organization (www.echofl.org) and it’s located in Brandon. The organization provides immediate relief in the forms of food, clothing and household items to those residents of the greater Brandon area that have experienced a recent emergency. Since its inception in 1987, ECHO has assisted over 125,000 individuals, over half of whom were children, with the basic life necessities. When families experience an unexpected emergency, they are often faced with the decision of paying the bills or buying food for their families.

By Libby Hopkins

inthrop Town Centre in Riverview is a community that has taken a cue from a past era where people lived, worked, shopped and dined all within a few miles of their home. Those who live in the Winthrop community have the luxury of just walking a block or two to grab some groceries at Publix or a cup of coffee from Starbucks. Now, thanks to Bryant Martinez, Winthrop’s Town Artist, and volunteers, Katrina and Brien Hockman, the residents of Winthrop Town Centre have a beautiful community garden within walking distance of their homes. Martinez and The Hockman’s met last March at the Winthrop Art Festival and Martinez shared his vision for the community with the couple. Part of that vision was a community garden and Katrina Hockman jumped at the opportunity to start a community garden with Martinez. “I told Bryant that I love to garden and a few weeks later we ran into each other again and he cleared out a spot for me to start the garden,” Hockman said. “My husband joked with Bryant and said if you keep clearing out more spaces, she’ll keep planting.” Martinez kept clearing and Hockman kept planting. This process has been going on since May of this year.. Martinez had been trying to do a community garden a year prior to meeting the Hockman’s, but it was quite a challenge for him. “I’m an artist and every real artist I admired had their hands in gardening,” Martinez said. “I always liked gardening and my grandfather would plant and say, ‘I’m going to plant this mango tree, not for me but for your kids, my grandchildren,’ so the garden was my chance to leave some kind of legacy for my grand-

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Families in need of food are something that is becoming more and more common in today’s society. According to Feeding America (www.feedingamerica.org) “In 2011, 50.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 33.5 million adults and 16.7 million children. That same year, 5.1 percent of all U.S. households (6.1 million households) accessed emergency food from a food pantry one or more times.” Hockman and Martinez are willing to work with any emergency food organization in the community to lend a hand to those in need. “I will work with any food organization that needs help,” Hockman said. Martinez and Hockman also love having the community involved with the garden. During the school year, they have local students from the various schools in the community come out and volunteer in the garden. “We grew sunflowers in the garden a while back and the students picked them and gave the flowers to their teachers, friends, families and even the people working at Publix,” Martinez said. Hockman recently had the privilege of working with two eighth graders with Asperger Syndrome (a form of autism). “They gave me a lesson on the different insects that were in the garden,” Hockman said. “They had a blast and they taught me something that day.” The Hockman’s and Martinez have many future plans for the garden but the most important to them is keeping the community involved with it and giving back to the community. “We want to make this a place where people can come and work in the garden or just sit and enjoy it,” Hockman said. For more information on The Winthrop Town Center, you can visit them on the web at www.winthroptowncentre.net. The Winthrop Town Center is located at 11109 Winthrop Market St. Riverview, Fl. W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

By Sandy Kaster, M.S. Clinical Medicine, B.S. Nutrition Science

lorida hot peppers come in a beautiful rainbow of colors, including green, white, purple, red, orange, and yellow. Also called chili peppers, or chiles, they are grown for both ornamental purposes and edible enjoyment. Unlike most other vegetables, hot peppers grow well during Florida’s summer months, even with the higher temperature and humidity. The heat of hot peppers is from a compound called capsaicin, and is reported in Scoville heat units (SHU). For reference, sweet bell peppers are zero on the SHU because they have no spiciness. Milder peppers like Anaheims range from 500-1,000 Scoville units, and jalepenos range from 2,500-5,000 units. Spicier peppers such as cayenne ranges from 30,000-50,000 units, while habaneros come in at a scorching 350,000-500,000 Scoville units!

NUTRITIONAL PROFILE Fresh chili peppers have high levels of vitamins A, B, C, and K, as well as potassium, iron, and magnesium. They are very low in calories and can add substantial flavor with very few calories. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, a two teaspoon serving of dried red chili powder (1.54g) contains 5 calories, 0.16 g of protein, 0.09 g of fat, 1.08 g of carbohydrate, and 0.44 g of fiber. One serving also provides 8.2% of the Daily Recommended Value (% DV) for vitamin A, 2.1% for vitamin K, 1.2% for vitamin B2, 0.82% for potassium, 0.8% for vitamin C, 0.54% for carotene, and substantial amounts of iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc, choline, folate, and vitamin E. Since hot peppers pack such a potent punch, the serving size is small, but contains a large range of important vitamins and minerals.

A NATURAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY Capsaicin, which gives hot peppers their pungency, is a compound that fights inflammation and lessens pain from conditions such as headaches, arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, and psoriasis. The hottest peppers contain the most of this compound. Capsaicin works by inhibiting substance P, a neuropeptide involved in pain perception and the inflammatory process. Capsaicin can be found in topical creams and patches as an over-the-counter pain-reliever.

HELP YOUR HEART Florida hot peppers provide not only flavor, but also cardiovascular benefits. Spicy chili peppers can reduce blood cholesterol, W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

triglycerides, and platelet clumping. Additionally, compounds in peppers help dissolve fibrin, a substance involved in the formation of blood clots. Hot peppers contain vitamins A and C, which also act as antioxidants, sweeping away free radicals which can damage cells and start the cascade of atherosclerosis (the accumulation of fatty substances such as cholesterol and triglycerides on the artery wall). Atherosclerosis can lead to heart attacks and stroke.

INCREASE YOUR METABOLISM Eating hot peppers can increase calorie burn for several hours after eating them. The heat you may feel after eating hot peppers and other spicy foods is a rise in body temperature as your body digests them. This increased heat production increases your calorie expenditure. Several research studies have shown a modest amount (about 100 calories) of increased energy expenditure and fat burn following ingestion of capsaicin from raw, cooked, dried, or canned hot peppers. In addition to increased calorie burn, people who consumed hot peppers reported fewer cravings and suppressed appetite, which can also contribute to weight loss.

HOW TO SELECT AND STORE Choose fresh hot peppers that have glossy, deep colors, firm skin, and fresh stems. Avoid those that are wrinkled, have cracks near the stem, or have soft spots. Store unwashed peppers in a paper bag in the refrigerator for up to several weeks. Fresh peppers can easily be dried by hanging in the sunlight or in a home dehydrator. Once dried, they can be ground into a powder and used as seasoning. If purchasing dried chili peppers, choose ones that are dark in color.

Pale chili powder usually indicates that it’s old and has lost its pungency.

HOW TO ENJOY Capsaicin, the compound that gives hot peppers their pungent taste, can also be irritating to the skin. Either wear gloves or wash hands immediately after handling peppers. The hottest part of the chili is in the ribs and seeds of the pepper, and you can include or exclude these parts to suit your desired level of spiciness. Fresh Florida hot peppers can perk up salads, stir-fries, curries, and other dishes. Hot peppers are frequently used in Hungarian, Chinese, Indian and Thai dishes, Mexican cuisine, and southwestern recipes. Hot peppers are also used to make hot sauce and chili oil. Additional ways to enjoy hot peppers include: • Roasted with olive oil and used to flavor dishes • Chop and add to a stir-fry • Add chili peppers to cornbread • Mince peppers and add to yogurt for a spicy and cool dip • Add minced peppers to omelets, tuna salad or chicken salad • Use dried chili powder in spice rubs for fish and meat Enjoy fresh Florida hot peppers today! Selected References http:/ / gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/ http:/ / www.whfoods.org

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Recently Discovered

November 6, 1888 - The Manchester is shown here at St. Joseph, Missouri. The train was built in October 1879. Photo by Dr. S.R. Wood)

Steam Locomotive Moved To Permanent Museum Home By Jim Frankowiak

he remains of a steam locomotive, discovered in April of 2012, will be on permanent display at the Mulberry Phosphate Museum thanks to the support of the State of Florida and efforts from several industry members and a railroad builder. The locomotive was found by contractors of Mosaic working under a state contract to cleanup portions of the site once owned and operated by Mulberry Phosphates, two miles east of Mulberry. “The locomotive was later identified as a standard-gauge 4-4-0 locomotive, of the type commonly called “American Standard,” according to Richard A. Fifer, Mulberry Historical Society President and a retired aeronautical engineer. “It is believed that this locomotive was built in ca. 1880 by the Manchester Locomotive Works of Manchester, New Hampshire. It is a ‘road engine,’ with 60-inch drive wheels, and not ideally suited to being used as a switch engine in and around the phosphate mines. However, to save money, the phosphate mining companies often bought and used previously owned road engines. “The area where the locomotive was found was originally part of a large, unmined tract owned by W.B. Swearingen and his wife,” said Fifer. The location is immediately east of Mulberry and south of State Highway 60. “On July 1, 1907, the W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

acreage containing the site was purchased by the Florida Mining Company.” The Florida Mining Company was acquired by the International Agricultural Corporation (IAC) in June of 1912. IAC had entered the Florida phosphate mining business through acquisition of the Prairie Pebble Phosphate Company (PPPC) in November of 1909. PPPC was formed in late 1899 and also grew through acquisitions. Locomotives such as the one found last year were used for a variety of tasks: • Haul the wet phosphate rock from the washers to the wet rock storage sites • Haul the wet rock, 4-6 hopper cars at a time, to the dry mill • Pull the empty covered hopper cars into the dry mill for loading • Push the loaded hopper cars from the dry bins to the weighing station and then to the marshaling yard, where they form trains for transport to the port terminals (Boca Grande or Tampa) or elsewhere • Perform “runaround” jobs, as needed It is supposed that the locomotive was purposely stripped and abandoned sometime during the 1920s. “The PPPC initially used steam locomotives for hauling ‘wet rock’ and forming up ‘phosphate drags’ for the Atlantic Coast Line to haul to the shipping terminal at Port Tampa,” Fifer reported. “However, in 1908, the PPPC began tran-

sitioning its railroad from steam to electric power. It began construction of an electric railway connecting its mining sites to its drying plant at Prairie, which is two miles northwest of Mulberry. This transition accelerated after the PPPC was acquired by the IAC. However, steam locomotives were still required during this transition, since they could go where overhead power lines had not yet been erected. Sometime in the 1920s, the IAC completed conversion of its entire 35-miles of railroad to electric operation.” Thus, the estimate of the timing of the locomotive’s disposal. “Although the locomotive is not restorable, it does represent an important aspect of phosphate mining history in this area known as ‘Bone Valley’ and we are delighted that we are able to foster its preservation as a permanent exhibit,” said Mulberry Phosphate Museum Executive Director Jessie Ward. “We are grateful for the assistance we have received from the State of Florida concerning ownership of the locomotive and help in moving it from its discovery site to our museum through the cooperative assistance of Mosaic and C.J. Bridges. The City of Mulberry has graciously given us aid with a permanent location and is underwriting the cost of exhibit signage. Lastly, we owe a debt of gratitude to CF Industries for funding a shelter for the locomotive at its permanent home here at our museum.” INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

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The museum, which is located at 101 Southeast 1st Street in Mulberry (one block south of State Highway 60 on State Highway 37) has as its mission “to exhibit and interpret the phosphate industry and its impact on Polk County, Central Florida and the state of Florida. Also to collect and preserve, exhibit and interpret the marine and land plant and animal remains of the various eras of earth’s history. In addition to the steam locomotive, the museum’s outdoor exhibit includes a 44 cubic yard dragline bucket used to mine phosphate. Interior exhibits include Phosphate, Historic Railroad and Fossil galleries. The museum is opened Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Admission is free, donation are encouraged. More information is available by visiting: www.mulberryphosphatemuseum.org.

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UF/IFAS Study Finds

Light Can Change Flavor By Mickie Anderson

here’s an old head-scratcher that asks whether the refrigerator light really goes out when you close the door.

phenylethanol increased when the plant was exposed to red and far-red treatments (farred is a hue so far on the color spectrum that humans can’t detect it, but plants can).

The answer may be about to change. Scientists have known for hundreds of years that plants respond to light in a variety of ways. But the results of a new University of Florida study tell them how specific light wavelengths can manipulate volatile compounds that control aroma and taste in several highvalue crops, including petunia, tomato, strawberry and blueberry. And their findings open the door to more studies into ways light may someday be used to improve the flavor and nutritional content of fruits, vegetables and herbs, even the scent of flowers, said Thomas Colquhoun, an assistant professor in environmental horticulture at UF and lead author of the study that was published online this month by the journal Postharvest Biology and Technology. The team began with petunia cuttings, exposing them to narrow bandwidth LED light in varying wavelengths. They found that a key floral volatile called 2-

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They conducted similar tests on tomato, strawberry and blueberry, finding that flavor volatiles in each of those fruits could be manipulated with light. Blueberry volatiles changed the least, but the changes were still statistically significant, said Kevin Folta, chairman of UF’s horticultural sciences department. Folta and Colquhoun are part of UF’s Institute for Plant Innovation, part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. The technology will likely find its way into grocery store produce sections, greenhouses and food companies involved in postharvest handling and shipping, Folta said. And consumers might someday find the technology used in their homes, as well. “You might even see it used in your refrigerator – instead of you closing the door and the light goes out, you’ll close the door and the light goes on,” Folta said. “And it’ll all

happen in a way that positively influences the flavor profiles of food.” The team is now working with UF dentistry professor and taste expert Linda Bartoshuk on a National Institutes of Health-funded study that will test whether consumers can taste differences in light-treated fruit. Tariq Akhtar, a colleague of Colquhoun and Folta and soon-to-be faculty member at the University of Guelph in Ontario, studies plant molecular compounds and said the UF study describes a “noninvasive, subtle change” that could unlock vast potential for plants used for both food and medicines. The UF research team also included Michael Schwieterman, a graduate student in theplant molecular and cellular biology program; Jessica Gilbert, a graduate student in horticultural sciences; Elizabeth Jaworski, Kelly Langer, Correy Jones, Gabrielle Rushing and Tia Hunter, undergraduate students in environmental horticulture; James Olmstead, an assistant professor in horticultural sciences; and David Clark, a professor in environmental horticulture and director of the Institute for Plant Innovation. •

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By Ginny Mink

he fish farming industry is certainly on the rise. We caught up with Mike Tuccinardi, the Marketing Director at Segrest Farms, to get their story. He began, “The Company was started by our founder and President, Elwyn Segrest in 1961. He moved to Florida and started breeding angelfish in his garage. Really humble beginnings kind of. It grew from there. He started working for some of the people in the fish farming industry, which at that time was just starting to really grow to become more what it looks like today. And pond rearing of a lot of different species became possible because of technological advancements. So he really got there at a key time when the industry had just started to develop. He got his first farm in Ellenton, Florida and he bought a pond, just a single pond and started spawning. I can’t tell you exactly what it was, but I believe it was a type of tetra. Elwyn is still with us, he’s still our President, and he’s in the facility almost

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every day. The story is, he was just a fish geek who got really good at breeding fish and started selling to pet stores locally. Eventually he scaled up, I think he was a teacher, but he gave up on that and decided to go into business breeding and rearing fish and it kind of grew slowly over the years but once he started getting into farming it really took off. He started off with one or two ponds and when they got to them, I’ve seen pictures of them, they were really nasty! They had to clean out a lot of brush and cattails and stuff to get them going. It took a lot of work, I guess you’d call them fixer uppers.” Yet, Elwyn persevered and the story continues. Mike went on to tell us, “In ‘83 we moved to our current facility in Gibsonton, that’s Segrest Farms. Even though it sounds like a farm, that facility is mostly holding and shipping. The farms are in the surrounding area that we own. We are definitely in the business of fish farming but predominantly

it’s not in our main facility but the surrounding areas in Hillsborough County. We own several hundred acres worth of farms in Florida and different areas of Hillsborough County mostly. But, we also buy. There’s a pretty robust fish farming community there. I’d say there’s about 100+ fish farmers in the area right now and we buy from almost every one of them as well. This keeps our supply chain secure so if we have an issue with one of our ponds it’s not gonna get us out of tetras for two months till we get it back up. It also keeps the farming community strong because we support, and help them spread the support, to a bunch of other farmers.” No doubt the fish farmers in Florida are thankful for the consistent purchases! When Mike discusses what they breed he explains, “Species wise, it’s a real mix of things. One of the things that really kind of got us famous, and what we were one of the first to do, is raise the neon tetra. Those are the bread-and-butter staple. If you go into any pet store you’re going to find the neon tetras. Before that, it had never been raised in Florida, it had never been bred commercially and it was considered a very difficult fish to deal with, very pricey, exports were coming out of the Amazon pretty much exclusively and the fish that were wild collected were touchy fish. By developing a rearing protocol to raise these commercially on our farms we really changed the game. So we raise neon’s and cardinal tetras in Florida. That’s really been a game changer I think for the whole farming community! W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Of course we also do some of the staples like: barbs, tetras, plecostomus, cichlids, neo-tropicals, old world cichlids, you name it. Most of the high-volume stuff we farm and then a lot of the other farms that we buy from also have specialties and oddball exotic fish they raise so we buy a lot of those from the other farmers.” Though you might be interested in working with Elwyn’s company the truth is, you can’t. Mike informed us, “We sell just to pet stores so it’s a wholesale only. We sell to retail pet stores across the country, in 50 states. About 800 to 1,000 individual stores get shipped out every week. We go through 60,000 bags of fish on a good week. So, we send a bag of fish averaging about 12 to 25 fish. It’s a lot, definitely, we are by volume the largest wholesaler of tropical fish in the US. When you combine all our operations, the largest wholesaler of tropical fish in the world!” Those are some pretty amazing statistics for an organization that got its start in a garage.

Mike has been with Segrest Farms for two years. He’s originally from Boston and got his first job at a pet store when he was 13 years old. That job put him through college and led to his position with Segrest Farms. He started off in the sales department but was quickly moved up to marketing. For Mike, raising fish is a business but it’s also a hobby and a lot of fun. He loves his job and speaks enthusiastically about all the cool things he gets to do. In the end he revealed his favorite fish, “I’ve always liked cichlids. Cichlids are a big popular group of fish that grows relatively large. They’re very aggressive and very colorful. Sometimes going out and cleaning a pond full of breeder size cichlids is just the coolest thing seeing these big monstrous adults that are in perfect breeding condition, beautiful colors, blues, yellows that’s really cool! I think the cichlids are probably my favorite group. They’re colorful but also they’re very intelligent and they’re one of those fish that people that have had them as pets will tell you that they have personalities. You know, they get to know their owners; they’ll come up and beg for food outside of the tank, that sort of thing.” There was so much more to share. So, if you are interested check out their website: www.segrestfarms.com.

In closing Mike reinforces that wow factor that is Segrest Farms. He concludes, “It’s a pretty compelling story, that we are still very active in research and development. I think one of the reasons that we’ve gotten to where we are in our leadership position in the industry, is that we really spend a lot of time looking forward in seeing what’s next. For the longest time people said it was impossible to breed the neon tetra in Florida and Elwyn sat and put some smart people to work and that story has been repeated a number of different times with a number of different fish. It’s interesting and it’s definitely something that I think we’re pretty good at. Just looking forward and finding new species to rear, new potentials, and new ways of rearing species that end up making it more cost-effective or labor effective. The Florida fish farming community is at an interesting point in history at this time because in the late ‘90s and the early 2000’s real estate prices were really starting to skyrocket and a lot of the farmers got out. We went from having, I think almost 200 farmers in Florida, down to 80 because they could sell their pond space for more money than they could make in 20 years! Fish farming is not a high-yield, high-profit industry for sure. It’s a lot of work and like any farming job you’re on your farm all day, every day, you don’t take vacations. We’re starting to see another generation of fish farmers come up. In some cases the children of the original farmers who started in Elwyn’s day, or in other cases some people who are getting into it through other avenues. They’re getting very creative with what they’re doing and really coming up with some awesome new species, new lines and so we’re starting to see some nice and exciting growth in the Florida Fish farming community.” W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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By Libby Hopkins

homas Jefferson once said, “Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever he had chosen people, whose breasts he has made his peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue.” In 1801, when Jefferson became president, 95 percent of Americans made their full-time living from farming. By the turn of the 20th century, it was 45 percent, and by the turn of the 21st century, less than two percent earned a living from farming. In 1993 the Census Bureau stopped counting the number of Americans who lived and worked on farms. According to The Land Institute (www.landinstitute.org), “The desertion of the small family farm constitutes the largest population movement in American history. The small-farmer disappearance, here and abroad, partly or wholly underlies other storied American population shifts: the development of cities and suburbs, the settlement of the West, the late 19th and early 20th century European immigrations to

Chris and Erin McGuire W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

the United States, the post-1965 Latin American and Asian ones, the African American migration form the rural South to the North, the rise of the Sunbelt, and even the growth of military bases around the country.” Chris McGuire and his wife, Erin, are hoping to start a new movement back to farming. The McGuire’s own Backyard Food Solutions in Dover, and in just two short years, they have grown from having a small hydroponic garden to grow their own produce to operating a road-side produce stand and produce home delivery service. “My wife Erin and I started our family farm in 2011,” Chris said. “We now operate a produce stand and produce delivery business from the produce grown right on our hydroponic farm.” Chris did not grow up on a farm, but he was always interested in agriculture and farming. “I began doing research and discovered hydroponics,” he said. “The more I learned about it, the more I realized it was something I wanted to do.” He also liked the ecological

benefits of the garden as well. “Water is a precious commodity and hydroponics makes the most of every drop because there is very little waste. On top of all that it’s very environmentally friendly because there is little to no run off so you are not polluting the water source.” He admits he’s a Capitalist and wants to make money so he came up with the idea to open the produce stand and start a produce home delivery service. “You are buying something that comes straight from the farm when you buy from us,” Erin said. “It’s not going through a middle man, so there is less time for the food to go bad.” The McGuire’s feel that farmers are a vanishing breed. “By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow and that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful and abundant food,” Erin said. This past June, the couple held an Open Farm event. They invited neighbors and people from the community to see their hydroponic farm and sample some of the delicious vegetables they grown. They made appetizers, salads, breads and side dishes with produce from their farm and shared the recipes as well. Chris gave tours of the farm and answered questions about the hydroponic system he installed on his farm. “We have received a fantastic response to our produce at the Open Farm event,” Chris said. “Everyone really enjoys the produce we grow, especially our lettuce and Swiss chard. The couple has decided to host monthly Open Farms beginning mid-July. “During these open farms we will have drinks and

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side dishes made for visitors to sample and they will also be able to see the hydroponic system where the produce is grown,” Erin said. “We will also conduct a guided farm tour starting at 10 a.m. each Saturday.” The couple started Backyard Food Solutions because they felt everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy fresh local produce and they are continually looking for ways to improve their farm as well as their produce. “We will begin contracting an aquaponics system that incorporates growing vegetables organically with fish,” Chris said. The way the system works is, there is a fish tank, which is full of fish and air stones to keep the water highly oxygenated. The water flows to grow troughs that have floating trays where the vegetables are grown. The water is then pumped back to the fish tank. “It’s a closed loop ecosystem where everything has to coexist,” Chris said. “The reason I say organically grown is because nothing can be sprayed on the plants because the spray will leak into the water on the grow troughs and then it will poison and kill the fish.” The system should be completed by fall of this year and the couple is looking forward to adding this system as one of the stops on their farm tours. “Upon completion, we are planning on starting to offer classroom/training sessions on hydroponic and aquaponic growing,” Erin said. If you would like to learn more about Backyard Food Solutions or if you would like to attend their next Open Farm, you can visit them on the web at www.backyardfoodsolutions.com or call 813-833-2969. The McGuire’s farm is located at 1409 S. Dover Rd in Dover, Fl. •

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By Shannon P. Mitchell – THE REDHEADED GARDENER

ne of my favorite summer plants is the Caladium. In masse they are superstars in the sun and the shade here in Florida. Their heart-shaped leaves float in drifts above tubular stems sporting white, red, pink and green palettes, sometimes solid, sometimes veined or spotted in mixes of these hues. I love them because their colors bring pops of interest to my shade garden against all of my traditional green shade plants. They remind me of creamy “dreamsicle” sherbet colors in lime, watermelon or coconut. Caladiums are members of the Aroid or Araceae family. Their leaves are so wonderfully diverse in shape, size and color but are typically classified as either fancyleaved varieties or strap/lance-leaved varieties. The fancy-leaf varieties typically have larger, wider heart-shaped leaves and present a bolder surface and a taller stem. Strap/lance-leaf varieties showcase slimmer, narrower heart-shapes and sometimes curly edges that pucker and twist fancifully. Some of the strap or lance leaved varieties are marketed as dwarf forms because their stature is so much shorter than the fancy-leaf varieties. Mixing the two in the landscape is perfectly acceptable to provide multiple layers of color and texture. It’s hard to describe the uniquely veined patterns that these colorful foliage plants provide but they range from combinations of bright red or white spotting to boldly outlined edges with deep color centers. In this case an image is definitely worth a thousand words. You will find deep red leaves outlined in dark green, lime backgrounds speckled by pink globular dots, an emerald hue with a blood red center and solid white leaves with lacy pink veining. The combinations are endless and there are newer more beautiful versions introduced each year. W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

GALAXY is a fancyleaved variety with white centers on a green field with light pink and white spots. Plant it also tolerates full sun and is large in height.

I find them inexpensive and easy to grow from either tubers planted in early summer or potted transplants found at your local box store. At the Lake Placid Caladium Festival this summer I was able to purchase a bag of around a dozen tubers for $5. That’s a lot of color bang for your buck. According to the University of Florida’s GREC Caladium website, http:/ / caladiums.ifas.ufl.edu, caladium tubers are sold based on tuber diameter: Mammoth, greater or equal to 3 ½ inches; Jumbo, 2½ to 3½ inches; No. 1, 1½ to 2½ inches; and No. 2, 1 to 1½ inches.

MISS MU FFE T is a dwarf variety, chartreuse in color with red and white veining and red spots. It is medium in height, compact and bushy. It can take full sun.

As far as landscape uses, caladiums are suitable for hanging basket or potted culture as well as spot plantings. Where they really shine though is in a mass bed or border planting. I have often created a mixed border of different colors in front of Liriope or border grass. Caladium heights make a nice mid-range front of the border transition to taller plants. When you plant the tubers make sure you plant them upright and cover them about one to two inches. Usually you can see the upward facing tips sprouting from the tubers. Caladiums thrive in our summer rains and require steady moisture. You should plant them in peat based or compost amended soils and fertilize weekly with 10-10-15 ratio.

FE ST IVI A is very upright and tall with transparent dark red rose blotches and green veining and margins. It likes full sun and is an excellent variety for the landscape. A few sources in Florida for caladiums online are Happiness Farms, Inc. at happinessfarms.com and Bates Sons and Daughters at caladiumsonline.com.

Some of my favorite varieties to try include: GINGERLAND is a lance-leaved variety and has creamy white centers with red freckles and green margins. It can tolerate full sun and has a medium height. INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

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RECIPES Recipes Courtesy of the Florida Department of Agriculture

Pan-seared Florida Snapper with Roasted Red Pepper Chili

For Fish: 4 6-ounce snapper fillets 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper sea salt, to taste ground black pepper, to taste 1 cup rice flour 4 tablespoons olive oil

For Sauce: 1 pound red peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped 2 tablespoons diced shallots 1/2 cup white wine salt and pepper

PREPARATION FOR SAUCE In a large sauté pan, cook all the ingredients over medium heat for 20 minutes. Puree mixture in a blender until smooth. Strain for a more refined sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

PREPARATION FOR FISH Sprinkle fillets with seasonings then dredge in flour. Melt butter in shallow skillet over medium-high heat.

Spicy Jalapeno Bacon and

Cheese Oysters

Add fillets and cook 3-5 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove fillets from skillet and serve with prepared sauce of Roasted Red Pepper Chili.

ʻʼ 36 oysters, shucked, on the half shell rock salt 12 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated 1/2 cup cooked bacon, crumbled 4 jalapeno peppers, chopped

PREPARATION Arrange oysters on rock salt in a baking dish. Top each oyster with 1/2 teaspoon of the cheese, crumbled bacon and chopped jalapeno to taste. Bake in a preheated oven at 350° F for 10 minutes or until edges of oysters begin to curl.

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE AUGUST 2013

Meet Mike Mondsini 30 years - General Manager

Specialty Meats Ducks, Capons, Fresh Ham, Rabbits, Quail, Fresh & Smoked Turkey Wings and Drumsticks, Beef and Pork Kidneys, Hog Heads, Hog Maws, Pork Skin, Tripe & Honeycomb Tripe, and Alligator Meat. • We Accept TECO Payments • Western Union Money Orders 49¢ each

By Jim Frankowiak

ummer school took on a new meaning for youngsters at five Tampa Parks and Recreation Department locations this summer as these students, ages 9-15, took part in Xtreme Cuisine Cooking School and learned about the world of cooking and good nutrition. The groups, ranging in size from 20-30 budding “chefs,” took part in the one-day sessions that taught them how to prepare whole-wheat pizzas, fruit parfaits and other nutritious and tasty treats. Each was also given the opportunity to play with his or her food without getting in trouble. “The impetus for this program is the increasing number of children who are becoming obese,” said Judi Whitson, Executive Director of Hillsborough County Farm Bureau and a faculty member for the school. The program was developed by Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which then promoted it and conducted educational classes for volunteers. The local Xtreme Cuisine program is a partnership involving Hillsborough County Farm Bureau’s Women’s Leadership Committee, Florida Farm Bureau Federation and the Florida Department of Agriculture. In addition to learning about alternatives to not so healthy food and beverage choices, youngsters also learn how Florida fruits and vegetables used in recipes for pizza and parfaits provide vitamins and minerals that can help prevent heart disease and other obesity-related illnesses. Help for the Women’s Leadership Committee in terms of added faculty and support assistance has come from Hillsborough County Farm Bureau board members and volunteers. While this series of classes took part during summer vacation from school, Xtreme Cuisine classes take place at different times each year. Additionally, students learn the dangers caused by excessive amounts of salt, sugar and fats in their diet, and how fiber could eliminate their desire for high-calorie, low-nutrition snack foods. “It’s interesting to watch these students become fully engaged in the classes and enjoy the entrees and desserts they make,” said Michelle Williamson, Hillsborough County Farm Bureau board member, who, with her daughter, Samantha, have

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been faculty mainstays since Xtreme Cuisine was first introduced. “Samantha and I took one of the training classes six years ago with some other Farm Bureau Women volunteers, and we fell in love with the program and have been doing it ever since. The majority of our students have no problems with veggies and fruit as options to fast and processed foods,” she added. The sessions are a balance of lecture and hands-on food preparation. The initial step involves creation of parfaits using yogurt, low-fat granola and fruits assembled in layers in containers personalized for each student. After a lecture session, each of the youngsters then prepares their own whole-wheat pizza. The base is one-half of a whole-wheat English muffin covered with onions, peppers and cheese created on personalized cooking sheets. Each pizza is then baked and returned to the preparing “chef” when ready. The veggies and fruit used in the classes are sliced by the students under the watchful eyes and guidance of faculty. “We’ve added a new wrap item that consists of sliced cucumbers with low fat cream cheese fillings wrapped in turkey,” said W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Whitson. “It’s been a hit and we feel pretty confident many of our students will be repeating that item as a snack at home.” Another aspect of each class is a discussion of how many daily calories are needed for their age and gender, the vitamin and mineral content of many Florida fruit and vegetables and how to read a food nutrition label. They also receive recipe and nutritional brochures as well as an “Xtreme Cuisine” certificate attesting to their skill in the preparation of healthy snacks. The last student task during the class is a fun project that matches their creativity with the Florida fruits and veggies they have dealt with throughout the session. “Each class is broken down into three teams and each is given a supply of veggies and fruits to use in the creation of a display that’s left up to their creativity,” said Whitson. “Each team has a representative describe their respective creations as they vie for top honors. We’ve seen everything from geographic locations to depictions of the human body and how fruits and veggies help healthy living. It’s not uncommon to have three way ties for top honors,” she said. “Our hope is that by showing the kids that just by making a few small changes they can make a real difference in their future health,” said Williamson. For more information about Xtreme Cuisine Cooking School, visit: http:/ / www.florida-agriculture.com/ kids/ education/ xtreme/ . A special thanks to CF industries, Driscoll Strawberry Associates and Ag-Mart Produce for their support of this project. •

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Agriculturist of the Year By Jim Frankowiak

Photos by Stephanie Humphrey

ince 1986, the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce Agri-Business Committee has selected individuals and/or businesses for recognition during the annual Salute to Agriculture event. “Our committee is comprised of people who are in the agriculture business and/or field,” said the seven-member Committee Chair Debbie Simpson and a senior loan officer with Farm Credit of Central Florida. “Farming and the Ag industry is part of Plant City and east Hillsborough County’s history. These individuals and companies, like packing houses, are a large and important part of our economy and we like to honor those in the industry. Their contributions make a significant difference to the agriculture indus-

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try. Our awards are given to showcase excellence whether through production, education, marketing innovations, scientific research or the support of agriculture.” Award nominees originate from the community and Agri-Business Committee members.

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The just-announced recipients of this recognition for 2013 are: ST EVEN C. MATHIS Agriculturist of the Year EMILY PET RILLI Ag Educator of the Year WISH FARMS Agri Business of the Year JON POPPELL Support of Youth in Agriculture

Quiet confidence is the best way to describe the demeanor of Agriculturist of the Year – Steve Mathis. That’s an appropriate and fitting presence for this year’s honoree. As he approaches his 50th birthday, Steve has seen and done a great deal, including the growth of his farming operation, Mathis Farms, from an initial 10-acres to more than 100acres, plus another 70 he leases for his strawberry crops and recently the addition of blueberries. That confident demeanor, however, was shaken two years ago when Steve was diagnosed with cancer, but he met that life-threatening challenge with the same approach that has been his agricultural mode of operation.

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“Be thorough and cautious and take the action that makes the most sense,” he said. “First and foremost I give full credit to God for His guidance and help.” After evaluating his options and listening to what the experts had to say, he decided to proceed with surgery as opposed to radiation treatment and Steve is now cancer-free and regularly undergoes examinations to keep close tabs on his health. “A challenge such as this makes you take a step back and re-evaluate and prioritize those things that are really important,” he said. “My family and the people I work with are at the top of the list. I urge any man approaching his 50th birthday to follow the advice of healthcare professionals and take those tests and examinations that are recommended. There’s just too much at stake not to.” A much more pleasant surprise was word of Steve’s selection as the chamber’s Agriculturist of the Year, an honor first bestowed on Dr. Marshall Watkins in 1986. “I am truly proud of that recognition,” said Steve. “It tells me that I have accomplished and earned something very significant. It confirms the decision I made about the career I wanted to pursue and the support I have received throughout my career.” A lifelong Plant City resident, Steve was raised by his maternal grandparents, Benny and Roberta Mathis. He has always lived in the Trapnell area, which is also home base for Mathis Farms. Both of his grandparents are deceased. “My granddad was a hardworking man of high morals and he was very protective. He kept close tabs on us as we grew up and taught us well about hard work and to have an appreciation for farming. He worked fulltime for CSX, but always farmed on the side, initially strawberries but primarily vegetables later on.” Steve worked closely with his grandfather and it was that experience that told him his future was farming, especially after a three-month stint at an automotive business south of Plant City. He attended Trapnell Elementary, where he made the acquaintance of Sam Astin, III in the first grade, and graduated from Plant City High School in 1982. Steve and his wife W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Joyne have two children, Steve Jr., 19, who works with his dad and is pursuing an associate’s degree at Hillsborough Community College in Plant City, and 15-year-old Haylee, who attends Lakeland Christian School. Astin has been a lifelong friend of Mathis and Sam’s parents were most helpful as Steve took his initial steps in building his own farming operation. “My grandfather was reluctant to take the risk of buying land and never did, “said Mathis. “He did lease land over time and I farmed those lands with him.” In 1986, Steve had an opportunity to buy 10-acres “and he did so with the help and encouragement of the Astin family. To this day I can remember how nervous I was over that initial purchase and the risk it represented. My grandmother strongly suggested that I take the chance and do it. I’m glad she did. I am not a gambler and have found it wise not to put all of my eggs in one basket. I always enjoy the work and satisfaction of a good crop. It’s good to work for yourself and set your own destiny. I guess you could say farming is my passion. ” Friendships, many lifelong as in the case of Sam Astin, are important to Steve. His family and Sam’s both have vacation homes on Don Pedro Island on the southwest Gulf coast in Charlotte County and vacation there and elsewhere, most recently a trip to Hollywood. Steve, his son and some of the Mathis Farms staff enjoy late model stock car racing at East Bay Raceway south of Tampa. “I’ve turned the driving over to Stevie now. He’s been a winner with go-karts

and is now taking those skills to the next level. I guess you could say all of us work and play in the dirt.” The Mathis family also enjoys saltwater fishing and occasional travel. “My closest friend is my wife, who has been supportive in good times and during those challenges that have come up over the years.” “Friends were also very helpful to me with my recent health challenge,” said Steve. “Though I had been receiving favorable results with my annual physicals, I felt something wasn’t right and my friends introduced me to a nutritionist at a physician’s office in Tampa. My initial impression was not positive, but through the test she had me take I was led in the direction of additional testing and my important diagnosis. “Once I learned that I had cancer I had to choose between radiation treatments or surgery and it was another friend, my farm manager Chris Falter’s stepmother who put me in touch with the surgeon that eventually operated on me.” That was the culmination of consultations with five different medical experts. Falter has been part of Mathis Farms for 15 years, starting in high school with part-time work when he was 15. Astin applauds the recognition Steve has received. “He’s a good guy willing to help anytime with whatever you need,” he said. “He deserves and has earned that honor. Steve is a great and hard-working farmer. He’s not afraid to try new things. He is an innovator not afraid to try new things that help with yields and protect our

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valuable resources. Steve is a credit to our industry and the community.” Astin heads Astin Strawberry Exchange, an agribusiness started by his grandfather in 1923 that now handles the sales, marketing and distribution of their crops. Astin Farms now represents more than 600 acres of strawberries that produce over 16 million pounds of fruit each season. The berries are sold throughout the U.S. and exported to Canada.

Haylee and Steve Jr.

Though Mathis has met his health care challenge head on and is succeeding, there are others he and others in the industry are facing. “Labor is a big challenge and it’s getting bigger,” he said. “We are having a hard time finding enough workers to harvest our crops. Increasing regulation is also taking our control away. This may lead to the loss of control over our food sources and people need to recognize where their food comes from as food safety practices are not the same.” Mathis plans no major changes at Mathis Farms and looks forward to handing the reins over to his son. However, he is in a position where he could retire if necessary. “I am fortunate in that regard and plan to continue as we have, but we will have to see what the future holds in store.” In the meantime, he would like to see greater support for the efforts of future farmers and ranchers. “The farmers and ranchers of tomorrow need our help,” he said. “I would like to see every business in the area consider a purchase of swine and steer entered in the annual Strawberry Festival competition and others. That’s hard work and represents a commitment in time and money that should be recognized. You hear about the winners and the rewards they receive, but

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all of the entrants need to be recognized and helped for their efforts and contributions. That’s a good way to give back and support our community. It will also help assure continuation of our food sources in the future.” Spoken like not only a leader in agriculture, but in the community where you live and work. Congratulations Steve! •

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UF/IFAS Study Finds

Food Price System in U.S.Working ‘Pretty Well’ By Mickie Anderson University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers Hyeyoung Kim, left, and Ronald Ward, professor emeritus in agricultural marketing, have a new study published online by the journal Food Policy that describes their look at how food prices and price-change signals move from producers to processors and retailers. They found that overall, while sometimes sluggish, the system appears to be working well. UF/IFAS photo by Tyler L. Jones

tanding in the dairy aisle, hand on a gallon of milk, a consumer might wonder why reports of falling dairy prices aren’t reflected in a lower price on the milk he’s eyeing in his neighborhood grocery. And in part, that consumer would be right. A new University of Florida study that examines 100 food commodities shows that price changes can take several months to be reflected at the consumer level. But overall, the study showed that price-change signals are accurate, and more important, are not arbitrary, said Ronald Ward, an emeritus professor in agricultural marketing with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “The bottom line of this paper looks at, ‘Do the (price) signals get passed through the system, do they differ when prices are rising or falling, and are these linkages changing through time?’ ” he said. “And really, our bottom line is that the system seems to work pretty well.” In a study to be published in the August issue of the journal Food Policy, Ward and postdoctoral researcher Hyeyoung Kim tracked 100 commodities over what were deemed the short-term (one month) and long-term (four months). They divided the foods into five categories: grain and oil crops, meats, poultry and eggs, dairy and fruits and vegetables. They looked at whether price-change signals moved as quickly for W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

decreasing prices as they did for increasing prices. And they looked at the system in its entirety over the time span from 2000 to 2009. In a free-market system, pricing is important, Ward said, and effective government food policies rest on the assurance that pricechange signals are based in reality as they move from producer to retailer.

Among the study’s findings: The fruits and vegetables category differed the most from the other categories, likely, Ward said, because its products are the most perishable. Price decreases for fruits and vegetables tend to pass through the chain more quickly than price increases. The price-change signal for beef is not as strong as it was a decade ago, a phenomenon Ward attributes to a more concentrated number of beef processors in the industry having more control over prices. In one month’s time, price changes had not made their way through any of the five commodities the researchers studied, although fruits and vegetable price changes were shown to be quickest. In four months’ time, however, grain and oil prices reflected all price-change information while meat and dairy prices were much slower to reflect price changes. And in the years from 2000 to 2009, the researchers found that dairy goods have begun to respond more quickly to price changes. • INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

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By Sean Green

A Closer Look

Tawny Crazy Ant (Nylanderia fulva)

nother introduced species is being paraded through recent media as the new champion of villains, displacing the former antagonist, the Red Imported Fire Ant or RIFA (Solenopsis invicta). Charges include the invasion of people’s homes, crops, and land, and again, damage to electrical equipment. In 2011, Fox News headlined “Millions of Hairy, Crazy Ants Invading the US,” claiming “A camper's metal walls bulge from the pressure of ants nesting behind them.” Last month USA Today headlined “America’s ecosystem is under siege…” The sensational headlines fueling the concern feature an ant that has been difficult for experts to identify much less control. Experts agree the ant belongs to the genus Nylanderia, pinpointing the species is problematic. Two species prevail as suspects; the Caribbean crazy ant (Nylanderia pubens) and the Tawny crazy ant (Nylanderia fulva). Clearly, a closer look at both species will be needed to frame a reasonable assessment of its threat to the United States and necessary control measures. In 2002, Tom Rasberry, a pest exterminator, encountered ants he could not identify near Pasadena, Texas, three years later, a second population in Deer Park, Texas. The unidentified mound was large enough to displace other ant populations, including the notorious RIFA (S. invicta). Talk of this sudden sway in ant dominance led Texas and Federal Departments of Agriculture to designate this ant a major concern and assigned a task force to help control it. Lacking a proper species name, it inherited the name of the exterminator and became known as the Rasberry crazy ant (RCA) and in April of this year, officially designated the common name Tawny crazy ant. The genus Nylanderia has a narrow range of taxonomic distinctions, consequently, species within this genus are difficult to identify. Historic reference to this genus is equally obscure as the nomenclature is still a little antsy (pun intended). The two species of particular interest; Nylanderia pubens and Nylanderia fulva, are indistinguishable without genetic comparison or microscopic examination of the male reproductive organs. Initial attempts suggested a morphologic relation to N.pubens, once restricted to southern Florida, but could not exclude the closely related N.fulva. Jason M. Meyers (Texas A&M) conducted doctorial research on the identification, distribution, and control of invasive pest ants in Texas and through morphometric (biological shape) and phylogenetic (evolutionary tree) analysis and concluded that the “Rasberry crazy ant” is an intraspecific variation of a known species, the Caribbean crazy ant (N.pubens).

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Subsequent molecular genetic analysis by Zhao et al.(2012) and Gotzek et al. (2012) concurred with Dr Meyers findings suggesting that the RCA ants from Texas and the Caribbean crazy ants (N.pubens) from Florida were the same species; however, Gotzek et al. also concluded that the Florida and Texas ants are in fact N.fulva rather than N.pubens and suggests that previous records of N.pubens may have actually been N.fulva. According to some sources, Florida specimens previously identified as N.pubens were based on records 60 years old (Trager,1984). The inference is that Florida populations of Caribbean crazy ant (N.pubens) were displaced by the Tawny crazy ant (N. fulva) as were other ant species that have been displaced in Texas. Behaviorally, the Tawny crazy ant (N. fulva) is similar to other introduced Brazilian species such as RIFA (S. invicta). They are known to develop supercolony, multi-queen populations in which individual colonies are not aggressive towards each other, these colonies can be up to 100 times the size of native fire ant colonies. Although found in a variety of habitats, N. fulva thrives in moist environments and tends towards rotting logs, under damp debris, and in potted plants. The Tawny crazy ant is omnivorous, feeding mainly on Honeydew but supplementing their sugar rich diet with other insects and small vertebrates for protein. These ants have been observed building shelters around honeydew producing insects, presumably to protect them and secure the sustainable harvesting of honeydew. Reports out of Texas describe these ants raiding bee hives not for the sweet honey, but rather, the bee larvae and later pillage the hive for their own colony. Unlike RIFA, the Tawny crazy ant has no stinger but instead an acidopore (posterior opening) from which workers can spray formic acid. Furthermore, this species does not engage in rafting behavior and will not compound the danger of floating balls of fire ants during periods of heavy rain and flooding. The Tawny crazy ant (N. fulva) has spread to 24 counties in Texas, 20 in Florida and a few in Mississippi and Louisiana, according to a study, published in the journal Biological Invasions. Although this species remains obscure, we know that its flightless reproductive methods limit its natural expansion to about 200 meters per year leaving human behavior the most significant factor in the establishment and control of this introduced villain. • W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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Forest Management Could Produce Large Water Yields By Robert H. Wells

espite a soggy summer, water supply remains a critical issue in the Sunshine State. University of Florida researchers now say that reducing plant material, or biomass, in forests could significantly increase water supplied to streams, lakes and aquifers. Researchers with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences made the finding by creating computer models that analyzed the effects of reduced forest biomass on regional hydrological supplies. Their results will be published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Water Resources Association. In one 4,000-acre tract in Central Florida, the model predicted that converting a densely planted pine forest to one managed with slightly fewer trees per acre could supply an additional 400,000 to 1.6 million gallons of water per day to the regional water supply. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Annual Status Report on Regional Water Supply Planning, water use in the St. Johns Water Management District, where this study occurred, was about 1.3 billion gallons a day in 2010. Matthew Cohen, study co-author and an associate professor in the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation, said between 70 and 100 percent of rain that falls on Florida’s forests returns to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration instead of becoming water stored in wetlands, lakes or aquifers. During evapotranspiration, water from the sky enters the soil, is taken up by plant roots and then is released into the atmosphere through plant leaves. By adjusting the evapotranspiration rate even slightly, for example by reducing the number of trees in the simulated forest or by introducing prescribed fire to control small shrubs and underbrush, large water yields become apparent, Cohen said. With more than 16 million acres of forest land in Florida, forestry provided a more than $6 billion impact on the state in 2011 and supplied nearly 76,000 jobs. To maximize profits, many private and industrial landowners densely plant pine trees. To entice growers to reduce tree densities to free up more water for the aquifer, incentives might be an option for policymakers to consider, Cohen said. “Because there are so many people out there who would like to see more water available, if forest land owners could be paid some kind of easement compensation, known as payments for ecosystem services, then they might be willing to adopt a new management strategy that would make water available,” he said. Daniel McLaughlin, the study’s lead author and a research assistant scientist in the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, said forestry is already one of the most water-conserving ways land can be used for profit. “We’re just looking for opportunities to yield even more water off those lands,” he said. The study was funded by Rayonier Corporation, a forest products company. David A. Kaplan, an assistant professor in UF’s Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, is also a co-author. •

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Roland William Sweeney, 70 of Lakeland died July 18, 2013 at his home. Born March 5, 1943 in Laurel, Maryland, he was the son of the late Roland and Margaret Fowler Sweeney. He was the husband of Betty Morgan Sweeney.

James Virgil "Poppy" Boyles, 77 of Valrico died July 17, 2013, at Brandon Regional Hospital. Born June 4, 1936 in Ridgeland, South Carolina. He was the husband of Rebecca Holt Boyles.

PACKANIK, Michael A., 89, of Plant City, Florida and formerly of Neville Island, Pennsylvania, died July 17, 2013 at Sun City Center Hospice in Ruskin, Florida. Juanita Bonnie Johnson, 86 of Plant City died July 17, 2013. Born April 30, 1927, she was the daughter of the late Denver and Dorothy Deas DeVane. She was the wife of Howard Johnson.

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Dessa Mae Linzy, 71 of Plant City, died July 15, 2013, at Moffitt Cancer Center. Born September 27, 1941 in Fyffe, Alabama, she was the daughter of the late Henry Rucks and the late Rosa Hicks Rucks. She is survived by her husband of 55 years, C. Ommer Linzy. Kenneth Paul Stropagel, 56 of Plant City died on July 14, 2013, at South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City. Born November 11, 1956 in Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of the late Erwin Stropagel. He is survived by his mother Mary Van Fluke Stropagel and wife, Dolores Bluemke Stropagel.

H. Howard Fleming Jr., 85 of Plant City, Florida died on Thursday, July 11, 2013. Born Monday, May 7, 1928 in Plant City, Florida, he was the son of the late H. Howard Sr. and Pearl Williamson Fleming.

Herman Winslow Coutts, 82 of Plant City, died July 10, 2013, at Pasco Regional Hospital in Dade City. Born October 1, 1930 in Plant City, he was the son of the late Herbert and Celain Williams Coutts. He was preceded in death by his children Wilma Jean and Donald.

Melanie L. Singletary, 49 of Sanford, Florida died July 2, 2013. Born November 12, 1963 in Lakeland, Florida, she was the daughter of Thomas Southerland and Yvonne Yeomans. Michael Thomas Cole, 32 of Plant City died on Monday, July 1, 2013. Born August 25, 1980 in Tampa, Florida, he was the son of Thomas Cole and Deborah Johnson. He was the husband of Terri Cole.

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Citrus is important to Florida. Value of the most recent crop “on the tree” is estimated at $1.145 billion from 70.6 million citrus trees grown on approximately 525,000 acres in Florida. The industry accounts for 76,000 full and part-time jobs with a total economic impact on the state’s economy pegged at an estimated $9 billion. While the industry’s most important market is domestic, exports play a major role in the industry’s viability and Florida’s economy.

Focused, Committed and Making a Difference for Florida’s Citrus Industry Since 1948 By Jim Frankowiak

ou might call it the SWAT Team protecting Florida’s citrus industry. That’s one good way to look at Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM). Formed in 1948, Mutual has served Florida citrus growers for more than 60 years. It is led by a board of 21 member-elected directors under the leadership of Mark Wheeler of Wheeler Farms, Inc. It is the largest cooperative association dedicated to helping Florida citrus growers produce and market their crops at a profit. That means looking out for the best interest of growers every day, whether in the halls of Congress or the groves of Florida’s citrus belt. It was severe market fluctuations in the late 1940s that planted the seeds for the formation of Mutual. Citrus prices at that time did not ever cover the cost of production and growers were losing money. The Citrus Exchange determined that the industry needed an organization dedicated to stabilizing prices and that was the beginning of Florida Citrus Mutual in 1948, though it was not until the next year the organization was officially activated. Several key men in the citrus industry strongly supported Mutual’s cause and are largely responsible for recruiting members as well as getting the organization on its feet. Mutual’s founding fathers include Latt Maxcy, Barney Kilgore, C.C.Commander, J.A. Griffin and James C. Morton. Thanks to their efforts, FCM began with 6,000 grower members from seven districts in the state. The organization has a general manager/CEO, currently Michael Sparks and four department heads who work together to resolve problems facing the citrus industry. Those departments include Communications, Economic and Market Information, Grower Affairs and Legislative Affairs. While stabilized pricing was the initial focus of FCM, it has since broadened to include the provision of market information, price forecasting, state and federal legislation and research and advertising efforts affecting growers. 68

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Just as during its formative years, FCM faces varied challenges today. Citrus greening and canker, immigration reform, falling orange juice consumption and foreign juice “dumping” are several of the serious issues facing Florida citrus growers. These challenges “…only makes us double down on our commitment to the grower and our product, the finest citrus grown in the world,” FCM CEO Sparks told members at Mutual’s 2013 annual meeting. His comments highlighted FCM’s most recent initiatives on behalf of its membership. Among them was lobbying at the state and federal level, initiatives designed to enhance relationships with candidates, elected officials and regulators. These efforts have been successful as typified by the proposed Legislation on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services budget with a new $9.5 million appropriation for citrus disease research and related activities, as well as bipartisan support in Washington for creation of a Citrus Research and Development Trust Fund. Sparks also noted activities on the international trade front. “The Korean trade agreement opened new markets for 100% Florida orange juice and Mutual’s trade counsel made sure the markets remained open by working with the Korean government, Florida citrus processors and U.S. trade officials. We also monitored the advancement of the Trans-Pacific partnership with Japan which will reduce tariffs on grapefruit products by 10 percent.” He also mentioned keeping close tabs on juice importer activities and assurances that they continued “to play by the rules.” FCM staff annually makes hundreds of visits to grower members and organizes meetings in each of its seven districts to give growers a forum to discuss issues directly with Mutual representatives. “We also made it a priority to travel to regional groups meeting to update them on Tallahassee and Washington issues. Our commitment to water issues had Mutual front and center at Water Management District meetings as well as the negotiations over the Numeric Nutrient Criteria and the creation of new statewide BMPs (Best Management Practices).” In addition, FCM works hard to keep grower members informed and to serve as the voice of the industry with local, state, national and international media. “This type of media coverage from respected journalists integrates nicely with our lobbying efforts and offers FCM unprecedented credibility,” said Sparks. “Florida Citrus Mutual will do our part in the groves, in hearing rooms, in front of the camera and in the halls of Tallahassee and Washington. It is our highest priority to help this great industry survive and ultimately thrive in the face of citrus greening. Everything we do is geared toward supporting the Florida citrus grower carve a future for his current family and generations to come. We will not fail,” he said. For more information about Florida Citrus Mutual, visit: http:/ / flcitrusmutual.com

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diameters greater than 10 inches. • Grind stumps if desired. • Consider removing less wind resistant trees and replacing with more wind resistant trees. • Remove any temporary supports from plants and structures. • Replace damaged fence panels and repair other outdoor structures. • Submit a written report to your insurance carrier.

Hurricanes – Preparing Your Landscape By Susan Haddock, Commercial Horticulture/ Integrated Pest Management/Small Farms Agent, UF/IFAS Hillsborough County Extension

he hurricane season extends from June 1 to November 30. History has proven that hurricanes can cause severe damage not only to residential and business structures, but also to surrounding topography. Despite the damage they cause, hurricanes play an important role in the evolution of Florida’s coastal areas. Hurricanes help alter coastline shape and maintain plant and animal diversity. Living near coastal areas presents the need to preserve landscapes as an asset that can provide aesthetics and a buffer zone to reduce future hurricane damage. Landscape preparation for hurricanes should begin before hurricane season. This involves assessing the landscape trees, plants and structures for health and sturdiness, performing maintenance and pruning, and even replacing less wind resistant trees, plants and structures with more wind resistant varieties and structures. Despite pre-storm maintenance and preparations the landscape will suffer hurricane damage. First, perform a damage assessment of trees, plant material and structures. Documentation by photography is recommended. It is rare for insurance to provide substantial coverage for landscape loss so quick action is necessary to preserve this asset. Post storm activities for trees, plants and structures include: • Hose off salt spray from trees and plant material as salt water and storm surge is carried many miles inland with hurricanes. • Perform pruning to remove damaged or dead limbs on trees and plant material. • Upright and brace uprooted small trees with a maximum trunk diameter up to 10 inches. • Remove all uprooted and overturned large trees with trunk

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Assessing the extent of tree damage can be tricky. A hurricane can have devastating effects on trees. But, looks may be deceiving. Trees have an incredible amount of stored energy giving them the ability to recover from damage. Assessing the tree’s health over time is important as tree death may occur quickly or remain unseen for months or even years. When assessing tree damage consider: • A basically healthy tree that suffers minor structural damage will usually recover when post-storm maintenance is performed in a timely manner. • When many major or large branches have been damaged or broken it becomes more difficult for the tree to repair damage and chances of survival decline. • When the central leader is damaged or broken, the tree may survive, but may become stunted or deformed compared with an undamaged tree. • If the tree has lost 50 percent or more of its crown (branches and leaves), it may not have enough stored energy to refoliate and survive another season. • The larger the wound from limb breakage or debris damage compared to the limb or trunk diameter, the more vulnerable the tree is to insect and disease. • Assess the tree for remaining branches that will re-foliate and eventually return the tree’s normal appearance. • Assess the tree for wind resistance and location; it may be best to remove an undesirable tree or a poorly located tree. Smaller uprooted trees can be saved by taking action quickly. Cover exposed roots as soon as possible to keep them from drying out. Use wet burlap, hay, sand, soil or any convenient material that will not conduct excessive heat. Cut jagged or torn roots. To upright a small tree, use block and tackle or winch equipment for larger trees. Protect the bark where pressure is applied. Once the tree is upright, use at least three guy wires or supports to hold the tree in place until the root system has regenerated. Be sure to choose supports that are strong enough to hold the weight of the tree in place. Protect the bark where guy wires or supports may damage the bark. A short length of hose will work well to protect bark when a guy wire or narrow strap is used. Adjust the support system regularly to accommodate tree growth and movement, as it may need to be in place for a year or longer. Water the tree frequently as if it were recently planted. Water with three gallons per inch of trunk diameter three times a week. Salt spray and storm surge will damage landscape plants especially if hot sunny weather follows the storm. Many shrubs and perennial plants will recover from salt spray and storm surge if rinsed with fresh water in a timely manner. Annuals will more than likely have to be replaced. Depending on the variety of W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

turfgrass, it may or may not recover from salt damage. Irrigating with enough fresh water to leach the salt below the root zone will increase the chances of turfgrass survival. Although quick action after a storm will improve the aesthetics of your landscape and increase its chances of survival, safety come first. Be sure that authorities have deemed your area safe. Never attempt to prune, cut or remove a tree that has contact with utility wires and poles. Contact your local utility company to handle that task. If you use a chain saw or other landscape equipment, be sure that you are properly trained and wear the right personal protection equipment. For more information on your landscape after the storm contact the UF/IFAS Hillsborough County Extension Service at (813)744-5519 or visit the website at Hillsborough.ifas.ufal.edu.

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Naturally Amazing Activities

Insect Specimen Frame By Sean Green

It’s the middle of summer and the insect population is at its height. Without much effort, dead insects can be found nearly everywhere. An insect specimen frame can be a classy addition to an empty space on your wall, even better if a wall is dedicated to a collection of insects. Once you have collected your insects, I encourage you to identify and research the insect to discover its characteristics, life cycle, and natural habitat. It’s common to include samples of its host plant within the frame and extraordinary to include samples of its complete life cycle. A scientific data label with taxonomic information can also be added. Details of the sample used for this project are listed below: Kingdom: Phylum: Class: Order: Family: Genus: Species:

Animalia Arthropoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionidae Papilio P. glaucus

Binomial name:

Papilio glaucus (Linnaeus, 1758) Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Common name:

If you would like to frame specific insects such as butterflies, and cannot find any dead ones, a visit to one of Florida’s Natural History museums may be worth the trip. Some museums are willing to provide dead specimens of native species at no charge. Please do not kill a living insect for this project.

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Materials: Riker mounts with batting (difficult to find retail, easy online) Insect Specimens (Dead) Plant Specimens Jar or plastic box Paper Towel Antiseptic (Lysol or Bleach) Printed Data Label (Details Optional)

Relax your specimen: Dead insects are often dry and brittle and will need to be rehydrated to soften them up enough to pose them for the frame. • Fold a damp (not wet) paper towel and place it in the bottom of a jar or plastic box. • Add antiseptic to the paper towel to prevent mold. • Close the container to retain humidity. • Let the specimen soften (relax), 2 days for small specimens, up to 7 days for larger specimens. • Insects with a rugged exoskeleton such as beetles and grasshoppers can be dropped into simmering water for a few minutes to relax them. Arrange the relaxed insects, plant specimens, and data label onto the batting of the Riker mount, gently place the lid on the frame to secure the specimens against the batting, secure the frame with the included frame pins and enjoy. • W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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By Libby Hopkins

ave Smiles or “Farmer Dave” as he prefers to be called, of Uriah Urban Farms in Tampa, has had a green thumb of sorts for most of his life. “My first business, when I was 17-yearsold, was a pond building business and I got into growing aquatic plants, so very early on I was fascinated by plants,” Smiles said. “My fascination later turned into an obsession and then into a career obsession where I get to grow different plants, crops and systems that produce a very high quality product.” Not only are Smiles’ products high quality, they are grown high up, as in on roofs or walls. Yes, Smiles products are growing off the wall so to speak. “We are the pioneer in the field of Indoor Controlled Environment Agriculture,” Smiles said. “We are the first commercial operation utilizing a purely vertical plane to produce our food.” His system grows an unbelievable 96 plants per square foot. “Others that are using stacked racking systems are still restricted to growth on a horizontal plane that creates inefficiencies and leads to problem in their cultivation process,” Smiles said. The way his system works is that each panel overlaps and locks into each other on a monolithically uniform wall. “That kind of connection allows the plant in each

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panel and each panel in the wall to very effectively and efficiently migrate their roots, as well as create a good environment in the root zone,” Smiles said. Dripping water in a synchronized sprinkler from the top of the panels, the water finds its way through gravity to the bottom of the panels. Instead of moving away from the roots the way it does in a horizontal garden, the water stays in the man-made vertical ecosystem, moving down into the other plants. Artificial lights on a motorized track move back and forth in front of the grow panels to provide the light each plant needs to grow. There are many benefits to Smiles’ system, such as eliminating agricultural runoff, dramatically reducing the amount of fresh water needed to produce food, not to mention that it also slashes the fossil fuels needed to cultivate, harvest and deliver the food. His system allows his clients to have a beautiful garden in an urban setting. One of Smiles’ green wall systems is housed at The Roosevelt 2.0 in Ybor City in Tampa. The building has some great history behind it as well. The first floor of the building dates back to the early 1800s and is said to have served as the livery stable for 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. The second story was later added in 1905. In late 2008 the building was completely dilapidated, with zero infrastructure and considered abandoned by the City of Tampa. A few years ago Smiles met one of the people involved with renovating the building that would eventually become the Roosevelt at the Tampa Bay Green Living Expo. “He had mentioned back then some of his plans for a community building and he wanted to incorporate some permiculature and

advanced growing systems in the building,” Smiles said. “At that time I was like ‘no way,’ but then fast forward a few years and I kept my eye on the place and saw the improvements, so I thought this location would make for a great test site for the system I developed.” This was a perfect match for Smiles and the owners of The Roosevelt 2.0. Smiles’ system at The Roosevelt is home to over 4,000 plants in a 120 sq. ft. area. “The wall has between 2300 to 2600 plants when the wall is full to capacity,” Smiles said. So what does he have growing on the wall? “Everything from lettuce and herbs to eggplants and purple beans,” Smiles said. He also has four restaurants as his clients and he works with their chefs to see what they need grown on the wall at different times during the year to coincide with their seasonal menus. Smiles is currently in the works of obtaining a facility that he can open up to the public. “We want to be able to offer food direct to the public and have them come in and pick or harvest their own food,” Smiles said. “It will be a produce store of the future.” He wants to make the world a better place for the community and his kids. “I feel strongly about the positive impact we can have on the community,” Smiles said. “ I feel blessed to have the opportunity to do what I’m doing and when I see people react to what I’m doing it just gives me more fuel for my fire.” If you would like to learn more about Smiles and Uriah’s Urban Farm, you can visit his website at . The Roosevelt 2.0 is located at 1812 N. 15th Street in Ybor City. • W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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Alvin C. Warnick Reproductive Management School

Offered October 7-10, 2013

he UF/IFAS South Florida Beef Forage Team will be offering an intensive course in cow herd reproductive management designed for owners and operators of the beef cow herd on October 7-10 in Lake Placid at Buck Island Ranch. Reproductive efficiency has long been recognized as the most important factor influencing the economic viability of commercial cattle operations. Good reproductive management can make the difference between profit and loss in a cow operation. Participants will improve their understanding of the broad subject of breeding herd management and will be better equipped to work with their veterinarians in accomplishing breeding program objectives. While the topic of pregnancy diagnosis will be given extensive treatment, the school does not intend to make participants proficient in this skill. In addition to the study of reproductive physiology, the course will also address nutrition, genetics, health and various other facets of management that all have a direct effect on the breeding performance of the herd.

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TOPICS INCLUDE:

HANDS-ON LABS:

• Pregnancy Testing • Quiet Handling of Beef Cattle • Roundtable Producer Panel •The Drost Project • Body Condition and Nutritional Management • Economics of Supplementation • Calving Management on the Ranch • Genetic Management for Efficient Reproduction • Herd Bull Selection • Ultrasound • Bull Breeding Soundness Evaluation • Animal Traceability • Utilizing Records to Measure Herd Performance • Artificial Insemination • Health Management-Vaccination Program for Reproduction • Estrus Synchronization and Heat Detection • Heifer Development and Management of Young Cows • Breeding Season ManagementCourtney Davis

• Intact Tracts • Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Injection Sites and Techniques • Calving Management • Breeding Soundness

The fee for this three-day course is $350. For more information and registration forms, please contact your local County Extension Agent. Registration deadline is Friday, September 20.

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UF Study Shows Florida’s Agricultural and Natural Resources Industries Remain

Strong Since Recession By Robert H. Wells

Florida’s agriculture, natural resources and related food industries provided a $104 billion impact on the state in 2011 and have continued to improve since the 2008 recession, according to a new University of Florida study. The study is the latest report from researchers in UF’s food and resource economics department -- part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences -- on the industries’ economic contributions. It can be viewed here: http:/ / edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ pdffiles/ FE/ FE93500.pdf. The industries include crop, livestock, forestry and fisheries production; agricultural product and service providers; food product manufacturing; forest product manufacturing; food distribution; mining and nature-based recreation. They accounted for employment of just under 2 million fulland part-time workers in 2011, including indirect jobs in related sectors. This represents 20 percent of all jobs in the state. The number of jobs in the agricultural and natural resources industries increased by about 60,000, or 4.4 percent, from 2010 to 2011. The agricultural and natural resources industries’ value-added contribution represented 8.5 percent of Florida’s gross domestic product, placing agriculture, natural resources and related food industries, fourth among state industries, behind real estate, government and health care industries. “We saw continued growth in many segments of the industry in 2011,” said Alan Hodges, a UF/IFAS extension scientist and co-author of the study. “There definitely was a dip during the recession, but since then there has been a nice recovery as output and employment in the industry have increased.” The industries have been particularly helped by growth in exports since the recession, he said. “The increased shipments of food and agricultural products out of the state reflect the strength of the rest of the U.S. and world economies,” he said. The industries hit a low point in 2008 when GDP impacts dropped from more than $100 billion to about $81 billion. The researchers conducted the study using IMPLAN economic modeling software that takes into account the multiplier effects of money circulating through the economy. • 82

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eadership is defined as the action of leading a group of people or an organization. Often times we value leadership due to the title that accompanies the power. However, this year of service is dedicated to teaching and serving as servant leaders.

I would like to begin this article with a quote that has altered my view of leadership throughout my lifetime, "in order to be a leader, you must first be a servant." Leadership begins with service to others for a great cause of an organization or purpose. This year, our officer team is fully dedicated to teaching the members of our organization that our leadership abilities should not be based on recognition, but instead it should be measured by the quality of time invested in your project. Our year of becoming servant leaders started on June 14, 2013 when we were elected into office. This moment in my life is by far the most humbling experience. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who helped me accomplish one of the most rewarding positions. After our election into office, our team traveled to Gainesville, Florida where we began our training for our year of service with a conference referred to as Blast OFF. At this conference our team worked on developing our full potential to serve our nearly 17,000 FFA members in the state of Florida. This oneweek training allowed us not only to grow as individuals, but also to grow as a team. During this time we had the ability to learn about one another, whether it was our strengths as leaders W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

or the attributes we plan to improve throughout our year of growth. Once blast off came to an end, our team loaded up in the car and headed to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a second conference that goes by the name of NLCSO, otherwise known as the National Leadership Conference for State Officers. During this conference we had the ability to interact with four other state officer teams as well as national officers and two other wonderful facilitators from the national FFA. This conference focused primarily on team building activities. This week provided us with the ability to practice our facilitation skills for the upcoming year of service. In between our team building activities, we had the opportunity to begin the delegation process for the national FFA. This allowed us time to discuss issues our state wishes to bring before the national FFA for consideration at the upcoming national convention, as well as witness other states proposals for the national FFA. This two-week stretch of training provided our team with our first experience as state officers and it was truly an experience of a lifetime. I know I can speak for my team when I say that we are very excited to start our year of service and dedicate our time to an organization that truly benefits each individual on a personal level.

Haley Haley Smith Area V State Vice President Florida FFA Association haley.smith@flaffa.org INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

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Florida Orange Crop Drops 9 Percent

he U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued its final forecast Thursday pegging the 2012-2013 Florida orange crop at 133.4 million boxes, down 9 percent from last season. To arrive at the total, the USDA cut Valencias by 700,000 boxes to 66.3 million boxes while early-mid varieties climbed 100,000 boxes to 67.1 million. “This year's crop really shows the devastating effects of HLB, or citrus greening disease,” said Michael W. Sparks, executive VP/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. “We had severe fruit drop and a lot of citrus from stressed trees with HLB ended up on the ground.” “If anything, this season provides stark evidence that growers, scientists and the state and federal governments need to work together to beat this disease and save the $9 billion Florida citrus industry and the 76,000 jobs it supports.”

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“The ongoing research looks positive and I'm optimistic it will ultimately find a solution to HLB but at this time there is no cure.” The USDA makes its initial estimate in October of each year and revises it monthly as the crop takes shape until the end of the season in July. The USDA's initial October orange estimate for 2012-2013 was 154 million boxes. During the 2011-2012 season, Florida produced 146.7 million boxes of oranges.

The Florida citrus industry creates a $9 billion annual economic impact, employing nearly 76,000 people, and covering about 550,000 acres. Founded in 1948, Florida Citrus Mutual is the state's largest citrus grower organization. For more information, visit www.flcitrusmutual.com. To receive winter weather updates follow FCM on Twitter.

Visit www.nass.usda.gov/ Statistics_by_State/ Flori da/ Publications/ Citrus/ cpfp.htm for the complete USDA estimate. The 2012-2013 Florida grapefruit crop stayed at 18.4 million boxes. Tangerines and tangelos also remained steady at 3.35 million and 1 million respectively. The yield for from concentrate orange juice (FCOJ) decreased slightly to 1.59 gallons per 90-pound box.

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UF-Plant City Program Offers Expanded Career Opportunities In 2014 By Jim Frankowiak Tiffany Dale & Erin Nessmith

esponding to a need identified by the agribusiness community, the University of Florida /IFAS, GCREC – Plant City Center will be offering the Agricultural Communications and Leadership Development Degree Program in the fall semester of the 2014-2015 academic year. UF officials also announced Gator Alumna Tiffany Dale has been named Academic Services Coordinator for the new program. “We are very excited to be adding this new degree program at the UF Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) located at the Hillsborough Community College (HCC) Plant City campus,” said Dr. Jack Rechcigl, Professor and Director, UF/IFAS, GCREC. “We recently hired Tiffany as the new instructor who will be responsible for teaching and course development for the program. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Communication and Leadership Development and a Master’s degree in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida. We are very fortunate to have been able to hire such a high quality person with all of the required credentials to make this program successful. “Our plan is for Tiffany to spend this year preparing the classes so that we can start the program next fall,” said Rechcigl. “We are confident that this new program at the Plant City campus will be of great interest to students, thus helping to increase enrollment.” The new degree program is part of UF’s Agricultural Education and Communication curriculum, which prepares students for careers in agricultural education, the Cooperative Extension Service, business, industry and agricultural education. Two specializations are offered: agricultural education and communication and leadership development. Only the agricultural education specialization option had been offered at the Plant City campus. Ag Ed prepares students for careers in teaching and other related areas. Specifically, the program prepares students to be certified agriscience instructors and educational specialists. Students who complete the program of study in this specialization are prepared to meet the Florida Department of Education’s requirements for agriculture teacher certification or for employment in the agricultural business and industry sector. Communication and Leadership Development prepares students for entry into agribusiness and communication positions related to human resource development, corporate training and development and agricultural literacy. Coursework focuses on a core of leadership and communications courses, including leadership development, digital media, interpersonal skills, working with groups, presentation development, intercultural communication, public relations campaign strategies for agriculture and technical writing. The Plant City campus also offers degree programs in Environmental Horticulture and Geomatics. “Adding this specialization to our Plant City degree program offerings is wonderful enhancement,” said Dr. Jim Dyer, who

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heads the Agricultural Education specialization at the Plant City Campus and will be part of the faculty for the new program. “This part of west central Florida has a rich agricultural heritage and many want to follow career paths in agriculture, but not all want to be educators. This program will be very attractive to those types of students. I am confident that students who complete this degree program will enjoy the same type of demand our Ag Ed students have upon graduation. If you consider the commodities grown in this area, related businesses and countless associations, graduates of this new degree program will be in high demand,” said Dyer. That is undoubtedly why agribusiness industry representatives pushed for this new program, an effort that began in 2001. “People like Chip Hinton, Hugh Gramling, Ron Wetherington and a host of others were highly supportive and pro-active with the Florida legislature,” noted Dyer. “When I first moved to Hillsborough County in the early 70s the first Comprehensive Land Use Plan, known as Horizon 2000, was being developed,” said Hinton. “That plan projected that there would be a million people in the county in the year 2000 and that our thriving agricultural community, then valued at $50 million, would be non-existent. In the year 2000, there were a million people in the county, but agriculture was worth over $800 million. What happened in that 25 years was seat of the pants ag leadership development. What we demonstrated was both the value and the need for a systematic, academic approach toward developing the next generation of agricultural leaders.” “They were also instrumental in securing legislative funding for this program and others offered at Plant City through recurring legislative allocations,” noted Dyer. “This type of funding is independent of other IFAS financial support.” The new program will consist of distance learning and on campus courses. In addition to Dr. Dyer and Dale, on campus faculty will include Erin Nessmith, Academic Program Coordinator/Student Recruiter. Dale and Nessmith are Gator alumna and undergraduates of the new program as it is conducted at Gainesville. “Both Erin and I can walk the walk and talk the talk when it comes to this new program,” said Dale. “Additionally, she and I and Dr. Dyer have a depth of Gainesville experience so we know who to contact when we need assistance with any aspect of this program.” Dyer, Nessmith and Dale also agree on the type of students that pursue programs at the Plant City Campus. “Our students are highly focused on specific career paths. They want to live and learn here and when they receive their degrees they plan to follow career paths involved with agriculture here in west central Florida,” said Dyer. “We understand and appreciate this and provide close and regular guidance so no credit hours are wasted. Additionally, our typically small class sizes permit us to provide very individualized guidance,” he noted. “Internships will be an important aspect of the new degree program,” said Dale. “There are an abundance of opportunities in our area for students to experience most any type of position within agribusiness geared to graduates of the new program.” That also holds true for guest lecturers and in the field visits. “Whether it’s a commodity, ancillary business or trade association, we have significant resources to further enrich our program,” noted Nessmith. • For additional information and the new Agricultural Communication and Leadership Development degree program, visit: gcrec.ifas.ufl.edu/ pcc or call: 813-757-2280. W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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4-H Begins New Year September 1st

Membership Open To Youth Ages 5-18 By Jim Frankowiak

4-H is the nation’s largest youth development organization. More than six million 4-H youth in urban neighborhoods, suburban schoolyards and rural farming communities stand out among their peers: building revolutionary opportunities and implementing community-wide change at an early age. “Here in Hillsborough County, we have more than 700 youth involved in 4-H programs,” noted Yancy. “Although new members are accepted throughout the year, we encourage interested youth and parents or guardians to consider enrollment now as the new program year begins.” Enrollment information is available by contacting Yancy via email at: yancyb@hillsboroughcounty.org or Brent Broaddus whose email address is broaddusb@hilsboroughcounty.org. Both Yancy and Broaddus may also be reached by calling 813/744-5519.

eptember 1 is the official start of the new 4-H program year and Hillsborough County youth ages 5 – 18 are encouraged to learn more about this diverse youth development program. “We have more than 30 clubs throughout the county and each has its own project focus,” said Brandi Yancy, 4-H Youth Development Agent, UF/IFAS Hillsborough County Extension. “Our clubs offer a wide range of projects in three primary areas: science, citizenship & leadership and healthy living. The educational foundation of 4-H lies within these three program areas.” 4-H programs and events are offered on an age-appropriate basis. Age requirements are designed to give participants the optimum experience in their respective programs. There are four divisions: Cloverbud for ages 5-7; Junior for youth aged 8 – 10; Intermediate for ages 11-13 and Senior for participants ages 14 – 18. “Within our three program areas, youth have many project choices,” said Yancy. “Projects such as animal sciences, career development, communication and expressive arts, discovering 4-H, environmental sciences, family and consumer sciences, healthy lifestyles, leadership development, plant sciences and science and technology are tools to help youth develop life skills.” 4-H is the youth development program of the nation’s 109 land-grant universities and the Cooperative Extension System. 4-H fosters an innovative, “learn by doing” approach with proven results. A Tufts University study shows youth engaged with 4-H are: • Nearly two times more likely to get better grades in school • Nearly two times more likely to plan to go to college • 41 percent less likely to engage in risky behaviors, and • 25 percent more likely to positively contribute to their families and communities W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

“We encourage prospective members to contact us first so we can determine their location and interests which we can then match with a club. They are encouraged to speak with a club leader to learn more about the kinds of activities planned. The next step is completion of the enrollment form and payment of a $1 insurance fee.” Yancy said clubs range in size from five to 80 members. “In addition to new members, our clubs are also seeking volunteers to assist with projects on a continuing basis or as time permits,” she said. Adult volunteers are subject to a level II background check and interview. 4-H began as a response to needs throughout the country. The goal of the program was to extend agricultural education to rural youth by organizing boys and girls clubs and through learning by doing. The roots of 4-H began at the turn of the century when progressive educators started to emphasize the needs of young people and to introduce nature study as a basis for a better agricultural education. Boys and girls clubs and leagues were established in schools and churches to meet these needs. To spark the interest of young people, Farmers Institutes cooperated with school superintendents by promoting production contests, soil tests and plant identification. By March of 1904, several boys and girls clubs had already exhibited projects. Most states organized clubs outside the schools with rural parents acting as volunteer leaders and County Extension agents providing materials. Farmers saw the practical benefits and public support and enthusiasm for 4-H grew throughout the nation. Congressional appropriations to the state land-grant institutions began in 1912 for development of early Extension work with the states. In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act established the Cooperative Extension System within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state land-grant universities and the counties. Since that early legislation Congress has continued to support 4-H. Throughout the years the overall objective of 4-H has remained the same: the development of youth as individuals and as responsible and productive citizens. • INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2013

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