In The Field Hillsborough edition by Berry Publications, Inc

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Contents

VOL. 8 • ISSUE 11

Cover Story Joel Connell

Page 54 Cover photo by Stephanie Humphrey

Business Up Front

Fertilizer Update

Page 10

Page 60

Tampa Bay’s Fishing Report

A Kid To Keep An Eye On

Page 14

Page 67

Grub Station

Grove Pepper

Page 18

Page 73

Rocking Chair Chatter

Ask-A-Vet

Page 22 Fox Squirrel Corn Maze

Page 25

Page 84 Pruning Palms The Healthy Way

Page 88

Feral Hogs

A Warzone In The Strawberry Fields

Page 29

Page 89

Jeremy Burris

Kim Martin

Page 32

Page 90

Recipes

Page 50

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From the Editor

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

The freshest, safest, best tasting food is just around the corner. Yes, that’s right! And buying local is easy. Find a farmers market near you and encourage your local grocery stores and area restaurants to purchase more products from local farmers. This small step will help boost your local economy and get you exceptional flavor from fruits and vegetables that are recently harvested and packed with nutrients. Check out what’s in season. We are lucky to have something fresh and nutritious available in Florida 365 days a year. Check out the Florida Department of Agriculture’s web site at www.freshfromflorida.com for a chart of what is in season. I am reminded daily of the wonderful, humble, few who make their living by feeding the rest of us. I never take for granted the hard work that went in to getting my meal from the field to the point of purchase and to my home. It is our duty to ensure that we continue keeping our food as close to our homes as possible. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to depend on another country for my sustenance. This is not a new subject for me. But I can’t stress the importance of supporting your local farmer and rancher. They are the lifeblood of this county, state and our great nation.

On another note, do you have questions or concerns about a family pet? Email us at askavet@inthefieldmagazine.com and your question may be answered in an upcoming issue of In The Field. This is a great resource for our readers! We look forward to hearing from you.

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.

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

Index of Advertisers ABC Pizza................................................................46 Ag Technologies......................................................37 Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers .............................39 American Cancer Society.......................................91 Antioch Feed & Farm Supply...............................75 Aquarius Water Refining.......................................85 Arrowhead Archery Shop......................................68 Astin Strawberry Exchange...................................84 B Powerful Promos.................................................91 Badcock....................................................................23 Bill’s Transmissions .................................................77 Bingham...................................................................78 Bloomingdale Children’s House............................65 Brandon Auto Services, Inc. ..................................31 Brandon Region Hospital......................................81 Broke & Poor..........................................................53 Byrd & Barnhill, P.L.................................................7 C&C Services of Tampa........................................92 Cecil Breeding Farm...............................................24 CF Industries, Inc....................................................82 Chemical Containers..............................................31

Index of Advertisers Certis.........................................................................48 & 52 Colorful Harvest ................................................................49 Cornfusion Corn Maze.....................................................40 Chuck’s Tire & Automotive ..............................................2 Cowboys Western World..................................................80 Crescent Jewelers................................................................84 Dad’s Towing....................................................................91 Discount Metals...............................................................44 Dr. Barry Gaffney O.D. PA.............................................74 Driscoll’s............................................................................57 Earhart’s Runway Grill ...................................................95 Elizabeth Belcher..............................................................19 Farm Bureau Insurance...................................................87 Farm Bureau Insurance/Jeff Sumner..............................85 Farm Credit ......................................................................65 Felton’s ..............................................................................51 Fischbach Land Company..............................................63 Fishhawk Sporting Clays ................................................35 Florida Dept. of Agriculture............................................16 Florida Mineral & Salt....................................................72 Florida Strawberry Growers Assoc................................41 Fluid Measurements ........................................................33 Forbes Road Produce ........................................................7 Fred’s Market ...................................................................15 Gator Ford........................................................................36 Gerald Keene Plumbing ..................................................70 Grove Equipment Service.....................................62 & 72 Gulf Coast Tractor...........................................................96 Harold’s Feed & Pet Supply...................................3 & 21 Harrell’s Nursery, Inc.......................................................84 Haught Funeral Home....................................................86 Helena Chemical-Tampa ................................................44 Hillsboro State Bank........................................................77 Hillsborough County Farm Bureau................4, 20 & 76 Hinton Farms Produce, Inc.............................................30 I-4 Power Equipment ......................................................42 International Paper Company ..........................................5 Jeans & Jackets Gala.......................................................66 Johnson’s Barbeque..........................................................57 Jon & Rosie’s Tree Farm.................................................73 Key Plex ............................................................................58 Loetscher Auto Parts .......................................................79 Malissa Crawford............................................................30 Mark Smith Excavating..................................................19 Meryman Environmental, Inc........................................36 Mosaic...............................................................................39 Myers Cleaners.................................................................34 O’Connor Enterprises......................................................81 Pathway BioLogic............................................................83 Plant City Tire & Auto Service, Inc...............................47 Ranch Run .......................................................................71 Rick’s Custom Meats ......................................................47 Ring Power Corporation...................................................9 Roadrunner Oil & Lube.................................................23 Sam Van Hook.................................................................89 Savich & Lee Wholesale .................................................12 Seedway ............................................................................77 Sheriff David Gee’s Sporting Clays Shootout................26 Shrimp & Co Express.....................................................29 South Florida Baptist Hospital .......................................56 Southside Farm & Pet Supply........................................13 Southwestern Produce.....................................................27 Stephanine Humprey.........................................................9 Stingray Chevrolet............................................................93 Super Service Tire & Auto..............................................11 Tampa Bay Times............................................................17 The Hay Depot................................................................57 Timberlane Pet Hospital & Resort................................31 Trinkle, Redman, Swanson, Coton, Davis & Smith .................................................................70 Walden Lake Car Wash ..................................................17 Wells Memorial................................................................46 Willie’s ...............................................................................17 Woodside Dental..............................................................79

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You Too, Can Be A Winner

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:

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InTheField庐 Magazine P.O. Box 5377 Plant City, FL 33566-0042

Winners will be notified by phone. You Too Can Be A Winner! Search for the logo below and enter now!

Think Pink! We始ve changed the colors of the logo this month for Breast Cancer Awareness!

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100 South Mulrennan Road • Valrico, FL 33594 • 813-685-9121

HARD TO BELIEVE SUMMER CAME AND WENT

Dear Reader: I don’t know about you, but for me this summer really passed quickly. Kids are back in school, football season is upon us and agriculture is hard at work. You may have noticed strawberry growers were back in the field earlier than in the past. Fact is they were and that’s because of the new fumigant they are using. Methyl Bromide is no longer available and its alternative requires an earlier start. Our best wishes for a strong season, though we know labor shortages and competition from Mexico will continue to be among the challenges that they face. California used to be their sole competition, but the emergence of berries from Mexico is now another force to be reckoned with. This edition of IN THE FIELD will also permit each of you to meet Jason Davison, our new Farm Bureau field man and the important link between our members here in Hillsborough County and the state Farm Bureau office at Gainesville. Jason has replaced Ray Crawford, who retired a short time ago. We wish Jason the best.

Beyond those important values are a host of benefits that make Farm Bureau membership a truly great opportunity for you. Those benefits include member only discounts on your next Chevrolet, Buick or GMC car or truck, theme park ticket discounts, notary services, significant discounts at Grainger and many more opportunities for you to save at places you no doubt now spend your hard earned dollars. That reminds me, plan to attend our Annual Meeting October 4 at the Trinkle Center. More information will be coming your way if it hasn’t already. That’s dinner on us, another member benefit. For more information on Farm Bureau, including how to join and the benefits of membership, please visit www.hcfb.org or call 813/685-9121.

Thank you,

Danny Danny Aprile President

Let me remind you once again that you do not have to be a farmer or rancher to belong to Farm Bureau. While we do work hard to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers as their “voice,” we stand for those values of importance to the majority of Americans like the right to freely practice one’s religious beliefs, support for the U.S. Constitution and laws, a competitive free market system, respect for our fellow man and much more.

Board of Directors

Danny Aprile, President; Bill Burnett, Vice-President; Jemy Hinton, Treasurer; George Coleman, Secretary; Glenn Harrell, Member-at-large; Amanda Collins, Roy Davis, David Drawdy, Jim Dyer, Jim Frankowiak, Stefan Katzaras, Joe Keel, Greg Lehman, Kenneth Parker,Jake Raburn, Marty Tanner, James Tew, Patrick Thomas, Michelle Williamson and Ray Wood Judi Whitson, Executive Director 8

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• There are as many chickens on earth as there are humans. • Sharks can live up to 100 years. • Kangaroos canʼt walk backwards. • About 75 acres of pizza are eaten in the U.S. everyday. • Koalas and humans are the only animals that have fingerprints. • There are 200,000,000 insects for every one human. • It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery had in it to begin with. • The Octopus has three hearts. • The average person spends two weeks waiting for a traffic light to change. • 1 in 2,000,000,000 people will live to be 116 or older. • Most cats are left pawed. • More than 250 people have fallen off the Leaning Tower of Pisa. • A Blue whaleʼs tongue weighs more than an elephant. • Bamboo can grow up to 3 feet in 24 hours. • The average eyeball weighs about 1 ounce. • The Statue of Libertyʼs index finger is eight feet long. • A 75-year-old person will have slept about 23 years.

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Business Up Front By Ginny Mink

A BOUTIQUE BUSINESS – FLUID MEASUREMENT

ater is a necessity for all life. Rarely, however, do we take the time to consider all the processes necessary to ensure that the water we consume is safe. Obviously, there are a good number of Americans who utilize bottled water due to personal preferences. Yet, there is a unique group of people working hard to maintain and monitor healthy public water provisions and proper water usage for our country. Roy Moore owns Fluid Measurement, a company designed just for that purpose. Roy offers a little bit about his background, “I’m from southeast Iowa. I’m a soybeans, corn and hogs kid, row crops and livestock. We actually grew up on a subsistence farm, where you grow the stuff that you eat. We had our own orchard, raised our own vegetables, we had a wide

range of fruit trees, multiple gardens and pigs. I worked at a big apple orchard that the neighbor right next to us had. The apple orchard had a fruit stand so we always grew plenty of extra stuff for that to sell as well. I grew up around it and been involved in agriculture a lot over the years.” While Roy definitely has some agricultural know how, it wasn’t the arena that caught his eye. Instead, he joined the Navy at age seventeen and went to college while serving therein. He attained a Bachelor’s degree in vocational education and a computer science degree. In 1979, after suffering an injury in the military, he was transferred to a base in Jacksonville. He says, “I’m a disabled vet. I came down here and worked on aircraft simulators and stuff. I lived in Jacksonville for about 25 years

and I worked at three of the four Navy bases in Jacksonville.” Roy got his first wake up call about water safety while in the Navy. He explains, “I have an interesting pedigree in that respect. I was involved in one of the first instances with poisoned water back in May of ’78 where there was an actual terrorist incident that disrupted operations in Rota, Spain. It’s a big regional Navy base where everything that funnels in and out of the Mediterranean stops. It was when anti-nuclear protestors who didn’t like the US Navy submarines were able to get into the base and successfully put cyanide into the drinking water. An alarm went off and they called me on the radio at three in the morning. I got there and the lid was off the tank and there were containers on the ground. It would have made a bunch of people sick if it hadn’t been caught right away.” No doubt that was quite a scary moment. Having been exposed to such a dramatic, though thankfully non-lethal, situation Roy was more than ready to begin working in the field of water quality and testing. He began that career with Control Design in Jacksonville. He explained that their primary focus was waste water. Certainly Roy learned a good deal while working with them. In fact he says, “I’ve been doing projects in this part of the state since 1994. I did a lot of projects in Hernando County,

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Manatee County and Sarasota County.” Then, in 2005, Roy opened his own company, Fluid Measurement.

supply you touch a lot of people.” This of course is what Roy’s company aims to prevent.

Roy says, “Our Company is now primarily involved with waste water, but municipal drinking water is what we’re really into. Our current thing is homeland security, looking for water to be poisoned or other related problems. I had been doing homeland security related work after 9/11, so a lot of focus had switched to security related stuff. We took it from doing new construction to a more specialized field.” This specialized field enables Roy, and those who work with him, to monitor water quality in a number of different ways.

Initially they were utilizing a capital expenditure business model, which required their clients to purchase equipment and then hire trained techs to monitor and maintain that equipment. As the economy quickly took a nose dive, they changed their concept into one that is more service oriented. Now, Roy says, “We sell the data, we own the equipment. Because there’s such a high capital cost, we’ve figured a way to reduce the cost because we actually make everything locally. We’re trying to blaze a new trail with a brand new business model. We provide unique, high value measurements. The customers don’t have all the labor problems and upkeep because we maintain it all. We can do it all remotely. They just pay us for the information on a subscription. Each location has its own website and you have the ability to download the data. If the data falls out of line we can send texts and emails to let people know and all our equipment has GPS on it.”

In their beginnings, Roy says, “We put a bunch of stuff in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and to a lesser extent other medium sized cities like Minneapolis and Indianapolis. We would go in and work with the utilities, the big regional water suppliers, and we’d put stuff in to monitor the distribution of water throughout that area. We put the censors into typically larger communities. Down here they produce 400 million gallons a day and they distribute to the counties. The counties may buy 5 million gallons a day. If you go out and poison the bulk water

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In addition to working with the water utilities, Fluid Measurement is assisting SWFWMD as they attempt to support

strawberry farmers specifically. Roy says, “They will be looking at the flow to see how much water they’re consuming so they have an idea of how much water they’re really using for freeze protection, which could also tell them how much pressure they need. We are manufacturing our own flow and pressure meters but we normally do specialized measurements using electrochemistry and optical techniques to look at the property of water. The agricultural part of it is sort of a new piece. Another aspect of our business is, we do equipment health and inventory. We’ll go in and send an email about predictive usage. This is beneficial for chemical management.” Knowing what level the chemicals in your tanks are at will definitely assist in proper application for farmers. Given all the high tech gadgetry necessary for the proper testing of water, and the fact that Fluid Measurement is offering a unique service that utilizes disruptive technology, those interested in having their water monitored should visit the websites provided here: www.fluidmeasurement.com and www.censar.com to get more information.

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by Captain Woody Gore

his little diatribe got me started when I was told I could no longer fish an area I’ve fished for over 50 years. The conversation between me and the governmental authority challenging my right to fish the area quickly became futile. So I pulled up anchor and left, grumbling to myself that it wasn’t right and what ever happened to my freedom and civil liberties as an American citizen and the right to fish, where and when, that I’ve enjoyed for so many years. So, here goes. Since the attacks on September 11, 2001 our government has adopted and repeatedly used the phrase "the war on terror" and supported and endorsed the Patriot Act, which, at best, is somewhat problematic because it was initiated during the aftermath of 9-11 when fear was at its highest. It was created with the impression that we are fighting against a “known enemy” instead of terrorism. During times of war, our government has a seemingly natural tendency to ignore the secured liberties of the Constitution (Bill of Rights). Our freedom, especially during times of conflict, should not be precluded by the endless loss of our personal and recreational liberties. Freedom was the very thing our country was founded on. I live in America, the land of the free and I’m not ready to cower down and live in fear of terrorism or surrender my personal freedoms in the interest of national security. While we can agree that America has a strong interest in national defense, it can also be said that Constitutional rights are not to be ignored for the sake of good intentions. Whenever legislation affecting our rights or civil liberties is enacted it

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must be looked at not only for its end, but also for its resources. The continued infringement on our personal and civil liberties can quickly become a way of life and certainly not one our forefathers would have agreed to. When such governmental legislation, regardless of its intentions, ignores and violates the long-standing fundamental principles of freedom, then our country has failed the test. Since September 11 we’ve seen an increasing number of security zones being put into place in the name of Homeland Security. These outdoor recreational, hunting, fishing and boating closures throughout the nation are restricting admission to the same areas we’ve had access to for many centuries. Governmental authorities must begin to rethink their level of responsibility and begin relaxing the restrictions on security zones. The responsibility for securing water entrance must revert to the operations of the ports or business that are now being secured by restricted water security zones. I don’t know of a security area that does not have guards patrolling its grounds and if they don’t have guards they certainly should be required to have them simply because of the sensitive nature of their operations. They should also be required to have security camera’s monitored from the security facilities. It’s not the general public’s businesses that are creating the security problems, so why are we being restricted and penalized from enjoying the areas we’ve enjoyed for so many years? Is the thinking of the governmental officials so shallow as to believe that a water

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security zone is going to stop someone from entering a facility from water landings? In actuality, the only thing it’s preventing is recreational anglers and boaters from enjoying areas they’ve enjoyed for centuries. As citizens, we need to voice our objections to present and continued closures and begin reestablishing our freedoms. We also need to challenge our governmental representatives, and when it comes to elections, find out how they stand on certain issues relating to your recreational freedoms. The majority of people spending time on or near the water generally understands what is normal and what is not and are well suited to notice suspicious activities. It’s also time for local anglers and boaters to become recognized as part of the security solution rather than identified and labeled as potential terrorist. It’s these people that ultimately increase the level of security. Who better than people fishing or boating to recognize when the behavior of visitors in and around an area is inconsistent with what usually takes place? Who better than the port worker or longshoreman to identify a suspicious individual loitering near a restricted area, video taping, photographing, or making sketches? Who better than a marina operator or dock master to recognize a customer or crew acting suspicious? “People are not suspicious”… it’s their behavior that is suspicious. Regardless of how many homeland security zones are in place we cannot be so naïve as to believe if a terrorist organization decides to invade an American coast, river, bridge, W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

tunnel, port, ship, military base, or waterside industry, that it’s not going to happen? The United States has more than 95,000 miles of shoreline, over 290,000 square miles of water. Given our current economic situations and continuous cutbacks on law enforcement personnel, why not take advantage of some of the 70 million recreational boaters in the United States to identify and report suspicious persons or behavior without taking away their recreational civil liberties and recreational freedoms. Whether you agree or not we must understand and challenge those we vote into office to explain their stand on the issues that concern each and every one of us. Our vote counts, but make certain you know who, what and where they stand on the issues that affect us all!.

LET’S GO FISHING! SNOOK – Action has been fair, but still closed. You’ll find plenty of large fish around bridges and passes, especially at night with free-lined baits like pinfish, greenbacks and jumbo shrimp. Fish the broken bottom grass flats and mangroves for some exciting action. Live bait or artificial lures should do the trick. MANGROVE SNAPPER – If you’re looking for some late summer fun, particularly for the youngsters, take them snapper fishing. Not only are these fish fun to catch, they are great eating. Small free-lined greenbacks or pieces of fresh shrimp around markers, bridges or rock piles, will usually result in a limit of fish. If the tides are strong add enough weight (1/4 – 3/8 oz), knocker rig to keep the bait down. Here’s a tip: Put them on ice immediately, this makes them much easier to clean because it gels the fat in their stomach – keeping it from sticking to your knife.

Matthew Snook

Give Me a Call & Let’s Go Fishing 813-477-3817

Bobby Baker

Captain Woody Gore is the areas top outdoor fishing guide. Guiding and fishing the Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs, and Bradenton for over fifty years; he offers world class fishing adventures and a lifetime of memories. Single or Multi-boat Group Charters are all the same. With years of organizational experience and access to the areas most experienced captains, Woody can arrange and coordinate any outing or tournament. Just tell him what you need and it’s done. Visit his website at: WWW.CAPTAINWOODYGORE.COM or send an email to wgore@ix.netcom.com or give him a call at 813-477-3814.

Pastor Eddie Williams

MACKEREL AND BLUE FISH - Tampa Bay is still be loaded with plenty of threadfins, so if you’re looking for awesome, light tackle action, Mac’s and Blue’s are excellent targets this month. Threadfins are everywhere, but look around marker cans, range markers or shallow reefs. Anchor up current, toss out a few baits for chum, throw to the striking fish and hang onto your rod and reel. REDFISH - Action will be steady with fish moving around the area. If they’re grouped up always approach carefully, you don’t want to split them, it’s often difficult to get them back together. When approaching fish, pole or slow troll to within casting distance, Power-Pole down and get off the bow, so as to present a low profile. Try to pick off fish at the outer edges, never cast into the middle of a school. Reds eat shrimp, greenbacks, pinfish and crabs. If they’re not looking for something natural remember cut bait always works. SPOTTED TROUT - Fishing is always productive around lush grass flats. It takes moving water to get them eating, but when they start… its fish-on. Popping corks with artificial DOA of Gulp Shrimp or live shrimp and greenbacks will produce a mess of trout. Deeper water rocky bottoms and some markers are producing some really nice catches of larger silver trout. COBIA - They are still hanging around the markers and can throughout the Bay if you’re interested in using a lot of fuel chasing around and checking things out.

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Craft workshops creating paths, sculptures and other items for the biblical garden from donated recycled glass, tile and other items are slated to be scheduled and are also free and open to the public. Much to the surprise and delight of gardening enthusiasts, they discovered a ‘new volunteer’ in the form of a huge watermelon that had grown on its own from the compost and an active bee hive has been donated.

By Cheryl Kuck

his Grub Station writer hopes you find the restaurant reviews informative and entertaining. When visiting restaurants our primary concern (in addition to the quality of the food) is the level of its fresh produce and meat/poultry/seafood quotient, as well as, whether the percentage of the product served is locally produced, nurtured, farmraised or (if seafood) fresh-caught. The Grub Station’s goal is to highlight Florida farming and produce including growers, cattlemen and fishing industries. This issue highlights what one community is doing to prepare a sustainable organic garden for public use, with public participation and education. Perhaps in learning about the process of preparing the community garden, we may have a greater appreciation of the growing process and the contribution of our farmers. Rev. Thoeni, rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 302 Carey St., was considering various ways for the church to interact with the community when he read an article about gardening enthusiasts who had formed a group, naming their organization Plant City Commons. They were looking for a place to start a program that would help the public understand the merits of organic produce and the benefits of caring for our earthly resources. Unused church property was then donated for public use under the expert instruction of the Commons group of eco-gardeners Bob Abbenzeller, Tom Carroll, Rosalind Baker and Karen Elizabeth. After holding a community meeting with parishioners, area farmers, gardeners and the public at large, mounds of compost were donated, a sign (facing W. Baker St.) designating The Plant City Commons Community Garden was erected and on May 23, Rev. Thoeni,

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led a group of professional and lay-ecologists in a Rogation Liturgical dedication ceremony for the garden. The weekly spring meetings consisted of planning the design and future of the garden, viewing free instructive movies about Permaculture, permanent agriculture and the self-maintenance of an agriculturally productive diverse and sustainable ecosystem, and taking an organic seed planting workshop in July when local gardening and farming experts demonstrated container selection, soil preparation, seed selection, planting procedures, and vegetable choices for Fall planting, including a demonstration of how household materials can be re-purposed for starting seeds, as well as how to identify appropriate commercial potting and gardening soil. Since May, all member gardeners have been taking on the weekly dirty job (rain or shine) of turning the huge mounds of compost in preparation for laying the beds in early August when Mother's Organics donated highly composted material in order to finish off the completed beds and a class was held on organic fertilization and insect control. “As we prepare for the fall planting season we have built over a dozen individual and community garden beds. More beds will be added each week in anticipation of added members,” said garden spokesperson Karen Elizabeth. During the May dedication, olive and pomegranate trees mentioned in biblical history (Deuteronomy 8:8), were donated by Richard Skinner, owner of Hawkins Corner Nursery, and were, fittingly, planted in the biblical garden area and are now thriving. Additions of lemon grass, Florida native flowers, aloe, and a golden dew drop, were added recently.

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As you can see, it takes a lot of work and knowledge to make your garden grow. “The most important thing you can feed your body begins with the correct information that you feed your mind," states wellknown nutritionist Len Foley. Commons board member Rosalind Baker believes, “We must learn to take care of ourselves and our hungry and not wait for the government to do it for us. We need to be responsible citizens. Any surplus we grow will be donated. We hope to inspire others and continue to plant more and more community gardens. We will have ongoing education, seminars and field trips for those who believe we must be the caretakers of our natural resources.” • Folk Herbalist, Willow LaMonte, is a longtime organic gardener and wild crafter. She is a member of the American Herbalist Guild, the Florida Herb Society, and United Plant Savers. She will be conducting a series of educational events under the auspices of the Commons during Sept. Upcoming events: Saturday, Sept. 15 – Enjoy a cup of flower fairy tea at the family and children-friendly event then join the butterflies, birds, toads, and ladybugs who will act as guides through the beautiful colors and scents of the garden beds. Willow will show the newly-planted beans, squash, corn, sunflowers, greens, tomatoes, and edible flowers then plant a pot of lettuce, greens, or beans to take home. Karen Taylor of Barefoot Books will be reading garden stories at 10:15 am. Families are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch while fresh herb tea is served. Suggested donation: $10 adults, $3 kids. Su nd ay, Se pt . 16 – “Growing Your Autumn-Winter Garden” is an organic gardening class with Willow LaMonte at Willow Herbal Delight Gardens, from 10:30 am - 2:30 pm. Fresh picked tea and multi-colored salad from the gardens will be shared during a potluck lunch. There is a suggested donation of $15 - $25 for either of these first two listed events. 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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AL BERRY’S

mustard and catsup. Their special soup of the day on Friday is “Whiskey.” When we take a long road trip Patsy likes to stop at Cracker Barrel, especially in December. She does most of her Christmas shopping there. The only thing I have ever bought in their gift shop is chocolate covered almonds and a harmonica. The food is pretty good, and I enjoy the little triangle golf tee game. The object of the game is to finish with the fewest tees possible, and it gives you an equivalent intelligence to your score. I frequently score “eg-no-ramoose” which is probably right because I spend way too much time trying to score higher than an “eg-no-ramoose.”

ecently I took Patsy, my wife, out for dinner. We went through the same thing most all couples that have been married a while go through. That is, “Where would you like to go?” “Oh, I don’t care, where would you like to eat?” “How about Chinese?” “Ugh”, she replied! “Would the Longhorn Steakhouse work?” “We ate there last week!” I decided to take the matter into my own hands, and drove straight to a Mexican restaurant in Brandon. BIG MISTAKE! When we opened the menu much to our surprise they had at least 50 items to choose from. I speak a little Spanish, and could pick out a couple of items. Patsy went through two glasses of tea before she made up her mind. When her food arrived she asked if that was what she ordered. I said, “How would I know, I was taking a nap when you placed your order.” Why do restaurants have such big menus? It’s hard enough to make up your mind

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where you want to eat, then comes the challenge of surfing through the menu. Why not four entrees, five salads and a dish of ice cream for dessert. Life is stressful enough without restaurants compounding the problem. Why not have a menu that reads, buy one hotdog for the price of two and get one free. Put a little humor into dining out. Then there’s the Olive Garden, whose food is about as Italian as Burger King. I know why they dish out unlimited bread sticks and salad before you get your meal. A manager told me that most people eat so much that they don’t order the main meal, and that saves them a lot of overhead. McDonald’s has a different menu in all the different countries around the world. In the Phillippines they serve “McRice Burgers” with beef and chicken on a sticky rice patty. In Hawaii try a Hula Burger featuring pineapple instead of hamburger. At the Road Kill Grill in Mississippi try one of their “Coronary Bypass” burgers made with a one pound sirloin patty, a fried egg, three slices of cheese, four slices of bacon with a topping of mayonnaise,

SEPTEMBER 2012

I am not much on fast foods, but I must admit that Wendy’s has the best French fries around. My friend George Banning owns a number of the Wendy’s franchises in Polk County, and says business has been good. I went through the drive-thru at Wendy’s on Jim Redman Parkway in Plant City the other day, and spoke with a real southern drawl. “I want one of them thar chittlin’ sandwiches with lots of catsup and mustard, and a glass of diet water. Be sure to toast the bun too,” I said. There was dead silence! “Scuse me, sir but we don’t serve that kind of sandwich,” as she leaned out the window to see what kook was placing the order. We both had a laugh, and I got my order and moved on. I recall going on a fishing trip with Ercelle Smith and Ron Wetherington and stopping in at a small country restaurant in Marion County. One of the customers was bothering the waiter. He asked that the air condition be turned down because it was too hot. After a few minutes he asked him to turn it up because he was too cold. This happened several times while we were eating. To my surprise the waiter was very patient. He politely walked back and forth and never got angry. A customer sitting next to our table asked the waiter why he didn’t he throw the guy out. “Oh, I really didn’t care,” said the waiter with a broad grin on his face. “We don’t have an air conditioner.” Years ago I asked a waitress what was the funniest thing that had ever happened to her since she started in the food business. W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

She said, “I started out working the car service window at a fastfood restaurant. This lady drives up and I said through the intercom, ‘may I take your order.’ She replied, “hamburger, cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, deluxe burger, small and large roast beef, turkey club, chicken sandwich, regular fries, large fries, apple pie, chocolate shake, vanilla shake, strawberry shake, Coke, Diet Coke, 7-Up and orange soda.” I asked her to drive up to the window. I immediately gave her the bill. She was stunned. “But I haven’t ordered yet,” she said. “I was reading the menu to my little girl.” In closing, the waitress took a customer’s order and was walking to the kitchen when she realized she had forgotten something. She turned around and hollered, “You wanna roll with your dinner?” “No thanks,” the customer replied. “I’ll just sit here and eat it.” •

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Fox Squirrel Corn Maze THE

FIRST ONE IN

By Ginny Mink

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY!

arming is taking a hit just as every other industry in this economy. There have been a number of farmers over the last few years who have just jumped ship, or pasture, or garden, however you want to look at it. Others, those with the desire to see the storm through, have begun to look at other options to produce profit. One such area of interest is the increasing number of corn mazes that are cropping up (forgive the pun) across this great nation. Carson Futch and his family have chosen to dive right in to that endeavor. Carson explains, “This is a family project, it’s my brother, Wayne, and my sister, Janet, and myself and our families. We were born and raised on the ranch. The property has been in the family since the early 1900s as Single R Ranch. It was established by our grandfather and grandmother, Ralph and Ruth Futch. Our beginnings, as a family, started in 1845 when our family moved from Georgia to Florida. Literally, it’s about eight miles from where we are now. They took advantage of the 160 acres of land that the state was giving away if people would come and homestead. So, we’ve been part of the community since day one.”

property. He also helps us teach them how to work.” Valuable lessons for sure!

Carson continues to elaborate on family history, “Growing up on the ranch we were all actively involved in FFA at Plant City High School. Our ranch was mainly a cow-calf operation. We were on the livestock judging team. My brother was president of the JG Smith Chapter and was instrumental in getting the swine show started. They’d had a steer show for years and years but nobody’d done anything with the swine show and now it’s become as popular as the steer show. Our Ag teacher was the legendary, Ray Clark, he’s since retired. He was really young then, we broke him in, right out of college and he’s also been a life long neighbor.”

Carson adds, “We decided to name it the Fox Squirrel Corn Maze because on the Oak ridge where it will be held, there are Sherman Fox Squirrels everywhere. Not a lot of people are aware of their existence so we thought it’d be another thing we could educate people that are from urban areas. So our slogan is, “Can you out fox our squirrelly maze?” Their press release says that if you can out fox their maze, there’s a shirt in it for you! By the way, Sherman Fox Squirrels are really cool, they are HUGE. Carson says, “We would like to invite people out from the surrounding areas to join the adventure and a day on a ranch. It’s going to be a four acre maze and along with it we’ll have hayrides, a country store, games for the kids and various foods and drinks. It will be fun for everybody! Oh yeah, we’re gonna have a pumpkin patch, that’s gonna be fun.”

Still discussing family history, he continues, “Our family raised row crops, fresh vegetable crops, cattle silage crops (that’s feed for cattle). Most recently we have a strawberry farm there on the ranch and we still raise cattle and feed and forage for them and most importantly, we raised a whole pile of young ‘uns. My brother and I have six kids a piece. They love bein’ able to get out on the ranch and romp and roam and hunt and fish and work with the cattle and ride fourwheelers and help with all the chores. Wayne actually lives in the old family home place right on the edge of the property, it’s a local landmark. It was built in 1905 or 1907, somewhere in that area. Our dad is, Alvin Futch, and he enjoys teaching the grandkids the things they need to know about agriculture there through the ranch

At this point Carson switches gears, “We’ve been paying attention to the new phase of ecotourism on agricultural property. I’m a citrus consultant here in Polk County and a manager of citrus groves. We saw that there were some others having success with corn mazes up in North Florida, having their fourth and fifth ones, so we prayed about it to sort of see what the Lord would have us do and we felt led to start a new family venture. We started talking about this last Christmas when my sister was home during Christmas vacation. We started kicking it around and we knew we were in a prime location for it due to the easy access via I4 and I75 and actually Highway 60 and County Line Road, too. I think when we did our population study we were in like a 30 mile radius of 1.2 million people, or something, it’s a lot!” As with any new business venture, location, location, location, and with that many people within a half hour distance, this is sure to be a success.

The maze opens on October 13 and ends November 11 and is located at 3002 Charlie Taylor Road in Plant City. Fridays will be set aside for group events and school field trips. However, Saturday and Sunday are open to the public. Saturday’s hours are 10 am – 6 pm and Sunday’s they are open Noon – 6 pm. To find out more information, please visit: www.foxsquirrelcornmaze.com

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*** All Items Are 8 lbs. Unless Otherwise Noted.*** Foodhooks.........................................$22 Baby Butter Beans ............................$14 Green Beans.......................................$14 Pole Beans .........................................$14 Speckled Butter Beans.....................$14 Blackeye Peas....................................$14 Butter Peas ........................................$14 Conk Peas .........................................$22 Crowder Peas ....................................$14 Pinkeye Peas......................................$14 White Acre Peas................................$14 Sugar Snap Peas ...............................$15 Zipper Peas........................................$14 Green Peas .........................................$14

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www.SouthwesternProduce.com 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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Dry Creek

By Les McDowell Photos courtesy of Linda Constant

REAP WHAT YOU SOW

n the last few weeks we have been busy at work filming the Trailer to Dry Creek’s next episode called, “Reap What You Sow.” We’ve done most of the filming at Crawley Museum in Myakka City. Sitting on the steps of an old cracker house looking out at the garden where we were filming took me back 100 years. For just a few short minutes it seemed I traveled back in time. It was a time in Florida where life was so simple. Across the garden came two young girls one pushing the other in an old wooden wheel barrow. Pony tails blowing in the warm Florida breeze. The sight of Cracker Cattle through the fence, the sound of a rooster crowing, I was in heaven, that is until I heard CUT! There’s a jet overhead. I walked over to the man that was in charge of Crawley’s 1880’s garden. He was a throwback to the early Cowmen of Florida. He told me about how the breed came over with the Spanish and how they could survive in a Wal-Mart parking lot. As the creator of Dry Creek I felt honored to help tell a small portion of the story on Dry Creek of Florida’s past. As our conversation continued, I told him about the story we were shooting, about the two young girls bringing wind chimes to the garden. How their mother, who had passed away always put wind chimes up on the gate of her garden. She said, “Angels would surround her garden and when their wings would touch, the wind from their wings would cause the chimes to sing!” Just then I saw this Cowman cover his eyes with tears running down his cheeks. He said that he had lost a son and the last

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time he had heard that was after the funeral. Someone had walked up and said those exact words and presented him with some wind chimes. Strange things happen and for a reason. I wrote that line for the script and never heard it before. Needless to say this episode is being dedicated to his son. Fast forward to cameras and sound in an interior of a 125 year old house. Two little girls are sitting on the edge of a 100 year old bed getting ready to deliver their lines. CRASH! The bed falls through and onto a prized chamber pot underneath it. Fast forward to the next day I’m hitting every antique store in central Florida looking to find a chamber pot. So goes wearing the hat of being the creator and Executive Producer of Dry Creek. Oh by the way, I found a chamber pot and when you watch the episode of “Reap What You Sow” don’t forget the story of the wind chimes. Remember what causes them to sing in the Florida breeze. Watch Dry Creek Saturday evenings at 7:30 P.M. E.T. on BlueHighwaysTV, Channel 246 on Verizon.

Everybody knows where Dry Creek is..... cause it’s inside each and everyone of us.

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Ultimately, each hog removal effort must be tailored to the site and the situation, he said. The concept is called adaptive management, and it means taking whatever steps are necessary, within the boundaries of the law, to remove hogs. Researcher Joanna Huffman, a hunter and a graduate of the UF/IFAS Master Naturalist program, said the study results underscore a fundamental rule about feral hog management: Feral hogs are smart. “If they’ve seen a trap, they remember it,” said Huffman, who’s gone on hog hunts and also assisted in maintaining traps to remove feral hogs from her neighborhood.

INVESTIGATING WHY CONTROL EFFORTS OFTEN FAIL WITH

Gioeli explained that hogs can communicate with each other, so if one hog associates an area with danger, it can warn others to stay away.

FERAL HOGS

“That’s why it’s important to try to do it right the first time,” he said. To give landowners and residents a better chance at success, Gioeli and several colleagues have been presenting management workshops. They plan to incorporate new information as it’s obtained.

One other piece of advice: Check state and local regulations before attempting to remove feral hogs from any property. Though the animals are generally considered a nuisance, different jurisdictions have different policies regarding the use of firearms, dogs, motor vehicles and other items used to remove the animals. •

By Tom Nordlie

eral hogs wreak havoc on Florida’s natural areas, but a new University of Florida study shows that control measures often fail, now, researchers are investigating how the animals outwit removal efforts. “Feral hogs are definitely one of our more noticeable invasive animal issues on the Treasure Coast,” said Ken Gioeli, a St. Lucie County extension agent. “People have been struggling to deal with the populations and we want to offer them better options.”

For more information, visit http:/ / taylor.ifas.ufl.edu/ marine_game_hog.shtml

The study appears in the summer issue of the journal Aquatics, a publication of the Florida Aquatic Plant Management Society. Florida has the nation’s second-highest population of feral hogs, after Texas. The animals are especially common north and west of Lake Okeechobee, and in the coastal Big Bend area, Gioeli said. They roam in groups and damage forest ecosystems by rooting in the soil and wallowing in shallow water. It’s believed that feral hog damage costs landowners and agricultural producers millions of dollars nationwide. In the study, researchers surveyed almost 90 land managers who dealt with feral hogs, most of them working on large tracts of public land. Forty-seven percent said that their hog control efforts were marginally effective. Another 25 percent said control efforts had no effect. Some of the most popular removal methods include hunting, with or without dogs, and trapping, using either small single-hog traps or larger traps capable of capturing an entire group. A second study, now under way, surveys hunters and trappers who remove feral hogs and seeks to pinpoint reasons their efforts succeed or fail. The survey is available at http:/ / www.surveymonkey.com/ s/ 2M7X3C3 Previous research suggests that large corral-style traps are the most effective way to remove groups of hogs, but few land managers use them due to their size, Gioeli said. Constructed from a heavy wood or metal frame, corral traps must be baited and left open for several days to attract hogs. Once the animals are accustomed to visiting the corral for food, the user can activate the trap so that hogs are free to enter but unable to escape. “The traps are very large and it can be difficult to transport them to the site,” Gioeli said. “There are also some types of terrain where you can’t use a corral trap.” 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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SEPTEMBER 2012

PLANT CITY NATIVE BRINGS DEEP ROOTS

COLORFUL HARVEST Burris, son of Ken and Karen Grimmer, says that it all began for him while helping tend to their family’s local cow-calf operation. Being with his father on the working cattle ranch gave Burris his first lessons in ag operations and planted the seeds of his future career. “I used to love going with him to check cows and to run our hay business,” said Burris. “And going to the local farmers market and livestock markets with him was something I looked forward to. I liked the whole atmosphere there and wanted to be a part of it from the beginning.”

Jeremy Burris

Jeremy & his wife, Erica; son, Logan; and daughter, Gracie.

olorful Harvest, a long time Florida strawberry grower/shipper, has tapped into the deep southern roots of Plant City native Jeremy Burris to help manage its operations in Central Florida. The company announced the hiring of Jeremy Burris as the new Vice President for Sales & Sourcing for their Florida division. The addition of Mr. Burris is the latest in a series of moves to expand a very successful Florida produce operation. Mr. Burris brings to the position over 11 years of strawberry industry experience as the former Vice President of Sales for Wish Farms of Florida, in addition to strong academic credentials with a bachelor of science from University of Florida and masters in business administration from Southeastern University, Lakeland, Florida.

In an interview with IN THE FIELD magazine Burris said, “Plant City is where I first got involved with agriculture. Coming on board with Colorful Harvest at this time lets me continue to do what I love, right here is where it started for me.” Colorful Harvest has recently added three large ranches and a dedicated cooler facility on Trapnell Road to its Florida operation, for which Burris will be primarily responsible.

Burris became active in agricultural organizations as he progressed through high school and into his adult career. “Most boys grow up in sports, but I grew up as an FFA kid showing and judging livestock,” he said. Burris rose in the ranks of FFA leadership to become the local chapter President in his senior year at Plant City High School, and then went on to become a FFA state Vice President responsible for agriculture ambassadorship. Since Plant City agriculture is synonymous with strawberries, and since many of his 11 years in agriculture were spent in strawberries, he has also been active volunteering at the Florida Strawberry Festival. Colorful Harvest itself has been an active participant at the Strawberry Festival for many years. The company won the blue ribbon for best flat of strawberries in 2009, and has contributed strawberry themed Musical Harvest guitars for auction at the festival gala for Florida Strawberry Growers Association scholarships and other local causes.

Doug Ranno, COO of Colorful Harvest said, “The addition of someone with Jeremy’s experience and first hand knowledge of the Florida strawberry and vegetable industry will help to add depth to our year round strawberry and Florida veg program.” 32

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Burris has two children with his wife Erica, Gracie age 4, and Logan age 16 months. “I’d love it if both Gracie and Logan grew up to have an interest in agriculture like me. That would make us a three generation Plant City ag family,” he said. With strawberry operations and dedicated cooling facilities in Florida and other regions, Colorful Harvest is one of the few companies to sustain a truly year round national strawberry program. The company’s Florida growing operations have also diversified to include a variety of vegetable crops including Colorful Harvest’s proprietary Ruby Jewell™ sweet red corn, beans, squash and cucumbers to compliment their line of unusually colorful heirloom style vegetables, orange – purple – green cauliflower, and multi-hued Rainbow Crunch® Carrots).

More information is available at: www.ColorfulHarvest.com and www.facebook.com/ colorfulharvest

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nother month down and my team and I have gained many new experiences. Since I left you last month I have traveled halfway across the nation, volunteered with one of Florida Agriculture’s great industries, and spent a weekend with the Florida FFA Alumni! Every week has been one adventure after another that I’ve gotten to experience with my team every step of the way. At the end of July my team and I left Tampa behind, traveling towards Des Moines, Iowa. Over the week we were in Iowa we learned the ins and outs of large-scale production agriculture, the likes of which is something very rarely seen in the state of Florida. We started out the week at the National Pork Board headquarters as we, along with the Iowa state officers, went through training to become spokespeople for the pork industry. We then traveled to Pioneer, a company who produces a majority of the corn seed supply in Iowa. Here we learned about the advancements being made in Genetically Modified Seeds in terms of durability and productivity. Next we traveled to JBS Swift, a major pork processing plant. We experienced firsthand the entire pork harvesting process, from arrival of the pigs to the distribution center. We then went to a local farm to learn more about the equipment used in the production of corn and soybeans, including the opportunity to drive some of the tractors. The next stop was to the Cargill corn mill where we learned just where our corn supply goes. From their information it seemed like almost everything was made from some aspect of corn! Our final stop was to Breneman Pork. Along with producing corn and soybeans, this farm is the largest independent pork producer in the state of Iowa, producing almost 750,000 pigs a year. This week was one we won’t forget anytime soon. When we returned to Florida, after a few days off we traveled down to Ft. Myers to volunteer at the 2012 Citrus Expo. Along with working to keep the Expo running smoothly we got to learn more about one of Florida’s largest agricultural commodities. Along with participating in the expo we also attended the Gulf Citrus Banquet and the Casino Night in benefit of Florida FFA. Finally we spent a weekend in Haines City at the Florida FFA Alumni retreat. The Alumni are one of the largest advocates there is for Florida FFA as well as a major sponsor. The opportunity to interact with these supporters of FFA was an incredible experience in itself. Looking to the future, we are preparing to start chapter programs as well as putting on our first conference of the year, Chapter President’s Conference. As always I am always available for comments, questions, and concerns at david.walden@flaffa.org.

David Walden 34

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– Area 5 State Vice President

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Meet JASON DAVISON Farm Bureau’s New “Field Man” by Jim Frankowiak and graduate President of Alpha Tau Alpha, a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and Agricultural Communicators and Leaders of Tomorrow.

vital link between each county Farm Bureau organization and the state office in Gainesville and vice versa are the assistant directors of field services active across Florida. Our most recent “link,” Ray Crawford, retired a short time ago and our new “field man,” as these key people are most often described, is Jason Davison. Davison was born and raised at Lake Butler in Union County on his family’s small farm, which they continue to operate and raise cattle, hay and horses. He is the oldest of four children with three younger sisters: Deidree, Courtnie and Lindsey. The Davison family also owns a heavy equipment and site work construction business, “and that is where I spent most of my professional career working up until a little over four years ago,” said Davison. After graduating from Union High School, Jason began his undergraduate studies at the University of Florida, but as a result of his father’s health he had to leave UF and help with the family business. “A little over four years ago, I decided to go back and fulfill a life goal, finishing my degree at the University of Florida,” he said. “During my senior year, a professor and mentor talked to me about continuing on to graduate school. My family and I talked about it and decided it was the right thing to do. I applied and was offered an assistantship. I took the opportunity and decided to leave the family business. In August, I received my Masters degree.” Davison has his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agricultural Education and Communication. He was the undergraduate 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 District 5 opening arose; Davison applied and secured the position. “The Florida Farm Bureau is a wonderful grassroots organization that stresses the importance of the agricultural industry in our state and the entire nation. I wanted to be involved within an organization that serves to protect and preserve the interests of farmers, ranchers and agribusiness. Farm Bureau serves those purposes, plus we seek to inform and educate those not involved in our industry of the importance of agriculture to their local communities, the state and the entire nation. I couldn’t be more excited about being part of this organization and the values it represents,” said Davison. Replacing Ray Crawford is admittedly a tough chore and “the truth of the matter is that I can’t replace Ray, but I hope to pickup where he left off. I think we both have the same interest and that is to help the county Farm Bureaus be the best they can be for their members. I hope to develop the personal relationships with each of the county Farm Bureaus I serve, making that pursuit easier for everyone. I plan to put forth a lot of hard work and, hopefully, be able to prove myself as a worthy successor to Ray.” Davison has four daughters; Kiersten, 18; Alyssa, 15; Mackenzie, 11 and Emily, 9. “Kiersten is beginning college this fall at Florida Gateway College and my three younger daughters are active in riding horses and barrel racing. When not working, I enjoy watching all Gator athletic events, playing fold, gardening and spending time with my girls and their horses. I am currently looking for a place to move to in the district.” “I am thankful for the opportunity given to me to serve as your ‘field man’ and I am humble in the task that lies before me. I pledge that I will do everything I can to serve the needs of the members and your county Farm Bureau. I will always be open to advice on how to accomplish the goals and mission of the Florida Farm Bureau.”

Welcome aboard Jason! INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

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

he tomatillo, or “small tomato” in Spanish, is an essential ingredient in salsas and mole sauces. Somewhat different than tomatoes, tomatillos are higher in both sugar and acid and have a tart-sweet, bright flavor. The interior is densely packed with seeds and the exterior of the fruit (botanically a fruit, though often thought of as a vegetable) is wrapped in a papery husk that resembles a lantern. A member of the nightshade family, along with potatoes, eggplant, and peppers, the tomatillo varies in size from a cherry tomato to a golf ball. Other names for this fruit are husk tomatoes, Mexican green tomatoes, jamberberries, and strawberry tomatoes. An important crop in Mexico and Central America, the tomatillo grows well throughout Florida in the fall and winter months. They turn from green to yellow when fully ripe, but are usually eaten while still green.

NUTRITIONAL PROFILE The tomatillo packs plenty of nutrition in a small package! It’s a good source of copper, iron, phosphorous, manganese, and other minerals. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, a 100g portion of chopped tomatillo contains 32 calories, 0.96 g of protein, 1.02 g of fat, 5.84 g of carbohydrate, and 1.9 g of fiber. It also provides 30% of the Daily Recommended Value (% DV) for Vitamin A, 38% for Vitamin C, 18% for Vitamin K, 12% for potassium, and 7.9% for dietary fiber. Tomatillos are a fantastic source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, niacin, and manganese. ANTIOXIDANTS FOR OVERALL HEALTH Tomatillos are high in antioxidants. 38

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Withanolides, one type of antioxidants, have properties that fight bacteria and cancer. Other antioxidants found in tomatillos are flavonoids, which contribute to good vision, healthy skin, and protection from some types of cancers. While tomatillos have more minerals by weight than tomatoes, they don’t contain lycopene like their larger cousins. Tomatillos are an excellent source of vitamins A and C. These potent antioxidant vitamins travel through the body neutralizing dangerous free radicals that could otherwise damage cells and increase inflammation. Antioxidants may decrease the progression or severity of atherosclerosis, diabetic complications, asthma, and colon cancer.

STRONG BONES Tomatillos contain significant amounts of bone-building nutrients, such as calcium, phosphorus and vitamin K. The most abundant mineral in the body, calcium lives mainly in bones and teeth. An adequate amount of calcium is needed to maintain bone density and strength. Additionally, calcium plans a role in muscle contraction and proper heart function. Calcium absorption is enhanced by other nutrients, including vitamins D and K, magnesium, and phosphorus. The second most abundant mineral in the body, phosphorus also plays a major role in bone health. Like calcium, it resides mainly in bones and teeth. Phosphorus is required for the growth and maintenance of tissues and cells throughout the body, and helps to filter waste from the kidneys. Tomatillos are also a great source of vitamin K, which is essential in bone health. Vitamin K activates osteocalcin, one of the main proteins in bone, which acts to anchor calcium molecules inside the bone and increase bone mineralization. This vitamin may reduce the risk of bone fractures, particularly in postmenopausal

women who are at risk for osteoporosis. Vitamin K is also well known for its essential role in proper blood clotting. Inadequate levels of vitamin K can lead to excessive bleeding.

HOW

TO SELECT AND STORE Choose tomatillos that are very firm and smooth, with a dry, crisp husk. Look for ones that have a bright green color with a light tan husk. Avoid any that are soft, yellow, or bruised. They can be stored in their husks in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or without the husks for a couple of months. Tomatillos can also be canned or frozen for later use.

HOW

TO ENJOY Immediately before using, remove the husks and rinse well. Unripe tomatillos can be cooked and added to soups, stews, curries, and sauces. Ripe tomatillos are often enjoyed raw, eaten out-of-hand. They can be chopped and added to any salad, soup, or salsa. Other ways to enjoy Florida tomatillo include: • Puree with cucumbers for gazpacho • Slice thinly and use to top sandwiches or pizza • Chop and add to omelets, stir-fry, salads, and sandwiches • Stir-fry in olive oil with other veggies • Drizzle with olive oil and roast • Slice and eat with salt and basil Enjoy fresh Florida tomatillos both raw and cooked today!

SELECTED REFERENCES http:/ / www.floridagardener.com/ http:/ / www.extension.iastate.edu/ Publicat ions/ PM1895.pdf

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Fortunately, Florida’s IFAS plant breeders, led by IFAS’s new strawberry breeder, Dr. Craig Chandler, were of one mind with this premise. They unselfishly requested IFAS administration to work toward a royalty distribution of 20 percent for the breeder and 70 percent for funding subsequent research in plant breeding with only 10 percent for oversight. This way, breeders would be rewarded for their success with funding to continue that success.

Florida Strawberry Industry Played A Role In Royalties Perfect Storm

By Dr. Chip Hinton

ometimes momentous events are broadcast for the world to see, and you remember where you were the moment the event occurred. Usually however, important events are but a ripple shared by a chosen few. The populous may come to know the outcome, but never knows the behind the scenes story.

Such is the case with UF/IFAS’s patent program for plant material. The program is uniquely different and one of a kind, and needed a train of events in sequence to make it possible. The first event in this series was federal legislation (Bayh-Dole Act of 1980), which facilitated protection of plant patents developed at land grant universities. Before Bayh-Dole, there was little to talk about. Afterward, patents became an item of discussion. Shortly thereafter, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association held its first UF/IFAS-FSGA program review to examine cooperative efforts to improve the future of Florida strawberries. At that time, nearly all of the state’s strawberries were California varieties, developed for a Mediterranean climate. Moreover, Florida growers were paying $300,000 in royalties each year to use those varieties. In the years following the program review, Florida growers traveled to the Irvine and Watsonville Strawberry Research Centers to determine what California was doing well, and what Florida could do better. At that time, a plant breeder who developed a new variety received 50 percent of the royalties, and the state university system received the bulk of the remaining royalties. The breeder’s research program received very little. The Florida delegation left feeling that Florida’s patent program should be less focused on making breeders millionaires or generating funds for the state, and more focused on using royalties to reward the breeder with research dollars to help generate more varieties to assist agriculture. For example, the existing royalty program generated $100, the breeder got $50, the program oversight got $35, the breeding program got $10, the experiment station and the department each got $2.50. Under the IFAS model, the breeder would get $20, the program oversight would get $10, and the breeding program, experiment program and department would get $70. The bottom line is that 70 percent of the royalties would go back to fund research rather than the existing model of 15 percent. W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Dr. Jim Davidson was the Associate Dean of Research under Dr. Al Wood at the time of the strawberry program review. However, by the end of the decade, he was Senior Vice-President of IFAS. His Executive Vice-President was Dr. Joe Joyce and one of his Associate Deans of Research was Dr. Neil Thompson. All three worked together, pushing for the change, but recognized that the proposal would be a hard sell for UF administration. It is very hard to make a change within the university system when all other universities are doing something different … particularly when money is involved. Fortunately, at that time, there wasn’t much money involved. There had been very few patents for plant material and no patents for Florida strawberry varieties. IFAS administrators were also fortunate that at the critical moment, there was a change in leadership at the UF provost’s office to an individual who was open to their change. The trio of IFAS administrators pulled off a major coup and UF administration allowed the change. As luck would have it, a clone originally crossed by Dr. Charlie Howard at the Dover Strawberry Research Center before his retirement, was showing promise. The decision was made that the new clone, to be named “Sweet Charlie” in honor of Dr. Charlie Howard, would be the first candidate for the new patenting program. The plant passed all administrative and peer reviews but there was still one hurdle to overcome … the cost of applying for a patent. The Florida Foundation Seed Producers approached FSGA for $10,000 for the patent as an advance on royalties. If the “Sweet Charlie” flopped, the patent fee would be gone. FSGA took the leap in faith, and also agreed to market and protect the variety. The rest was an explosion of success. The “Sweet Charlie” though a bit soft for the domestic market, gave the Florida strawberry industry a much needed boost when it was down. “Sweet Charlie” didn’t last long in the domestic market but became popular in developing countries because of its good taste and disease resistance. Dozens of countries grew the variety worldwide and added over $1 million to fund strawberry research. IFAS researchers then used the new source of funding to roll out a series of newly patented strawberry varieties. Today, the majority of strawberry acres grown in Florida are Florida varieties. Florida varieties have been grown in about 50 countries around the world. The IFAS model is now receiving interest from other land grant universities around the nation and has been adapted successfully to other commodities in the state. But it all began a quarter of a century ago with the success of a single commodity… strawberries. It came to fruition because growers, IFAS faculty and IFAS administrators possessed vision, unselfish motives and the courage to change a well entrenched system. They also had a good measure of luck. Through their efforts, they made our corner of the world a much nicer place. • INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2012

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A Closer Look

By Sean Green

Looking for us?

Photo by April Wietrecki

Yellow Jacket (Vespula) “Hey look at that cool bee!” “That’s not a bee, that’s a wasp”, says a childhood friend of mine. “Those are Yellow jackets! You can tell by the markings on the tail” says yet another friend. This is the typical dialog of my earliest memories of observing insects. Sound familiar? We see these critters every summer swarming the garbage cans in public places. They seem to have an affinity for soda and can quickly become a nuisance as the summer progresses. In my recent hikes I have noticed that there seemed to be more yellow jackets than nearly any other species along the trails, and there is good reason for that. This month we will take a closer look at the Yellow jacket. Regarding this critter as friend or foe will largely be a matter of perspective. For some, they are reason enough to abandon a picnic, for others, a blessing in disguise. Regardless of the perspective from which you make your conclusion, like any other insect, the Yellow jacket is part of our ecosystem and has important contributions to its overall health. The Yellow jacket is a common name for two main genus of wasps; Vespula, usually ground dwelling and Dolichovespula, usually aerial nesting. Yellow jackets share a distinction as predatory wasps, meaning they prey on other insects for food. In the natural order of ecologic balance, yellow jackets hunt other insects to feed their larvae. Adult yellow jackets do not simply gather insects for delivery to their young; they chew it into a pulp for them as well, feeding them soft slurry of protein that is critical for their development. The propensity of the yellow jacket to require meat for development has earned it the nickname of “meat bee.” When the nest is growing, yellow jackets will be attracted to any easy source of meat such as a dead animal, fish, or your partially eaten picnic. Many hunters will tell you, their passion for hunting is paid with suffering the yellow jackets and often fending them off their kill. The adult yellow jackets meat collecting efforts are rewarded by a sugary substance produced by the larvae that serves as the adult’s primary food source late into the summer. Yellow jacket colonies only last a year. They begin when an inseminated queen emerges from overwintering in late spring to build a small paper nest for her first eggs. The queen feeds her first brood of larvae herself and by W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

midsummer, the first 50 or so adults emerge as small infertile female workers. The newly emerged workers begin expanding the nest by foraging for food, feeding developing larvae, protecting the nest and caring for the queen while she remains in the nest laying more eggs. The nest and its resources begin to grow exponentially. Adult yellow jackets rely on the sugary secretions of the larvae for nutrition and the larvae, in turn, need the meat pulp created by the workers if they are to reach adulthood. A yellow jacket nest can grow to over 10,000 cells by late summer and accommodate more than 4,000 workers. Once the colony reaches its peak size, resources are re-allocated for the benefit of the next generation. Reproductive cells are created and eggs that will become new reproductive males and queens are produced. These reproductive adults remain in the nest while the new queens fatten up for overwintering. Once mature, the reproductive adults leave the nest to mate, soon afterwards the male dies and the inseminated queen seeks shelter in protective logs, tree bark, or even manmade structures to overwinter. It’s in the late summer and early fall period that the queen stops laying eggs, once the remaining larvae become adults, there is no longer a source for sugary substance adult yellow jackets eat. Adults do have a proboscis that can be used for sipping nectar or sweet fluids and will seek sweet substances for nourishment in the absence of the sugary mixture provided by larvae. This is the time of year that yellow jackets are noted for being a nuisance. Garbage cans, picnic tables, fruit stands, and even groves and orchards are great places for yellow jackets to find sweet liquids to feed on. Last month along the hiking trails, April and I have seen the expected drama of yellow jackets hunting caterpillars, which is always disturbing for her. We did not see many caterpillars but saw plenty of yellow jackets most of which were chewing on the railings of boardwalks and decaying trees and logs in Hillsborough County parks. The abundant rain we have had has softened the wood making short work of gathering wood fibers for what may be among the last new cells created for the colony before the next generation prepares for overwintering. •

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Find us in your neighborhood... The Hay Depot 1001 S. Alexander St. Plant City, FL Phone: 813.478.1654

Rick’s Meats 10252 S.R. 39 South Lithia, FL Phone: 813.737.6776

Johnson’s BBQ 1407 MLK Blvd. Plant City, FL Phone: 813.759.0009

Cowboys Western World 120 S.R. 60 E. Plant City, FL Phone: 813.650.3888

The Catering Company 115. E. Reynolds St. Plant City, FL Phone: 813.707.1447

Sisters & Company 104 E. Reynolds St. Plant City, FL Phone: 813.754.0990

Crescent Jewelers 1514 S. Alexander St. Plant City, FL Phone: 813.752.2413

Southside Farm & Pet Supply 3014 Jim Redman Pkwy. Plant City, FL Phone: 813.752.2379 Note: This is just a sample of our distribution points. We’ll list different locations each month.

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By Jim Frankowiak

Photos by Ron OʼConnor, Farm Credit

t’s no secret that agriculture and Plant City are synonymous. And that strong relationship was celebrated by the Plant City Chamber of Commerce once again this year at its annual Salute to Agriculture. Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida, the event, which attracted a crowd of 200-plus, was held fittingly at the Evelyn & Batista Madonia Sr. Agricultural Show Center at the Florida Strawberry Festival grounds. Five awards were presented: Young Agriculturist, Agriculture Educator, Agribusiness of the Year, Agriculturist of the Year and Supporters of Youth award. A lifelong resident of Plant City, Joel Connell was named Young Agriculturist. Married to Erika, Joel is a fifth generation Connell residing in the Plant City area. He and Erika have three children: Kenly, Ella and Colt. Joel is currently in charge of operations for 325 acres of strawberries and various other crops at Charlie Grimes

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farms. Joel is a deacon at First Baptist Church, was president of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association in 2011 and continues with FSGA as a board member. Joel and Erika love their farming lifestyle and would not have it any other way. Ag Educator of the Year went to Jane Bender. Her teaching career has been marked by a series of “light bulb” moments when she began teaching at Dowdell Jr. High School and continued for the next 35 years until this past year at Plant City High School. Those moments will be cherished memories as Jane enjoys her well deserved retirement. Those moments range from teaching a cheerleader how to put an ear tag into a calf’s ear despite the many “I cant’s” by Trisha Moody, who is now a Hillsborough County Medical Examiner, to the many state and national FFA officers Jane worked with, including her own children Sara and William, who both received the highest degree FFA bestows, The American FFA Degree. The list of bright moments is

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more. Hillsborough County Farm Bureau supports agriculture and countless programs of value to the community, reaching and teaching residents of all ages about the critical role Ag plays in the county.

long and distinguished, fitting highlights to an exemplary career in Ag education.

Agriculturist of the Year, Michelle Williamson, is appropriately a Director of Hillsborough County Farm Bureau and a relentless advocate for agriculture. Her Farm Bureau activities include posts locally and at the state level, as well as district positions. She is also currently secretary of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association and a past board member.

Though not technically a business, Hillsborough County Farm Bureau has been assisting farmers and property owners since 1942. What began as a means to promote agriculture, give farmers a better identity, help property owners maintain the best use for their property and educate people about the importance of agriculture, continues today as the benefits of membership in this grassroots organization.

Michelle also provides her agricultural expertise to government agencies and elected officials through involvement with the county’s Agriculture Economic Development council, Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee and Agriculture Advisory Committees from Congressmen Bilirakis and Ross. She also participates in a range of educational activities helping to educate children and adults about the importance of agriculture in Florida.

ed the funds that helped build the Swindle Diagnostic Center in 1997 and have assisted that important healthcare facility in many other ways. It is especially pleasing to have all of these members of the agriculture community recognized not only for their support of the industry, but for their actions to give back to the community, as well. •

In addition to advocating for agriculture, Michelle is also very active in her church, Plant City First Assembly of God, where she is a children’s church teacher.

HCFB President Danny Aprile leads the 19member volunteer Board of Directors which is ably assisted by Executive Director Judi Whitson. Programs span political outreach, Ag-Venture Field Trips for 3rd graders in Hillsborough County, community service programs such as Ag-Abilities, participation in the Great American Teach-In and much

Ed and Myrtle Lou Swindle, winners of the Supporter of Youth in Agriculture honor, have been married for nearly 62 years and have long assisted FFA programs locally and at the state level. They have supported youth events at the Florida Strawberry Festival for many years, including a donation to build one of the Livestock Barns on festival grounds. Their efforts have been felt throughout the state via work on the State FFA board. The Swindle’s have supported the local community through the South Florida Baptist Hospital Foundation. They graciously donat-

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RECIPES Recipes Courtesy of the Florida Department of Agricluture

Spicy Rubbed Steaks INGREDIENTS

Crisp Autumn Salad INGREDIENTS 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch diced pieces 2 large tomatoes, diced 2 medium red bell peppers, diced small

1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon celery salt 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons paprika

1 cup red cabbage, finely shredded 2 bunches green onions, finely chopped

PREPARATION

1/3 cup radish, finely diced 1 medium half-sour pickle, finely diced, or 1/3 cup chopped green olives 3 tablespoons olive oil Fresh squeezed juice of 1/3 to 1 lemon, or

Combine all dry rub ingredients well. Spread rub mixture evenly on the steaks prior to cooking. The natural moisture of the item should help the rub adhere. Cook steaks on grill to desired doneness.

to taste Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

PREPARATION Combine all the vegetables and pickles or olives in a salad bowl. Use enough olive oil to moisten the vegetables and add lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper, then toss.

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Young Agriculturalist of the Year By Ginny Mink

Photos by Stephanie Humphrey

he concept of work, real, hard, work seems to be lost on the younger generations.

Certainly at some point in life every human being has to be taught to work. However, it appears that those success inducing lessons used to start at a significantly younger age than they do now. Obviously, people who grow up on a farm or ranch have the added benefits of learning to work as soon as they can walk and tote something simultaneously. For those that don’t have that distinct advantage, their parents’ hope that they’ll have the drive and desire to seek out such successful endeavors on their own, otherwise log lumps end up having more value. Joel Connell is a man who is not afraid of hard work. He is still young, only 31, but he is making great strides toward an impressive and satisfying future. Joel shares his story here, “I was born and raised in Plant City. I am part of the fifth generation of Connell’s that lived in Plant City. As far as agriculture, I did not grow up on a farm. When I was 14 years old, Mr. Jim Redman, who was a lawyer in Plant City, had some citrus and some cows and I basically worked for him when I was a teenager learning about cows and oranges and how to work.” Joel stops here and chuckles, reemphasizing, “Basically, I learned how to work and I worked with him until I was in college.” He adds, “Working with Mr. Redman, I was so young, he basically taught me how to work. I spent time in the grove pulling vines and basically doing the grunt work for him but that’s what gave me the appreciation for ag and that’s when I decided that’s what I wanted to do for a living.” As an afterthought, Joel continues, “My granddaddy and I, my PaPa as I called him, planted a little orange grove here in Plant City when I was probably 14 or 15 and I did that as well as worked for Mr. Redman so there’s a little family history in citrus.” After spending a few years working for Mr. Redman, Joel graduated high school and headed on to college. He says, “I went to college at Florida Southern College in Lakeland and I got a degree in citrus business. My senior year of college I needed a job so I got a job with Grimes Produce driving a forklift in the warehouse. After I graduated college I had a couple of job offers down south, in citrus, but I decided that I wanted to stay around Plant City. Mr. Charlie Grimes asked me to come out and help lay plastic. I didn’t know anything about strawberries, I was very green at that point, and that led to a job offer.” For those who are unaware, Grimes Produce was listed as a business in 2000, so it was a relatively new entity when Joel first started working there. However, Grimes Farms was established in 1948 which implies that the Grimes’ have quite the history in produce, even if their official produce company doesn’t. Perhaps you have heard the old adage, “don’t despise small beginnings.” Certainly a forklift driving position and some plastic laying may not have seemed like the chance of a lifetime to Joel, but he explains how ultimately, it was. He continues, “Mr. Grimes asked me to help him manage some of his farms and that was in 2002. Since then, Mr. Grimes has really spent countless hours with me giving me advice and teaching me about growing strawberries and about business. We’ve grown strawberries, cantaloupe, squash and peppers and other vegetables and we’ve recently started growing blueberries. Mr. Grimes has taught me and given me countless hours of advice. I feel like I’m blessed beyond belief to have been given this opportunity with Mr. Grimes to learn farming and the business side of the industry.”

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another one of those opportunities that Mr. Grimes has given me, he’s really taken me under his wing and tried to help me a lot.” Joel does his fair share of helping as well. He says, “I’ve been a member of First Baptist Church of Plant City as long as I’ve been alive. I serve as a deacon there.”

In fact, if you remember, Mr. Redman instilled in Joel the appreciation for hard work, an interest in ag, and the desire to do that for a living, but Joel takes it a step further, “I knew I wanted to be a farmer, I just didn’t know how I was going to make it happen and I never would have made it happen unless Mr. Grimes had given me the opportunities that he’s given me. When I started with Mr. Grimes my responsibilities were to oversee harvesting and fertilizing, some basic duties. Since then, it’s grown into general managing of day to day operations of 340 acres of strawberries, vegetables and blueberries. Currently we’re preparing the ground for the upcoming strawberry season. We’re looking forward to another strawberry season. While the challenges may seem great, our determination is the same.” When Joel speaks of determination, he is not just someone skilled in rhetoric or nice verbiage; he knows, and personifies, its definition. He says, “I served on the Board of Directors for the Florida Strawberry Growers Association from 2007-2011 and I was the President of the Board of Directors in 2011.” Joel was quite a young man to serve as President of such a prestigious and well-respected organization. Yet, his accomplishments don’t end there. In summer of this year, Joel Connell received an impressive award. He explains, “August 8 was the breakfast and I received the Plant City Chamber of Commerce and Farm Credit: Young Agriculturalist of the Year. The breakfast is the Chamber of Commerce’s salute to agriculture and they highlight people in the Plant City agriculture industry. It was a great honor to receive the reward.” Perhaps the most important aspect of being a recipient 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

this award is the fact that Joel has received it based on his sheer determination to pursue agriculture, he’s not a born and bred farmer or rancher, he’s a man who saw what he wanted and captured it! While Joel is a man of few words, there was one thing that he seemed to get overtly enthusiastic about, and that’s his family. He says, “I’ve been married to my wife, Erika, since 2003. We met while I was a senior in high school, she was a sophomore in college and that was in 1998. She’s been more than I could have ever hoped for in a wife and a mother to my children. She puts up with the hours and everything that goes with farming. She’s my best friend! We’ve got three children, Kenley is seven, Ella is four and Colt is two, and we found out a couple of weeks ago, number four is on the way. My children are my proudest accomplishment, that’s the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s important to me that we’ve been able to raise our kids on a farm and teach them an appreciation for the land and agriculture and I consider that a great blessing. Farming is not a job, it’s a lifestyle. My wife and I have really come to love our farming lifestyle. The hours are long and tedious; we put a lot into it. It’s more than a job to me, it’s part of who I am. It’s allowed my wife to stay at home and take care of our kids and I’m forever grateful about that.”

In closing, he expounds on what he thinks is the greatest aspect of agriculture. He says, “To be able to plant something in the ground and have it grow a fruit, like a strawberry, you realize that we’re not alone in this world and that the Good Lord is looking out for us. In agriculture there’s so many factors that you can control and there’s equally as many that you can’t and you have to learn to deal with both of them.” He gives an example, “In January of 2010 we went through 11 straight nights of freezing temperatures and we were, for the most part, able to save the crop. It was a huge challenge but to be able to come out of it and live another day was a huge accomplishment. Faith is probably a prerequisite. You have to have some faith to be able to do this.” Faith and farming seemingly go hand in hand and Joel Connell does a great job representing both. We wish him continued achievement in both arenas! •

No doubt Joel will continue along his path of positive accomplishments (after all, number four is on the way). He offers additional proof though by adding, “Last year, Mr. Grimes and I formed a partnership. While I still work for his company, we have a company together that I manage, it’s called Midway Farms. It’s INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE

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HELP HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FARM BUREAU

P ROTECT YOUR G REENBELT A SSESSMENT Dear Greenbelt Property Owner, For more than 60 years Farm Bureau has advocated the rights of private landowners. Beginning with the adoption of the Agricultural Use Value Assessment (Greenbelt) in the 1950s, Farm Bureau has played a vital role in the preservation of this law. As a Hillsborough County landowner, you know that the Greenbelt classification helps you to remain successful in your chosen livelihood. Without this assessment, your property taxes could become a major burden, possibly denying you and your family financial stability. The Hillsborough County Farm Bureau has been dedicated to maintaining the Greenbelt classification for more than six decades. We will continue to serve as the leading voice for this purpose. We want to preserve the Greenbelt assessment for you and for all other landowners, famers, and ranchers in our county. I call upon you to join us in this effort by becoming a member of the Hillsborough County Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau represents the entire spectrum of agricultural landowners. We want you to be a part of the organization that speaks with a united position on behalf of the families who make Hillsborough County agriculture a valuable asset for our community. By joining our county Farm Bureau you will be uniting with more than 144,000 other state residents who form the Florida Farm Bureau. They share your commitment to private property rights. Help us maintain the Greenbelt assessment. You can join the Hillsborough County Farm Bureau for an annual family membership fee of $54. You can find a membership form on line at http://www.hcfarmbureau.org/documents/memberjoin.pdf. If you have any questions, please call 813-685-9121 or email hcfb@tampabay.rr.com

MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS BENEFITS • $500.00 GMC manufacturer’s rebate for Florida Farm Bureau Members • Discounts at local theme parks, hotels, rental lodging, and car rentals • Accidental Death Insurance • Child Safety Seats at a discounted rate through COSCO • Grainger Supply offers 10% - 60% off on select items • Free subscription to In The Field magazine • Free subscription to FloridAgriculture magazine • “No Trespassing” signs provided to members at a minimal cost • Steak dinner provided for your family at the annual meeting every year • Insurance and Bank/Mortage services through Farm Bureau FOR MORE EXCITING MEMBER BENEFITS, visit www.hcfb.org/members WHAT IS FARM BUREAU This year, Florida Farm Bureau Federation celebrates 70 years of service to agriculture and the people who make it successful. More than 144,000 members residing in 60 counties make Farm Bureau the state’s largest general agricultural organization. According to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, farms and ranches provide an overall economic impact of more than $115 billion annually – a total economic benefit that is second only to tourism. Florida Farm Bureau’s mission is “to increase the net income of farmers and ranchers and to improve the quality of rural life.” The vision of the organization is to serve as “the most effective, influential and respected Farm Bureau in the nation.” Farm Bureau is truly the voice of agriculture. •

R ed Ba r n R a n ch Fa ll Ph ot o Sh oo t WHAT: Photo shoot opportunity in front of the Red Barn with a Barn, Christmas, Fall and Western backdrops, 4 stations with a 15 minute time limit each. WHERE: 4409 W. Thonotosassa Road, Plant City WHEN: Saturday, October 6, Tentative – pending weather 9 am – 6 pm COST: $25 for one hour shoot time 4 x 15 minute stations in rotation. All proceeds go to Plant City FFA Alumni Reservations required

Sponsored by Plant City FFA Alumni

CONTACT: Maggie Gajewski, rmgajewski@aol.com, 813-754-4673 Watch Southside Farm and Pet Facebook for more information All reservations must be made with Maggie Gajewski 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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in their possession at all times when applying fertilizer, evidence of certification by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as a Commercial Fertilizer Applicator per 5E-14.117(18) F.A.C.

FERTILIZER UPDATE AND HOW YOU CAN HELP

UF/IFAS photo by Tyler L. Jones

BY JIM FRANKOWIAK

rotecting Florida’s inland and coastal water quality is a very important and an ongoing goal here in the Sunshine State. There have been major steps taken to protect this resource and additional research is underway to assure the best available science is being brought to bear upon this need. Water quality can be compromised in a number of ways such as soil disturbance, the misapplication of fertilizer, pet wastes, plant debris, septic systems and others, causing a release of nutrients into Florida waters. This sometimes results in eutrophication, the process through which water bodies receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth. Known as algal blooms, this growth impairs water quality. Land-based human activities have been documented to be the major source of negative water quality impacts. In recent years, the focus has turned to consumer fertilizer use, and in 2007 the Florida legislature created a statewide task force to develop recommendations for policies and programs related to consumer fertilizer use. The fertilizer industry in Florida, working with the state, helped to limit problems commonly associated with homeowner use of lawn fertilizers. “These efforts ultimately became the Urban Fertilizer rule, 5E-1.003,” said Mary C. Hartney, president of the Florida Fertilizer and Agrichemical Association (FFAA). “Passed in 2007, it limited the amount of N (nitrogen) and requires either low or zero P (Phosphorus) per application. It definitely changed what consumers could buy for their lawns at retail stores and is credited with a significant reduction in N and P across this sector. It’s had a positive impact,” Hartney said. The Florida Consumer Fertilizer Task Force had broad-based membership and represen-

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tation from both the public and private sectors, including substantive technical involvement. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) staffed and supported the task force and its activities which included a number of public meetings and the development of recommendations for fertilizer use guidelines and standards. The recommendation proposed a Model Ordinance regulating the use of non-agricultural fertilizer. The Model Ordinance did provide local governments with the authority to enact more stringent local provisions. To do so, those governmental units had to demonstrate the presence of impaired water and either existing or possible Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements, verifiable harm to human health or the environment that would warrant more strict regulations or the improvement of water quality or the prevention of future impacts of fertilizer on the environment. In 2009, the Florida Legislature passed Florida Senate Bill 494 that addressed several water conservation and fertilization issues. The section creating s.403.9337, Florida Statutes, required communities in nutrientimpaired watersheds to enact, at a minimum, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscape. This Model Ordinance, published in January 2009, was intended to educate and ensure the proper use of fertilizers; require training of commercial and institutional applicators and provide specific licensing requirements; establish a “Prohibited Application Period” and provide for allowable application rates and fertilizerfree zones. After 31, December, 2013, all commercial applicators of fertilizer within the (un)incorporated area of (Municipality/County), shall have and carry

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As enacted, Section 403.9337, Florida Statutes, encourages adoption and enforcement of the Model Ordinance by local governments. It is required for adoption by local governmental entities in areas where surface waters are impaired by nutrients. The law also gives local governments the right to adopt more stringent standards if demonstrable that additional or more stringent standards are necessary to adequately address fertilizer contributions to nutrient loading in water bodies; and it has considered all relevant scientific information as provided by FDEP, FDACS and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). UF/IFAS researchers issued a publication in February of 2011 that was developed to serve the need for educational information on the urban landscape nutrient and water management issues, especially pertaining to protecting urban and coastal water quality. The study is entitled: Urban Water Quality and Fertilizer Ordinances: Avoiding Unintended Consequences: A Review of the Scientific Literature. “Eutrophication of water bodies is a major problem faced by the state, counties and municipalities; their officials are asking for more information to assist them in making decisions about legislation for protecting water quality,” the UF/IFAS publication said. The document was a review of scientific literature addressing the major questions being asked about fertilization practices for turfgrass. “There are differing approaches to addressing eutrophication, including adoption of current best management practices (BMP’s) for nutrients, state regulation or local ordinances,” the publication said. “Many components of these ordinances follow published BMP’s. There is agreement in the national literature on the effectiveness of BMP’s and public education programs to reduce local water quality problems. However, there has been disagreement among stakeholders of the inclusion of a summer fertilizer ban in the ordinance.” The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is an intergovernmental partnership of Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties, and the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater. “We were directed by our Policy Board, which is composed of elected officials from W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

each of those governments, to develop a model fertilizer use ordinance for the Tampa Bay region only, not the entire state,” said Nanette O’Hara, public outreach coordinator for the program. “Our Policy Board approved that ordinance in November 2010 and directed us to seek adoption by those local government partners. The JuneSeptember summer ban on nitrogen use and October-May 50% slow-release nitrogen requirement were adopted by five of the six local government partners. Additionally, the city of Tampa and all of Pinellas County (including St. Petersburg, Clearwater and the 22 other cities within Pinellas) adopted restrictions on retail sales of fertilizer based on the ordinance.” The Sierra Club and others have worked hard for the passage of stricter local ordinances. As of this writing, many local governmental units, especially in Southwest Florida have passed ordinances that are more stringent than the Model Ordinance. Sierra Club cites the following four technical areas as key to the club’s initiative: • Application is prohibited within 10-feet of a waterbody • Application of fertilizer containing Nitrogen or Phosphorous is prohibited June 1 – September 30 • Total Nitrogen application is limited to 4 lb/1,000-square-feet per year • All Nitrogen fertilizer shall not be less than 50% water insoluble, or slow release, forms Sierra Club has suggested that UF/IFAS’ current recommendations relative to the Model Ordinance deviate from its historical position on certain aspects and questioned the source of funding for some of its key research activities related to the Model Ordinance and other aspects of the issue. Most recently, UF/IFAS offered the following comments regarding its position on various aspects of the issue. This response to IN THE FIELD was provided by IFAS researchers Laurie Trenholm, Michael Dukes and Esen Momol: “Our recommendations have always been based on scientific evidence. We have not differed from our historical recommendations. We have verified some of them very specifically with the DEP-funded nutrient leaching research conducted over the last seven years in three locations statewide.” “FFAA opposes the measures proposed by the Sierra Club,” said Hartney. “Their recommendations disregard the Nitrogen annual application ranges given in the Urban W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Turf rule for the five major turfgrass species and three geographic areas of the state by arbitrarily picking a four-pound limit to apply everywhere to every variety. That is not scientifically supported,” she said. “Additionally, the Sierra Club takes the 3-ft to 10-foot buffer recommendations and sets it as the most extreme limit. Their recommendation requiring all applications to be 50% slow release is not appropriate for every application in every situation. And, there is absolutely no consensus in the peer-reviewed scientific literature that a black-out on N and P applications is environmentally beneficial during the summer months when turfgrass is actively growing. The Model Ordinance covered this issue when it said you should not fertilize a lawn if a tropical storm watch or hurricane warning had been issued or if heavy rain, more than two-inches in 24-hours, was likely according to weather forecasts.” “Basically, this definition lets people use their common sense,” Hartney said. “In addition, allowing fertilizer applications to be spread out over four months versus forcing applications to be bunched up on the front end and back end of the growing seasons makes more sense from a risk management standpoint.” Hartney specifically stressed that FFAA urges all homeowners and applicators to follow the local laws, even in those areas where the most extreme measures were adopted. “Local laws should be followed and enforced,” she said. Hartney is also a strong proponent of education versus overregulation. She specifically supports the 4R nutrient initiative of The Fertilizer Institute, the International Fertilizer Industry Association, the International Plant Institute and the Canadian Fertilizer Institute that establishes a framework of stewardship leading to environmental protection and improved sustainability. The 4Rs incorporate the: Right Fertilizer Source at the Right Rate at the Right Time and in the Right Place In instances where local governmental units have proposed more strict local ordinances than the Model Ordinance, the response from FDEP, FDACS and UF/IFAS has considered the stronger recommendations “unsubstantiated” and therefore disagreed with their proposed enactment. That disagreement notwithstanding, the more strict ordinances have been enacted by some government units. There is no requirement to report ordinances, so exact numbers are not available.

UF/IFAS photo by Tyler L. Jones

With regard to fertilizer applications near a water body, “UF/IFAS recommends that fertilizer applications near a water body follow the current Green Industry Best Management Practices. This has not changed. As recommended in the Green Industries BMP manual, commercial applicators should follow the fertilizer-free zone for protection of water bodies of either 3 or 10 feet, depending on soil type, slope and type of fertilizer spreader. The minimum should be 3 feet when either a rotary spreader with deflector shield or handheld hose sprayer is used. The minimum should be 10 feet when a rotary spreader without a deflector shield is used. Recommendations for homeowners call for a 10 foot setback. “UF/IFAS’ nitrogen fertilizer recommendations are based on many years of research on different turfgrass species and regions of the state where they are grown. Our current recommendations for nitrogen application for three regions (north, central, south) for the various species have not changed in about 12 years. DEP-funded research is still being evaluated. (This is DEP-funded research; statistical analysis of the data is not complete, pending further examination. DEP has not accepted the final deliverables and has not reached any decision at this time.) However, there is no reason to increase recommended levels to maintain a healthy turf. Also, we

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may be suggesting that annual Nitrogen rates for zoysia japonicas and bahia grass be reduced statewide. Regarding the type of Nitrogen fertilizer use, “This study has finished taking data but has not been fully evaluated or in manuscript form yet. (Also, DEP funded part of above contract). Results show that healthy St. Augustine grass did not have statistically significant differences in nitrate-Nitrogen leached due to Nitrogen source when Nitrogen was applied at the IFAS recommended maximum rate of 1 lb. Nitrogen /1,000-square feet. Sources tested included two soluble, two Sulfur-coated urea formulations, a polymer sulfur- coated product at the IFAS rate of 1 lb Nitrogen/1,000-square feet and a 2x rate and a biosolid applied at 1 lb. Nitrogen/1,000-square feet. The basic point is that a healthy, actively growing turf mitigates leaching regardless of Nitrogen source because it has a good filtering/uptake ability.” Research studies continue on this important issue of water quality protection. In the meantime, there is full support from all stakeholders for consumer education on this subject. A good starting point, especially if you are taking care of your own turfgrass needs, is UF/IFAS. To learn how to apply the

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right fertilizer at the right time – the foundation for proper lawn fertilization – visit the UF Electronic Data Information Service (EDIS) and the collection of fact sheets on residential lawns at http:/ / yourfloridalawn.ifas.ufl.edu.

For details on the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County’s Fertilizer Use and Landscape Management Rule visit: http:/ / www.epchc.org/ index.aspx?NID=242

There you will be able to determine: • The annual fertility needs for your grass species • How to calculate the square footage of your lawn • The analysis of available fertilizer options you have • How much slow-release Nitrogen is in the fertilizer product you plan to use • How to properly set your fertilizer spreader • What to do if you spill some fertilizer • Irrigation after you apply fertilizer • Applying fertilizer near a water body Should you have any questions, you may also want to contact or visit the Hillsborough County Extension office, 5339 South County Road 579, Seffner, FL 33584. Telephone: 813-744-5519. For details on the City of Tampa Fertilizer Ordinance, go to: http:/ / www.tampagov.net/ dept_stormwater/ files/ Fertilizer_Ordinance_B rochure.pdf.

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UF/IFAS photo by Eric Zamora

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Clark

Cox

Hurst

Lee

Whittle

Florida FFA Hall of Fame to Induct Five in 2012 The Florida FFA is pleased to announce the 2012 FFA Hall of Fame Inductees. The 2012 inductees are Harold Ray Clark, Alfred Rankin Cox, Jr. (deceased), Donald Charles Hurst (deceased), Gary Doyle Lee and Winton Oziel Whittle. “Florida FFA owes an immense debt of gratitude to these outstanding leaders,” said Adam Putnam, Commissioner of Agriculture. “Their dedicated service in agriculture education helped make FFA the outstanding student organization recognized throughout the State.” Bill Hamm, President of the Florida FFA Foundation Board of Directors states “these individuals are to be highly commended for their years of service and dedication to the enhancement of agricultural education and FFA.” Harold “Ray” Clark of Lakeland spent his entire professional career as an agriculture teacher at Plant City High School in Hillsborough County before retiring in 2008. Clark received honorary FFA degrees at both the state and national levels. More than 30 of his former students have become agriculture teachers. His FFA members won state competitions in six different career development areas, and 21 of his students served as state or national FFA officers. Clark continues to be an active supporter of agricultural education and FFA. Alfred Rankin “A. R.” Cox, Jr. earned his B.S. degree from the University of Florida in 1937. After teaching agriculture at Summerfield-Weirsdale and Reddick, Cox served as the Florida FFA Executive Secretary from 1949 until he retired in 1965. Under his guidance and leadership Florida FFA members became much more active in national level FFA programs and events. In 1955 Cox was instrumental in organizing the state FFA officer Goodwill Tour, which continues to provide the new state FFA officer team each year with a firsthand look at Florida’s agriculture. He passed away in 2005. Donald Charles Hurst graduated from Lafayette County High School in 1944 and received his B.S. degree in agriculture from UF in 1949. Hurst spent most of his teaching career at Bell High School, where he taught agriculture for 18 years. He then served as vocational director for Gilchrist and Levy counties until his retirement in 1985. Also serving as a guidance counselor while teaching, Hurst made a positive difference in the lives of literally

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hundreds of students as they went on to enjoy successful professional careers. He passed away in July 2012. Gary Doyle Lee was an agriculture teacher and coordinator of career and technical education in Polk and Highlands counties for 33 years before retiring in 2006. He also served as a consultant for the Florida Department of Education for three years before moving from Polk to Highlands County in 1978. In addition to his direct influence on youth through his teaching, Lee has provided outstanding leadership to the FFA alumni organization at the local and state levels. He received the National FFA Alumni Achievement Award and Legion of Merit Award. Lee has continued to serve as a part-time teacher and resource for agriculture teachers in Highlands County since his retirement. Winton Oziel “W. O.” Whittle was both an agriculture teacher (6 years) and County Extension agent (6 years) before spending a majority of his professional career as Chief of the Bureau of State Markets for the Florida Department of Agriculture. Whittle’s efforts have had a positive influence on many 4-H and FFA members and agriculture producers in the state. He received citations for meritorious service from USDA and the Florida Department of Agriculture and has also been very active in community service organizations throughout his life. Whittle retired in 1985 and lives in Quincy, FL. The recipients will be inducted into the Florida FFA Hall of Fame during the sixth annual awards celebration held Monday, October 1, 2012 at the Florida FFA Leadership Training Center in Haines City. The Florida FFA Hall of Fame began in 2007 to pay tribute to those outstanding individuals who have helped make the Florida FFA Association the premier youth leadership organization in the state. Because of the support of these individuals, Florida FFA has become home to more than 16,000 FFA members in more than 300 FFA chapters across the state. FFA members are engaged in a wide range of agricultural education activities, leading to more than 300 professional career opportunities in the agricultural industry. If you have questions or need further information, contact Gary Bartley at 863-439-7332 x 6321 or ggbartley@hotmail.com

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BY GINNY MINK

t is always refreshing to meet a young person with talent, but even more so when that talent is recognized and is being honed for greatness. Now, some talents are more profitable than others, while some are so unique that they are simply enviable. Meagan Petitt has talents of the enviable variety and it seems that for one of them, really, it was a mere fluke that she discovered it in the first place. She explains, “In sixth grade I met a girl, Jessica Squitieri, and she invited me to her 4H club. I ended up joining in the eighth grade. They had a variety of different shooting disciplines. I found out I’m left eye dominant. So, holding a gun was a bit different, so I tried archery. I picked up the bow and it felt natural and it just kind of went from there. Later that year, for Christmas, I got my first bow. A few months later I competed in the 4H State Archery Competition and placed ninth. At the next 4H competition which was this year, I placed thirteenth and was on the third place team with David Squitieri.” Given the fact that all this happened within one year of learning how to use a bow, well, it is beyond impressive.

She continues, “My next competition was my first national competition, it was the Gator Cup and I placed sixth. For my birthday in June I got a competition Hoyt Contender Elite and with that bow I competed in the Florida Sunshine State Games. I won a gold medal for first place and set a record for the Sunshine State Games. I competed in my second national tournament in Hamilton, Ohio. I placed thirteenth in the qualifying round, ninth overall in the final round and competed for a bronze medal in the team competition.” Here’s where she really makes jaws drop, “After the second national tournament, I am currently ranked eleventh in the nation.” She humbly adds, “Those are my accomplishments so far, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the 4H shooting sports club and the help of my parents and the support of the Squitieri’s.” Meagan is the president of the On Target 4H Club, but she’s also got other allegiances. She says, “I am a member of Team Arrowhead JOAD (Junior Olympic Archery Development) at Arrowhead Archery in Tampa. By joining, my short term goal was to improve my personal scores by competing in statewide tourna-

ments and I hope to possibly set more state records. My long term goal is to compete in national tournaments and to be ranked nationally within the top five in the country and to participate in the USA Archery Team and represent the country nationally and internationally.” We questioned her more specifically about her shooting experience and she explained, “I’m currently pulling 40 pounds. I started off at right around 20, I think. I’ve been shooting for about a year and a half now. The farthest distance I’ve shot so far is 60 meters with accuracy. I get to the bull’s eye as much as possible but sometimes that doesn’t always happen.” We suspect that if she did always get to the bull’s eye she would definitely meet her long term goal. She continues, “When I first started off with archery, I practiced twice a month at 4H, but when I started getting more involved I had to pick up my practice so I’ve been practicing two to three times a week on average. I wanted to be in the Olympics, but I shoot a compound and not a recurve so I can’t be. So I wanna compete in the World Cup eventually.” continued on page 69...

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Obviously, most of us aren’t too educated on the various types of bows utilized by those involved in archery, so we asked Meagan for some clarification. She explains, “A compound has wheels and a recurve doesn’t so the way it shoots is drastically different. A recurve is a traditional type of bow so they use it in the Olympics and Olympics competes every four years but the World Cup, they compete every year. In the World Cup you can compete regardless of what kind of bow you shoot. You travel to different places and meet new people and it’s what I’d like to do one day.” Remember that at the beginning of this article you were told that Meagan has several talents. She elaborates on some of them here, “I play the violin. In eighth grade we set a record for playing Pachadel’s Canon in D. It was the largest orchestra to play it. At Brandon High School, our orchestra there has set many records and brings superiors, last year and many years before, in our MPA’s. I’ve been playing since sixth grade.” Now if that doesn’t impress you, get a load of this next comment, “I’m actually in a knitting club too, it’s something different.” Something different? For a 15 year old, living in this day and age, it would appear it’s almost unheard of. One thing’s for sure, Meagan Petitt is something different. She just started her tenth grade year at Brandon High School. While she’s making incredible strides in the realm of archery, as well as music, she admits that neither of these things are career possibilities. Instead she says, “I actually want to be an equine veterinarian. I’m planning on taking vet assist throughout the rest of my high school years. I’m a straight 'A' student and I’m taking classes that will help with preparing for college and the veterinarian career. I want to go to UF, University of Florida, mostly because of their well known vet program.” Any kid with that much talent and intellect combined is destined for greatness. Meagan Petitt is a kid to keep an eye on! •

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Grove Pepper

year. My favorite is a big cast iron Dutch oven of large dried lima beans slow-cooked with a big ham bone served over rice and naturally, with plenty of grove pepper sauce. In recent years, I discovered the hot ingredient, capsaicin, found in all hot pepper, is a natural pain reliever. Eaten daily, it has helped me take less than half the pain medications for arthritis than I used to. It doesn’t work all at once, needing time to build up in your system. There is a noticeable difference after several weeks. Scientific tests revealed that it is not as hard on the stomach as aspirin or Motrin (both of which I am allergic) and may actually aid digestion.

By Rev. Clifford L. Halford

ou don’t see it much lately except in gardens or flowerbeds in productive yards, but stories abound. I’m writing about grove pepper. Not many varieties of pepper are hotter. Much hotter and our Creator surely would have labeled it, “NOT FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.” My brother saw a pepper seed advertisement in a catalogue once named “Far,” a Florida Cracker word for fire, meaning sizzling H-H-HOT! Grover pepper grew wild under orange trees in central Florida, reseeding and perpetuating itself. In really cold weather, it would freeze down to the ground only to sprout right back in the spring. Some birds and a few varmints ate them, spreading the seed. We twolegged varmints ate them, but sparingly. In the days of tractor-mounted tree hoes and these days of herbicides, few have survived in their natural setting. In the old days, the grove crew using shuffle hoes (called scuffle hoes by Florida Crackers) or the heavier eye, spared the pepper bushes while hoeing. Workers kept tract of the location so they could pick and use the super-heated fruit year after year. Homosassa, an Indian name given centuries before, means “place of the pepper,” likely named for the same wild hot herb. Usually not much over an inch long, they are about a quarter inch round and tapered to a point. They are light green, turning orange and then red when fully ripe, bearing from a small white flower. That little pepper has compressed within it more “hot,” an oily ingredient called capsaicin, than the hottest large jalapeno, even those hotter ones that have the hairline cracks in the skins.

Pharmaceutical companies make a rub for muscle aches made of capsaicin. The directions say to leave the area uncovered for an hour or two after rubbing it on. Don’t rub it in. I tried it on a painful foot early one Sunday morning. After two hours, I got ready for church. I most always wear shoes to church especially when I have to. Everything was fine until midway the service, about the time for our preacher to start his sermon. The stuff started burning my feet. I mean really burning! If the pastor had rubbed some on his feet he could really have preached a hell-fire and brimstone sermon! Fortunately I had on clean socks with nary a hole. Oh my, where were my golf socks with a hole-in-one? Well, why not holey socks in church? I had to remove my shoe and it eased off a little. I stopped using that stuff after that episode in church. It was said that a man who was fond of cigars would take a bite of grove pepper and then blow on the end of his cigar. His breath was hot enough to light it. When my son was a little kid, he conned a playmate into eating a light green immature ornamental pepper, not nearly as hot as when full grown. We thought that boy would drink the well dry trying to cool his mouth. I don’t think they were friends after that. One year while I was pastoring in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, I was invited to preach a week-long revival at Pheba, Mississippi. For the trip, we brought along a young man from our church. Served with one of the scrumptious meals was a dish of hot green peppers and he took one. We told him it was hot but he said he liked hot peppers. He put the whole thing in his mouth at once. When it hit him he headed straight for the ice tea, and I know he put down at least quart before he could eat anything else. Some people just never listen to good advice. •

Grove workers said that one reason for not hoeing them up is because the roots go so deep into the ground they are hard to dig up. Furthermore, the roots go clear to the devil’s hell from where they get their “hot.” My brother calls them “tincture of hell.” Its uses? Genuine homemade pepper sauce. Fill a jar or bottle nearly full and add enough vinegar to cover them. Then let it set for a few days. The vinegar will get hot quicker if you crush a few. If the jar has a sealing type lid, it sometimes is hot enough to seal itself without cooking, but if kept refrigerated, sealing is not necessary. When the vinegar runs low, simply add more. There’s enough fire in those peppers to reheat new batches of vinegar for years. Collards, turnips and mustard greens are just not quite fit to eat without a little pepper sauce dribbled over them. It also goes good on dried beans such as limas, northern or navy beans cooked with fatback or a hambone, and on Hoppin’ John on New Years Day for a happy and prosperous

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GOLD

Adrian Dyer

By Strawberry Crest Ag Communication Class BRINGING HOME THE

n June 27, 2012 Adrian Dyer of the Elton Hinton Strawberry Crest FFA Chapter won first place in the state for the Florida FFA Creed Speaking Career Development Event at the Florida FFA State convention in Orlando, FL.

The FFA Creed is a five paragraph long statement that symbolizes the organization’s beliefs and the future of the agriculture industry. Adrian has been practicing for almost a year to perfect his speaking skills. Adrian had to win Sub-district and District competitions before advancing to the state competition. When asked how he felt about training every day for almost a year and being drilled on questions and recitation, Dyer says, “It made me want to kill Mrs. Mayo. She trained me tough but it was worth it in the end.” When asked to describe the overall experience Dyer says, “There’s no other feeling like it in the world.” Adrian will continue practicing the FFA Creed as he prepares for the National FFA Creed CDE Competition on October 23, 2012. After National FFA Convention, Adrian plans to continue competing in other speaking competitions in the FFA. This is just the beginning to Adrian Dyer’s speaking career. •

Keith D. Mixon APPOINTED TO FARM CREDIT OF

CENTRAL FLORIDA BOARD

DIRECTORS

Established by Keith’s father, Gerald, who was recently inducted into the Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame, SunnyRidge sales skyrocketed under the younger Mixon’s guidance from 65 to 200 million pounds. “Farm Credit of Central Florida Members will benefit greatly from having a proven, highly successful, executive with vast knowledge of the berry industry on our board,” said Farm Credit of Central Florida President & CEO, Reggie Holt.

arm Credit of Central Florida Chairman of the Board, David J. Stanford, announced Keith D. Mixon, of Winter Haven has been appointed to the cooperative’s Board of Directors to fill an open seat effective until the next Director election in April of 2013. “Keith’s blend of youthful enthusiasm and innovative spirit will greatly augment the existing expertise already on our board,” said Stanford Mixon serves as President of Dole Berry Company, LLC. Dole is a subsidiary of Dole Foods and is the second largest grower and distributor of fresh berries to the wholesale and food service markets in North America. Dole packages and distributes blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries for various independent growers located in North and Latin America. Dole Berry Company was formed in the fourth quarter of 2011 as a result of its acquisition of SunnyRidge Farms. SunnyRidge was a family business owned and operated since 1993 by Keith and his siblings. Keith served as President and CEO from 2004 until the Dole acquisition in 2011.

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Keith Mixon, who also owns and operates a beef cattle ranch in Winter Haven, earned his Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of South Florida. Previously, he was Vice President and General Manager of Haines City Electric, Inc., a turnkey electrical engineering, manufacturing, and construction company focused primarily on the phosphate industry. Farm Credit of Central Florida is a Memberowned agricultural lending cooperative providing funds for agricultural operations, residential mortgages, as well as selling crop insurance. The association serves 13 central Florida counties including, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Sumter, Volusia and Brevard. It has outstanding loan volume exceeding $800 million serving almost 1,100 Member/Borrowers. Farm Credit of Central Florida is part of the nationwide Farm Credit System created in 1916 to provide a stable, reliable source of credit to America’s ranchers, farmers, and growers. The Farm Credit System celebrated its 95th anniversary in 2011. • W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Naturally Amazing Activities

Wasp Trap By Sean Green

For Sale

Those of you that consistently follow my insect series “A Closer Look” will probably attest that I am pretty passionate about ecology and its natural balance. Every insect has a very specific role in our ecosystem and none can be eliminated without consequence. Wasps are no exception. They serve an important role in our ecology as predators of crop pests, food sources for birds and other animals, and secondary pollinators. Even in my passion for ecologic balance, I acknowledge the occasional necessity to eliminate insects when they become a threat to human safety. I for one am allergic to bee stings and it would be in my best interest to avoid a nest in the wild and eliminate a nest that prevents me from entering my home without a defensive reaction from the nest. I do not condone eliminating insects based solely on fear, understanding the insect will remedy the fear. If wasps present a physical danger to you, your family, or even a neighbor, this activity is for you.

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This wasp trap is similar to the flea trap activity we published in 2009. It uses simple bait and an oil mixture to trap the insect. No toxins are needed and it is not likely to affect other insects in the capacity that it is expected to affect the Yellow Jacket.

Materials Needed: • • • • •

Bowl or Dish Water Vegetable Oil Wooden disposable Skewer Meat (Ham, Turkey, Bacon)

Skewer the meat and lay the skewer across the edge of the bowl centering the meat over the bowl. Fill the bowl with water so the water level is ¼ to ½ inch from touching the meat. Add just enough vegetable oil to cover the surface of the water. The meat will attract the wasps and the water and oil mixture will trap them in much the same way the flea trap worked. Dump the oil and repeat these steps when the trap gets too full of wasps to trap more. • 76

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Ask-A-Vet

I have a 10 year old cat that has been vomiting and seems to have lost weight. Will I need to put her down? What should I do?

This is actually a very common concern among owners of older cats and there are a number of things that can cause the symptoms you describe. There is a long list of diseases that can cause those symp-

Dr. Christy Layton, DVM

toms and many can be treated successfully. The first thing that needs to be done is a thorough examination by a veterinarian. Your veterinarian should always examine the eyes, ears, heart, lungs, skin, haircoat and thoroughly palpate the abdomen, muscles and joints to aid in finding a cause for concern. This is very helpful to narrow down the list of diseases for the symptoms you describe. Once the examination is performed, your veterinarian will recommend either a treatment plan or additional diagnostic testing. Often times in older patients, lab-work to look for kidney, liver, pancreas and/or thyroid disease is needed to diagnose the exact condition. Sometimes additional radiographs or ultrasound examinations may be needed to determine the cause. Because cats are very good at hiding sickness, often times the disease is much worse than you think by the time you realize something is wrong with your cat. This is one of the reasons that we recommend semi-annual examinations for dogs and cats.

Often these diseases can be diagnosed early during these examinations and many of these diseases can be easily treated with medications or food changes if caught early. Some of the diseases that can’t be cured can have the disease progression slowed dramatically by early treatment and therefore improve your cat’s quality of life. My recommendation is to make sure you have a good relationship with your veterinarian and feel comfortable about discussing quality of life concerns regarding your pet. •

What’s Your Question? Please feel free to email any of your questions to: askavet@inthefieldmagazine.com and your question may be answered in next month’s issue.

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Charles W. Binnion, 77 of Plant City, died August 18, 2012. Born March 28, 1935, in Tennessee, he was the son of the late James Binnion and the late Edna Walton Binnion. Narciso Rivera, 82 of Plant City died August 17, 2012 in Puerto Rico. Born October 28, 1929, he was the husband of the late Mercedes Rivera and a member of St Clement Catholic Church. Helen Frances Royster, 84 of Plant City died August 13, 2012, at Melech House in Temple Terrace. Born September 24, 1927 in Nashville, Tennessee, she was the daughter of the late Theo Holt and the late Myrtle Jackson Holt. She was the wife of the late James "Jake" Royster. Betty Jean Holt, 81 of Plant City, Florida died on Thursday, August 9, 2012. Born Friday, November 7, 1930 in Plant City, Florida, she was the daughter of the late William Hiott and Corey Hutson Hiott. She was the beloved wife of Richard Holt. They would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary August 16th. Judah Cecil,J (C.J.), 73 Plant City, Florida. Born February 18, 1939 in Plant City Florida Went home to be with the Lord, after as short battle with cancer on August 8, 2012 at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was a loving devoted family man. 86

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Robert Thomas Rhodes, 80 of Plant City, Florida died on Wednesday, August 8, 2012. Born Sunday, June 12, 1932 in Moultrie, Georgia. He was the beloved husband of Maxine Carter Rhodes. Surviving are son, Robert Thomas Rhodes, Jr., daughters, Teresa Barfield, Donna Robbins and Elizabeth Taylor, brothers, Ronald Beasley and George William Beasley, sister, Mary Nell Cooper. Omero Ortega, 21 of Plant City, Florida died August 6, 2012. Born April 16, 1991 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Surviving are mother, Maria Ortega; brother, Mario Ortega; sisters, Solhyvan Ortega and Nilser Ortega. Danyell Christina Weber, 38 of Lakeland died August 6, 2012. Born August 3, 1974 in Columbus, Ohio, she was the daughter of the late Jimmy and Glenna Bailey. She was the wife of Ernest Weber. Donna Jean Sprouse, 64 of Plant City, died August 2, 2012, at her home. Born December 7, 1947 in Tampa, she was the daughter of the late Ollie Pick and the late Mary Russell Pick. She was the wife of Jack Sprouse. BRADFORD, Ricky E., 50 of Plant City died August 1, 2012, at Sun City Center Hospice. Born February 3, 1962, he was the son of the late Robert Bradford and Dolly Griffin. Surviving are brother, Michael Griffin; sister, Donna Anders. 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 Susan Haddock Commercial Horticulture/Integrated Pest Management/Small Farms Agent, UF/IFAS Hillsborough County Extension

Pruning Palms the Healthy Way Healthy Palm

new amendment to the Palms are a common and almost expected part of Florida landscapes. After all, the Sabal palmetto, or cabbage palm, is Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state tree. Palms differ from true trees in that they are monocotyledons or grass-like plants, meaning they have one seed leaf. Palms also differ from trees in that they do not produce bark and do not heal from an injury as do plants with woody external tissue. The growing point, or heart of the palm, is the terminal bud. This terminal bud is the only point from which the palm can grow. If the terminal bud is damaged or removed the palm cannot replace old leaves with new leaves and it will eventually die. A healthy and properly pruned palm should have a full rounded head with leaves down to the trunk. Many consumers have become accustomed to seeing palms that resemble feather dusters and assume incorrectly that the feather duster look is healthy. The feather duster look is also known as the hurricane or Mohawk cut. This over pruning results in weaker palm structure as the palm trunk will become thin at the head and more likely to fail during high wind events. This thinning is called pencil necking. Excessive removal of leaves that creates this unnatural look also induces nutritional deficiencies.

Mexican Fan Palm

Over Pruned Palms

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According to Dr. Timothy Broschat, Institution of Food and Agricultural Sciences at University of Florida, virtually all palms in the state of Florida are potassium deficient. You can recognize potassium deficiency by translucent yellow or orange spotting of leaves, or marginal or leaf tip necrosis (browning), most severe on the oldest fronds beginning at the tips and moving toward the trunk. Potassium deficiency causes premature leaf death, and as a result most palms are unable to support a full canopy of leaves. A typical palm in Florida may only have half the number of fronds it should before pruning. Palms should be trimmed and not pruned. Only completely dead leaves should be removed. It is best to not to trim leaves that are not completely dead, even though they may look unsightly, as these unsightly leaves

provide the potassium source for new leaves. If unsightly leaves are removed the new leaves will pull potassium from the remaining lower, once healthy leaves. These healthy leaves will soon look unsightly too and with continued leaf removal, eventually the canopy will decline and the palm can die. It is fine to remove flowers, fruit stalks and leaves badly damaged from the wind or cold. Think about looking at a clock on a wall. Never ever prune a palm above the 9 pm to 3 pm area and better yet, allow the palm to develop a full rounded head. Pruning affects a palmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vigor, nutritional health and cold hardiness. A full rounded head on a palm provides more insulation and wind deflection protecting the terminal bud from wind and cold damage. Older leaves provide a nutrient source for new leaves. Not all palms need pruning. Palms with crown shafts, an area of smooth usually green tightly clasped leaves at the top of the gray trunk, are selfpruning. Within a few days a leaf will go from green to orange-brown to completely brown and fall off on its own. Foxtail and Royal palms are self-pruning. The Mexican Fan palm will retain dead leaves until it reaches a height of about 30 feet, when the old leaves will begin to drop off on their own. Removing the dead leaves from this palm before they fall off on their own may be appropriate to reduce the fear of the palm harboring vermin. Pruning tools can transmit disease. It is important to clean pruning tools between palms. Tools should be soaked in 25% bleach or pine oil cleaner, or 50% alcohol for five to ten minutes between palms.

For more information on pruning palms see the UF/IFAS article by Timothy Broschat, Ph.D., Pruning Palms at https:/ / edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ ep443

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site, the commercial greenhouse tunnel, or high tunnel, that Mathis purchased “would be able to withstand the elements” and “would hold up in 60 mph winds and 4 inches of rain.” The winds from the thunderstorm that destroyed Mathis’ high tunnels were less than 60 mph.

A WARZONE IN THE STRAWBERRY FIELDS By Libby Hopkins

Photo by Tiffany Lewis, Studio 81 Photography

his past August, Steve Mathis of Mathis Farms in Plant City, was at a Florida Strawberry Growers meeting when he got a phone call from one of his employees. His worker said, “You don’t want to come here Steve, it’s terrible.” Mathis had no idea the severe thunderstorm that was going on outside of the meeting was also destroying the high tunnels on his farm. “I had no idea something like this could happen, it looked like a warzone,” Mathis said. He has six acres of his 150-acre farm covered in high tunnels and it cost him over $30,000 to install the tunnels. The thunderstorm damaged two and half acres of the tunnels. Luckily, he did not lose any of his strawberry crops because they were not planted as of yet. He planned on planting the berries at the beginning of October of this year. Mathis said he had not had any problems with the high tunnels before this storm and that they even withstood the extremely cold winter Florida experienced two years ago. The high tunnels on Mathis’ farm were purchased from Agratech, which is a company out of Pennsylvania, but is based in England. “The manufacturer said they are suppose to withstand 60 mph winds without any problems,” Mathis said. According to Argatech’s web

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So, what exactly is a high tunnel you ask? It is a freestanding or gutter-connected structure, without heating or electrical power, using passive ventilation for air exchange and cooling. The entire tunnel is enclosed, so no rainfall enters the area. All the water is supplied by the grower, generally via trickle tubes that are placed under the plastic mulch. The interior of the tunnel is completely dry and relatively clean. Harvested produce is very clean, which greatly reduces washing and saves on water. Mathis said SWFWMD wants him to conserve at least 20 percent of his water, which was one of features that appealed to Mathis. Another was that growers could start planting in high tunnels earlier than field planting, therefore they will have an early harvest and crops could keep producing under high tunnels when the temperature is not right for field production. One of the most impressive features of the high tunnels is that they help to diminish disease. The tunnel system, by keeping the interior completely dry, results in an environment less conductive to several of the problematic disease organisms. Studies have also shown that produce grown in high tunnels has a longer shelf life compared to fieldgown produce. “I think they are a great concept and I think they are something we need in the industry today if we can make them work,” Mathis said. He contacted Agratech and they are sending a representative from their California office, as well as a representative from London to come and inspect his damaged high tunnels because they think it can be a manufacturing defect or a tensile strength issue. The company has not offered to replace Mathis’ damaged high tunnels and he’s not sure he wants to replace them. He said they were very labor intensive to install and his insurance does not cover them. His insurance agent told him Florida does not offer greenhouse insurance and that’s what high tunnels are considered. “I don’t know what I’m going to do because they are a great water conserving technique and the quality of fruit we grow in them is a lot better,” Mathis said. “I just don’t want to invest more money into something that’s not going to work.” He said he whole incident kind of knocked the wind out of his sails, no pun intended. Mathis is looking forward to the visit from Agratech’s representatives to see if they can figure out how this happened and maybe finding a solution so it won’t happen to another farmer. Mathis’ farm is located at 3402 Mud Lake Road in Plant City.

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Kim Martin

She excitedly brags on her students, “Right now we’ve got two steers. The kids can keep animals at the farm and keep them for the fair if they can’t keep them at home. The two girls raising steers are Cailin Milne, she’s a senior and the president of our program, and Taylor Snedeker, she’s the vice president of our FFA. I’m real lucky that the students who are in my class want to be there and it’s not really a struggle like you hear about from some of the other teachers. The kids are really cooperative, they’re very involved and I hope my principal never asks me to teach another subject. If it wasn’t just this subject, I wouldn’t be in teaching. I love being outside and there’s something different and new everyday and everything we do is hands-on.”

W HE R E W O U L D YOU BE W I T HO U T AG R I C U L T U R E ?

BY GINNY MINK

im Martin is the Ag teacher at Gaither High School. She says, “As a kid, my stepfather and I would do a vegetable garden and things didn’t grow too well so I decided to take agriculture in eighth grade at Buchanan so that I could grow vegetables better. I had so much fun that the next year I became the president of the program and raised a sheep for the fair. I kept it at the school. Then, in my tenth grade year, I asked my teacher, Henry Strapp, at Buchanan, what he thought I’d be good at to do for a living and he said, ‘Why don’t you be an Ag teacher?’ and I said, ‘Ok.’ So, that’s what I did.”

She describes her program’s highlights, “We have a four acre teaching farm. We go on 20-30 fieldtrips each year. We have guest speakers, like we have a vet come in and show students how to do fecal samples,” when she said that I had no choice but to interject the sarcastic word, “lovely.” She laughed and said, “Yeah, that’s always fun,” and then she continued, “We had a horse trainer come in and we had people from Paws for Friendship, which is basically pet therapy, you know, where they take animals to nursing homes and stuff. I’d call that pet therapy, wouldn’t you?”

She continues, “I took three years at Chamberlain, that was before they put ninth grade in high school. I started as an officer in the FFA there and then I went to HCC on a volleyball and academic scholarship and transferred to the University of Florida where I finished my Bachelor of Science in Ag education. I’ve been teaching 12 years.” Twelve years is a long time to dedicate to a challenging profession. Kim has done her share of school transfers. She says, “I did five years at Alonzo when that school first opened. I did four years at Freedom High School and this is my third year at Gaither. We have a one teacher program that mainly focuses on vet assisting, but we’re hoping to offer horticulture in the future.”

There is something different about her program. She says, “We have plant sales and every one of my students has a garden plot where they grow their own vegetables,” no doubt this is a throw back from her youthful enjoyment of her vegetable garden. She continues, “We compete in contests, like tractor driving and public speaking. We have pets come visit the class and this year we’re planning to do some industry tours like visiting an Alpaca farm, a donkey farm, Big Cat Rescue, and we hope to go to the Busch Gardens Vet Clinic.” Kim doesn’t come up with the agenda alone. She explains, “We have a leadership team of ten students. They meet once a week at 6 am to help plan and implement a quality program.”

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This leads us to wonder what was so great about agriculture that Kim followed a middle school teacher’s recommendation for her career. She expounds, “The reason is, I had so much fun and I wanted it to continue and I knew that it would be a career that was enjoyable because it’s fun and it would keep me close to the FFA. I was having so much fun I wanted to keep going. Really and truly, my memories of being an agriculture student are really the highlights of my teenage years. And the friends that were made there are the only ones I keep in touch with years after high school, because it’s a different type of friendship that is forged when you’re in agriculture together.” In closing, Kim gives credit where credit is due. She says, “My husband, Cody, was actually a tractor driver in FFA and went on to own his own heavy equipment company. He was first place in the whole state of Florida. He volunteers his services to train students who want to compete in the tractor driving contest and he donates his time and equipment to make repairs at local FFA programs. I can tell you that I’d only be about half as successful if I didn’t have him. He’s a part of almost everything we do, whether it’s hands-on or giving advice about how a piece of equipment is supposed to run. He knows everything about everything; he’s just a wealth of information. Also, I have a volunteer that spends 10-15 hours a week out here mowing and making repairs and sponsoring kids, his name is Jerry Mullis.” Programs flourish when communities support them and when they understand 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 value of their positions therein. Kim’s program had a shirt last year that said on the front, “Naked and Hungry,” and on the back it said, “Where would you be without agriculture?” According to Kim, “That sums it up pretty well.” To which we say, “Indeed.” •

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