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OCTOBER 2020 VOL. 15 • ISSUE 12
CONTENTS A CLOSER LOOK AT
SOME FAMILY STRAWBERRY FARMS
44 Cover Photo by Sommer Sweeney
PAGE 10 Making Music
PAGE 30 News Briefs PAGE 35 HOG Hunt
PAGE 16 Harvest Queen
PAGE 37 Hall of Fame
PAGE 17 One Water PAGE 18 Fishing Hot Spots PAGE 22 Rocking Chair Chatter
PAGE 27 HCSO PAGE 29 USDA/ SWFWMD
PAGE 52 Literary Time Machine
PAGE 54 Scott Angle PAGE 55 A Closer Look
PAGE 39 Swine Show
PAGE 58 4-H Volunteers
PAGE 40
PAGE 60 Composting
PAGE 46 John Dicks PAGE 48 Endangered Species
Office Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Insurance Services: 813-685-5673 Member Services: 813-685-9121
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
PAGE 38 Corn Maze
Funky Flowers
PAGE 24 State Officer Column
Hillsborough County Farm Bureau 305 S. Wheeler St. Plant City, FL.
PAGE 61 Cover Crops
PAGE 64 Cattlewomen PAGE 65 AG Tour
Dennis Carlton, Jr.....................President Jake Raburn................Vice President Tony Lopez..............Treasurer Buddy Coleman..................Secretary DIRECTORS FOR 2018 - 2019 Christina Andrlik, Carl Bauman, Jake Cremer, Tiffany Dale, Carson Futch, Jim Frankowiak, Chip Hinton, John Joyner, Lawrence McClure, Sambahv, Vincent Tort, Will Womack, Gayle Yanes
Judi Whitson, Executive Director 813-685-9121 Farm Bureau Insurance Special Agents
Valrico Office 813-685-5673
100 S. Mulrennan Rd., Valrico, FL. 33594 Tommy Hale, CLU, ChFC, CASL, CPCU Agency Mgr. Julie Carlson, Amy Engle
Plant City Office 813.752.5577
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 the page you located the logo to the address below
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InTheField® Magazine P.O. Box 5377 • Plant City, Fl. 33566-0042 *Winners will be notified by phone. You Too Can Be A Winner!
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305 S. Wheeler St., Plant City, FL 33563 Jeff Summer Artis Griffin
Tampa Office 813.933.5440
6535 Gunn Highway, Tampa, FL.33625 Greg Harrell, Jared Bean
AGENCY MANAGER Thomas O. Hale WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
Celebrating a most fruitful relationship
between Florida Strawberry Growers and International Paper.
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Together we’re sure to enjoy many more years of sweet success.
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STAFF
Letter from the Editor Here are some fun facts about October. On October 1, 1896, free rural delivery of mail started in the United States. Prior to this date, rural families had to travel to post offices to get their mail. On October 5, 1947, the first presidential telecast address from the White House was made by Harry S. Truman. On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the “new world.” On October 18, 1867, The U.S. flag was formally raised over Alaska at Fort Sitka. The ceremony included 250 United States Army troops, who marched to the governor’s house at Castle Hill. It is also National Cookie Month, National Chili Month, National Pizza Month and National Desert Month.
On a more serious note, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This annual campaign from The National Breast Cancer Foundation is to increase awareness of the disease with a mission to help those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education and support services.
About 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. In 2020 an estimated 276,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed, along with 48,530 new cases of non invasive breast cancer. As of January 2020, there are more than 3.5 million women with a history of breast cancer in the U.S. This includes women currently being treated and women who have finished treatment. Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among women.
Be vigilant. Early detection is when it is likely to be more easily treated.
Publisher/Photography Karen Berry Senior Managing Editor/ Associate Publisher Sarah Holt Editor Patsy Berry Sales Karen Berry Sarah Holt Melissa Nichols Creative Director/Illustrator Juan Alvarez Photography Karen Berry Sommer Sweeney Staff Writers Al Berry Sandy Kaster James Frankowiak Sean Green Ginny Mink Breanne Williams Anita Todd Contributing Writers Woody Gore John Dicks Social Media Victoria Saunders
Stay safe! 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.
Until Next Month,
Sarah Holt The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. - Numbers 6:25
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.
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SOME VERY GOOD NEWS FOR OUR GROWERS
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY
-Dennis Carlton Jr. - President
Greetings We often talk about Farm Bureau being the “voice of agriculture.” I am pleased to report on a recent Ag Tour that took place in our county to help educate a number of candidates for county, state and congressional offices. We organized and conducted this tour, which the participants said was helpful in providing them with a better understanding of the contributions and challenges impacting our producers. There’s more on this tour in this edition of IN THE FIELD Magazine. The impact of the COVID-10 pandemic continues. Our state annual meeting will be a virtual session, and our county annual meeting has been canceled, both reflecting actions taken to protect our members. I am sorry to see this happen, but we simply cannot compromise the safety of our members in any way. But that’s not all. Ag-Venture is a very popular and well-attended agriculture education experience that is held twice each school year to help make our youth aware of the importance of agriculture to each of them and their families, as well as the economy of Hillsborough County. This is traditionally a hands-on experience that takes place at the Florida State Fairgrounds. Because of the pandemic, we can’t continue this educational program as it has been in the past. So, we are taking Ag-Venture to students and we are calling it Ag-Venture-in-a-Box. Each box will provide eight different stations such as beef, strawberry, aquaculture, dairy, pizza
garden and more. There is a video presentation for each station and materials for hands-on activities and worksheets. Added information related to various agriculture topics is also included. This is a creative way to continue an important program without exposing students to risks associated with COVID-19. That prompts me to remind you that the most recent information on the pandemic is available at the Florida Farm Bureau website: https://www.floridafarmbureau.org/covid19-resources/. That site is updated continuously as new information becomes available. The Ag Tour and Ag-Venture-in-a-Box are just two examples of many initiatives Hillsborough County Farm Bureau takes as the “Voice of Agriculture.” If you and your family would like to become advocates for agriculture, please contact our office to learn of both the opportunities available and the benefits membership offers. You can either email us at: www. hcfarmbureau.org or call our office in Plant City at 813/6859121. Your membership will help increase the volume of the Voice of Agriculture. Thank you and be safe. Dennis Carlton, Jr.
Dennis Carlton Jr. Dennis Carlton Jr. - President
305 SOUTH WHEELER STREET • PLANT CITY, FL 33566 • 813-685-9121 Board of Directors
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Dennis Carlton, Jr. , President; Jake Raburn, Vice-President; Tony Lopez Treasurer; Buddy Coleman, Secretary; Christina Andrlik, Carl Bauman, Jake Cremer, Tiffany Dale, Carson Futch, Jim Frankowiak, Chip Hinton, John Joyner, Lawrence McClure, Sambahv,Jay Marty Tanner, Vincent Tort, Will Womack, Gayle Yanes Judi Whitson, Executive Director
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Making Sweet Music
By Libby Hopkins By day, Bryan Hubert is a husband, dad and works in the financial world, but at night he’s the creator of unique guitars made from items that some would consider trash. His unique guitars allow these tossed aside items to make sweet music. “One day, I was watching the British car show, Top Gear, and the special guest was a musician named Seasick Steve, an American who plays homemade instruments,” Hubert said. “I figured, how hard could it be? My step-dad was a carpenter growing up and built outdoor furniture, so I knew the basics of carpentry. I started researching how to build them and what was needed and eventually decided to go for it and build one. That first one was awful. It was ugly, barely played, but I kept at it, kept learning and now I’ve made close to 100 guitars.” Growing up outside Detroit, Hubert had no shortage of amazing musicians to influence his musical taste. “Anything from Motown to Metal and Classic Rock to Rap could be found in my collection,” Hubert said. “I started playing bass and guitar as a teenager and as I got older, I fell in love with the history and simplicity of the Blues. As I got more interested in Blues, I came across Cigar Box Guitars (CBG). CBGs are the humble roots of Blues and have a sound like nothing else.” Hubert Guitars was born.
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Hubert loves creating his guitars. “There are three main reasons for me making my guitars,” Hubert said. “First, it’s not sitting at a desk, staring at a computer all day. I’m doing something and making something tangible. Second, I love making an instrument from things that were going to be thrown away or from items never intended to become a guitar. It blows people’s minds when they see something that looks so sim-
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ple, work as well as they do. The third is tied back to the first reason of making something tangible; I get to show my kids that I’m building something, doing something that isn’t video games or T.V. I can show them that craftsmanship and creativity are important.” His guitars are so cool that one of them is on display at the National Blues Museum in St. Louis. “After a year or so of building guitars, I found that one of the largest suppliers of cigar box guitar parts is actually in Odessa and ended up developing a friendship with the owner; who just so happens to be from St. Louis,” Hubert said. “Fast forward a year after meeting him, he mentions that he was in talks to getting a display at the National Blues Museum and asked if I would be willing to build a guitar for the display. The display opened in September 2019 with about 50 guitars from 35 or so builders. Initially it was supposed to be on display for nine months and then go on tour around the country. However, the response was so positive that they decided to keep the display as a permanent exhibit!” “We were asked to build ‘themed guitars’ about where we’re from, to showcase different styles and techniques. I found a cigar box that was black with silver writing that said, ‘The Black Pearl.’ I instantly thought of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and with Tampa having a pirate history, it all fit. I used a Rogue beer can with their ‘Dead Man’ skeleton design as the veneer on the coffin shaped headstock, volume and tone knobs with the skull and crossbones, and since Tampa is the lightning capital of the world, I had a fingerboard with the lightning bolts laser engraved into it.” WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
Efficacy greater than or equal to synthetics Safety of biologicals He loves collaborating on custom-made guitars, too. “I definitely do custom orders and I actually really enjoy them,” Hubert said. “There is a collaboration between myself and the owner, from my experience, it tends to mean more to the buyer as well. For example, I’ve made a few license plate guitars, one from a 1987 South Carolina plate. It was for a guy who was a U.S. Marine drill sergeant and this was the first plate, for the first brand new car he ever bought. Now every time he looks at the guitar, it reminds him of that particular time in his life, which is pretty cool.” Keeping things local is extremely important to Hubert. “Small and local businesses is what I was raised with,” Hubert said. “My family owned numerous small businesses over the years, commercial property, lawn maintenance, custom carpentry, and my first job was working on a small farm across from my high school that I would walk to after school ended. I try to shop locally for my business as much as possible. The majority of my parts I get from a supplier in Odessa, the strings I used for a long time were made in Sarasota. This is what makes a community work and what makes a community desirable to live and work.” Hubert recently partnered with Garrison Brother’s Distillery to create a guitar out of the box that their flagship bourbon is sold.
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With every generation,
we get better at protecting our environment. Reclamation ecologists like Ashlee work to return mined lands to productive use as wildlife habitats, public parks and more—so future generations can enjoy these lands for years to come.
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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FAIR
SELECTS HARVEST QUEEN PAGEANT WINNERS By Jim Frankowiak
Michaela Carmichael, a 16-year-old student at Durant High School, has been named Senior Harvest Queen and 13-year-old Taylor Gregory, an 8th grader at Seffner Christian Academy, won Junior Harvest Queen honors during the 2020 Hillsborough County Fair’s Harvest Queen Pageant, which took place at the County Fairgrounds. The 2020 pageant attracted 23 participants. Senior contests are 16 – 19 years of age, while Junior competitors are age 13-15.
Carmichael’s 1st Maid and the senior contestant with the second highest score, is Bailey Blanton, a 16-year-old junior at Plant City High School and the daughter of James and Melody Blanton. Blanton is involved in FFA, Varsity Girls Volleyball and the National Honor Society. She enjoys painting, sewing and spending time with her friends. Upon graduation, Blanton plans to attend the University of Florida and earn a degree in agriculture education or finance.
Carmichael, the daughter of Sean and Bonnie Carmichael, received a $1,000 scholarship from the Roland and Olive Lewis Scholarship “In Memory of Marvin Brown.” If she attends Florida College in Temple Terrace, the college will match the scholarship for a total of $2,000. Southern Hospitality and Berry Sweet Memories presented Carmichael with a custom framed photo. Other sponsors were Crystal’s Thirty-One Gifts, Florida Girl Tanning, LDM Lawn and Landscape, Southern Reflection Photography, Blessed Occasions Special Events, LDL Marketing, Shala Styles and Julie’s Embroidery Creations.
Gregory, the daughter of Steve and Diane Gregory, is involved in Beta Club, MENSA and Travel Softball. Her hobbies include playing the violin, tumbling and snow skiing. Gregory plans on attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, majoring in defense and strategy during her military career. In addition to the scholarships noted previously, she received an additional $500 scholarship from Pipe Pro’s Inc. to attend the college or university of her choosing.
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Carmichael is involved in FFA where she enjoys showing her steer. She also enjoys art and scuba diving. After graduation, Carmichael plans to attend a university to become a large animal veterinarian. She currently works at Happy Pets Inn.
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Gregory’s 1st maid is Riley Guy, a 15-year-old 9th grader at Durant High School. The daughter of Alex and Tori Guy, Riley is active in FFA, Junior Cattlemen’s Association and FCA. She enjoys showing steer, shopping and public speaking. Guy plans to attend the University of Florida majoring in Ag journalism and minoring in Ag communications.
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“ONE WATER” AMENDMENT ADOPTION BY HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS HEARING SET; INCORPORATES INPUT FROM VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS By Jim Frankowiak
The “One Water” initiative represents a holistic and integrated approach to planning for potable water, wastewater, stormwater and the natural environment within Hillsborough County and is the first phase of the overall Hillsborough County Comprehensive Plan update. The concept rests on the knowledge that all water is interrelated and all water has value. Matching the right water resource to the right use can be used as an innovative solution to meet growing population demands. Viewing water in this manner enables the county to be more flexible and quick to address threats like storm surge, changing rainfall patterns and the increased need for resiliency. The initiative has six goals: • Protect and preserve water resources • Increase water conservation • Pursue opportunities for integrated water resource management • The planning and construction of water resources infrastructure should encourage fiscal sustainability and the efficient use and redevelopment of land • Water resource infrastructure program will be constructed and managed in a fiscally and environmental sustainable manner • Expand the use of Low Impact Development (LID) principles in the built environment “The final language was developed collaboratively with the One Water Working Group, which represents staff from across the County: the Water Resources Department, Environmental Management Division, Development Services Department and Engineering and Operations Department. This ensures the Comprehensive Plan is implementable and is a way to optimize resources and maximize benefits across the county,” said Melissa Dickens, AICP, Strategic Planning and Policy Manager for the Hillsborough County Planning Commission. The process has included several phases from the development of draft language with county water resources profes-
Phase 3 involved the development of a Planning Commission recommendation and its transmittal to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The BOCC unanimously voted to transmit the One Water amendment for state and regional review on August 27. Chairman of the AEDC, Dennis Carlton, Sr. and Kenneth Parker, Executive Director of the FSGA, addressed the BOCC in support of the “One Water” amendment. It is anticipated that the BOCC will adopt the “One Water” recommendation at its October 22 meeting. Comments and feedback from the public are welcome at the October 22 meeting. Additional details about participation are available at https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/calendar/01bocc/2020/cpa-ldc/20201022-cpa-ph. One Water and the partnership between the Planning Commission and Hillsborough County staff was recently featured as a model for other communities in a “Comprehensive Planning for Clean Water” webinar hosted by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. For those interested in being added to the mailing list for One Water news and events, sign up is available at https:// lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/GP7EtOX/onewater. INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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sionals and review by area agencies, which began in spring 2020, to public and stakeholder review and comment which included briefings with the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners in the May – July period this year. County and Planning Commission staff met with representatives of the Agriculture Economic Development Council (AEDC), state and local Farm Bureau representatives, the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association and the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA). Final One Water language incorporates feedback received from agricultural stakeholders. “Staff appreciates the time and input from the community,” noted Dickens.
Tampa Bay Fishing Report November 2020 Capt. Woody Gore
Snook season is closed; however, the water temperatures should start cooling a bit, and when that happens, snook fishing ought to brighten up in Tampa Bay. We’ve maintained decent snook action all summer, and November should turn out nicely. Anglers have been catching impressive quantities on both half and three-quarter day trips, most averaging in the 22-28 inch range with several over 30 inches. If you’re into trying something new, artificial lures are a blast, especially if you enjoy matching wits with a linesider. If not live bait, free-lined or under a cork will always do the trick. Redfish – (Season Closed) The red-
fish action was booming in October and should continue right through November. For some real fun, try red-fishing on our Tampa Bay grass flats; it’s always a hoot! In late summer through fall, we often catch one or two big “bull” redfish hanging out close to the mangroves. However, this time of year, the redfish move onto the grass flats. And that is when you will see an armada of flats or bay boats chasing them up and down the flats. When this happens, the fish become very skittish and can stop eating. That is why we’ve always preferred finding a few fish feeding quietly by themselves and fish them on our own. Redfish can be picky eaters. So when they hesitate to take live bait, e.g., greenbacks, plump juicy shrimp, or pinfish, we will try a piece of cut bait, e.g., a larger greenback cut in half, or a strip of freshcut mullet, bluefish, or ladyfish. Any redfish or snook in the area will pick up the scent, hone in and find it. Sometimes, we also suspend it under a cork letting the scent travel with the current.
around, watch for diving birds, find the birds, and you’ve found feeding fish. Set up a drift near the activity and get ready for some fast, furious and drag screaming action. I suggest a minimum of 60 lbs. Seaguar leader and long shank 2/0 Daiichi hooks. If the bite is on, bring plenty of leader and hooks and be prepared to retie. Always be prepared for the occasional cobia and, of course, Mr. snoopy shark to pop up. So have a heavier rig ready to toss a small pinfish to a passing cobia. If you are doing any chumming, it doesn’t take much to get some sharks interested. There are usually plenty of smaller blacktip sharks around, but a larger cut-bait like a ½ juicy Spanish mackerel free-lined in the current, on heavier tackle usually does the trick.
Mangrove Snapper – these excellent
eating fish are all over the bay and not bashful about eating small greenbacks or shrimp. You must be quick, or they’ll clean your hook before you know it. If you feel the bump and do not set the hook at that exact instant, you might as well go ahead and reel up because your bait is gone. When fishing often times folks forget and grab a J-Hook. Just remember folks, when snapper fishing that is the wrong hook. Remember back in 2008, when the FWC passed the Amendment 27/14 rule changes about reef fish and circle hooks, well, it still applies today. You can look it up at the following website. (https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/ recreational/gear-rules/)
Sea Trout – (Season Closed) However, the bite should continue right into winter, so be prepared for some decent trout fishing action. Drift any broken-bottom grass flat, casting free-lined live bait or putting it under a popping cork. Here is a novel idea. Try casting artificial lures while using light action spinning tackle and soft plastic baits. You will have a ball catching and releasing this beautiful Tampa Bay fish. Remember, trout are one of our most fragile species; whenever possible, please handle it using a de-hooker tool and never bring them into the boat if you can avoid it.
Mackerel, Sharks, Bluefish, and Cobia
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Capt. Woody Gore (www.captainwoodygore.com)
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- Schools of mackerel, bluefish, yellowtail jacks, and ladyfish should still be chasing bait around the bay. As you are racing
October 2020
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“Give Me a Call & Let’s Go Fishing”
813-477-3814
Capt. Woody Gore operates Tampa Bay’s #1 Outdoor Fishing Guide Services. Guiding and fishing Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater areas for over fifty years, he offers first-class customer service, family-oriented charters, and a lifetime of memories.
Visit his website at www.captainwoodygore.com or send an email to fishing@captainwoodygore. com or give him a call at 813-477-3814. Member: FOWA-Florida Outdoor Writers Assoc., MemberSEOPA Southeastern Outdoor Press Assoc. CEO/Pres. Sport-Fishing Unlimited & Outdoor Communications, Outdoor Writer & Speaker
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MEETING YOUR SERVICE, PARTS AND EQUIPMENT NEEDS SINCE 1963.....
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*Photo courtesy of our Palmetto team. Stop in and say hi!
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• Did you know the ancient Egyptians were the first to recognize the beneficial status of the earthworm? • Cleopatra (69 – 30 B.C.) recognized the earthworms’ contribution to Egyptian agriculture and declared them to be sacred. • Removal of earthworms from Egypt was punishable by death. • Egyptian farmers were not allowed to even touch an earthworm for fear of offending the god of fertility. • A 1949 study by the USDA confirmed that the great fertility of the soil in the Nile valley was due in large part to the work of earthworms. • Earthworms neutralize soil pH. • Composting with worms occurs four times faster than normal composting. • One of the largest earthworms ever found was almost 22 feet long.
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Information provided on properties is as accurate as possible. Fischbach Land Company does not guarantee the accuracy thereof. All parties shall conduct their own due diligence, research, inspection, and records to come to their own conclusions.
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Sponsored by:
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HOPEWELLFUNERAL.COM YOUR AROUND TOWN SPONSOR Editor’s Note: This Rocking Chair
Jokes
Over this past year I have received numerous funny, clean, e-mail jokes from Mac Smith, Bruce Brodwell and Bob Hughens! Some of the better ones I have saved for use in “Rock’n Chair Chatter. So, here we go! From the state where drunk driving is considered a sport, comes this absolutely true story. Recently a routine police patrol parked outside a bar called the Pot Hole in a small farm town in north Georgia. After last call the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so intoxicated that he could barely walk. The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes with the officer quietly observing. After what seemed an eternity in which he tried his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his truck and trailer and fall into it. He sat there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off. Finally, he got into the car and started the engine, switched the wipers on and off, they were fine. He then flicked the blinkers on and off a couple of times, honked the horn and then switched on the lights. He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little and then remained still for a few more minutes as some more of the other patrons’ vehicles left. Finally, when his was the only car left in the parking lot, he pulled out and drove slowly down the road. The police officer, having waited patiently all this time, now started up his patrol car, put on the flashing lights, promptly pulled the man over and administered a breath analyzer test. To his amazement, the breath analyzer indicated no evidence that the man had consumed any alcohol at all! Dumbfounded, the officer said, ‘I’ll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station. This breath analyzer equipment must be broken.’ ‘I seriously doubt it,’ said the smiling farmer. ‘Tonight I’m the designated decoy.’ A hooded robber burst into a Texas bank and forced the tellers to load a sack full of cash. On his way out the door, a brave Texas customer grabbed the hood and pulled it off revealing the robber’s face. The robber shot the customer without a moment’s hesitation. He then looked around the bank and noticed one of the tellers looking straight at him. The robber instantly shot him also. Everyone else, by now very scared, looked intently down at the floor in silence. The robber yelled, ‘Well, did anyone else see my face?’ There are a few moments of utter silence in which everyone was plainly afraid to speak. Then, one old cowboy tentatively raised his hand, and while keeping his head down said, ‘My wife got a pretty good look at you.’ A husband asks his wife, “Honey, if I died, would you remarry?” “After a considerable period of grieving, I guess I would. We all need companionship.”
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“If I died and you remarried,” the husband asks, “would he live in this house?”
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Chatter was originally printed in the October 2015 issue 289704-1
“We’ve spent a lot of money getting this house just the way we want it. I’m not going to get rid of my house. I guess he would.” “If I died and you remarried, and he lived in this house,” the husband asks, “would he sleep in our bed?” “Well the bed is brand new, and it cost us $2000. It’s going to last a long time, so I guess he would.” “If I died and you remarried, and he lived in this house and slept in our bed, would he use my golf clubs?” “Oh, no!” the wife replies. “He’s left-handed.” Little Bobby was spending the weekend with his grandmother after a particularly trying week in kindergarten. His grandmother decided to take him to the park on Saturday morning. It had been snowing all night and everything was beautiful. His grandmother remarked, “Doesn’t it look like an artist painted this scenery? Did you know God painted this just for you?” Bobby said, “Yes, God did it and he did it left handed.” This confused his grandmother a bit, and she asked him, “What makes you say God did this with his left hand?” “Well,” said Bobby, “we learned at Sunday School last week that Jesus sits on God’s right hand!” I know you have been lying awake at night wondering why baby diapers have brand names such as”Luvs,” “Huggies,” and “Pampers,” while undergarments for old people are called “Depends.” Well here is the low down on the whole thing. When babies poop in their pants, people are still gonna Luv’em, Hug’em and Pamper’em. When old people mess in their pants, it “Depends” on who’s in the will! Of all the jokes, I think this one from Mac is the best. On a bitterly cold winter morning a husband and wife in northern Michigan were listening to the radio during breakfast. They heard the announcer say, “We are going to have 8 to 10 inches of snow today. You must park your car on the even-numbered side of the street, so the snow plows can get through.” So the good wife went out and moved her car. A week later while they are eating breakfast again, the radio announcer said, “We are expecting 10 to 12 inches of snow today. You must park your car on the odd-numbered side of the street, so the snow plows can get through.” The good wife went out and moved her car again. The next week they are again having breakfast, when the radio announcer say’s, “We are expecting 12 to 14 inches of snow today. You must park....”Then the electric power went out. The good wife was very upset, and with a worried look on her face she said, “I don’t know what to do. Which side of the street do I need to park on so the snow plows can get through?” Then with the love and understanding in his voice that all men who are married to blondes exhibit, the husband replied, “Why don’t you just leave the car in the garage this time?” WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
PROTECTING OUR MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR AGRICULTURE ECONOMY
FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
Lawrence McClure’s Priorities for a Healthy Ag Economy Reduce government regulations on our farmers and growers – the redundant processes cost time and money Reopen Florida to reinvigorate our economy and get people back to work Invest in our children’s schools and their future by offering more vocational and job training programs Protect our agriculture industry from unfair foreign business practices
Vote for
LAWRENCE MCCLURE ON NOVEMBER 3RD Political advertisement paid for and approved by Lawrence McClure, Republican, for State House, District 58.
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October State Officer Column By Emma Poole and Christian Bentrovato
There’s so much to look forward to as a Florida FFA State Officer! Although most of our interaction with the agricultural industry has been over a computer, it’s been more amazing than either of us could’ve imagined. It’s wonderful how technology has begun to connect us to the rest of the team, Florida’s agriculture students, and stakeholders in the industry. September was all about connections, as you’ll see throughout this month’s journal. As our year as state officers continues, we’re learning even more about agriculture and having the chance to meet some truly amazing people. On September 3rd we had the opportunity to meet virtually with Chuck Benson from BASF. BASF is a German multinational chemical company that is the largest chemical producer in the world. Mr. Benson told us about all of the different products BASF makes. From paint to agriculture chemicals, BASF produces many different chemicals that go into just about anything you can think of. Before we had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Benson, we had never really known what exactly BASF manufactured. However, after meeting and talking over an hour we have a greater knowledge of just how vast not just the agriculture supply chain is, but global supply chain for everyday products. Mr. Benson also told us a little bit about himself. A longtime supporter of FFA, Mr. Benson was an active FFA member from Illinois. He had the opportunity to serve as a state officer and even met his wife through FFA! He mentioned that he had the opportunity to meet with other Florida FFA state officer teams in the past, so it was great to keep up the tradition, even though we could not meet him in person. The whole state officer team would like to thank Mr. Benson for speaking with us and explaining a little bit about what he does and what BASF does!
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As if meeting Mr. Benson wasn’t exciting enough, we began chapter visits in the last couple of weeks. One of the main duties of a Florida FFA State Officer is to reach agricultural education students across the state, and even though we can’t do that in person, thanks to platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, Florida’s agricultural classrooms are only a click away. The chance to interact with and potentially inspire students is an opportunity that every state officer looks forward to.
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During a normal year, chapter programs would consist of a state officer going to a school and spending the day there, teaching the classes about a topic such as team dynamics, leadership skills, communication, or goal setting. In this format, the officer would be able to interact with all the students in person and form connections with them. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten schools, our team and state staff started to realize that in-person visits wouldn’t be an option, and thus, we were catapulted into the challenging task of adapting these visits to be online. Immediately, restrictions and guidelines began curbing the amount of interaction the students could have with each other even during an online visit and keeping a balance in interaction with both in-person and online students during the same lessons began to look pretty difficult. But there was something we needed to remember. When we ran for state office, one of the target behaviors that our interviewers looked for was adaptability. During this pandemic, possessing that behavior is more important than ever. If any state officer team should be adaptable, it’s this one. We were able to design presentations that would allow the students to get to know us and would allow us to share about our mission as well. Using chat features, social media, and of course, help from the teacher, we’ve had amazing chapter programs and we’re just getting started. In all professions and situations, it may seem like this pandemic is preventing us from inspiring and reaching others. One of the biggest fears that many state officers face is that they won’t be able to connect with students like they would in a normal year. It’s encouraging to have a student message you after a program and tell you that your program has inspired them to join FFA. Although the method may be different, the message is still the same! This goes to show that although our idea of what life should look like has been flipped upside down, it’s still very possible to have an impact on everyone we come in contact with. Until next month, Emma Poole and Christian Bentrovato WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
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ChadChronister.com
ÍChadChronister
Sheriff Chad Chronister has made combating elder abuse and child abuse a TOP PRIORITY for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, ordering successful sting operations against these predators. As a result, reports of abuse and neglect have gone down and the Child Protective Investigations Division has located 686 missing children. Chad Chronister also hosted voluntary gun swaps, removing over 4,000 guns from our streets.
ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD
VOTE FOR CHAD CHRONISTER FOR SHERIFF PAGE
Political advertisement paid for and approved by Chad Chronister, Republican, for Sheriff.
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‘TIS THE SEASON! STRAWBERRY SEASON, THAT IS.
Sheriff Chad Chronister The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and its Agricultural Crimes Unit are preparing for another harvest later this year. In October, farmers begin planting the seeds for another crop of strawberries. This critical time of year is exciting, but can sometimes be overshadowed by the kind of infestation that is sometimes difficult to deter: criminals. As always, the HCSO Agricultural Crimes Unit will be on proactive patrol to help guard against crimes such as poaching, trespassing and criminal mischief. Deputies are dedicated to curbing crime by also conducting covert surveillance at local farms. While acts of criminal mischief are always possible, the Agricultural Crimes Unit asks that farmers do all they can to protect themselves and avoid becoming a victim. This includes setting up video surveillance cameras, locking up equipment, and adding permanent light fixtures that remain on at night. Keeping a regular inventory of equipment and animals can also help farmers keep track of their goods. This also is the time of year when calves are born, and the HCSO Agricultural Crimes Unit urges ranchers to remain vigilant. Fence cutting continues to be a large-scale problem for ranchers in Hillsborough County and deputies are asking them to take the time to report the problem. Loose livestock can cause injury, or even death, to both animals and drivers, alike. To protect themselves and their animals, ranchers can also set up video surveillance cameras and keep their gates shut and locked at day’s end.
are enjoyed throughout Hillsborough County and beyond. If you are a victim of criminal activity, I urge you to contact us so our deputies can investigate the problem.”
The Agricultural Crimes Unit will work with other HCSO specialty units including Aviation, K-9 and Marine Unit should deputies need assistance. They are also educating local farmers and ranchers about approaches they can take to safeguard their crops and livestock. “For most of our local farmers and ranchers, this is their entire livelihood,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “We are adamant about protecting local livestock and crops, which ultimately
To report a crime on your farm or ranch, or to provide information about a case the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is investigating, please call (813) 247-8200. INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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DISTRICT 2021 BUDGET FUNDS WATER RESOURCES PROJECTS
USDA ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
FOR CFAP 2; UP TO $14 BILLION AVAILABLE FOR AG PRODUCERS By Jim Frankowiak The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced up to an additional $14 billion for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19. Signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) has now begun and will run through December 11, 2020. The USDA will use funds available from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and CARES Act to support row crops, livestock, specialty crops, dairy, aquaculture and additional commodities. USDA has incorporated improvements in CFAP 2 based on stakeholder engagement and public feedback to better meet the needs of impacted farmers and ranchers. Producers can apply for CFAP 2 as USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FASA) county offices. This program provides financial assistance that gives producers the ability to absorb increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Producers will be compensated for ongoing market disruptions and assisted with the associated marketing costs. CFAP 2 payments will be made for three categories of commodities – Price Trigger Commodities, Flat-rate Crops and Sales Commodities. A complete list of CFAP 2 eligible commodities, payment rates and calculations, as well as application forms, can be found on farmers.gov/cfap. The USDA noted additional commodities are eligible in CFAP 2 that were not eligible in the first iteration of the program. Producers seeking one-on-one support with the CFAP 2 application process can call 877-508-8364 to speak with a USDA employee. This is a recommended first step before a producer engages with their local FSA county office.
The budget reflects the District’s commitment to protect Florida’s water resources and to improve Florida’s economic vitality. Some of the key initiatives in the District’s FY2021 budget include: · $20.9 million for development of alternative water supplies to ensure an adequate supply of water resources for all existing and future reasonable and beneficial uses. · $15.9 million for springs initiatives to restore springs and spring-fed rivers to improve water quality and clarity as well as restore natural habitats. · $26.3 million for Watershed Management Program plans to support floodplain management decisions and initiatives, and address potential and existing flooding problems. Through cooperative funding partnerships, District funds are typically matched up to 50% and will result in a total regional investment of more than $119 million for sustainable alternative water supply development, water quality improvements and other water resource management projects. The adopted FY2021 millage rate is 0.2669 mill, 4.7% lower than the current fiscal year which will help lessen the tax burden for Florida residents by saving taxpayers approximately $6 million in property taxes. For the owner of a $150,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption, the District tax would be $26.69 a year, or about $2.22 per month. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2021. INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board has adopted a $183.5 million budget for fiscal year (FY) 2021, including more than $65.7 million for the Cooperative Funding Initiative and District grants for water resources projects.
NEWS BRIEFS
Compiled by Jim Frankowiak
EXTENSION DEAN NICK PLACE LEAVING UF
COVID-19 INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT FLORIDAFARMBUREAU.ORG
Nick Place, University of Florida (UF) Dean for Extension and Director, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, has accepted a new post as Dean and Director of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) at the University of Georgia (UGA), effective January 1, 2021. His last day at UF will be December 31, 2020.
Florida Farm Bureau has developed a COVID-19 resources website – https://www.floridafarmbureau.org/covid-19-resources/that includes regularly updated information on a variety of agricultural and state and federal links related to the pandemic.
FLORIDA FARM BUREAU OFFERS COVID-19 ONLINE RESOURCE PAGE
WORKBOOTS.COM OFFERS FARM BUREAU MEMBERS 10 PERCENT DISCOUNT
Florida Farm Bureau has developed a COVID-19 resources website page that includes a variety of agricultural, state and federal links related to the pandemic. The site, which is updated on receipt of new information, is accessed at https://www.floridafarmbureau.org/covid-10-resources/.
Florida Farm Bureau members received a special 10 percent discount on equipment, apparel and footwear at Workboots. com. Popular brands include Ariat, Carhartt, Justin, Wolverine and others. FFB members enter the promo code, FFBF, at checkout to receive the discount.
CARES PROGRAM HOSTING FALL PHOTO CONTEST Farm Bureau members have the opportunity to participate in a fall photo program on the CARES Facebook and Instagram pages. Entries can include photos of members working in their fields/pastures or even selfie’s at a local U-pick farm. A winner will be selected at the end of this month and will be awarded a “fall favorites” basket billed with CARES hats and items. FARM BUREAU MEMBERS OFFERED SAVINGS ON MARATHON FUEL
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Florida Farm Bureau members can save 3 cents per gallon of gas or diesel when filling up at a Marathon Gas station. To save on fuel members must swipe their Florida Farm Bureau membership card at the pump, confirming their fuel discount on the screen and proceed with normal payment. The discount is valued for 52 uses, up to 20 gallons per use at participating Marathon stations which can be located by calling 888-654-DROP or visiting https://www.makeitcount.com/app.html?root=locations. Added details are also available at https://www.floridafarmbureau.org/discounts/cents-off-marathon/.
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DISTRICT HOLDING HOG HUNTS; PERMITS AVAILABLE ONLINE By Jim Frankowiak
Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) land managers are holding a series of hog hunts on District lands throughout the year to help reduce the feral hog population. Feral hogs, which are not native to Florida, can cause damage with their broad snouts and can leave an area looking like a plowed field. They also prey on native wildlife, compete with native species for food and transmit diseases to other wildlife, livestock and humans. Additionally, hogs may facilitate the spread of exotic plant species by transporting seeds and/or providing germination sites through rooting. The District has a three-phased hunting system. The first two phases of hunts will have separate registration processes. The single top producer from each Phase 1 and Phase 2 hunt will be asked to participate in hog management activities for Phase 3. All hunts will adhere to the hog-dog format. No still hunts will be available. The program includes PHASE 1 HUNTS • Registration began Oct. 6, 2020. • Includes six hunts that occur November through December 2020. • A $75 nonrefundable fee must be paid for each permit. • Permits are transferable. • The top producer of each Phase 1 hunt will be placed on the District’s “top producer” list and will be awarded participation in the District’s Phase 3 hunts, free of charge. The District no longer award free admission into Phase 2 for the top two producers of the Phase 1 hunt.
management hunts on an as-needed basis, free of charge. PHASE 3 “AS-NEEDED” MANAGEMENT HUNTS • Includes management hunts that may occur March through October 2021. • Only those registrants that qualify as “top producers” following the Phase 1 and 2 hunts will be contacted to take part in management hunts during this period. • Management hunts offered to “top producers” will be free of charge and non-transferable. • All Phase 1 and Phase 2 top producers, without rule violations, will be offered participation on a minimum of four management hunts occurring March through October 2021. The District-managed properties will be temporarily closed to the public during the hog hunts. Only permitted hunters will be allowed access. Prospective hunters can purchase permits for Phase I hunts on the District’s WaterMatters.org/HogHunts. Permits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis until they are sold out. The cost is $75 for each permit. A complete list of hunts with locations and dates is also available online. This is the 12th consecutive year for the hunts. Last year’s hunts removed 625 hogs on 13 different tracts of land throughout the District.
PHASE 2 HUNTS • Registration will occur Dec. 8, 2020, at 9 a.m. • Includes six hunts that occur January and February 2021. • A $75 nonrefundable fee must be paid for each permit. • Permits are transferable. • The single top producer of each hunt of Phase 2 will be placed on the District’s “top producer” list and will be contacted between March and October 2021 to take part in feral hog INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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COMMISSIONER NIKKI FRIED ANNOUNCES 2021 FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES By Jim Frankowiak
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame Foundation announced the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame inductees for 2021. The induction ceremony will be held at the Florida State Fair’s Agricultural Hall of Fame Banquet on February 16, 2021. "Florida agriculture is at the core of our state's rich cultural history, impacting the lives of millions of Floridians each day. It's a great honor to recognize the achievements and the global impact our 2021 Agricultural Hall of Fame inductees have had on this industry and fair-trade practices,” said Commissioner Fried. “Their commitment proudly exemplifies the best of Florida agriculture, and their leadership paves the way for thousands of growers, ranchers, and educators to cultivate innovative practices and groundbreaking research throughout the nation.”
THE 2021 INDUCTEES ARE: BOBBY MCKOWN spent his career
championing and defending Florida agriculture and the Florida citrus industry's health and well-being. Taking the helm of the state's largest citrus growers association as Executive Vice President/CEO of the Florida Citrus Mutual, McKown led Florida's citrus industry through a critical period. Over the course of his career, he earned a reputation as an expert in international trade negotiations and was appointed by five presidential administrations to every trade committee, task force, and advisory position of any influence. He participated in developing four different trade agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement for Tariff and Trade (GATT). He not only protected Florida citrus growers from unfair trade practices, but he also worked to gain the best results for the state's agriculture industry.
JOHN STITT realized early in his
career that the agricultural ecosystem in Southwest Florida was vastly different from that in Central Florida and the region around Lake Okeechobee. He saw a great need for research in beef cattle pastures, citrus, and sandland sugarcane production and, through his vision, led to the development of the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. Today, the center provides cutting-edge research for citrus, vegetables, water quality, soil science, and weed science. In addition to serving on numerous advisory committees to the Immokalee center, Stitt has been extensively involved in industry organizations, including the Florida Cattlemen's Association and Florida Farm Bureau. Stitt led the charge to establish the South Florida Agricultural Council, and with the cooperation of the legislative delegation, the council secured $2.39 million in funding for construction. In 1988, the Board of Regents, the UF/IFAS leadership, and the council developed a five-year plan to complete the staff funding. The result was the opening of a fully-funded research center staffed with a director and 12 researchers.
and lasting effect on the tomato industry in Florida and beyond. Brown's family is well-known in Alachua County for its multigenerational Brown's Farm and legendary roadside produce stand. After 12 years as a UF/IFAS Extension Service agent in various capacities and a 10-year stint at the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association as marketing and membership director, Brown was named executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange while at the same time leading the Florida Tomato Committee and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. As the face of the Florida tomato industry, Brown has led on numerous fronts, including unfair Mexican trade practices, tomato food safety, and the effort to retain the use of methyl bromide as a crop-protection tool and stood at the forefront of fostering fair trade for the tomato industry and resolving trade disputes. He successfully worked to gain consensus among growers, regulators, and other stakeholders to develop statewide food safety standards for Florida fresh market tomatoes. Those efforts became the benchmark for the development of the national produce safety guidance. As chairman of the Crop Protection Coalition, Brown was the voice of the industry nationally and internationally. He served on the delegation to the Montreal Protocol Treaty negotiations for ten years during the phase-out of methyl bromide, a decades-old component of pest management for many Florida crops, vigorously protecting growers' interests. DR. WAYNE SMITH'S contributions to Florida agriculture encompass his lifelong devotion to education and research and forestry passion. Smith, a native of Marianna, Florida and graduate of the University of Florida, returned to his alma mater in 1964, advancing through the academic ranks as a professor, director, and finally, professor emeritus. In retirement, he served as interim dean for UF/IFAS Research and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. He proved to be a groundbreaking educator, researcher, and administrator. Smith played a crucial part in developing and implementing the first Best Management Practices (BMPs) for silviculture. BMPs soon spread across Florida's agricultural industry and changed the face of agriculture. His research in fertilization led to practices that increased pine forest productivity by up to 300%. And his pioneering work in bio-energy made Florida a leader and earned accolades from the U.S. Department of Energy. Smith's work has been recognized around the globe, including an audience with royalty. He has been a consultant for the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, and has been called upon to testify before Congress as a staunch supporter of agriculture.
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REGGIE BROWN has had a profound
9TH ANNUAL FOX SQUIRREL CORN MAZE NOW THROUGH NOVEMBER 1
The 9th Annual Fox Squirrel Corn Maze is now underway weekends through November 1 at Single R Ranch, 3002 Charlie Taylor Road North, Plant City, Florida 33565. Maze gates open at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. with all visitors required to leave by 6 p.m. The maze offers a range of family fun opportunities and games: • Fun duck races • Hay bale maze for toddlers • A gigantic slingshot • Bad Minton • Cornhole games • Dummy steer “ropin” • Lots of cows to see • Butterfly Garden (extra charge applies) • Horse and pony rides (extra charge applies)
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Pumpkins will be for sale while they last along with food and beverages. Music will be provided by the Duck Wallow Bluegrass Band. Hillsborough County Farm Bureau is a sponsor of the event.
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Social distancing rules will be followed at the event and all attendees must weak face masks and are also encouraged to wear closed toe shoes. Adult tickets are $11, tickets for youngsters ages 3-17 are $10 each and children 2 and under are free. Applicable taxes apply to ticket charges. Event updates and ticket purchasing is available on line by visiting: futchentertainment.com/the-fox-squirrelcorn-maze/.
Fox Squirrel Corn Maze 3002 Charlie Taylor Rd N, Plant City, FL 33565
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Senior D First Plac Second P Third Pla
GRAND CHAMPION.................Riley Buttorff, Plant City FFA $300.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE Buyer – Jarrett Scott Ford, Jim Scott RESERVE GRAND STEER Mariah Austin, Strawberry Crest FFA $225.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE Buyer – Trimak Building Systems, Kenny & Kristen McIntosh
Each year over 85 FFA or 4-H members are chosen to participate in the Florida Strawberry Festival Swine Show and Sale. Normally those who enter and their parents meet in October at the Strawberry Festival for the selection of those who will participate in the next Swine Show and Sale. This year “drawing” 2020 SWINEthe SHOW AWARDS was done virtually ALL CLASS RIBBONS, PLAQUES, TROPHIES, AND CHAMPION MONIES though the Festival’s Facebook page. SPONSORED BY MOSAIC The selection was conducted as norREPRESENTIVE: NIKKI FOSTER GRAND CHAMPION OF SHOW..........Dakota Grigson, Strawberry Crest FFA event was mal and went smoothly. The $100.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE set 259up by– Astin Swine Show Chairman Brian Pig weighed lbs., Buyer Ranch, Sam Astin RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION OF SHOW........Hillsborough FFA Federation, by Avery Ashley Shepherd and Festival StaffShown members $50.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE Jennifer andAssoc,Kelsey Pig weighed 265 lbs., Buyer Morgan – Florida Strawberry Growers Kenneth Parker Bridges. Participants in the drawing were Ray Clark (MC), PREMIUMS IN EACHKelsey CLASS: Bridges (announcer), SPONSORED BY MOSAIC (2020 Premium checks have been mailed) Junior Royalty John Davidson and 2020 1ST PLACE IN EACH CLASS WILL RECEIVE A PLAQUE Queen Gracie Ashlyn Garner FIRST PLACE................................................................$20.00, RIBBON, PLAQUE (number SECOND PLACE............................................................$17.00, selectors). Others whoRIBBONparticipated in THIRD PLACE...............................................................$15.00, RIBBON the live presentation RIBBON included Brian FOURTH PLACE............................................................$12.00, FIFTHShepherd, –REMAINDER PLACE..........................................$10.00, RIBBON Dub McGinBoard Chairman nis, and President Paul Davis. The drawSWINE ingRECORD videoBOOK canAWARDS be found on the Florida Sponsored by: Farm Credit of Central Florida, ACA Representative: Vonda Fulwood Strawberry Festival Facebook page. Junior Division First Place Tucker Conrad, Antioch Critters 4H............................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Landon Futch, Antioch Critters 4H .......................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Olivia Ennis, Tomlin Middle FFA ...............................................$15.00, Plaque Intermediate Division First Place Milee Hasting, Turkey Creek 4H ................................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Rebecca Holcomb, Turkey Creek 4H ......................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Rylie Vasquez, JF St Martin FFA ...............................................$15.00, Plaque Senior Division First Place Will Haxton, Durant Sr FFA........................................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Marissa Johnson, Newsome FFA...........................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Hannah Simmons, Strawberry Crest FFA..................................$15.00, Plaque
Eusebio Antonio-Mejia, Lennard FFA Avery Ashley, Durant FFA Brielee, Barrington FFA Bristol Bedenbaugh, Turkey Creek 4-H Lyla Bent, Turkey Creek FFA Isabella Bianchi, Randall FFA Kaitlyn Boyette, Turkey Creek 4-H SWINE SHOWMANSHIP Kylie Boyette, AWARDS Newsome FFA Sponsored by: Hoof N Horns Madison Presented by: Stalvey FamilyBrewer, Showin’ & Grown’ 4-H Junior Division Nicholas Claussen, J.F. St. Martin FFA First Place Brielee Bedenbaugh, Barrington FFA........................................$30.00, Plaque Zachary Randall FFA Plaque Second Place Jessie Parker,Cobb, Barrington FFA ...............................................$20.00, Third Place Tucker Conrad, Antioch Critters 4H...........................................$15.00, Plaque Josiah Comas, Plant City FFA Intermediate Division
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Olivia Lawton, Mulrennen Middle FFA Brodie Layton, Antioch Critters 4-H PREM William Letner, Durant FFA Sponsore Alainah Macki, Barrington FFA Represen Colt Connell, Antioch Critters 4-H Based on Genesis DIVISION Manro,RESERVE Spoto AND FFACHAMPIONS: Ella Connell, Tomlin FFA Junior D Jenna Marvin, Mulrennen Middle FFA Morgan W Tucker Conrad, Antioch Critters 4-H Interme Colt Maxwell, Turkey Creek FFA Madison Corson, Lennard FFA Jaycee Fl Knox McDonald, Tomlin FFA Senior D Madelynn Council, Lennard FFA Mariah A Noah McNabb, Barrington FFA Gerald-Michael Daniels, Plant City FFA PREMIUMS IN EACH CLASS: Lacey Merrell, Barrington FFA Kali Daniels, Plant City FFA MOSAIC, REPRESENTED BY NIKKI FOSTER Abigail Mullis, Tomlin FFA (ALL CHECKS IN 2020 WERE MAILED TO EXHIBITORS) Rylee Davis, Plant City FFA FIRST PLACE$25.00, RIBBON, PLAQUE Lily Nance, Tomlin FFA Cooper Davis, Barrington FFA First Place Milee Hasting, Turkey Creek FFA................................................$30.00, Plaque First Place Milee Hasting, Turk PLACEAWARDS ...........................................................$20.00, RIBBON 2020 SWINESECOND SHOW 2020 SWINE SHOW AWARDS Cooper Newman, Antioch Critters 4-H Second Place Blake Chancey, Mulrennan FFA.............................................$20.00, Plaque Second Place Blake Chancey, M THROUGH REMAINING......................................$15.00, RIBBON AND CHAMPION MONIES PLAQUES, TROPHIES, ANDALL CHAMPION CLASS RIBBONS, MONIES PLAQUES, TROPHIES, Gus Devane, Farm Fresh Clovers 4-H ALL CLASS RIBBONS,THIRD Third Place Abigail Mullis, Tomlin FFA........................................................$15.00, Plaque Third Place Abigail Mullis, Tom SPONSORED BY MOSAIC SPONSORED BY MOSAIC Morgan Nolan, Armwood FFA Lillian Devane, Tomlin FFA Senior Division Senior Division STEER BOOK AWARDS REPRESENTIVE: NIKKI FOSTER RECORD REPRESENTIVE: NIKKI FOSTER Jessie Parker, Barrington FFA First Place Avery Ashley, Hillsborough FFA Federation...............................$30.00, Plaque First Place Sponsored by: Farm Credit Grigson, ofGRAND CentralStrawberry Florida, ACA GRAND CHAMPION OF SHOW..........Dakota CHAMPION Crest OF SHOW..........Dakota FFA Grigson, Strawberry CrestAvery FFA Ashley, Hillsb Ciera Diaz, Newsome FFA Second Place Dakota Grigson, Strawberry Crest FFA..................................$20.00, Plaque Second Place Dakota Grigson, Representative: Vonda Fulwood $100.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE $100.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE MacKenzie Paul, Showin’ & Growin” 4-H Peyton Douglas, Randall FFA Plaque Third Place Drew Blanton, Plant City FFA...................................................$15.00, Third Place Drew Blanton, Plan Junior Pig weighed 259 lbs., BuyerDivision – Astin Ranch, SamPigAstin weighed 259 lbs., Buyer – Astin Ranch, Sam Astin Hannah Perry, Durant FFA First Place AvaOFHasting, Durant FFA.................................................................$30.00, RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION SHOW........Hillsborough RESERVE GRAND FFA Federation, CHAMPION Shown OF SHOW........Hillsborough by Avery Ashley Plaque FFA Federation, Shown by Ave Christopher Dudzinski, Turkey Crek FFA SWINE HERDSMAN AWARDS SWINE HERDSMA Second Place Polk, Morgan Walls,Strawberry Turkey Creek FFA.................................................$20.00, $50.00, TROPHY,Hardy ROSETTE $50.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE Crest FFA Plaque Chloe Dudzinski Sponsored by: Hillsboro Bank Sponsored by:Parker Hillsboro Bank Third Place– Shalee Antioch Critters Pig weighed 265 lbs., Buyer FloridaConrad, Strawberry PigGrowers weighed Assoc, 2654H................................................$15.00, lbs., Kenneth BuyerParker – Florida Strawberry GrowersPlaque Assoc, Kenneth Jolene Reid, Lennard FFA Representative: Pam Warnock Representative: Pam Warnock Intermediate Division Carter Durrance, Antioch Critters 4-H Junior Division Junior Division First Place Spencer Baylor, Strawberry Crest FFA.............................................$30.00, Plaque Bennie Rice, Turkey Creek 4-H Chase Durrance, Tomlin FFA Plaque First Place Tytan Gill, Alafia Kids 4H..........................................................$25.00, First Place Tytan Gill, Alafia Ki Place Emma Futch, Strawberry Crest FFA.............................................$20.00, Plaque PREMIUMSSecond IN EACH CLASS: PREMIUMS IN EACH CLASS: Bryce Runkles, Antioch Critters 4-H Second Place Jacob Ogden, Showin’ & Growin’ 4H.....................................$15.00, Plaque Second Place Jacob Ogden, Sh Third Place James Cooper, Strawberry Crest FFA..............................................$15.00, Plaque SPONSORED BY MOSAIC (2020 Premium checks SPONSORED have been mailed) BY MOSAIC (2020 Premium checks have been mailed) Olivia Ennis, Tomlin FFA Third Place Joel Bender, Antioch Critters 4H..............................................$10.00, Plaque Third Place Joel Bender, Antioc Senior Division 1ST PLACE IN EACH CLASS WILL RECEIVE A PLAQUE 1ST PLACE IN EACH CLASS WILL RECEIVE Roby Runkles, Plant City FFAA PLAQUE Emily Franson, Durant FFA Intermediate Division Intermediate Division First Place Owen Baylor, Strawberry Crest FFA.................................................$30.00, Plaque STEE FIRST PLACE................................................................$20.00, FIRST PLACE................................................................$20.00, RIBBON, PLAQUE RIBBON, PLAQUE Faith Satterfield, Durant FFA First Place Milee Hasting, Turkey Creek FFA................................................$25.00, Plaque First Place Milee Hasting, Turk Second Place Angelic Alex, Strawberry Crest FFA.............................................$20.00, Plaque Sponsore SECOND PLACE............................................................$17.00, SECOND PLACE............................................................$17.00, RIBBON RIBBON Hunter Freeman, Antioch Critters 4-H Second Place Cooper Davis, Barrington FFA...............................................$15.00, Plaque Second Davis, Ba Third Place Schneider, Shylen Denmark,THIRD Durant Sr J.G. FFA.....................................................$15.00, Plaque THIRD PLACE...............................................................$15.00, PLACE...............................................................$15.00, RIBBONSmith FFA RIBBONPlace Cooper Producer Caris Ava Futch, Tomlin FFA Third Place John Wayne Haynes, Turkey Creek FFA.....................................$10.00, Plaque Third Place John Wayne Hayne Producer FOURTH PLACE............................................................$12.00, FOURTH PLACE............................................................$12.00, RIBBON RIBBON Kennedy Schrier, Barrington FFA Senior Division Senior STEER SHOWMANSHIP AWARDS FIFTH –REMAINDER PLACE..........................................$10.00, FIFTH –REMAINDER RIBBON PLACE..........................................$10.00, RIBBONDivision Producer Danica Gill, Antioch Critters 4-H First Place Avery Ashley, Hillsborough FFA Federation...............................$25.00, Plaque First Place Avery Ashley, Hillsb Producer Sponsored by: Scott, Hillsboro Bank Tomlin FFA Parker Tytan Gill, Critters 4-H Second Place Will Haxton, Durant Antioch FFA.......................................................$15.00, Plaque Second Place Will Haxton, Dur Representative: Pam Warnock Third Place Nicholas Retter, Horses, Inc......................................................$10.00, Plaque Third Place Nicholas Retter, Ho Ellie Smith, Antioch Critters 4-H Junior Division STEE SWINE RECORD BOOK AWARDS SWINE RECORD BOOK AWARDS Keegan Givens, Turkey Creek 4-H First Place Morgan Walls, Turkey Creek FFA......................................................$30.00, Plaque Vonda FulwoodSponsore Sponsored by: Farm Credit of Central Florida, ACA Sponsored Representative: by: FarmVonda CreditFFA Fulwood of Central Florida, ACA Representative: Xavier Smith, Lennard SWINE PREMIER EXHIBITORDurant FFA SWINE PREMIER Macyn Graham, AntiochDivision Critters 4H.............................................$20.00, Plaque Represen Junior Division Second Place Shalee Conrad,Junior Sponsored by: Southside Western Wear & Farm Supply Sponsored by: Southside West Smith Smith FFA Third Place Gabrielle Barrington FFA...................................................$15.00, Plaque Presente First Place TuckerCameryn Conrad, Antioch CrittersHowell, 4H............................................$30.00, First PlaceJ.G. Tucker Conrad, Antioch Critters Plaque 4H............................................$30.00, Plaque Gehrig Graham, J.F. St. Martin FFA Representative: Tim Lopez Representative: Tim Plaque Lopez Intermediate Division Grand C Second Place Landon Futch, Antioch Critters 4HSecond .......................................$20.00, Place Landon Futch,FFA Antioch Plaque Critters 4H .......................................$20.00, Cooper Sollars, Durant PremierAlex Exhibitor Griffin, Antioch Critters 4-H Premier Exhibitor First Place Flowers, Strawberry Plaque Exhibitor Third Place Olivia Ennis, TomlinJaycee Middle FFA ...............................................$15.00, Third PlaceCrest OliviaFFA..............................................$30.00, Ennis, Tomlin Middle Plaque FFA ...............................................$15.00, Plaque - Junior Division Tucker Conrad, Antioch Critters 4H...................................$50.00, Plaque - Junior Division Tucker Conrad Hope Tomlin FFA Second PlaceStorter, Blake Zajac, Strawberry Crest FFA...............................................$20.00, Plaque Reserve Intermediate Division Alyssa Grimes, Strawberry Crest FFA Intermediate Division - Intermediate Division Milee Hasting, Turkey Creek FFA............................$50.00, Plaque - Intermediate Division Milee H Third Place Jamie Brandon FFA...............................................................$15.00, Plaque Exhibitor First Place MileeDillan Hasting, Turkey CreekParis, 4H ................................................$30.00, First Place Milee Hasting, Turkey Creek Plaque 4H ................................................$30.00, Plaque Sumner, Plant City FFA - SeniorKayla Division Avery Ashley, Hillsborough FFA Federation.....................$50.00, Plaque Senior Division Avery Ashley, Hanson, Mulrennen Middle FFASecond Place Rebecca Senior Division Holcomb, Turkey Creek 4H Second ......................................$20.00, Place Rebecca Holcomb, Turkey Plaque Creek 4H ......................................$20.00, Plaque Vasquez, Durant First Place Strawberry Crest Plaque Specia Third Place RylieRylie Vasquez, JF StMariah MartinAustin, FFA ...............................................$15.00, Third Place RylieFFA...............................................$30.00, Vasquez,FFA JF St Martin Plaque FFA ...............................................$15.00, Plaque Caroline Haxton, Durant FFA SWINE BUYERS AWARDS SWINE BUYERS Second Place Alivia Rivera, Plant City FFA........................................................$20.00, Plaque Grimes A Fa Senior Division Ashley Senior Division Walls, Durant FFA Sponsored By: Florida Strawberry Festival Sponsored By: Florida Strawbe Rebecca Holcomb, Durant FFA ThirdDurant Place Makayla Collier, Brandon Plaque Patterson First Place Will Haxton, Sr FFA........................................................$30.00, First PlaceFFA.........................................................$15.00, Will Haxton, Durant Sr FFA........................................................$30.00, Plaque Plaque Representative: Paul Davis Representative: Paul Plaque Davis Y Abby Weisbert, Riverview FFA Mosaic: Second Place Marissa Johnson, Newsome FFA...........................................$20.00, Second Place Marissa Johnson, Newsome Plaque FFA...........................................$20.00, Mason Howard, FFA Presented in Honor of the Bill McClelland Family Tomlin in memory of Mr. Bill McClelland. Presented in Honor ofPlaque the Bill Greg Woo STEER HERDSMAN AWARD Third Place Hannah Simmons, Strawberry CrestThird FFA..................................$15.00, Place Hannah Simmons, Strawberry Plaque Crest FFA..................................$15.00, Kaleb Williams, Marshall FFA Grand Champion: Astin Farms –Karnowski, Sam Astin Plaque Grand Champion: Astin Farms Brandon Durant FFA Grove Equ Sponsored by: Suncoast Credit Union Exhibitor: Dakota Grigson, Strawberry Crest FFA Exhibitor: Dakota Grigson, Stra& Shyanne Wood, Durant FFA G5 Feed Junior Division SWINE SHOWMANSHIP AWARDS SWINE SHOWMANSHIP AWARDS Kersey, Lennard FFA ReserveMorgan Grand Champion: Florida Strawberry Growers Assoc, Kenneth Parker Plaque Reserve Grand Champion: Flor Choo Cho First Place Morgan Walls, Turkey Creek FFA......................................................$30.00, Plaque Sponsored by: Hoof N Horns Sponsored by: Hoof N Horns Rylee Woody, Durant FFA Exhibitor: Avery Ashley, Hillsborough County Tomlin Federation Exhibitor: Avery Ashley, HillsbG Brayden Keys, FFA Traeger Second Place Makayla Register, Tomlinby: FFA.....................................................$20.00, Plaque Presented by: Stalvey Family Presented Stalvey Family Brooke Wright, Tomlin FFA Larry & D Third Place Garret Dixon, Barrington FFA.........................................................$15.00, Plaque Junior Division Junior Division Kietz, Barrington FFA 2020Karoline STEER SHOW AWARDS 2020 STEER SHOW The Astin Intermediate DivisionFFA........................................$30.00, First Place Brielee Bedenbaugh, Barrington First Place Brielee Creek Bedenbaugh, Barrington Plaque FFA........................................$30.00, Plaque Kace Zinke, Turkey FFA ALL CLASS RIBBONS, PLAQUES, TROPHIES, AND CHAMPION MONIES ALL CLASS RIBBONS,Plaque PLAQUES Gabrielle Langston, Mulrennen Middle The Swin PlaceBarrington Judson Smith, Plant City FFA...........................................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place JessieFirst Parker, FFA ...............................................$20.00, Second Place Jessie Parker, Barrington Plaque FFA ...............................................$20.00, SPONSORED BY MOSAIC SPONSORED BY MOSAIC Lambs & Second Place Jaycee Flowers, Strawberry CrestConrad, FFA.........................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Tucker Conrad, Antioch Critters 4H...........................................$15.00, Third Place Tucker Antioch Plaque Critters 4H...........................................$15.00, Plaque FFA NIKKI FOSTER REPRESENTATIVE: REPRESENTATIVE: NIKKI FOSTE Third Place Elizabeth Ford, Strawberry CrestDivision FFA.............................................$15.00, Plaque Intermediate Division Intermediate
A DOZEN+ WAYS TO SAVE POTABLE WATER IN YOUR LANDSCAPE
Lynn Barber, UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County
Why should we care if we save potable water in the landscape? Potable water is drinking water. There are approximately 1,000 people moving to Florida daily. This will create an increase in the overall water demand. Water is a non-renewable resource. To make sure there is enough to go around, each of us need to consider ways we can save potable water in our landscapes. Here are some examples of Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM principles and related practices that conserve water. Two of the dozen ways below that can save water, money and cost you absolutely nothing are to shut it off and the free irrigation evaluation. Shut it off - it being your irrigation controller. Yes, there is an off setting which is a good option, especially now, during the rainy season. Do you walk or drive down your street, rain falling, and see your or your neighbors’ irrigation systems in operation and wonder why? We wonder why also. Please see the sections below: functioning rain shut-off device and free irrigation evaluation. Both paragraphs may be eye-opening! Grow drought tolerant plants which require significantly less/minimal-to-no water after establishment. All plants need water to become established, meaning root and shoot growth. How do you know if your plants are drought tolerant? Order a free copy of The Florida-Friendly Landscaping Guide to Landscape Design and Plant Selection from http:watermatters.org. Look under Florida-Friendly Landscaping, then free publications. This Guide provides information on plant materials for central Florida, our area, and the key is useful to identify plants with high, medium, low or no drought tolerance. Hydrozone your plants. This means grouping your plants according to their watering needs. Again, the Plant Selection Guide will be beneficial because it shows the soil moisture needed by the plants in the Guide, from well drained to wet and four categories in between. An example of why we should hydrozone our plants would be planting an herb garden and cactus together. If you water the herbs to meet their needs, the cactus will be overwatered and die.
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Plant groundcovers instead of turfgrass where turf is not purposeful. Turfgrass purposes can include play areas for children, a pet area for dogs, putting green, etc. Groundcovers
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generally require less water, fertilizer and pesticides than turf. The Guide referred to above provides several groundcovers that will work in our area. Just note the site conditions (sun, shade, soil texture, soil pH, soil moisture) in your landscape and select accordingly. If you live in a deed restricted community, check your deed restrictions, meet with your landscape review or architectural control committees as required before making changes. Mulch landscape beds (2-3 inches deep after settling). Mulch is beneficial because it retains moisture in the soil, moderates soil temperature, reduces runoff and erosion, improves soil structure, suppresses weeds, enhances the beauty of the landscape, provides increased area for root growth and protects plants from lawnmowers and weed eaters. Organic mulches recommended include Eucalyptus, Melaleuca (Punk tree), Pine bark, Pine straw and Oak leaves. Microirrigation is great for landscape beds. Compared to traditional inground irrigation systems, microirrigation provides gallons of water per hour instead of gallons of water per minute. This irrigation method not only conserves water, but it is also less restricted by current water restrictions. If you have not attended a microirrigation workshop for Hillsborough County residents, you may want to register for one at: http://hillsborough.ifas.ufl. edu/calendar.shtml. We provide one microirrigation kit per household, one time only for a nominal fee. Apply ½ - ¾ inch of water (irrigation or rainfall) which is all plants need per watering event. How do you know how much water you received from rainfall? Use a rain gauge to determine whether this amount has been reached and empty the rain gauge after viewing it. You can also do a ‘catch can test’ to determine the amount of water your inground irrigation system is providing by individual zone. For more information WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
on the ‘catch can test’, please see the University of Florida publication, Irrigation System Maintenance, and read the section on calibration at: http://www.gardeningsolutions. ifas.ufl.edu/water/articles/systems/maintenance.shtml. Florida Statute Florida Statute 373.62 (2009) requires a functioning rain shutoff device where inground irrigation has been installed. The life expectancy of some of these devices is 1-3 years. Is yours working? If your irrigation system is running during a rainfall event, chances are it is not functioning. Call Paula Staples or Jacqlyn Rivas, UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County, 813-744-5519, for more information on how to determine if your rain shutoff device is working correctly or if you need to look at alternatives. Please refer to the University of Florida publication, Residential Irrigation System Rainfall Shutoff Devices, or Rain Sensors, by Michael D. Dukes and Dorota Z. Haman, at: http://edis.ifas. ufl.edu/ae221. Harvest rainwater for ornamental plants, not edibles, if captured from your roof. If you have not attended a rainwater harvesting workshop for Hillsborough County residents, you may want to register for one at: http://hillsborough.ifas.ufl.edu/calen-
Consider creating a rain garden in a low area of your landscape. This will decrease some of the stormwater runoff from your yard. Rain gardens are a beautiful landscape addition. Plant selections should include those that like wet feet and are drought-tolerant for times we don’t receive much rain. Consider using Beautyberry, Swamp Hibiscus, River Oats, Tickseed and Muhly Grass. But, before you purchase plants for your rain garden, determine the existing site conditions. Rain gardens installed in sandy soils only hold water for a few hours. If you are a high-water user, 15,000 gallons per month or more, you can contact our office, see above contact information, to determine if you qualify for a free irrigation evaluation. Check your water bill which shows the number of gallons of water you are using.
Bottom line: all of us have a stake in and impact the future. Conserving water in our landscapes involves easy options as shown above. For assistance with horticultural questions, call: 813-744-5519. More gardening and workshop information is available at: http://hillsborough.ifas.ufl.edu. Remember to reuse, reduce, recycle and repeat.
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dar.shtml. We provide one drilled and spigoted rain barrel per household, one time only for a nominal fee.
A CLOSER LOOK AT SOME FAMILY STRAWBERRY FARMS By Jim Frankowiak | Photos by: Sommer Sweeney There’s no question, family farms are indeed the heart of Florida’s strawberry industry that effectively connect people with domestically grown strawberries. Here’s a look at just a few of these family operations, their similarities and differences, as well as how they support the industry. Astin Farms is a multi-generation business currently in its fourth generation. It all started in 1923 when the patriarch of the Astin family moved from South Carolina to Plant City and began farming a few acres. Astin Farms has grown to some 1,700 acres and that includes the original land. Most of the Astin employees are family members, “however, those who aren’t directly related have become a part of our family over the years,” said Madison Astin. “When we are at work we are there to get the job done, but at the end of the day we all love each other.” Having past, current and future generations want to farm “means a lot, not only because of the personal roots of our business, but because it takes a certain kind of person to be able to handle the farming lifestyle,” noted Astin. “It demands hard work mentally and physically, long hours, no breaks and we need people like that in this next generation to be able to get the job done.” While strawberries are the main crop at Astin Farms, the family also grows blueberries, watermelon and cantaloupe seasonally, as well. The second generation of the Grooms family is currently farming Fancy Farms. Farming operations continue to take place on the farm’s original 16 acres that grew to approximately 235 acres over the years, but now encompasses 125 acres. Grooms’ family members currently involved in the business include Owner Carl Grooms and his wife Dee Dee, “the head cook” in his words; Dee Dee’s sister Denise Alderman, who is office manager; Kristi Grooms, daughter of Carl and Dee Dee, who runs the produce market specializing in strawberry desserts, and her brother Dustin who is operations manager.
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Having Kristi and Dustin involved in Fancy Farms is special to Carl and Dee Dee. “We know that they will carry on the legacy
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we built,” said Carl. “A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into building Fancy Farms and to know that Kristi and Dustin want to continue our legacy makes us very proud. We need younger generations to continue farming for America.” The Grooms family also grows squash, peppers, cucumbers, peas and eggplants in addition to its primary strawberry crop. Lance Ham of Farm N 4 U is the first generation of his family to farm strawberries and is a fourth generation cattle farm. “I started out with only three acres and every year or two I would clear about five more acres of cattle land to turn into strawberry lane,” said Ham, whose brother-in-law is Farm Manager. The future of Farm N 4 U is not clear since Ham’s children have not expressed interest in farming going forward. Ham got into strawberry farming after working for another farmer for one year “and loved what he was doing and the many different jobs a strawberry farmer does every day of the year,” said Ham. “One week you might be doing one job and the next week a different job so it never gets boring. The land of our farm is family-owned and that is one of the most important parts to be able to farm.” Ham “grew tomatoes for 30 years, but because of competition from Mexico, we are currently growing jalapeños peppers in addition to strawberries.” Mark Harrell of Sweet Life Farms is the third generation of his family to grow strawberries. “My grandfather and father both farmed Florida strawberries and vegetables,” he said. “That’s how I got into the business 45 years ago. Harrell’s son “helped on the farm when he was young, but as he got older he chose not to stay on the farm. He is in commercial refrigeration, which services the produce industry,” said Harrell. “It was a decision he made to learn a trade and work for an established company with benefits. Farming can be so unpredictable so I understand why he chose another profession. We encouraged him to learn a trade so he would always have something to fall back on. “Everyone in my family has a tie to the strawberry industry,” said Harrell. “My daughter-in-law works with a produce transWWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
portation company; my wife spent years farming with me and has worked for an international strawberry business and now works at the Florida Strawberry Growers Association.” Besides strawberries, Harrell grows watermelons, cantaloupes and cucumbers.
and work with my daughters on a daily basis,” said Sizemore. “This gives me the opportunity to pass on the generations of wisdom I’ve been taught in this business and, hopefully, provide an opportunity for this farm to continue growing berries for many years to come.
McQuaig Farms is a first generation Florida strawberry business begun in 2010 on Tres McQuaig’s grandfather’s land that was purchased from his father, so it is a first generation business on multigenerational land. Son Justin, who just graduated from high school, works on the farm. Because of COVID-19, he had to be at home for the end of his senior year and he took the opportunity to manage the harvesting of the farm’s spring crops.
“While it’s typical in this region to grow melons and vegetables in the summertime, we have chosen to focus our efforts on some more unique Florida-friendly fruits,” he said. “We currently grow about 25 acres of blackberries, which are harvested in the springtime. We also own several hundred acres of peaches and citrus and are always open to new ideas. We actually have a few trials going on right now,” said Sizemore.
“My son has grown up seeing the hard work and dedication that it takes to farm,” said Tres. “I am very proud that he would like to be part of this industry and our family farm.” In 2020, McQuaig Farms grew eggplant and squash in the spring in addition to strawberries. In the past, crops have included watermelon and cantaloupe. “With four generations of farming experience, Sizemore Farms is a multi-generational business,” said John Sizemore. “It all started back in 1925 when Grandpa Charlie bought a piece of and planted his first field of strawberries. He was a pioneer in the Florida strawberry industry and among the first growers in the Plant City area. His early days of planting and harvesting the fruit by hand and selling it at the local farmer’s market paved the way for the success of future generations.
Florida strawberries are the domestic products of generations of Florida families carrying forward the legacy of hard work, dedication and innovation. The photos accompanying this article were recently taken as part of a still and video session to help connect these families, their products and the people who enjoy Florida strawberries.
FLORIDA STRAWBERRY GROWERS ASSOCIATION From Family Farms to Winter Strawberry Capital of the Nation
Growing Florida’s winter strawberries has and continues to be a family business. But it wasn’t until 1980 that these families met and decided to formally organize so they could effectively manage their interests in an ever-growing industry with a huge economic impact to their community.
“Today, Sizemore Farms is a leading producer of Florida strawberries,” he said. “Now a fully integrated agricultural operation, we have expanded to grow, pack and ship our own berries each season. Now joined by the fifth generation of Sizemore strawberry growers, we are continuing the legacy that began almost a century ago. Growing on over 500 acres currently, we work hard to ensure we leave this land better than we found it, so that we can pass on this cherished tradition for generations to come.”
In 1982, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association was officially recognized by the state of Florida as a nonprofit organization. The Association represents strawberry growers in three key areas – research, promotion and community service. In the years since it was founded, the 100 or so grower members of FSGA have met their stated mission and succeeded in forming a voluntary organization that cultivates and sells the majority of fresh strawberries produced in the United States from Thanksgiving through Easter, leading the nation in winter production.
Sizemore and his brother Jeff are partners in the family business. “Jeff operates the cooling and shipping leg of the business, while I manage the farm and handle sales,” said John. “Now we are joined by our kids, Jeff, Jr., and my daughters Alison and Kaylyn, who have come to work at the farm in the last few years. Collectively, they work on everything from compliance to marketing, which is a huge help to us.
The goals of the FSGA are to efficiently manage the many moving parts that make up the state’s strawberry industry, including the patenting and licensing of new strawberry varieties, channeling royalties to ensure continued research and enhancing marketing efforts of the unique crop that is Florida winter strawberries.
“I consider it an incredible blessing to have the ability to see
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buyers inspected freshly picked berries as they arrived at the farmers market. Lucky for strawberry lovers, Florida’s juicy, red, winter jewels can be found in grocery stores up and down the East Coast, as far north as Canada and in markets as far west as the Great Plains. Today Plant City-Dover area produces more than 15 percent of U.S.-grown strawberries and virtually all of the berries grown in the winter.
FAMILY FARMS, THE HEART OF FLORIDA STRAWBERRY SUCCESS Winter strawberry farming has always been a family affair, and some families in Hillsborough County can trace their strawberry-growing roots back five generations! The Association has two sister organizations, the Florida Strawberry Patent Service Corp., which licenses the use of new varieties of Florida strawberries, and the Florida Strawberry Research and Education Foundation, which supports the development of new varieties and other grower-related research at the University of Florida. That’s why the research programs and the partnership with the University of Florida are so important to the industry. Strawberries remain the commodity that made the community a family in Plant City and Dover. That bond and community spirit thrives today as it did almost 130 years ago when strawberry plants were first introduced to the area. It’s an indisputable fact that Florida strawberry growers produce and market the sweetest, reddest and juiciest strawberries known to man. They are truly a hand-harvested farm-totable crop. Just leave it to Florida farmers to provide the very best. Florida strawberries – a taste of summer all winter long!
STRAWBERRY HISTORY & PRODUCTION
Winter Strawberry Capital of the Nation!
Call it luck, destiny, providence or just coincidence.It was sweet serendipity that linked two specific events in Florida history and would ultimately transform Plant City and Dover in Hillsborough County, into the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.
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A railroad and the arrival of strawberry plants to the area made it possible for people to enjoy fresh farm-to-market strawberries in the middle of winter. When it’s cold and dreary in many parts of the country, it’s fabulous in Florida where strawberry growers are harvesting their winter crop and shipping handpicked fruit to key markets.
In the early days, community support was necessary to successful strawberry harvests. If a freeze threatened the crop, everyone went to the fields to protect the plants with pine straw or cypress boughs. At harvest time everyone except city employees picked strawberries. Even children weren’t exempt from work in the fields. Until 1954, Eastern Hillsborough County schools operated in the summer so farm family children could work the farms in the winter months. “Strawberry Schools” are a treasured tradition, and former students now have annual reunions to reminisce about their field and farm adventures. While family farms are the heart of Florida’s strawberry industry, it’s the community in the Plant City-Dover area that keeps it pumping. If your family doesn’t grow berries, it more than likely works in some aspect of the business, whether it’s in jobs that support growers’ field operations, or positions with packers, shippers, and promoters of the berries. While not far from the big city of Tampa, Plant City-Dover exudes a welcoming, small-town atmosphere and the community celebrates its history and traditions.
PRODUCTION While technology has modernized some aspects of strawberry farming, some parts of the process have not changed since the plants were first introduced to the Plant City area in the 1880s. Farms are larger, and field preparation is an art to behold, even if it’s done with the help of large machinery these days. Strawberry production doesn’t just happen. It requires much forethought and planning.
Constantine Shannon brought plants to the area in the early 1880s from Shannon, Miss. Soon after that, Henry Plant settled the area where most of today’s winter strawberries are grown. Plant was a visionary and a very good businessman, who realized that if a railroad was constructed to link Plant City to Tampa, local farmers could develop a thriving market for their freshly harvested winter strawberry crop. So, he built that railroad.
Even though strawberry plants are perennials, Florida growers treat them as annuals and replant them each year. Blame it on Florida’s summer weather that can be very unkind to berries with steamy temperatures and tropical downpours. So, fields are fallow, which means they are plowed and left unsown to restore fertility. A cover crop is then planted to reduce weeds, increase organic matter and reduce future plant disease. Once that crop is cut in early August, fields are leveled and marked for future rows of strawberries.
The railroad made Florida the vacation destination for wealthy northerners and opened new markets for Florida’s produce. Plant City had been a large cotton center, but local farmers switched their crops when they realized northern consumers would pay a premium for winter strawberries that were handpicked and packed in ice in large wooden crates. Back then,
Beds are raised by a machine called a superbedder, which forms 8- to 10-inch tables on which the plants will grow during the season. The beds are then covered with a plastic film and a drip irrigation tube is placed under the plastic. The plastic film and the drip irrigation system have revolutionized strawberry production. The black film retains moisture, works
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FRIENDS OF THE FAIR INAUGURAL SPORTING CLAYS TOURNEY NOVEMBER 13; PARTICIPANTS/SPONSORS SOUGHT
as a barrier to pests, weeds and disease, and warms the beds during cold weather. The irrigation system allows growers to cut water usage in half and delivers nutrients directly to the plant roots. A tractor returns to punch holes through the plastic into the beds with precise spacing for the strawberry plants. After that, much of the work to grow the sweet, succulent, juicy berries is done by hand. Plants are set by hand 12 to 16 inches apart in two rows on each bed. Nearly 200 million plants are set between late September and early November. The first flat of berries is usually picked at the end of November and the harvest is in full swing in December. Berries are hand-harvested every three to four days, and grading and packing the berries into flats for wholesale markets is done simultaneously. The strawberries are packed in clamshell containers at field level and sold in cardboard trays. The most common pack is 8 16-ounce clamshells to a tray or flat. Flats per acre have increased 30 to 40 percent in the last few years. Strawberries are collected at packing sheds in the field, placed on pallets and driven to a nearby cooler for sale and delivery to market. Because strawberries are perishable, timing is critical and berries are cooled to between 32 and 36 degrees, placed into refrigerated storage and shipped later the same day. Whether they travel just down the road a bit or are transported by air to an international market, Florida strawberries are always a sweet treat. New cooling and shipping options mean more people can enjoy the most beautiful and mouthwatering strawberries in the world!
RESEARCH Knowing that 95 percent of consumers purchase strawberries, Florida growers realize the benefits of continued research to meet and exceed customers’ expectations for sweet, firm berries with optimal shelf life. What began as a small research lab in 1925 has transformed into a partnership between the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, the Strawberry Research and Education Foundation, and the University of Florida strawberry breeding program. While early research centered on disease and its prevention, the focus has evolved to include plants that will thrive in Florida’s climate as well as the development of fruit with the best flavor, color, texture and fragrance. The organizations work together with farmers to develop and test new varieties in small-acreage tracts before new varieties are planted in large amounts and then presented to the public. Florida growers and scientists are leading in their pursuit of the perfect strawberry! Fresh From Florida strawberries lead the nation in winter production, earning the state the coveted title of Winter Strawberry Capital of the Nation!
Individual tournament registration is $150 and registration for a team of four is $500. Registration includes 50 clay targets, two boxes of 12-guage or 20-gauge shells, eye and ear protection and a steak lunch. Golf cart and shot gun rentals are also available. Sponsorships are available, ranging from a $250 Station Co-Sponsor to a $3,000 Ammo Sponsor. Added detail on sponsorships is available at the website noted previously. Organizers encourage reservation of sponsorship packages by October 23. The Florida State Fair Foundation has as its mission “to improve and support the Florida State Fair agricultural, scientific and educational programs.” Among them is the youth program called “Champion Animals and Champion Youth,” offering youth exhibitors at the Florida State Fair the opportunity to show their prize winning animals as well as the option of participating in numerous educational activities. Exhibitors not only earn animal premiums, but by participating in the education activities, they can earn additional achievement premiums. The Foundation also supports the Cracker Country Living History Museum on the Fairgrounds. It was founded with the purpose of preserving Florida’s rural heritage in 1978 by Mildred W. and Doyle E. Carlton, Jr. The museum holds a collection of 13 original buildings dating from 1870-1912 which were relocated from across the state of Florida. The historically furnished buildings recreate the lifestyles of the past and costumed interpreters portray dialing as Florida pioneers. Ag-Venture is another beneficiary of Foundation support. It is a ‘hands-on” learning experience designed to teach third graders about the importance of agriculture and to help them develop an understanding and appreciation of where their food and fiber comes from. Questions about the Friends of the Fair Sporting Clays Tournament may be directed to Patty Chandler at 813/627-4227 or via email: Patty.Chandler@ FloridaStateFair.com. INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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By Jim Frankowiak The first Friends of the Fair Sporting Clays Tournament will take place Friday, November 13, at Fishhawk Sporting Clays with proceeds benefitting the non-profit Florida State Fair Foundation. Organizers are seeking tournament participants and sponsors noting advance registration is required by November 7th by visiting FloridaStateFair.com/Tournament.
ADAPT AND OVERCOME! by John Dicks Adapt and Overcome. It’s a catchphrase often used and connected with the U.S. Marine Corps. The creed is the mindset of Marines as they face challenges in unexpected situations and chaotic environments. Frankly, though, it seems like an appropriate, if not necessary, motto which we should all be adopting right now. Particularly so while this pandemic rages on with its destructive force, reaching every age and level of our society, from newborns (surprisingly) all the way to the President and First Lady. Perhaps like you, I have longed for a return to life as normal. No masks would be nice, as would mingling carefree with family and friends. There used to be something known as travel, too; though today it is substituted more by wistful dreaming of faraway places free of COVID-19. I’m confident that we will someday return to a healthier and more stable situation. Probably not, though, “to life as normal.” Not in the near term, anyway. So Adapt and Overcome seems like a logical, if not powerful phrase to guide us. Adapt to the situation, accepting it for “it is what it is,” followed by Overcome, not in militant terms, but in determination to “make the best of the situation.” Rather than wishing for a “return to normal,” the motto would have us develop and embrace a “new normal.” It is to smile while wearing a mask, chuckling at the thought that when we are greeting some people we are actually glad to see them forced to wear one! It is the pleasure brought by a Zoom conference when realizing the time it saves for other, more fun things, thanks to technology and its having allowed us to skip attending meetings in person. It is the delight found from the convenience of ordering ahead through an App on the iPhone, followed by a
friendly delivery, compared with the chaos of in-store shopping and waiting for what seems hours in long lines at checkout. Yes, the “new normal” it seems should be to Adapt and Overcome. It is good guidance from the U.S. Marine Corp. Incidentally, it’s also one more good reason to be thankful, grateful really, for those who serve and protect our citizens and nation. Certainly not just for the Marines, but an appreciation that we should show and share with all members of our armed forces, both past and present. There is, of course, a day most particularly set aside for doing just that. It is Veterans Day, a federal holiday, and it is fast approaching, arriving on the calendar on November 11. Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day. It was to reflect the cessation of hostilities, and effectively, the end of World War I. The armistice, or truce agreement, was to take effect at the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918. Hence we officially celebrate each year at 11 am on November 11. While the date is still recognized and celebrated in many European nations, the United States Congress, in 1954, renamed it Veterans Day, thus expanding the definition of the commemoration such that it recognizes not just those who served in World War I, but to include all of those who have served in the military. This year, Veterans Day is just one week and a day after the frenetic frenzy of the 2020 Presidential election. After all of the zaniness of this year’s political season, I suspect that post election we will all likely need the respite or relief of a national holiday. Frankly, it can’t come soon enough!
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John Dicks is both a Lawyer and Businessman, including an interest in farming. He and his family have owned a Blueberry Farm and have Agricultural lands which they lease for cattle operations, as John says, “to someone who knows and handles cattle much better than I do!”. John is both a Gator, having received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, and a Seminole, with his Law Degree from Florida State University. John serves as Of Counsel to Trinkle Redman, a law firm in Plant City where he also served nine years as City Commissioner, including three terms as Mayor.
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E n d a n g e r e d S p e c i es
Short and Beautiful: Pygmy Fringe-tree
By Ginny Mink
We don’t usually write about two endangered plants in a row, but we liked this one so much we decided we wanted you to know all about it! Let us introduce you to the Pygmy Fringe-tree. If you live in Polk County you could have the joy of viewing one of these neat little trees! According to the US Fish and Wildlife Services, “Chionanthus pygmaeus is a large shrub that occurs primarily in scrub as well as high pineland, dry hammocks, and transitional habitats in central Florida.”¹ Unfortunately, so much of its natural habitat has been cleared for housing and citrus growing it was listed as endangered in January of 1987.¹ This tree is generally shorter than 10 feet tall and its stems are often found buried in the sand. Leaf scars cover the twigs while the remaining leaves are two to four inches in length. They are kind of leathery and oval shaped with maroon and yellow-green leaf stalks. So, given that initial description there’s probably not anything that is going to stand out to you about the tree at first glance.² However, it is the small white flowers that hang down like a fringe and are sweet smelling that will entice you. They are known to bloom between late February all the way through March. And if you are really hoping to see them, you will need to take a trip to the Lake Wales Ridge. It’s an ancient sand dune and beach system they say was formed millions of years ago and it “has one of the highest concentrations of threatened and endangered plants and animals in the United States.”³ On May 15, 2020, Hillsborough County published an article about endangered species because the third Friday of May each year has been designated Endangered Species Day. The site used that opportunity to bring to people’s mind that plants can be endangered, too. And, in the article, they mention the Pygmy Fringe-tree. Their small snippet reveals that the Pygmy Fringe-tree is fire-resistant and will resprout from its roots after prescribed or natural burns. They call it “one of the state’s fireadapted species.”⁴ It is known to exist northwest in Osceola County and west of Lake Apopka in Lake County. But you can also find it in Polk County if you opt to visit the Lake Wales Ridge as we mentioned before. Sadly, it can no longer be found in its historic habitat, which was the Mount Dora Ridge, but one of the largest populations we know to exist is in Highlands County in the Carter Creek Scrubs.¹ Essentially, the Pygmy Fringe-tree does best in sandhill, scrub, and xeric hammock areas. In some locations it may intermingle with evergreen scrub oaks and shrubs to create thickets. Since there are only 46⁴ populations of this tree remaining, it is definitely in need of protection. Sadly, only ten of those populations are located on protected conservation land.²
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You might find it interesting that people like this tree enough to have established a yearly Pygmy Fringe Tree Wildflower
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Festival. There are several sites that participate in the festival including the Museum of Florida Art and Culture (MOFAC), Bok Tower Gardens, and the Archbold Biological Station. The Festival lasts from Thursday through Saturday in March. So, be looking for it to be presented by the South Florida State College again next year.³ Of the 46 remaining populations that you could potentially see, some of them only consist of one tree.⁴ That doesn’t seem to qualify as a population to us, but since every tree counts we must count every tree! Obviously, researchers have been trying to figure out how to propagate these trees in an effort to save their existence. They have discovered that most new trees appear from root sprouts, though there are rare times when they will grow from seed. However, since there is no set time in which seeds are produced and disseminated, it is hard for conservationist to know when to seek them out to attempt to grow them elsewhere. Nurseries have found some success with air-dried seeds and have even seen germination out of whole fruits. In fact, Bok Tower Gardens has “achieved 60 to 70 percent germination rates under greenhouse conditions.”¹ Our best bet for saving these trees, is to adamantly work to preserve sandhill and scrub lands. We need to ensure that the preserved areas have prescribed burns and sunny gaps are maintained as the Pygmy Fringe-tree likes to be in full sun.² And we should be aware of the fact that a plethora of animals enjoy their seeds including, deer, quail, and turkey.¹ Like we tell you every month, God put these trees here for a reason and it is our job as stewards of this planet and this state to ensure that those things He placed here for a purpose are able to remain. So, visit the locations we mentioned and find out more about how you can help keep these cool trees blooming in our state! Resources: ¹US Fish and Wildlife Services. Pygmy Fringe-Tree. Chioanthus pygmaeus Small. https://www.fws.gov/verobeach/msrppdfs/pygmy.pdf ²Florida Natural Areas Inventory. Pygmy Fringe-Tree. https:// www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Chionanthus_pygmaeus.pdf ³South Florida State College. Florida’s Heartland Celebrates the Pygmy Fringe Tree. https://www.southflorida.edu/news/ floridas-heartland-celebrates-the-pygmy-fringe-tree ⁴Hillsborough County Florida. (2020). Not all Endangered Species Have Fur or Feathers. https://www.hillsboroughcounty. org/en/newsroom/2020/05/15/not-all-endangered-species-have-fur-or-feathers Photo Credits: Jon Fisher. (2016). Fringe Tree. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/GDUdDg Arthur T. LaBar. (2016). Fringe tree blossoms. https://flic.kr/p/ Gsd3tC WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
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AN EMERGENCY IS STILL AN EMERGENCY. EVEN DURING THIS EMERGENCY.
Don’t hesitate when it comes to getting emergency treatment. Even during a pandemic, you still need to be treated immediately if you have an emergency. Debating whether or not to risk going to an emergency room during a heart attack, stroke or other health emergency—waiting even a few extra minutes—could be harmful. That’s why
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20-1127552-0520
in all BayCare hospital emergency rooms, patients who have symptoms of COVID-19 are screened and treated in a separate area. This helps keep emergency room patients and our team members safe. So if it’s an emergency, don’t wait. For more information: BayCareEmergencyCare.org
By Ginny Mink
Ornamental Gardening in Florida If you have been joining us for our journeys on the Literary Time Machine, then you know we have been going through this book for more than six years! What might be surprising to note at this time is that we only have another 18 pages left! That will still probably take us another several months as there is so much information to glean from Mr. Torrey-Simpson’s knowledge. And it is our hope that we won’t stop there as we search for more vintage Florida books about plants and such. So, with that in mind, hop aboard and let’s see what other Aquatic and Wet Land Exotics we find interesting. We absolutely must stop for a moment at Nymphaea. You will know these better as water lilies and there are, according to Mr. Torrey-Simpson, about 40 different species. He pays particular attention to three of them after providing us with this description, “…beautiful aquatics widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions. Leaves usually floating…The flowers have four sepals but many petals gradually changing inwardly into the stamens.”¹ Then he introduces us to his favorites. “There are now a great number of varieties produced by hybridizing but one of the well known species is N. caerulea, the Blue lotus of the Nile and the Egyptians. There are N. lotus of North Africa and the Nile which has white flowers and was one of the sacred plants of the Egyptians; N. rubra of India which is the probable parent of the red flowered forms and which may be only a variety of the Egyptian species. Besides these there are several others grown in the north and all of them should be given a trial in Florida.”¹ While Mr. Torrey-Simpson is telling us to put these water lilies all over the state, we have a friend that is desperately trying to rid her pond of something seemingly similar. Because they float and have no anchor, every time she gets her side of the pond clear, the people across the way blow theirs over to her side. And though she might have enjoyed the pretty flowers, she doesn’t enjoy not being able to fish from her dock. So, perhaps some of these species have become a bit invasive? After contacting her for images though, we discovered she’s having problems with water hyacinths.
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He next tells us about Salvinia. He writes that it, “…is a genus of flowerless plants found mostly in the tropics with one species, S. natans quite often cultivated and is widely scattered over the northern hemisphere and in South America… The plant floats free on the water and is generally an annual, usually dying in winter after ripening a crop of spores. These sink to the bottom and if the soil is preserved without being disturbed they will come up and grow in the spring. It is a remarkable plant and is sometimes grown in tubs here in our state.”¹ The idea of people growing plants in tubs in 1926 is interesting to us, though we suppose people are still doing that today!
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And now we arrive at a plant that he is apparently quite enthralled with. He pens, “Victoria. The most splendid genus of water plants in the world. The two species known are from South America, the first discovered being V. regia, a native of Guiana and well down into tropical Brazil and probably Bolivia. The immense circular leaves are six feet or more across… The white flowers are very large, they open at night and remain in perfection for about two days…Poeppig, the botanist and traveler, found the plant on the Amazon in 1832 and gave a published account of it that year under the name Euryale amazonica while the name Victoria regia was not given to it until 1837 by the botanist Lindley. It will be interesting to know whether the systematists will throw Lindley’s specific name out and use the first that was regularly given.”¹ Obviously, he had no clue what would happen, so we have to provide the answer, almost a hundred years later. According to Missouri Botanical Garden, they have combined the two names! It is now known as the Victoria amazonica. And the photos on their site are incredible. This is not at all what we had envisioned from his description. It’s like they have one giant platter shaped leaf. And according to that site it was during the reign of Queen Victoria that the plant was grown in Kew Gardens in England. And, apparently, the flowers will change color as they age from the initial white to a rose purple.² We suspect you’d have to have a very large span of water in which to grow them effectively. Let us know if you try! And with that, we shall end this trip! We hope you have learned a lot and that the pictures we provide will be as “Wow” to you as they have been for us! Keep on traveling with us until we reach the end of the book and we promise to take you on another adventure in the near future. Until then, happy gardening! Oh, and by the way, he doesn’t mention the water hyacinth in this chapter. So, if you have problems with it as well, you’ll have to look elsewhere for answers. Resources: ¹ Simpson, Charles T. (1926). Ornamental Gardening in Florida. Published by the Author; Little River, FL. Printed by J.J. Little and Ives Company, New York. (p. 212-214). ²Missouri Botanical Garden. Victoria amazonica. http://www. missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c263 Photo Credits: Dick Culbert. (2015). Victoria amazonica. Flickr. https://flic. kr/p/uxstcC Stanley Zimny. (2017). Blue Water Lily. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/ QQ1Cjx WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
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FROM THE SCIENTIFIC FIELD
By J. Scott Angle
Ten years ago, when Fidel and Hilda Castillo received a visit 75 percent of the area’s strawberry acreage on her commute from then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at their and took advantage of that by stopping at most of the farms Plant City farm, they invited only one person not related to regularly. them—Alicia Whidden. UF/IFAS is a service organization. That is, we serve the farmThe Secret Service preferred not to have an outsider at the ers of Hillsborough and Polk counties and across the state. We event, but the Castillos insisted. Though Whidden is not relat- do that with a combination of expertise and service ethic that ed to them, they consider her family because of the strong re- Whidden has embodied for decades. As we develop the comlationship she developed with them as a UF/IFAS Hillsborough munications methods that allow us to deliver know-how to a County Extension horticulture agent. wider audience, we will always have agents like Whidden who believe in “house calls” and handshakes as indispensable ways Whidden retires on Oct. 31 after 17 years as an agent, but many to connect with individual growers. more than that in service to Hillsborough County agriculture. She had previously worked in the strawberry lab in Dover. She This is evident in a new generation of Hillsborough and Polk took her knowledge of plant pathology with her in her role as county agents who are quickly establishing reputations for agent, helping strawberry growers identify disease threats in personal service. Shawn Steed and Francisco Rivera come to their fields. mind in Hillsborough. And Chris Oswalt has long been an onfarm presence from his base in Polk. But she didn’t have to know everything, because she knew people. Whidden is so well known that growers would call her Among the highest compliments I hear of UF/IFAS employwhen no one else knew what to do. They’d call on weekends. ees is when you claim them as yours. Kenneth Parker of the Sometimes it would have nothing to do with a crop but with a Florida Strawberry Growers Association calls Whidden “our” kid’s science project. strawberry and vegetable agent. Whatever the source of her paycheck, Parker sees Whidden as working for the people in Whidden would know the answer or find the answer among the Hillsborough and Polk ag community. As with Castillo, for faculty at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center or Parker the line between Whidden the agent and Whidden the elsewhere in UF/IFAS. She also connected growers with op- family friend seemed to dissolve. portunities to participate in research field trials. There was something beyond expertise at work. Growers regard Whidden with what is considered a great compliment— she’s an “old-fashioned” agent. That means an agent who visits the farm, talks to growers and takes conversations beyond plants and into the realm of family, friends, hopes and dreams. In fact, growers were part of her daily commute from her home just over the Polk County line. Hilda Castillo said she’d call Whidden and the agent would stop by the farm that same day on her way home.
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Carl Grooms goes one better. He said she’d sometimes call him and ask to visit on her way to work. Grooms estimates she has visited hundreds of times. She is part of what he called a local “family of farmers.” Hillsborough County Extension Director Stephen Gran says Whidden may have passed through
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Scott Angle is the University of Florida’s Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources and leader of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
A Closer Look
by Sean Green | Photos by April Green
Scoliid Wasps (Scoliidae)
While hiking last week we came across a huge wasp we just had to get pictures of. He was beautiful. The gentle giant made his way from flower to flower sipping nectar with the other pollinating patrons of the flower’s hospitality. This wasp was not scary to us, though we have seen posts about this wasp on social media that indicate a general fear of big wasps. A fear that I am certain was encouraged with the “murder hornet” hype that was circulated not long ago. Hopefully some of those fears were dispelled in our previous article on the “murder hornet” but, for good measure, this month we are taking a closer look at the scoliid wasps, a friendly and beneficial species that many will want nearby. Scoliid wasps, pronounced sko-LEE-ud, also known as Scarab Hawks or Scarab Hunters. With a body size ranging from 10mm to 35mm and a wingspan of up to 60mm these are among the largest wasps in North America and hard to miss. Their body is so large, it tends to have a slightly bend or curled appearance. The family name for this wasp, Scoliidae comes to us from the Greek scolios “bent, curved” the root word for skoliosis “crookedness which many of us are already familiar with. There are about 20 native species of Scoliid wasps in North America, these are divided into five genus (groups). The genus Pygodasi (formerly Campsomeris) is likely to have the greatest distribution of the four species we have in Florida. The wasp in our picture appears to be a male four spotted Scoliid wasps (Pygodasi quadrimaculata) the scientific name comes to us from the Latin quadri- (four) and macula “spot, stain,” The females abdomen is marked with four distinct spots; males on the other hand have much more variation in color patterns. For this reason, color patterns are not enough to identify the species. The wing pattern, abdominal and antennae segments as well as coloration must be considered for the identification of the species. Scoliid wasps, regardless of species, are parasitoids of scarab beetle larvae and have become an important species in the biologic control of the invasive Japanese beetles and sawyer beetles. It is not only the invasive species that become prey to this wasp, it will also parasite native pest beetles such as the June beetles, weevils, and other crop pests. Scoliid wasps are solitary ground nesting hunters. The female does the hunting to find a suitable host for her young. She flies just above the ground scanning for the subterranean beetle larvae. We don’t fully understand how she
Scoliid wasps have a four-stage lifecycle like the butterfly (egg, larvae, pupa, adult). After hatching, the scoliid wasp larva feeds on the paralyzed scarab host from the inside out and in a week or two, emerges from the skin of the beetle larva to spin a cocoon for the pupa stage. While remaining underground, in the pupal stage, the pupa develops into an adult and digs its way out of the soil to begin the next generation. The hottest days of the year are the best time to see these wasps, but in Florida, it’s hot enough to see them well through October and maybe into November. If you see one of these wasps in the wild, you will see the males drinking nectar from the flowers while the females are busy hunting. But do not be quick to assume the males do not have an important role in all that nectar drinking, evolutionary history illustrates this point. There are South American species of Scoliid wasps (Pygodasis bistrimaculata) that engage in pseudocopulation with some species of orchids. What this means is that both the flower and the wasps have co-evolved to depend on eachother. The flower releases pheromones that resemble the sex pheromones of the female wasp specifically to attract a male wasp to it for pollination. The male wasp attempts mating with a flower (and of course fails) but in the process, the flower gets pollinated. As a reward for this trickery the wasp can partake of the sweet nectar the flower produces. These wasps are fascinating to watch and are amazingly docile. We were only inches away from them when we took these pictures. Although large and intimidating to some, I promise you, so long as you do not trap these wasps between your fingers or torment them, they will go about their business without aggression. I encourage our readers to look for these large North American wasps, recognize them, and protect them. In a previous article we took a closer look at the murder hornets, It would be a sad thing to hear of Americans killing one of our largest species of wasps because of the inaccurate hype pertaining to murder hornets. INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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detects the larvae, but she finds them as readily as white ibis, that also feed on beetle larvae. Once found, she burrows into the ground to intercept and paralyze the larvae with an impressive sting of which the larvae remain alive, but never recover from the paralysis that results. Sometimes the female will invade the burrow of an adult beetle and attack any larva found within, often digging a new chamber within the beetles burrow to deposit the beetle larvae and on it one of her own eggs.
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EXTENSION RELEASES SEVEN, 4-H VOLUNTEER
CLUB LEADERS; CAUSES ANGUISH AMONG CLUB MEMBERS, PARENTS AND COUNTY’S AG COMMUNITY
By Jim Frankowiak There’s discord within a growing segment of the 4-H and Agricultural communities in Hillsborough County. It began after regular business hours on Friday, August 7, with emails sent to seven volunteer leaders of 4-H livestock clubs in the county. The emails were authored by 4-H Youth Development Agents Brandi Yancy and Charles Poliseno and stated: “…after careful consideration and effective (August 7, 2020), we have decided to release you from your volunteer services.” The emails went on to remind recipients that “...annual approval of volunteer services is required for each volunteer regardless of history or years of service. The department or academic unit may release a volunteer at any time, for any reason and without prior notice.” 4-H programming in Hillsborough County is part of the mission of the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension with Agents offering educational services through a three-way cooperative arrangement among the Board of County Commissioners, the University of Florida and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition to 4-H/Youth Development, Extension’s mission addresses Agriculture, Horticulture, Nutrition, Personal Finance, Parenting and Family Life. Extension Agents are all offcampus faculty members of UF. Volunteers are vital to 4-H club programming in Hillsborough County. When applying to serve UF/IFAS as a 4-H volunteer, individuals agree to “abide by all applicable rules and regulations of the University of Florida and guidelines of the UF/ IFAS Florida 4-H Youth Development program and to fulfill the volunteer responsibilities to the best of my ability. I understand that I will receive no monetary benefits in return for the volunteer service I provide and that the University of Florida may terminate this agreement at any time without prior notice.”
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Even though the seven released club leaders are volunteers, to protect volunteers’ privacy, Florida 4-H chooses not to disclose released volunteers’ identities and circumstances. We do know, however, that the group includes volunteers who have served 4-H in the county for many years. In fact, one of the group and that person’s 4-H club leader were part of the seven.
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The August 7 action has impacted 78 4-H members of two livestock clubs in the county, their parents, 4-H supporters and the Ag community. Noteworthy among the varied response to this situation was a letter from long time Florida 4-H supporters and alumni Chip and Jemy Hinton addressed to UF/IFAS officials (Dean Nick Place, Ms. Brenda Rogers and Dr. Michael Gutter in Gainesville). Their letter, in part, stated, “...UF policy on summarily dismissing volunteer leaders without opportunity of counsel, improvement or documentation of wrongdoing is the antithesis of everything we have been taught and believe and everything for which we stand…” The letter goes on “...we are astounded and dismayed that UF does not have any protocol for counseling and remediating errors made by leaders, and that a leader can be dismissed at the pleasure of the county 4-H agents with no adequate explanation of cause, no warning, no probation and no documentation about failure to comply.” The Hinton’s letter “respectfully requests” consideration of changes in UF/IFAS 4-H policies and procedures as follows: • Reconsideration of the statewide policy that allows for dismissal of a volunteer without just cause; • Incorporation of mitigating guidance and counseling to work with volunteers before dismissal; • Establishes state and local level advisory committees to provide grassroots information on the needs and long range goals of 4-H in the state and local community; • Aggressive and continued motivation of Hillsborough County youth through 4-H program involvement to seek out agriculture as a viable career, supporting the county’s single largest industry; • Remind UF/IFAS faculty that they are working for the citizens and taxpayers of the state of Florida as represented by their clients in this case serving and preparing youth to be future leaders. The Hinton’s “sincerely hope our concerns and suggestions will be given careful consideration” going forward. A request from IN THE FIELD to local Extension leadership for answers to questions on this multi-volunteer dismissal was forwarded to UF Extension Administration, Gainesville. The responses were authored by Dr. Gutter, associate dean WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
for UF/IFAS Extension and state program leader for 4-H youth development, families and communities. While specifics related to each of the seven, dismissed volunteers are confidential, it appeared that the group failed to meet or adhere to duties associated with their positions. To this query, Dr. Gutter said: “The professionalism and dedication of our volunteers is part of what makes 4-H the premier youth development program in the country. This is why we invest in our volunteers and give them the training they need to be successful. This ensures the best 4-H experience for members and volunteers alike and strengthens the program overall. Every 4-H volunteer in Florida receives training from their local county 4-H agent to provide them with the skills they need to be successful. Training in Hillsborough County covers the experiential learning model, 4-H policies, the volunteer code of conduct, financial and recordkeeping policies, autism and disabilities awareness and several other topics. “All leaders are required to attend volunteer training at the beginning of each 4-H year. In Hillsborough County, new leaders and returning leaders are required to complete two training sessions. New leaders complete a total of seven and a half hours of training and returning leaders complete four and a half hours of training. In 2019, the first set of sessions were offered twice, both on Saturdays. The second set of session were offered three times, all during weekday evenings. If a volunteer does not complete the training, breaks the code of conduct or is simply not a good fit for the organization, the volunteer may be released from volunteer service.” His response did confirm the number of volunteer leaders dismissed at seven and noted each “was given the opportunity to meet with a 4-H program representative to discuss their situation and provide more information. What happens next is determined on a case-by-case basis. In the interest of protecting volunteers’ privacy, we don’t discuss the details of specific cases.” He also confirmed that the dismissed volunteers all led livestock clubs in Hillsborough County, and “The clubs still exist, and members continue to learn about livestock and pursue their projects. There has been no change to 4-H livestock programming in Hillsborough County. ”The leader of one club did return to that role under the guidance of the Extension agents,” Gutter said. “They are actively seeking a 2nd volunteer to serve as co-leader. “In the case of the other club, the agents are taking on a leadership role. The agents will continue to provide support to this club and guide the new leaders until the club is self-sufficient. Dr. Gutter noted “Clubs led by released volunteers have 78 members. Our priority is to provide a positive, safe environment for our youth. Completing volunteer training and abiding by the code of conduct equips our volunteers to create that environment for our members. If volunteers aren’t able to meet those requirements, releasing those volunteers is in the best interest of our youth. When this happens, the local 4-H agents assist in finding and mentoring new leaders for those clubs.” When asked if 4-H officials recognize this problem and if it will be addressed, Dr. Gutter said, “When volunteers don’t adhere to the requirements of the 4-H program, that’s a problem, and it’s one we work to address quickly and fairly so as to minimize the impact on our members, future volunteers and supporters.” IN THE FIELD will continue to monitor this situation and report on future developments as they occur.
GROWERS RECEIVE MASKS AND THERMOMETERS TO HELP PROTECT AG WORKERS
The University of South Florida (USF) Community Response Emergency Response Team (CERT) along with representatives of Hillsborough County’s Economic Development Department delivered 22,500 masks and thermometers for distribution to agricultural workers at dozens of farms in Plant City, Dover and Seffner during a recent event at the headquarters of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA). USF CERT is also conducting research to determine how people in need are coping with COVID-19 and it hopes to determine how the pandemic’s effects on farming communities influence the supply of locally grown food. Hillsborough County has four CERT teams that routinely reach out to residents in vulnerable areas. Those efforts have been accelerated to distribute materials provided by the Office of Emergency Management to communities such as Town ‘N’ Country, Ruskin, Palm River/Clair Mel City and Wimauma. These supply and distribution efforts are intended to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure people have what they need before adverse weather conditions threaten Florida’s West Coast. More distribution events involving safety equipment and information are planned. Items distributed typically include hurricane guides, Tampa Electric Company (TECO) brochures about power outages, fliers with details on food distribution dates and locations, cards detailing Crisis Center of Tampa Bay services and referrals, face masks, hand sanitizers, flashlights and thermometers. An arm of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the CERT program trains volunteers throughout the nation to prepare for disasters. Participants learn basic skills such as fire safety, search and rescue, emergency medial operations and team organization. CERT teams support full-time responders in emergency situations, allowing the professionals to focus on critical tasks.
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By Jim Frankowiak
Community Composting By Libby Hopkins
Elizabeth A. Leib is a firm believer in giving back to the community. She is a sustainability tour guide at Keel & Curley Winery. She is the Volunteer Manager at Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger and the Founder and Director of Hillsborough Community Compost Alliance. “In 2013 I started an all-volunteer driven 501c-3 non-profit, Tampa Bay Farm 2 School (TBF2), to support youth gardens,” Leib said. “During the seven years of operating TBF2S’s service to Hillsborough County schools and youth clubs, I expanded the organization’s programs, adding plant-based cooking program called Kids’ Kitchen and composting. Presently TBF2S is on hiatus, so I’m giving tours at Keel & Curley Winery and recruiting and managing volunteers for the hunger relief organization Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger. I’ll be using my expertise in composting to assist Keel & Curley Farm to set up an on-site composting operation to convert food waste from the restaurant to compost that can be used in the fields.” “I started Hillsborough Community Composting in 2018 after attending a Pinellas Compost meeting,” Lieb said. “There was no organization in Hillsborough County that exists solely for the purpose of educating and information sharing.” The Hillsborough Community Compost Alliance works to ensure the future by raising awareness about food waste and composting solutions for returning that waste to soil. “We promote a variety of ideas and tools to make composting practical for individuals, schools, organizations and businesses,” Leib said. “Our goal is to increase general public participation in the regimented act of making soil. For example, we recommend a free website that makes it easy to organize a public or private site for a home, business or neighborhood called MakeSoil.org (www.MakeSoil.org).” Composting is created by combining organic wastes, such as wasted food, yard trimmings and manures, in the right ratios into piles, rows, or vessels. You can also add bulking agents, such as wood chips, as necessary to accelerate the breakdown of organic materials, allowing the finished material to fully stabilize and mature through a curing process.
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There are many benefits to using compost. Compost reduces, and in some cases eliminates, the need for chemical fertilizers. It promotes higher yields of agricultural crops. Compost
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can help aid reforestation, wetlands restoration and habitat revitalization efforts by improving contaminated, compacted and marginal soils. It can also be used to remediate soils contaminated by hazardous waste in a cost effective manner. Compost enhances water retention in soils and provides carbon sequestration. Composting is extremely important in growing healthy and nutritious food. “My goodness, composting is common sense,” Leib said. “It’s just a simple matter of making the best use of resources. As farmers know and the general public often does not, healthy soil is critical to producing food. Compost can be used to improve degraded soil. The problem of food waste is huge. When it ends up in a landfill it creates methane and other greenhouse gas emissions. Using food waste to create compost to enrich soil is so much smarter. And compost helps sequester carbon in the soil and help reverse climate change.” Leib and her Pinellas County counterpart, Amanda Streets, hope their organization can raise awareness about composting and help people on both sides of the bay with their composting needs. “We hope to communicate with community gardens and farms in the Tampa Bay area,” Leib said. “We want to publicize by using social media, graphics and other information to educate the Tampa Bay community about food waste associated with fall decorations.” The Hillsborough Community Composting Alliance will be hosting The Pumpkin Compost Campaign as a joint effort between Hillsborough Community Compost and Pinellas Community Compost. It will be held Oct. 24 - Nov. 1 at various community gardens and local farms in both areas. “It will be a collaboration with local farms interested in feeding whole pumpkins to livestock,” Leib said. ”It’s also a collaboration with community gardens and urban farms to compost carved or rotten pumpkins. We are looking for additional farms and gardens that would agree to accept pumpkins at their locations following social distancing guidelines. Each location would establish their own procedures for drop off.” If you would like to learn more about the Hillsborough Community Compost Alliance, you can visit their website at www. hillsboroughcomposting.com. If you would like to participate in the Pumpkin Compost Campaign, you can contact Leib at ttfarm2school@gmail.com or call her at 813-892-5704. WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
NIFA FUNDS RESEARCH PROJECT ON ORGANIC VEGETABLE COVER CROPS By Jim Frankowiak
Gabriel Maltais-Landry
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has announced funding of a three-year project, “Quantifying the nitrogen cycling benefits of different cover crops across different Florida organic vegetable production systems.” The project will be undertaken by an interdisciplinary team from the University of Florida. The $496,271 project grant is part of USDA-NIFA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative. The project’s principal investigator is Gabriel Maltais-Landry, an assistant professor in the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Soil and Water Sciences Department. “One of the key practices used in sustainable agriculture is the use of cover crops that replace bare fallow periods when no crops would typically be grown,” said Maltais-Landry. “The objectives vary: originally meant to reduce soil erosion, cover crops are now also used to control weeds and other pests in addition to providing nutrient cycling benefits, which is my main interest. “Crops depend on essential nutrients to grow; one of these is nitrogen,” he said. “In organic systems, it can be difficult to supply enough nitrogen to crops in an economically viable way because synthetic fertilizers are prohibited. Oftentimes, legume cover crops can help, as they fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. If we can retain that nitrogen within a system and transfer it to a cash crop, that could reduce the need for inputs, whether that’s fertilizers, amendments, etc., and their association costs. Nitrogen can also affect natural ecosystems, as excessive nitrogen can have adverse environmental consequences on our springs and other aquatic systems.
“The overall goal of this project is to optimize the management of cover crops in these organic vegetable systems,” said Maltais-Landry. “We hope to provide fertility to the crop and to the soil, without oversupplying nitrogen, which can become an environmental hazard. We also want to be sure that by optimizing the system for nitrogen, we minimize negative trade-offs with other properties, whether that’s crop quality, nematode pressure or soil health.”
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“This project is specifically focused on vegetables, which we grow here in Florida in the fall, winter and spring,” said MaltaisLandry. “Our cover crops, then, grow during the hottest and wettest part of the year, which is different from most other U.S. systems when cover crops are grown during cooler months. “We’re going to use three cash crops for this study, which are representative of important vegetable types grown in the state: bok choy is a Brassicaceae or cole crop, cucumber is cucurbit and bell pepper is a Solanaceae. They also have different nitrogen demand and different growth forms.” He said the plantings will all be done at a certified organic field at the UF/IFAS Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra. “Sunn hemp, a legume, will be our main cover crop, which is an interesting one because farmers like to use it for its nematicide properties – it reduces nematodes in the soil,” he said. “Grasses are another common type of cover crop, but grasses don’t break down as quickly as legumes and some are event known to tie up nitrogen during their slow decomposition. So, we’ll be looking at Sunn hemp grown alone or in combination with other cover crops to see if mixtures could extend the duration of nitrogen release during cover crop decomposition. We’ll be looking into how much of that nitrogen actually goes to the next crop. It’s not just about the nitrogen and cover crops, though. We’ll also compare nutrient management approaches: one that’s based on composted manure because that’s often what farmers rely on primarily, just for the sake of cost; as well as a more integrated approach that uses different fertility sources.
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Collegiate Cattlewomen By Libby Hopkins
Casie Holloway, President of the Florida CattleWomen, Jason Stewart, Academic Advisor and Dr. Debra Barry, Agricultural Education Lecturer, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Florida, Plant City Campus, decided to join forces to create a branch of the Collegiate CattleWomen's Association at their location. “With the popularity of the Gator Collegiate CattleWomen's Association at the University of Florida, Gainesville Campus and the University of Florida, Plant City Center, not having a Collegiate CattleWomen's Association at their location,” Holloway said, “I reached out to the faculty at the Plant City Center to develop and give female students attending the University of Florida, Plant City Center, the same opportunities to be involved in a Collegiate CattleWomen's Association, as the female students had at the Gainesville Campus. With the help of Jason and Dr. Barry, the University of Florida, Plant City Campus has been able to launch the University of Florida, Plant City CattleWomen's Association.” Florida CattleWomen and the Collegiate CattleWomen's Association are not letting the pandemic slow them down in connecting with each other. “We will be holding a "Welcome Zoom Meeting" in late October,” Holloway said. “From that meeting we will be working on upcoming CattleWomen events to get the female students acquainted with the association. It is the plan, for the UF-Plant City CattleWomen's Association to have a large involvement within the community, through sharing the importance of the Florida Beef Industry with beef education at local schools, participating in story times, hands-on demonstrations and educational activities. There are so many children attending school within the Plant City area that could learn how the Florida Beef Industry affects his or her life daily. Florida CattleWomen would also like to see the University of Florida, Plant City CattleWomen, have an involvement at the Strawberry Festival. The opportunities for community involvement are endless and the University of Florida, Plant City CattleWomen, will be exploring opportunities to make a positive impact for the community.”
is also a student receiving her degree in Agricultural Education and Communications at the University of Florida Plant City Campus. “I have been involved in the Polk County CattleWomen’s Association since middle school,” Buchanon said. “Cattle have been apart of my life since I was born, whether it was working cows on my family’s commercial cow-calf operation, or exhibiting heifers and steers at my local county fair. This will allow young ladies attending the UF Plant City Center to be apart of the beef industry and participate in industry events and beef education projects while fostering relationships with Florida Cattlemen and CattleWomen throughout the state of Florida.” Female students attending Hillsborough Community College and University of Florida, Plant City Center, seeking an agriculture degree or who have an interest in the beef industry are encouraged to join the University of Florida, Plant City CattleWomen's Association. “The first step they would need to do is sign up to be a Florida CattleWomen Member,” Holloway said. “My hopes for the group, is to give female students attending the Plant City Campus, the opportunity to be involved in the Florida beef industry, Florida CattleWomen's Association, as well as, opportunity to apply in the many Florida CattleWomen's Collegiate Scholarships. There are so many avenues young women can explore by being involved within the Florida CattleWomen's Association, and I encourage all female students having a strong interest in the beef industry to get involved in the University of Florida, Plant City CattleWomen's Association. Mr. Stewart, has asked me to be the inaugural sponsor for the association, and it is with great pride, that I accept this great honor.” If you would like to join the Collegiate Cattlewomen’s Association, all you need to do is log onto www.floridacattlemen. org and choose the FCW tab, then choose the "Join or Renew" tab. Make sure to list your affiliation as University of Florida, Plant City CattleWomen. You can also contact Holloway at floridacattlewomen@yahoo.com.
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Blair Buchanon is the 2020 Florida Cattlemen’s Association Sweetheart First Runner Up from Imperial Polk County. She
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COUNTY FARM BUREAU HOLDS AG TOUR FOR CANDIDATES By Jim Frankowiak
Candidates for county, state and national offices were given the opportunity to learn about the area’s agricultural industry through a multi-stop tour organized and undertaken by Hillsborough County Farm Bureau. Held last month, the tour began at the Audubon Ranch north of Plant City with remarks by Dennis Carlton, Sr., and his son and current Hillsborough County Farm Bureau President Dennis Carlton, Jr. Florida Strawberry Growers Association Executive Director Kenneth Parker also addressed the group along with District 58 Florida Representative Lawrence McClure, who also sits on the local Farm Bureau Board. The tour’s next stop was Oak Ridge Fishery where owner David Drawdy talked about his business and its contributions to agriculture in Hillsborough County and the varied challenges and opportunities he faces daily. The last tour stop was Tampa Nursery and Garden in Dover where Bill Burnette addressed the group. Political candidates in attendance for the tour included Scott Franklin, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in District 15; Harry Cohen, who is running for District 1 on the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners and Florida House District 59 candidate Andrew Learned. Candidate staffers were also in attendance. “Each of the attendees expressed their appreciation for the tour and information shared,” said Hillsborough County Farm Bureau Executive Director. “This was a great opportunity for each of them to learn about agriculture and its importance in our county, as well as network with producers and others that may be especially helpful in the future.” Hillsborough County Farm Bureau is also participating in this month’s Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce Annual Ag Tour with visits to Tropical Aquaculture and Gill Farm. INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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