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SEPTEMBER 2020 VOL. 15 • ISSUE 11
CONTENTS STATE FFA OFFICERS Hillsborough County Farm Bureau 305 S. Wheeler St. Plant City, FL.
44 Cover Photo by Karen Berry PAGE 10 Tribe
PAGE 36 Plant Diagnostic Clinic
PAGE 12 Hillsborough County Fair
PAGE 38 A Growing Hobby PAGE 40
PAGE 16 Two Shrubs
PAGE 46 John Dicks
PAGE 18 Fishing Hot Spots
PAGE 48 Endangered Species
PAGE 22 Rocking Chair Chatter
PAGE 50 Antonio Carraro PAGE 52 Literary Time Machine
PAGE 24 State Officer Column
PAGE 54 Scott Angle
PAGE 27 HCSO
PAGE 55 A Closer Look
PAGE 29 Blackberries PAGE 30 News Briefs
PAGE 60 Assisting Growers
PAGE 35 Cassidy Eramo
PAGE 64 Dr. Natalia Peres
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
InTheField® Magazine P.O. Box 5377 • Plant City, Fl. 33566-0042 *Winners will be notified by phone. You Too Can Be A Winner! PAGE
Insurance Services: 813-685-5673 Member Services: 813-685-9121
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Dennis Carlton, Jr.....................President Jake Raburn................Vice President Tony Lopez..............Treasurer Buddy Coleman..................Secretary
Funky Flowers
PAGE 17 Strawbberry Breeding
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Office Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
September 2020
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
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
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STAFF
Letter from the Editor September 22 is the first official day of Fall and with it comes the crisp refreshing Fall air! Oh, wait, that’s for the rest of the country. I mean they had snow in Colorado early in the month for goodness sake. Can’t we catch just a cool breeze? The more important note to make about Fall in Florida is the daylight hours start getting shorter. The first day of Fall, or the autumnal equinox, is the day when daylight hours and night are of equal length and everything is pumpkin spice. I think the better thing to do is just talk about the two seasons Florida actually has - the rainy season and the dry season. We are right in the middle (maybe a bit past that) of hurricane season. As of this writing, we haven’t had any major storms in our area. We all know that all it takes is a wind shift to send a hurricane our way and right now the Atlantic is very busy. Every farm and ranch should have a plan in place in the event of a hurricane. Have updated numbers for employees, veterinarian, neighbors, insurance provider, utility company and county extension offices. Fill your farm and family vehicles and top of farm fuel tanks. Purchase batteries. Stock up on feed. Be sure your chainsaws are in working order and have plenty of fence repair material on hand. These are just a few of the things you need to do in case of a hurricane. We’ve been lucky so far but we all know that can change in a split second. If you find yourself in a position to be able to take on a foster dog, please do so. Any rescue group worth being affiliated with will pay for everything your foster needs until the perfect home is found. There are so many unwanted dogs in shelters and on the streets that it seems to be a never ending battle. We may not be able to save them all but we can certainly help save some. As you sit back and enjoy this issue of In The Field magazine, we hope you are imaging cooler weather.
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 Stephanie Humphry 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
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.
Stay safe!
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 I am especially pleased to report that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representation, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Commerce released a report earlier this month detailing a plan the Administration is to implement addressing the threat posed by increased foreign imports to American producers of seasonal and perishable fruits and vegetables. This will help our strawberry growers and the future of the industry as we move forward. This is not something that just came about on its own accord, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the recently enacted United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement did not address the unfair trade that impacted our specialty crop growers for more than a decade. Seasonal growers have sought a level playing field and the just-released plan will hopefully enable them to achieve that goal. This is a major development and the culmination of years of effort involving elected officials, association executives, growers and others. As time passed, it became readily apparent that relief demanded awareness of the challenge at the highest levels of government. Through the efforts of State Representative Lawrence McClure, both he and Florida Strawberry Growers Association Executive Director Kenneth Parker were given the opportunity to make the Trump Administration, specifically Vice President Mike Pence, aware of this inequitable and ongoing situation. The meeting at the White House included a very candid presentation of the facts. That led to public hearings in Florida and Georgia that resulted in the plan that will be implemented over the next several months to address this situation.
Overall, I am proud of what transpired to present our local industry to the White House, in a manner that gained both understanding and a plan of action to address these unfair practices that have crippled our growers. While we owe our thanks to many, we will forever be indebted to the efforts of my cousin Representative McClure and my friend Kenneth Parker. I must remind you that because of COVID-19 our annual meeting steak dinner will not take place this year. Also, the most recent information on the pandemic is available at the Florida Farm Bureau website: https://www.floridafarmbureau.org/covid-19-resources/. Lastly, Lawrence and Kenneth are active Farm Bureau members. If you would like to become involved please consider joining. Membership helps both your family and our industry. To learn more about Farm Bureau and the opportunities and benefits membership offers, please contact us at: www.hcfarmbureau.org or call our office in Plant City at 813/685-9121. Your membership will help make the Voice of Agriculture just a little louder. Thank you. 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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It Takes a TRIBE
By Libby Hopkins It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child. In Kristen Brown’s opinion, it takes a TRIBE to raise many children and she is grateful for everyone in her TRIBE who has helped her make a positive impact on the children’s lives she has helped. Brown is the director of TRIBE Seminole Heights, which is located in the Seminole Heights area of Tampa. TRIBE is community center on the outside, but on the inside, TRIBE is community focused non-profit that integrates unique learning experiences, family support and strategic outreach with a focus on the wellness of children and families. TRIBE works with two Title-1 schools in the Seminole Heights area, Seminole Heights Elementary and Broward Elementary. Before the recent pandemic, Brown and her team of local artists and volunteers help build a community garden and butterfly garden at one of the schools. It was such a success with the students that she wants to offer gardening as one of the regular programs at TRIBE and would like to have full-functioning gardens at the school TRIBE supports.
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“Before the pandemic, we had kind of dipped our toes into the waters of gardening last semester and there was such a strong response to it and the kids really started to love it,”
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Brown said. “Our kids have been through some trauma recently with the pandemic and we feel it’s time to grow this program because there is really is nothing that’s quite as healing as putting your hands in the dirt. So, we want our kids here at TRIBE to have the experience of getting settled in with the new normal and new school year and then get them back to gardening. We also want to give some of our lower socioeconomic kids the opportunity to learn about gardening and grow their own food.” Brown would like to have various forms of gardening be offered at TRIBE and the schools. “We would like to have hydroponic garden on the back deck of TRIBE and an expanded garden in our nursery as well as expanding our gardening programs. We would like to eventually have a vegetable garden at both of our partner schools and on site at our facility.” Both Title-1 schools that TRIBE supports had numerous challenges before the pandemic. Brown hopes the gardening programs will be a benefit for all. “Both Title-1 schools that we serve are both under-resourced and are struggling to keep the teachers they have,” Brown said. “They have a very high turnover rate right now and it’s a very hard time in general right now. So, what we do for them is help with unmet needs WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
and help them with dream items and a garden is a dream item. Broward Elementary has a small tower garden already but they don’t have enough infrastructures to maintain it. They have a whole other garden area they would like to develop, so they have the space, they just don’t have someone who has the passion to make it come to life.” TRIBE recently had a meeting with Hillsborough County Farm Bureau in the hopes of joining forces to help their two partner schools. “I am so excited to be involved with TRIBE,” said Hillsborough County Farm Bureau’s Judi Whitson. “I love the programming and can’t wait to get agriculture more involved with TRIBE’s efforts. We all know in the Ag community ‘it takes a village’ and that is exactly what TRIBE is doing for kids.” Brown hopes other people will want to get involved with TRIBE and help her grow the garden program. Recently, local artists Fabstraq (www.fabstraq.com) and Rojo (www.rojotheartist. com) collaborated on a butterfly mural for Seminole Heights Elementary. “Seminole Heights Elementary had a butterfly garden that had fallen behind on upkeep,” Brown said. “It had become a hazard to the school and the students. It was no longer a safe space for the students to go into or relax. So, we went in and pulled everything out, pressure washed the entire space, put in all new beds, painted a mural on one side and then had Fabstraq and Rojo paint a mural on the side. We also worked with a local restaurant that was closing down to get their patio furniture to put in the garden as well. Now, it’s this very calm, serene spot for the students.”
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If you would like to learn more about the programs offered at TRIBE or if you would like make a donation to TRIBE, you can visit their website at www.tribeseminoleheights.com. If you would like to help Brown with the gardening projects at TRIBE’s partner schools, you can contact Kristen Brown at (813) 5631582. TRIBE is located at 6111 N. Central Ave. in Tampa.
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THE POWER OF PEPTIDES
2020 HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FAIR LIMITED TO YOUTH LIVESTOCK SHOWS AND HARVEST QUEEN PAGEANT DUE TO COVID-19 By Jim Frankowiak
The 2020 Hillsborough County Fair – scheduled for October 22 – November 1 – will be limited to the Youth Livestock Shows and Harvest Queen Scholarship Program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All other aspects of the fair will be postponed until 2021. “This was an extremely difficult decision to make and was driven by the impact of the pandemic,” said Fair Manager Suzanne Holcomb. “We felt the decision was necessary to help protect the fair staff, volunteers, fair-goers and all vested parties. Now and always, the health and safety of our guests, participants and community must be our highest priority. Our hearts are heavy knowing we cannot gather for our annual celebration of agriculture, education and exhibits. “The Youth Livestock Shows and Sales will still be held from Oct 22-Nov 1, 2020, but with a modified schedule that will be released soon,” said Holcomb. “The Livestock Committee is working diligently to plan a livestock show that will adhere to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations for youth livestock shows at county fairs. All aspects for the youth livestock shows will take place, except for the Youth Rabbit Show. Exhibitors for the youth rabbit show will be notified by the livestock director and all entry fees paid will be refunded.
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“The livestock committee will release an updated schedule and modified rules that will encompass the CDC recommendations for the shows and sales. These shows will be closed shows, open only to the exhibitor and their families. We will broadcast the youth livestock shows via our Facebook page. Information will be released in the next few weeks on the fair’s website, Facebook page and emailed directly to those exhibitors that have already registered for this year’s youth livestock shows and sales. If you have any questions about the youth livestock shows you can email the Livestock Director, Serena Stratton at rena70@aol.com or the Fair Manager, Suzanne Holcomb at suzanne@hillsboroughcountyfair.com.” Registration for the breeding shows will remain open until October 1, 2020
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and the entry rules and information will be updated soon on the website at www.hillsboroughcountyfair.com. The Harvest Queen Scholarship pageant will take place on Saturday, Sept. 19 as originally planned. “If you are a contestant in the scholarship pageant you will be notified via email from the pageant committee with the specific guidelines we will follow for the pageant,” said Holcomb. “The pageant will also be a closed event, only open to the contestants, their families and the judges. This is for the protection for our contestants, volunteers and the community.” Questions about the pageant can be directed to Pageant Director, Kelli Messick or Fair Manager Holcomb at suzanne@hillsboroughcountyfair.com. “Though we are very sad that the 2020 Hillsborough County Fair will not take place in its normal fashion, we are glad that we can continue with the Youth Livestock Shows and Harvest Queen Scholarship Pageant, as the board feels these two events are the foundation of the fair and provide a great service to the youth in our community,” noted Holcomb. The Hillsborough County Fair Board of Directors, staff and over 250 volunteers will continue to plan for a 2021 Fair. Updated information on the 2021 Hillsborough County Fair will be available on the Fair’s website, www.hillsboroughcountyfair.com or by contacting Fair Manager Suzanne Holcomb 813-737-FAIR or email: suzanne@hillsboroughcountyfair.com.
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HOME HORTICULTURE LAB – An Offshoot of COVID-19
By Jim Frankowiak The COVID-19 global pandemic has prompted dramatic changes in nearly all facets of life at home and at work. One manifestation is closely associated with the Horticultural Crop Physiology Lab or “Horticulture Lab” at the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center at Balm and the use of image analysis for more efficient plant data collection, according to the GCREC’s Lillian Pride and Shinsuke Agehara, PhD. It is now possible to collect scientific plant growth data in a manner similar to that of the GCREC. The starting point is the following YouTube playlist link for ImageJ: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4qrjj3jZ6i5681oiUV-DvAsQ0Gyb30hk. “With this set of YouTube videos, you can learn how to collect plant growth metrics, like leaf and canopy area and plant width, in the same way we do at our research station,” said Agehara. “And not only can you learn how, you can do it yourself, because ImageJ is a free image-processing program. Supportive tools for our tutorials include a cell phone or digital camera and ordinary office supplies such as a clipboard, folder and other items.” Image analysis marks a change for horticultural data collection. “Traditionally, plant growth and health assessment in horticultural research has been performed manually in the field or after destructive plant sampling,” noted Agehara. “However, manual measurements and plant sampling are time-consuming and visual scoring lacks accurate and repeatable quantification. Image-based measurements can save time in the field and provide quantitative data that area generally more objective, accurate and repeatable – with the added bonus of resulting in gorgeous processed images which can be shared in presentations as visual confirmation of this data collection method’s effectiveness,” said Pride. “Besides the act that making ImageJ tutorials provided meaningful employment under the present constraints, the process itself (processing images with ImageJ) can be done remotely in a collaborative manner. Presently in the Horticulture Lab, one employee takes field plot photos and saves them in the cloud. Then, another employee, working remotely at home, analyzes the photos with ImageJ to extract various plant data, such as plant height, plant width, leaf area, canopy area and stem diameter. Theoretically, both employees could work on different image sets simultaneously with no losses in productivity. His is an ideal social distancing process” “May these video tutorials give you many happy, productive hours with ImageJ, as they have given us,” concluded Agehara. INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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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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IFI COULD ONLYHAVETWO SHRUBS IN MY LANDSCAPE….. Lynn Barber, Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM Agent University of Florida/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County
One would be Firebush, Scarlet Bush, Hamelia patens. This is a Florida native that produces orange-red tubular flowers most of the year. Not only is it a beautiful landscape addition, it attracts birds, butterflies and hummingbirds. What more can you ask for? This shrub prefers full sun to partial shade. In full sun, it flowers the most, although some consider the foliage (yellow/orange) to be less attractive. Foliage in the shade is green. Mine generally die back to the ground in the winter, but the roots sprout quickly when the weather warms. It grows quickly and can reach a height of 5-20 feet and spread of 5-8 feet. Be sure to give it room to grow. Firebush performs well as a border plant, an accent, for screening an area or in a massive planting - providing there is sufficient space. Prune as you see fit. This shrub prefers well to medium well drained soil moisture, has medium drought tolerance and low to no salt tolerance. It is easy to propagate using cuttings or fresh seeds. The fruits/seeds are black and fleshy and attract birds. Seeds are suited for bird and human consumption, although I have never eaten any…yet. For more information on this plant, see https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fp237.
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The second shrub that is a must have in my landscape is Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana. It prefers part sun/part shade and does well in full shade. However, I have some that
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are in nearly full sun and perform quite well. This native plant can reach a height and spread of 6-7 feet. Beautyberry can be used as a border plant, in mass planting, naturalized or in large containers. Allow for sufficient space. It prefers well drained soil moisture, has high drought tolerance and low to no salt tolerance. Beautyberry is deciduous and produces purple/light purple flowers from spring through fall which provide small fruits for wildlife. There is a Beautyberry variety, Callicarpus americana var. lactea, that produces white flowers and fruits which are also quite attractive in the landscape. Propagation is from seeds or cuttings. For more information, see https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fp090. If site conditions are right, Firebush and Beautyberry are two Florida native must-haves. They are strikingly beautiful, and maintenance is simple. If you are like me, and you cannot stop at two, check out the University of Florida’s site to learn more about Florida Natives, https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn-and-garden/native-plants/. Visit our calendar of events for gardening workshops and other educational opportunities, https:// sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/hillsborough/upcoming-events/. Please contact our office if you have questions, 813.744.5519. Thank you and be safe.
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STRAWBERRY BREEDING PROGRAM UPDATES
By Jim Frankowiak Researchers at the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) at Balm are sharing management recommendations for “Florida Brilliance,” a strawberry variety going into the second season of full-scale production and information on two, new varieties of strawberry. “In February during the ‘spring flush,” plants of all strawberry varieties in Florida become more vigorous in response to increasing daylengths,” said Vance Whitaker, Associate Professor at the GCREC. “This is also accompanied by decreased fruit quality, including uneven surface color, lower soluble solids and softer skin. These changes in fruit quality are also influenced by variety, and it is clear that ‘Florida Brilliance’ suffers a little more from soft skin during ‘spring flush’ than others. “The primary management recommendations for increasing skin firmness are to reduce nitrogen fertilization and decrease watering volumes,” he said. “Just before the spring flush period we strongly recommend reducing water and fertilizer for ‘Florida Brilliance,’ especially if the period coincides with unseasonably warm weather. Keep in mind that ‘Florida Brilliance’ requires less nitrogen overall than ‘Florida Radiance,’ and that overfertilization of this variety can cause other problems such as a high percentage of misshapen fruit.” Whitaker also noted two new selections have been approved for release by IFAS and are proceeding through the commercialization process. Trade names for both should be chosen within the next six months. “The first release is an early, short-day variety with excellent fruit shape and quality,” said Whitaker. “It has slightly lower
“The second release is a white-fruited strawberry. While whitfruited varieties have been popular in Japan for some time, this is expected to be the first such variety on the market in the U.S.,” said Whitaker. "It has a pink blush on the sun-side and red achenes when ripe, with a unique pineapple-like aromas. The fruit are small than the current varieties, similar to the size of ‘Festival’ fruit on average. Yield is about ¾ of the current varieties. “Larger trial quantities will be tested this season with commercial quantities of plants available for the 2021-2022 season. The Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) and its member growers are exploring licensing models that will promoted the development of white strawberries as a product, which may involve substantial resource investment and limited availability over the first few years. “As we continue to learn how to manage ‘Florida Brilliance’ optimally, in just over two years, the industry will have two new varieties,” said Whitaker. “One will hopefully take its place alongside ‘Florida Brilliance’ and Sensation® ‘Florida 127’ in the industry, while the other will represent another type of product altogether to expand the market opportunities for our growers.” INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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November and December yields than ‘Florida Brilliance’ but had excellent January yields this past season and thus may complement the yield curve of ‘Florida Brilliance’. It has excellent flavor, with taste panels ranking it equal to or even better than Sensation® ‘Florida 127’ depending on the harvest date. It has high brix through the season similar to Sensation® ‘Florida 127’. The grower cooperators will have slightly larger trials during this season, with commercial quantities expected to be available for the 2021-2022 season.
Drift Sock- Sea Anchor Fishing Capt. Woody Gore An excellent method of targeting windy fall and wintertime inshore game fish is drift casting. And like other techniques, there are various strategies veteran anglers use to increase their success. Equally, drift fishing isn't a challenging method of fishing. It only involves a location that looks fishy, some long-distance casting, and sufficient patience. With gusty fall and winter winds and fast currents, drifting in front of a drift sock or sea-anchor can be a reliable method for adjusting boat speed and its angle of drift.
Drift Socks, aka Sea-Anchors: Initially
designed as safety devices to keep vessels bow to the wind if it lost power. This is a simple, relatively inexpensive tool that, when deployed, unfolds like an underwater parachute, creating pull or drag on that side of the boat. With relation to size and outstanding boat control, sea anchors also fold or roll up nicely for storage. When purchasing one, be sure and match it with your boat length and weight. I have never regretted buying the next larger size for my 24-foot Action Craft. Sea anchors often referred to as drift socks, play a vital role in safety, recreation, and tournament angling.
Drift Angles: Since most boats are unique to their manufacturer. And because most boats drift stern to bow, it is essential to find how yours reacts in different conditions. Occasionally by altering the position of the outboard motor (starboard or port), you can optimize the angle of drift. How it affects your perspective depends on where you place it. For example, if the desired direction is a bow to the wind, set the anchor on the windward front quarter of the boat. If you prefer drifting stern to the wind, place it on the stern or windward quarter. For a more sideways drift, put it somewhere
close to amidships. Ideally, you want to drift slowly sideways to the wind direction.
Drift Speed: Even if the vessel drifts ideally to the wind and current, a sea anchor is helpful to slow the speed of your drift. However you must remember, everything that is attached to your vessel reacts like a sail, so remove them; this may be all that's required to slow your speed. Drift Fishing: Remember, two things control a drift, one is winds the other is current. Being able to understand and forecast how the boat behaves in these conditions should help you achieve better positioning and a productive drift. When it comes to actual fishing, it's a good idea to cast away from the wind or toward the direction you're drifting. Try not to throw into the wind, especially with braided line. Fishing in the direction of the drift allows you to cover areas undisturbed by the boat. Drift Sock Forward Trolling Bow Control: Using two smaller drift socks, one on either side of the bow, keeps your boat straight. Use your forward bow cleats, or if you have two forward quarter bow cleats, one on each side. Ideal for trolling ship channels or rock ledges.
Let’s Go Fishing Tampa Bay - October 2020 Capt. Woody Gore
Snook: (Snook Closed) There are green-
backs at on the grass flats and at the Skyway. Net some, and there’s a good chance you can find a snook willing to eat them. Reports are coming in; they are hanging around the deepwater docks, passes, bridges, and there may still be a few on the beach.
Redfish: (Redfish Closed) There are
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Capt. Woody Gore (www.captainwoodygore.com)
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greenbacks on the grass flats and at the Skyway. Good Redfish days reported fishing the mangroves using sardines, cut bait, and shrimp on the north and south
September 2020
end of the bay. Live or dead bait under a cork, and you should get a good bite going. Attorney Natalie Khawam with beautiful redfish caught while fishing with Captain Mark Gore.
Spotted Sea Trout: (Trout Closed) Greenbacks on the grass flats and at the Skyway Fishing Piers. Favorable trout bites reported, and we should look to see it improve as we get closer to fall and winter. Some larger fish are hanging around shallow water potholes and the bridges. WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
“Give Me a Call & Let’s Go Fishing”
813-477-3814
I operate Tampa Bay Area’s #1 Outdoor Fishing Guide Service. Guiding and fishing the Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater areas for over fifty years, I offer 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., Member-SEOPA Southeastern Outdoor Press Assoc. CEO/President Sport-Fishing Unlimited & Outdoor Communications, Outdoor Writer & Speaker
Cobia & Sharks: Last week, the inshore cobia report was dismal; folks spent time looking only to come up emptyhanded. We might see it improve if and when the bay and gulf waters cool off, and they start the winter migration. It seems there are plenty of sharks, jacks, and ladyfish hanging around with the mackerel and they offer some first-class fall Tampa Bay fishing action.
Sheepshead/Snapper:
If you’re after these tasty fish, the fundamental places are bridges, rock piles, artificial reefs, docks, and deep oyster beds. Rig up with a #1 hook, small weight, and a piece of shrimp, oyster, or mussel, rock crab, and you’re in the game. Be ready, there are some really nice fish coming from around the bridges and deeper rock piles.
Real Estate Brokerage Services Since 2008
Wauchula Road 127+/- Acres, Myakka City, FL Perfect balance of improved open pasture, oak hammocks, and natural preserve. Over a mile of lush pines and palmettos line the Long Creek which meanders down the property providing an abundant wildlife corridor. Across the road lies the 2,357-acre Myakka River Preserve. The property features a beautifully remodeled 2,152sf single-family home, along with many well-maintained improvements, consisting of: 64x75 enclosed metal building with a 15x15 Cypress A/C office inside, 70x100 open steel barn, 56x50 livestock barn with 5 stalls, a tack room, and electric and water hooked up. $1,280,000.00
Fischbach Land Company 510 Vonderburg Dr., Suite 208 Brandon, FL 33511
Florida Land
Agriculture, Development, Commercial, Industrial, Country Estates
Keysville & Turkey Creek 221+/- Acres, Plant City, FL Immerse yourself into the peace and quiet of one of the last large contiguous tracts of land left in Hillsborough County. This property features panoramic views of lush pasture with elevation changes up to 20 feet, offering a pleasant roll in topography. An oak tree lined creek meanders through the land providing a natural break between pastures. There are several small ponds ideally spaced throughout the property for watering cattle and livestock. This 221+/- acres is offered as a whole and in two parcels, as a 147+/- acre tract and a 74+/- acre tract. $3,400,000.00
Reed Fischbach, Licensed Real Estate Broker Blaise Lelaulu, Licensed Real Estate Associate Melissa Raburn, Licensed Real Estate Associate
813-540-1000
FischbachLandCompany.com
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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In eastern Africa you can buy beer brewed from bananas. A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue. Australia was originally called New Holland. The sentence “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter in the English alphabet. The Grand Canyon can hold around 900 trillion footballs. All the blinking in one day equates to having your eyes closed for 30 minutes. The average human brain contains around 78% water. Your brain uses between 20 - 25% of the oxygen you breath. 1 nautical knot equates to 1.852 KPH (1.150 mph). If you add up all the numbers from 1 to 100 consecutively (1 + 2 + 3...) it totals 5050. A sponge holds more cold water than hot. Lightning strikes the earth 6,000 times every minute. Fire usually moves faster uphill than downhill. Cats have over 100 vocal chords. Camel’s milk doesn’t curdle. Elephants sleep between 4 - 5 hours in 24 hour period.
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Growing Old 289704-1
Editor’s Note: This Rocking Chair Chatter was originally printed in the August 2016 issue I have finally accepted the fact that I am getting old. I take the stairs one step at a time. I get the same sensation from a rocking chair on the front of Fred’s market in Plant City that I once got from the roller coaster at Disney World. It’s also apparent that I’m aging when I fall down I wonder what else I can do while I am down. Now I choose my cereal for the fiber, and not the toy. And as for eating health food, forget it, I need all the preservatives I can get.
oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from? Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible black crisp, which no one will eat? Why is it that when someone tells you that there are over a billion stars in the universe, you believe them, but if they tell you there is wet paint on the chair you have to touch it to make sure? I have often wondered why Goofy stands erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They are both dogs!
As a child I would help my mother hang the freshly washed clothes on the clothesline. I am sure many of you reading this that have never heard of a clothesline. This was before the washer and dryer was invented. It was simply a heavy wire strung between two poles about 30 feet apart.
My next-door neighbor, Mark Poppell, who loves to bar-b-que, said he can not understand why it is that one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box of matches and a bottle of lighter fluid to start a grill!
Wash day was always on Monday. My mother had certain ways of hanging her clothes up to dry. First, she would wash the clothesline before hanging any clothes. She did this by walking the entire length of the line with a damp cloth around the lines. She would hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang “whites” with “whites,” and hang them first. The socks were always hung by the toes…not the top. All pants were hung by the bottom cuffs, not the waistbands. She would always hang the sheets and towels on the outside line so she could hide our “unmentionables” in the middle. One Tuesday morning I woke up to find my mother crying and really beside herself. During the night someone had stolen all of her sheets and towels off the clothesline. She said it was her fault for not taking the clothes down before dark. Dad took it in stride, and said, “Don’t worry about it Nita, get dressed and we’ll go to Rogers and Middlebrooks and buy some new ones.”
I have some questions for you to ponder! Most packages say “Open Here.” What happens if you open it somewhere else? Why is it that when you transport something by car, it’s called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, its called cargo? If it’s called a TV set why do you get only one? Why is it called a “building” when it is already built? Why do they call them interstate highways in Hawaii? Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
It wasn’t long ago the only hazardous material we knew about was a patch of sandspurs in right field on the baseball field. During those early years people generally lived in the same hometown with their relatives. So “child care” meant grandparents or aunts and uncles! It was the time when your grandma grew blackeyed peas in the back yard, and had a chicken yard behind the garage.
Did you ever think that maybe Presidential Candidate Donald Trump is on to something? A typical American starts the day early having set his alarm clock (made in Japan) for 6 A.M. While his coffeepot (made in China) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (made in Hong Kong). He put on his dress shirt (made in Sri Lanka), designer jeans (made in Singapore) and tennis shoes (made in Korea). After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (made in India) he sat down with his calculator (made in Mexico) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (made in Taiwan) to the radio (made in Japan) he got in his car (made in Germany) and continued his search for a good paying American job. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day, he decided to relax for while. He put on his sandals (made in Brazil) poured himself a glass of wine (made in France) and turned on his TV (made in Indonesia) and then wondered why he can’t find a good paying job in America.
Some things I still wonder about. For instances if you drive your car into a 50mph wind at 50mph, and stick your head out the window will you feel the wind? If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable
Speaking of Presidents, did you know that President Thomas Jefferson invented the coat hanger, the hideaway bed, the calendar clock and the dumbwaiter. I guess Jefferson had more to do than play golf!
I have been trying to remember what life was like before dishwashers, TV and airplanes. Can you remember when all the makeup women had had to wear was powder?
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They tell me if you yelled for 8 years 6 months and 4 days you would produce enough energy to heat one cup of coffee. But, if you farted consistently for 7 years and 8 months, you would produce enough gas to create the energy of an atomic bomb. I know a couple of people in Plant City that are getting close to that level. Now might be a good time to move to the mountains.
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WE ARE HERE WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER WE ARE EVERGLADES EQUIPMENT GROUP
*Photo courtesy of our St. Cloud team. Stop in and say hi!
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September State Officer Column By Emma Poole and Christian Bentrovato
Every evening from June 23rd until the 26th, Florida FFA families and supporters would gather around their computers to watch awards, speeches, and announcements, and feel connected with 30,000 other FFA members across the state. Missing the loud music, the fabulous light show, the competitions, and the keynote speakers, it didn’t look like a typical state convention. Still, it was a great way to celebrate, under the circumstances, the accomplishments of our organization this year. The Florida FFA Celebration proved to be inspiring, motivating, and a ton of fun. On the final night of the Celebration is when our journey began. Our names were two of eight called to represent Florida FFA this year, and since our community has supported us so much over the years, we’re bringing you along for the ride. Even though there hasn’t been much face-to-face interaction, the beginning of our year has been marked with memories. From preparing for chapter visits, to visiting with industry representatives, to meeting new friends from across the nation, to hearing messages from Lee Brice, Dr. Pol, Chris Harrison, and Chuck Norris (yes, you heard me right – he told us not to worry about Corona, he tracked it down and put it in quarantine indefinitely), we’ve already had so many unique and unforgettable experiences. What you’re reading is the first edition of our column – a journal of sorts – that will hopefully keep you entertained and informed about what we’re doing throughout the year.
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Following the virtual celebration, we began our training for state office. Normally, our initial training, Base Camp, would take place in person. However, because of COVID-19, we conducted it entirely virtually. This was an adjustment, as for the past several years, we had all attended in-person conferences and workshops. Having to take in and master all this new information in a virtual setting was challenging, but our facilitator, former Louisiana State Officer Bradley Coleman, was very engaging with us and made sure we understood the material so that we would be prepared to lead our Association under any circumstances!
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After we attended Base Camp, we had the opportunity to attend the first ever virtual State Officer Summit presented by the National FFA Organization. This Summit usually takes place in Washington, D.C., where we have the opportunity to meet with state officers from around the country. We would also have the opportunity to meet with elected officials. Even though we weren’t in Washington, D.C., we were still able to do all of the activities and learn all of the material that a normal state officer team would. This made for a unique experience that no other state officers have ever had. Only a few weeks after State Officer Summit, we were able to attend our first Checkpoint training as a team. Checkpoint trainings build on our knowledge of how to be a state officer. This checkpoint was centered around how to design and present workshops. As our main project for the course of the training, we were paired with another state officer and tasked with designing our own workshop. We were successfully able to create several workshops that we will have the pleasure of presenting during chapter visits! We are all excited to have the opportunity to present our new workshops and look forward to what the year has in store for us. While this year has been surprising in many ways, it has definitely shown the Florida FFA State Officer team what it means to have a village. The support, encouragement, and friendship that has been shown towards us since we were elected is utterly unbelievable. Although we will be missing out on some experiences, we’re happy to be a part of a one-of-a-kind team, and we hope to leave a one-of-a-kind impact on each person we come in contact with. Signing off, Emma Poole and Christian Bentrovato
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GCREC HIRES DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH FOR STRAWBERRY BREEDING PROGRAM By Jim Frankowiak
Strawberries bred by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) program are grown in more than 70 countries across six continents. While the United States leads the way in volume, Mexico, Egypt and Turkey rank next. UF/IFAS strawberries are adapted to the unique conditions of central Florida and their traits include low chilling, high early yield, excellent shelf life and outstanding flavor. That makes those varieties attractive outside of Florida, particularly in regions of the world where strawberries can be grown in the winter and early spring. Fahiem Elsayeed Elborai, an assistant research scientist of entomology and nematology at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) was recently hired by Vance Whitaker, associate professor of horticultural sciences and a strawberry breeder at the GCREC, as director of international outreach for the UF/ IFAS strawberry breeding program, helping to expand overseas markets. “As an accomplished agricultural researcher from Egypt, Fahiem is unique in his ability to work with emerging markets in the Middle East,” said Whitaker. “He has made significant progress in increasing compliance with UF intellectual property rights.” That includes helping to assure farmers are not growing UF/IFAS strawberry varieties without permission. “Fahiem has also done considerable work for people in developing countries,” said Whitaker. “Last year, we visited Egypt together and it was great to see the jobs that have been created from the growth of the industry there.” Among his many duties, Elborai maintains ongoing relationships with officials, growers, exporters and other stakeholders who use UF/IFAS strawberry varieties, as well as researchers worldwide to introduce the UF/IFAS program to help open new markets. “Lately we have supported emerging markets and even developed new markets around the world in places such as Costa Rica, Ethiopia, India and Malaysia,” said Elborai. “Also, we are working to offer our cultivars this season to growers in West African countries such as Gambia Venin, Mali and Mauritania.” INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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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 PAGE
Political advertisement paid for and approved by Lawrence McClure, Republican, for State House, District 58.
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ElectMcClure.com WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
Corporal Dana Chancey
AGRICULTURAL CRIMES UNIT of the work the unit does to protect and care for livestock in Hillsborough County. In 2017, T ate was severely neglected by his owner who was charged with animal cruelty. The Agricultural Crimes Unit assumed custody of Tate and after a couple of months, nursed him back to health. At the time, Freedom High School was starting a new program for students wanting to become a veterinary assistant. For the past three years, the students there have learned how to take care of him. They feed, bathe, and groom him. The relationship between the students and Tate has been a win-win for everyone. Detective Troy Davis, Deputy Brandin Mosley and Deputy David Thomas At the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, protecting the public can sometimes go hand-in-hand with protecting the county’s agriculture. That’s where HCSO’s Agricultural Crimes Unit steps into action. The unit responds to incidents involving agriculture and livestock, conducts proactive patrols on farms and ranches, and also executes joint operations with other law local law enforcement agencies. The Agricultural Crimes Unit investigates crimes associated with livestock, including equine, bovine, swine, goats, sheep horses, and cattle. They are also on-call for any incidents that arise when livestock is running at large or unsecured for some reason. These situations are a cause for concern for both the animals and the public. For example, livestock on the loose poses a threat to motorists on roadways. Any impounded livestock is transported to a designated holding area, where animals are fed daily and proper veterinarian care is provided.
While many of the incidents they respond to involve livestock, the Agricultural Crimes Unit also assists local farmers and ranchers on properties where local citrus and berries are grown. Deputies regularly conduct proactive patrol in an attempt to prevent trespassing, armed trespassing, criminal mischief, and theft. They also work joint details with other law enforcement agencies, like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to deter or resolve poaching issues and resource violations within Hillsborough County. The HCSO Agricultural Crimes Unit a member of the Florida Agricultural Crimes Intelligence Unit (FACIU), which shares intelligence between other Florida agencies’ agricultural crimes units. It is made up of three units and their immediate supervisor: Corporal Dana Chancey, Detective Troy Davis, Deputy Brandin Mosley and Deputy David Thomas. If you would like to report an incident on your farm or ranch, or one involving livestock, please call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube @HCSOSheriff, too.
Working with local veterinarians, the Agricultural Crimes Unit also tends to malnourished, mistreated, and neglected livestock. Deputies work to rehabilitate the animals and prosecute the individuals responsible for the suffering they caused to an animal. A case involving a horse named “Tate” is one example INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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Celebrating a most fruitful relationship
between Florida Strawberry Growers and International Paper.
1979
Together we’re sure to enjoy many more years of sweet success.
711 E. Lancaster Rd Orlando, FL 32809 (407) 855-2121
1996
2402 Police Center Dr Plant City, FL 33566 (813) 717-9100 6706 N. 53rd St Tampa, FL 33610 (813) 744-2220 Sales: Dean Fultz (901) 355-5197 or Jim Johnson (813) 205-0355
2001
2003
Present
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©2018 International Paper Company. All rights reserved.
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NEW BLACKBERRY CULTIVARS IN GCREC TRIALS By Jim Frankowiak Florida growers interested in growing blackberries as an alternative crop have been looking for cultivars adapted to Florida’s warm climate. “To meet this need, we began trialing blackberry cultivars at the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) several years ago,” said Zhanao Deng, Professor of Environmental Horticulture. “So far five floricane-fruiting cultivars (‘Apache’, ‘Natchez’, ‘Osage’, ‘Ouachita’ and ‘Von’) and three primocane-fruiting cultivars {‘Prime-Ark® 45’, ‘Prime-Ark® Freedom and ‘PrimeArk® Traveler’) have been trialed,” said Deng. “’Osage’ outperformed the other four floricane-fruiting cultivars with an average yield of 3.9 pounds of berries per plant and ‘PrimeArk® Freedom’ produced the highest yield, an average of 6.3 pounds of berries per plant. In May 2020, we introduced into our trials ‘Caddo’ and ‘Ponca’, the latest releases from the University of Arkansas blackberry breeding program, which has been the primary supplier of blackberry cultivars for growers in Florida and other southeastern U.S. states. “The first batch of ‘Caddo’ and ‘Ponca” plants were transplanted to our orchard last month. Another batch of plants will be set up in the orchard shortly. These cultivars will be tested under a new plant management scheme that is being developed by our plant physiologist, Dr. Shinsuke Agehara and his graduate student assistant.
“Our blackberry breeding efforts has resulted in development of a number of promising lines. Several lines have been established in tissue culture; one of the lines has been sent out to growers for “real world” tests,” said Deng. “In the meantime, a replicated trial was set up at the GCREC to test this line’s yield potential and berry quality against commercial cultivars. Another replicated trial has been planned to begin very soon. These lines were selected in our low chilling environment and under our high disease and inset pest pressure; we expect them to continue performing well in these trials. If so, then a new generation of UF-bred blackberry cultivars will be available to Florida growers.” INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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“According to the release statement by the University of Arkansas blackberry breeding program, ‘Caddo’ was released in 2018. It is high-yielding and thornless and has erect canes with medium-large fruit that is sweet with very good fruit flavor,” said Deng. “’Ponca’ was released in 2019. It is also highyielding, thornless, has erect canes with medium-sized fruit with enhanced sweetness and good post-harvesting handling traits. This cultivar is the sweetest cultivar released to date. Plants have shorter internodes and new canes emerge about or after fruit harvest is done. We hope these cultivars can do well in Florida so Florida growers have more choices of cultivars and better berry yields.
NEWS BRIEFS
Compiled by Jim Frankowiak
USDA FORMS NEW TEAM TO SERVE BEGINNING FARMERS AND RANCHERS
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a new team that will lead a department wide effort focused on serving beginning farmers and ranchers. Katrina Moseley has been selected as the USDA Beginning Farmer Rancher state coordinator in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. USDA offers a variety of farm loan, risk management, disaster assistance and conservation programs to support farmers, including beginning farmers and ranchers. For more information, visit: farmers.gov/newfarmers or contact the Plant City Service Center, 201 South Collins Street, Plant City, FL 33563. Telephone: 813/752-1474. HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FARM BUREAU ACHIEVES EXCELLENCE STATUS Hillsborough County Farm Bureau (HCFB) has again achieved Award of Excellence status in Florida Farm Bureau’s County Recognition Program. HCFB ranked at the top in all five program categories: Leadership, Public Relations, Organization, Education and Legislative, and is now a candidate for the annual President’s Award.
in for farmers with existing accounts; easy access to the Department of Labor’s Foreign Labor Application Gateway; the capability of allowing farmers to track time-sensitive actions taken in the course of Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s adjudication of temporary labor certification applications; and allowing farmers to access all application forms on-line. All information can be found at www.farmers.gov/manage/h2a . 2020 SWISHER SWEETS/SUNBELT AG EXPO HONORS TO BE PRESENTED AT 2021 EXPO The cancellation of this year’s Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition due to the COVID-19 has resulted in an amendment to plans for the 2020 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year Winner. Due to current health concerns, the judging tour has been postponed indefinitely. The 2020 state winners will be recognized and an overall winner will be announced at the 2021 Sunbelt Ag Expo. COVID-19 RESOURCE PAGE AT FLORIDAFARMBUREAU.ORG Florida Farm Bureau has developed a COVID-19 Resources website page that includes a variety of agricultural and state and federal links related to the pandemic. The page, which is updated regularly, can be accessed at: https://www.floridafarmbureau.org/covid-19-resources.
UF/IFAS DISASTER HANDBOOK AVAILABLE ONLINE SAVE 15% ON GRASSHOPPER MOWERS A disaster handbook prepared by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension can be accessed at: disaster.ifas.ufl.edu. The handbook contents cover six categories: Food and Water; Mental Health; Homes Repairs; Landscape Repairs, Applying for Assistance and Farms. FLORIDA FARM BUREAU AG IN THE CLASSROOM MINIGRANT APPLICATIONS Florida Farm Bureau Agriculture in the Classroom (FFB-AITC) is offering a Mini-Grant program for educators during the current school year. This grant opportunity is a public/private partnership serving Pre-K – 12th grade classes with a goal of helping to increase the understanding of agriculture among students and educators. Grants of up to $250 are available with applications required by October 1. More information is available at: faitc.org. USDA INTRODUCES NEW FEATURES ON WEBSITE TO HELP FARMERS HIRE WORKERS
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has introduced new features on its Farmers.gov website designed to help facilitate the employment of H-2A workers. Those features include: a real-time dashboard enabling farmers to track the status of their eligible employer application and visa applications for temporary non-immigrant workers; a streamline log-
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Farm Bureau members receive 15% off the MSRP on Grasshopper mower makes and models, accessories and implements. Present your active Farm Bureau card to your local Grasshopper dealer at the time of purchase. PROPANE DISCOUNTS FROM FERRELLGAS NO LONGER AVAILABLE Florida Farm Bureau members are no longer eligible to receive propane discounts with Ferrellgas. The partnership ended due to the nature of the discount and a restructuring of Florida Ferrellgas service centers. USDA IMPLEMENTS ADDED MEASURES TO HELP RURAL RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY COVID-19 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has taken a number of immediate actions to help rural residents, businesses and communities affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Rural Development will keep its customers, partners and stakeholders continuously updated as more actions are taken to better serve rural America. Visit www. rd.usda.gov/coronavirus for information on Rural Development loan payment assistance, application deadline extensions and more. WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
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2020 SWINE SHOW AWARDS
ALL CLASS RIBBONS, PLAQUES, TROPHIES, AND CHAMPION MONIES SPONSORED BY MOSAIC REPRESENTIVE: NIKKI FOSTER GRAND CHAMPION OF SHOW..........Dakota Grigson, Strawberry Crest FFA $100.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE Pig weighed 259 lbs., Buyer – Astin Ranch, Sam Astin RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION OF SHOW........Hillsborough FFA Federation, Shown by Avery Ashley $50.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE Pig weighed 265 lbs., Buyer – Florida Strawberry Growers Assoc, Kenneth Parker
PREMIUMS IN EACH CLASS:
SPONSORED BY MOSAIC (2020 Premium checks have been mailed) 1ST PLACE IN EACH CLASS WILL RECEIVE A PLAQUE FIRST PLACE................................................................$20.00, RIBBON, PLAQUE SECOND PLACE............................................................$17.00, RIBBON THIRD PLACE...............................................................$15.00, RIBBON FOURTH PLACE............................................................$12.00, RIBBON FIFTH –REMAINDER PLACE..........................................$10.00, RIBBON
SWINE RECORD BOOK AWARDS
Sponsored by: Farm Credit of Central Florida, ACA Representative: Vonda Fulwood 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
SWINE SHOWMANSHIP AWARDS
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Sponsored by: Hoof N Horns Presented by: Stalvey Family Junior Division First Place Brielee Bedenbaugh, Barrington FFA........................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Jessie Parker, Barrington FFA ...............................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Tucker Conrad, Antioch Critters 4H...........................................$15.00, Plaque Intermediate Division
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First Place Milee Hasting, Turkey Creek FFA................................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Blake Chancey, Mulrennan FFA.............................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Abigail Mullis, Tomlin FFA........................................................$15.00, Plaque Senior Division First Place Avery Ashley, Hillsborough FFA Federation...............................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Dakota Grigson, Strawberry Crest FFA..................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Drew Blanton, Plant City FFA...................................................$15.00, Plaque
SWINE HERDSMAN AWARDS
Sponsored by: Hillsboro Bank Representative: Pam Warnock Junior Division First Place Tytan Gill, Alafia Kids 4H..........................................................$25.00, Plaque Second Place Jacob Ogden, Showin’ & Growin’ 4H.....................................$15.00, Plaque Third Place Joel Bender, Antioch Critters 4H..............................................$10.00, Plaque Intermediate Division First Place Milee Hasting, Turkey Creek FFA................................................$25.00, Plaque Second Place Cooper Davis, Barrington FFA...............................................$15.00, Plaque Third Place John Wayne Haynes, Turkey Creek FFA.....................................$10.00, Plaque Senior Division First Place Avery Ashley, Hillsborough FFA Federation...............................$25.00, Plaque Second Place Will Haxton, Durant FFA.......................................................$15.00, Plaque Third Place Nicholas Retter, Horses, Inc......................................................$10.00, Plaque
SWINE PREMIER EXHIBITOR
Sponsored by: Southside Western Wear & Farm Supply Representative: Tim Lopez Premier Exhibitor - Junior Division Tucker Conrad, Antioch Critters 4H...................................$50.00, Plaque - Intermediate Division Milee Hasting, Turkey Creek FFA............................$50.00, Plaque - Senior Division Avery Ashley, Hillsborough FFA Federation.....................$50.00, Plaque
SWINE BUYERS AWARDS
Sponsored By: Florida Strawberry Festival Representative: Paul Davis Presented in Honor of the Bill McClelland Family in memory of Mr. Bill McClelland. Grand Champion: Astin Farms – Sam Astin Plaque Exhibitor: Dakota Grigson, Strawberry Crest FFA Reserve Grand Champion: Florida Strawberry Growers Assoc, Kenneth Parker Plaque Exhibitor: Avery Ashley, Hillsborough County Federation
2020 STEER SHOW AWARDS
ALL CLASS RIBBONS, PLAQUES, TROPHIES, AND CHAMPION MONIES SPONSORED BY MOSAIC REPRESENTATIVE: NIKKI FOSTER WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
GRAND CHAMPION.................Riley Buttorff, PlantButtorff, City FFA Plant City FFA GRAND CHAMPION.................Riley $300.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE $300.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE Buyer – JarrettBuyer Scott–Ford, JimScott ScottFord, Jim Scott Jarrett RESERVE GRAND STEERGRAND MariahSTEER Austin,Mariah Strawberry FFA Crest FFA RESERVE Austin,Crest Strawberry $225.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE $225.00, TROPHY, ROSETTE Buyer – Trimak Building Systems, Kenny & Kristen McIntosh Buyer – Trimak Building Systems, Kenny & Kristen McIntosh
DIVISIONDIVISION RESERVE AND CHAMPIONS: RESERVE AND CHAMPIONS:
PREMIUMS IN EACHINCLASS: PREMIUMS EACH CLASS:
MOSAIC, REPRESENTED BY NIKKI FOSTER MOSAIC, REPRESENTED BY NIKKI FOSTER (ALL CHECKS IN(ALL 2020 WEREINMAILED TO EXHIBITORS) CHECKS 2020 WERE MAILED TO EXHIBITORS) FIRST PLACE$25.00, RIBBON, PLAQUE FIRST PLACE$25.00, RIBBON, PLAQUE SECOND PLACESECOND ...........................................................$20.00, RIBBON PLACE ...........................................................$20.00, RIBBON THIRD THROUGH REMAINING......................................$15.00, RIBBON THIRD THROUGH REMAINING......................................$15.00, RIBBON
Senior Division Senior Division First Place KyleFirst Holland, City FFA............................................................$30.00, Plaque Place Plant Kyle Holland, Plant City FFA............................................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Shylen Durant FFA.....................................................$20.00, Plaque SecondDenmark, Place Shylen Denmark, Durant FFA.....................................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Mariah Strawberry FFA.............................................$15.00, Plaque Third Austin, Place Mariah Austin,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA.............................................$15.00, Plaque
PREMIER EXHIBITOR AWARDS PREMIER EXHIBITOR AWARDS
Sponsored by:Sponsored Poppell Insurance, Inc.Insurance, Inc. by: Poppell Represented by: Jon Poppellby: Jon Poppell Represented Based on scores in Record Book, Herdsman with ties broken byties Classbroken Placing Based on scores in Showmanship, Record Book, Showmanship, Herdsman with by Class Placing Junior Division Junior Division Morgan Walls,Morgan Turkey Creek Plaque Walls,FFA......................................................................$100.00, Turkey Creek FFA......................................................................$100.00, Plaque IntermediateIntermediate Division Division Jaycee Flowers,Jaycee Strawberry FFA..............................................................$100.00, Plaque Flowers,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA..............................................................$100.00, Plaque Senior Division Senior Division Mariah Austin,Mariah Strawberry FFA...............................................................$100.00, Plaque Austin,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA...............................................................$100.00, Plaque
GAIN IN GAIN WEIGHT CONTEST IN WEIGHT CONTEST
STEER RECORD BOOK AWARDS STEER RECORD BOOK AWARDS
Sponsored by:Sponsored Farm Creditby:ofFarm Central Florida, ACA Florida, ACA Credit of Central Representative: Vonda Fulwood Representative: Vonda Fulwood Junior Division Junior Division First Place AvaFirst Hasting, FFA.................................................................$30.00, Plaque PlaceDurant Ava Hasting, Durant FFA.................................................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Morgan Walls,Morgan Turkey Creek Plaque Second Place Walls,FFA.................................................$20.00, Turkey Creek FFA.................................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Shalee Antioch Critters 4H................................................$15.00, Plaque ThirdConrad, Place Shalee Conrad, Antioch Critters 4H................................................$15.00, Plaque IntermediateIntermediate Division Division First Place Spencer Baylor,Spencer Strawberry FFA.............................................$30.00, Plaque First Place Baylor,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA.............................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Emma FFA.............................................$20.00, Plaque SecondFutch, Place Strawberry Emma Futch,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA.............................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place James Strawberry FFA..............................................$15.00, Plaque ThirdCooper, Place James Cooper,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA..............................................$15.00, Plaque Senior Division Senior Division First Place Owen FFA.................................................$30.00, Plaque FirstBaylor, Place Strawberry Owen Baylor,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA.................................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Angelic Alex, Strawberry FFA.............................................$20.00, Plaque Second Place Angelic Alex,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA.............................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Shylen Durant Sr FFA.....................................................$15.00, Plaque ThirdDenmark, Place Shylen Denmark, Durant Sr FFA.....................................................$15.00, Plaque
STEER SHOWMANSHIP AWARDS STEER SHOWMANSHIP AWARDS
Sponsored by:Sponsored Hillsboro Bank by: Hillsboro Bank Representative: Pam Warnock Pam Warnock Representative: Junior Division Junior Division First Place Morgan Walls,Morgan Turkey Creek Plaque First Place Walls,FFA......................................................$30.00, Turkey Creek FFA......................................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Shalee Antioch Critters 4H.............................................$20.00, Plaque SecondConrad, Place Shalee Conrad, Antioch Critters 4H.............................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Gabrielle Howell, Barrington FFA...................................................$15.00, Plaque Third Place Gabrielle Howell, Barrington FFA...................................................$15.00, Plaque IntermediateIntermediate Division Division First Place Jaycee Strawberry FFA..............................................$30.00, Plaque FirstFlowers, Place Jaycee Flowers,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA..............................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Blake FFA...............................................$20.00, Plaque SecondZajac, PlaceStrawberry Blake Zajac,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA...............................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Jamie FFA...............................................................$15.00, Plaque ThirdParis, PlaceBrandon Jamie Paris, Brandon FFA...............................................................$15.00, Plaque Senior Division Senior Division First Place Mariah Strawberry FFA...............................................$30.00, Plaque First Austin, Place Mariah Austin,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA...............................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Alivia FFA........................................................$20.00, Plaque SecondRivera, Place Plant AliviaCity Rivera, Plant City FFA........................................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Makayla Collier, Brandon FFA.........................................................$15.00, Plaque Third Place Makayla Collier, Brandon FFA.........................................................$15.00, Plaque
STEER HERDSMAN AWARDAWARD STEER HERDSMAN
Sponsored by:Sponsored Suncoast Credit Union Credit Union by: Suncoast Junior Division Junior Division First Place Morgan Walls,Morgan Turkey Creek Plaque First Place Walls,FFA......................................................$30.00, Turkey Creek FFA......................................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Makayla Register, Tomlin FFA.....................................................$20.00, Plaque Second Place Makayla Register, Tomlin FFA.....................................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Garret FFA.........................................................$15.00, Plaque ThirdDixon, Place Barrington Garret Dixon, Barrington FFA.........................................................$15.00, Plaque IntermediateIntermediate Division Division First Place Judson Plant City FFA...........................................................$30.00, Plaque First Smith, Place Judson Smith, Plant City FFA...........................................................$30.00, Plaque Second Place Jaycee Strawberry FFA.........................................$20.00, Plaque SecondFlowers, Place Jaycee Flowers,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA.........................................$20.00, Plaque Third Place Elizabeth Ford,Elizabeth Strawberry FFA.............................................$15.00, Plaque Third Place Ford,Crest Strawberry Crest FFA.............................................$15.00, Plaque
STEER PRODUCER AWARDS STEER PRODUCER AWARDS
Sponsored by:Sponsored Antioch Feeds by: Antioch Feeds Producer of Grand Champion of Show.................................MP & Ford Cattle Co – Michael Producer of Grand Champion of Show.................................MP & Ford Cattle Paul Co – Michael Paul Producer of Reserve Grand Champion of Show....................Jerid Fales Producer of Reserve Grand Champion of Show....................Jerid Fales Producer of Grand Champion Carcass..................................Clayton Brock Producer of Grand Champion Carcass..................................Clayton Brock Producer of Reserve Grand Champion Carcass.....................McCullough Cattle Producer of Reserve Grand Champion Carcass.....................McCullough Cattle
STEER BUYER STEER AWARDS BUYER AWARDS
Sponsored By:Sponsored Florida Strawberry By: FloridaFestival Strawberry Festival Representative: Paul Davis Paul Davis Representative: Presented in Honor of theinBill McClelland Family in memory of in Mr.memory Bill McClelland. Presented Honor of the Bill McClelland Family of Mr. Bill McClelland. Grand Champion JarrettSteer: Scott Ford, JimScott ScottFord, Jim Scott GrandSteer: Champion Jarrett Exhibitor: Riley Buttorff,Riley PlantButtorff, City FFA Plant City FFA Exhibitor: Reserve Grand Champion: Building Systems, Kenny & Kristen McIntosh Reserve GrandTrimak Champion: Trimak Building Systems, Kenny & Kristen McIntosh Exhibitor: Mariah Austin,Mariah Strawberry FFA Crest FFA Exhibitor: Austin,Crest Strawberry Special Thank You to Sponsors and Building Special Thank You to Sponsors andDonors: Building Donors: Grimes Family:Grimes Agriculture Family:Center Agriculture Center Patterson Companies: Arena PattersonLivestock Companies: Livestock Arena Mosaic: YouthMosaic: Swine and Steer Shows Sales,Shows Poultry & Rabbit Shows Youth Swine and&Steer & Sales, Poultry & Rabbit Shows Greg Woodard:Greg Steer Medications Woodard: Steer Medications Grove Equipment Service: DairyService: Shows Dairy Shows Grove Equipment G5 Feed & Outdoor: Breed Shows G5 FeedBeef & Outdoor: Beef Breed Shows Choo Choo Lawn Equipment: Show & Plant Sale Show & Sale Choo Choo LawnPlant Equipment: Traeger Grills &Traeger Harold’s Feed: Lamb Shows Grills & Harold’s Feed: Lamb Shows Larry & DebbieLarry Swindle & Family: Providing Housing PanelsHousing for Pavilions & Debbie Swindle & Family: Providing Panels for Pavilions The Astin Family Housing Swine, Dairy Animals, and Steers on and Exhibit ThePavilion: Astin Family Pavilion: Housing Swine, Dairy Animals, Steers on Exhibit The Swindle Family Pavilion: Housing Poultry & Rabbits, Youth Ornamental The Swindle Family Pavilion: Housing Poultry & Rabbits, YouthPlants, Ornamental Plants, Lambs & BeefLambs Breed Animals on Exhibit & Beef Breed Animals on Exhibit
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STEER CARCASS AWARDS STEER CARCASS AWARDS
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BRANDON HIGH SENIOR ELECTED TO INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR BRANGUS BREEDERS BOD By Payge Dupre
“This coming year I plan to share my knowledge, make some great friends, share my love of not only the cattle industry, but the Brangus breed, and I can’t wait to see what this year will be holding for us!” said Cassidy Eramo of Brandon, FL. Cassidy has been showing Brangus cattle for the past 2 years. Cassidy is 17 years old and a Senior at Brandon High School. She has been involved in multiple different breeds including Angus, but she has found her calling in the Brangus breed. She has also been very involved in her FFA chapter serving on the officer team. “Cassidy is a very hard worker; her life revolves around her cattle and ours.” Said Teri Pinkston. “She is every sense of a ranch-hand, she goes and checks all the cows in all of our pastures and feeds the cows. She helps Terry with fence work, working the cattle, and putting out hay. When that’s all done, she takes care of her show cattle as well as her two steers that she keeps at her school, one for Hillsborough County Fair and one for the Strawberry Festival.”
two letters of recommendation, go through the interview process, and prove to the Advisors that she was capable of the responsibilities and time commitment by working and helping with anything needed throughout the week of the National Junior Brangus Show. Clearly, the advisors were very impressed since she received a two-year term rather than a one-year. If she chooses, she will be able to run for an officer position as well, next year. Tom Hayford, IJBBA Advisor says “Although Cassidy Eramo is relatively new to the IJBBA and the Brangus breed, her passion and work ethic are second to none. More of our youth organizations could use her dedication and determination! Cassidy has proven herself to be the definition of hardworking. I have had the pleasure of knowing Cassidy for the last several years of us each showing cattle. I have watched Cassidy show her steer with a broken hand, help her fellow showmen and friends or even people she didn’t know, and I have definitely witnessed her growth within the cattle industry. I am blessed to call Cassidy a friend and cannot wait to spend the next the years with her on the board!
Being elected to the International Junior Brangus Breeders Board of Directors is a huge honor. This year, we had 10 Juniors go through the interview process for the board with only a few out of the 11 positions actually available. Cassidy will serve a two-year term, throughout her next two years, Cassidy will have the opportunity to travel to multiple different Brangus shows to represent the Brangus breed including the Southeast Regional Junior Brangus Show, Houston (International Brangus Congress) and so many more! She will also serve on multiple committees to help plan next year’s National show, raise funds for our different events and gain many more relationships within the Brangus breed. “Cassidy finds time to help the new kids at her ag barn with their steers and heifers. When she can, she also tries to find little odd jobs which help her to raise her projects. She has little social life for herself outside of work and her cattle, but thoroughly enjoys making new friends and getting to see them at cattle shows. This year, she is running for her chapter President and of all the kids in her chapter, Cassidy is the one that they can always count on,” said Pinkston In order to be elected a board member, Cassidy had to prepare her application including writing an essay and getting INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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GCREC PLANT DIAGNOSTIC CLINIC OPERATIONAL
UF RESEARCHERS
SEEK SURVEY INPUT FROM AG AND MARINE INDUSTRY REPS By Jim Frankowiak
Researchers from the University of Florida (UF) are conducting a second round of surveys on the effects of COVID-19’s impact on the Sunshine States’ agriculture and marine industries, particularly regarding the most recent period of the pandemic. The industry groups targeted and survey access are as follows:
By Jim Frankowiak COVID-19 has changed the way research and diagnostics take place, but both continue at the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC). And, the GCREC Plant Diagnostic Clinic is still operational.
1. Agriculture and aquaculture production (broadly defined to include crop production, forestry/timber, nursery and greenhouse operations, agritourism, beekeeping, etc.); survey: tinyurl.com/uflsurvey-round2-agaquaculture
Samples can be dropped off at the GCREC front lobby or they can be mailed. It is very important to include a detailed description of the sample on the Plant Clinic Submission Form which can be found at https://gcrec.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-clinic/ Samples. Printed copies are also available at the GCREC drop off station.
2. Commercial fishing; survey: tinyurl.com/uflsurvey-round2-fishing
As a reminder, samples that exhibit early symptom development and have plant parts that are still partially alive (green) offer the best quality samples for accurate plant disease diagnosis. Samples that are totally necrotic, dry and long dead are not adequate for an accurate diagnosis. Whenever possible, it is also best to submit a generous amount of plant material representing a range of symptoms. It is recommended that samples be taken before pesticides are applied, otherwise the ability to recover pathogens may be limited. If sending samples by mail, do not add water or pack a sample that is wet and do not mix samples in the same submission bag. Moisture from root samples will contribute to the decay of foliage samples if they are mixed together. Plant disease identification procedures do not utilize soil. Excess soil can be hand shaken from root systems, but leave enough soil to keep roots at field moisture levels. Samples should be kept refrigerated after collection until they are submitted. Especially during the hot summer months, a good sample could be ruined if allowed to bake in the sun or on the back seat of a vehicle prior to submission. Finally, mailing samples early in the week to avoid a weekend layover in the post office is preferred. Once a sample is submitted, it may take up to a week for results from the lab, and you will be personally contacted with the outcome and possible recommendations.
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Dr. Jim Mertely is available by phone (813/434-7543) if there are any questions during the droop-off or to check on sample results. More information is available at: https://gcrec.ifas.ufl. edu/plant-clinic/.
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3. Charter/For-hire operations; survey: tinyurl. com/uflsurvey-round2-charter 4. Seafood wholesale dealers; survey: tinyurl.com/ uflsurvey-round2-seafood 5. Marine recreation support businesses; survey: tinyurl.com/uflsurvey-round2-recreation Survey questions have been refined to make easier for respondents to complete the survey while providing information necessary for a detailed valuation of losses. In addition to the survey, there is an ongoing collaboration between UF and Florida A&M University to conduct interviews with professionals in all segments of the food industry from input suppliers, to producers and processors, to restaurant owners. Industry professionals in agriculture or food-related sectors interested in sharing their stories and experiences are encouraged to contact David Outerbridge, Lee County Extension Director, via email at douterbridge@ufl.edu or by phone: 239/5337512. Individuals representing listed industry segments are encouraged to complete the surveys at their earliest convenience.
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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY
BROTHER AND SISTER
TAKE TOP HONORS IN YOUTH SPEECH CONTEST By Jim Frankowiak First place honors in the Florida Farm Bureau Youth Speech Contest for District 5 went to Junior Division competitor Gabby Howell and her brother, Carter Howell, who competed in the Senior Division. Both represented Hillsborough County in the competition under the aegis of the District 5 Women’s Leadership Program. District 5 includes Hillsborough, Pasco, Polk, Lake, Pinellas, Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties. For the first time ever, the competition was held virtually. The top three winners in both divisions will receive cash awards, a FarmPAC backpack and custom made District 5 youth speech contest Corriente belt buckle.
Congratulations, Gabby and Carter!
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A Growing Hobby
By Libby Hopkins Life truly has a way of giving us opportunities when we least expect it. Rob Clemmons would agree with this statement. He is the owner of Bob’s Berries LLC in Riverview and he started his farm merely by opportunity. “I started the farm five seasons ago kind of by accident,” Clemmons said. “A local u-pick was closing up due to health reasons and was liquidating his blueberry plants. I bought 400 of them. At that point, I had 40 plants for a few years and that was about it. When I brought the 400 plants over, I decided I needed more and had a buddy brought me 500 more. I filled 30-gallon pots until I had enough to transplant the 500 new plants. I worked out irrigation and from there we opened our first season a few months later.” This small step into farming brought Clemmons great joy. “I had such a great time meeting people and the kids loved coming to pick so much I felt I had to keep going,” Clemmons said. “So, at that point I opened up my plant nursery. Partly out of necessity to do replacement plants but also to feed my need for more plants. I brought in 30 varieties of edibles and began selling them, planting a few here and there on the property.” By second season Clemmons started adding another picking area. To extend the picking season he chose to add blackberries. “I experimented with a few varieties and found a really good couple of thorn-less varieties and planted out 80 of them,” Clemmons said. “That following season we harvested so many blackberries I couldn’t believe it.”
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Most of Clemmons’ clients told him there weren’t any blackberry u-pick farms in the area, especially ones that were
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thorn-less and organic. “I doubled that to 160 right after that season,” Clemmons said. “Then I added another area for rotating seasonal veggies. This was our first year with that setup and I’m still working out what varieties are in demand and what grows the best with the least intervention. We are now up to over 60 varieties of fruit trees in the ground and at least that many in the plant nursery.” Clemmons has done all of this in a very short time and without an agriculture or farming background. “No, I don’t really have any agricultural background,” he said. “We had some cows when I was about 15-years-old but that was only for a few years. Almost two decades passed before I decided to try my hand at horticulture. It was more of a hobby since I already have a full time job doing commercial HVAC and refrigeration.” If you ask him what makes Bob’s Berries different from other u-pick farms in the area, he’ll tell you it’s that they are bioorganic centered. “We are bioorganic centered, sort of a permaculture paradise,” Clemmons said. “No chemicals, no pesticides, no herbicides. That combined with the plant nursery and eventually a kitchen with handcrafted products. We also do bi-annual events with dozens of friends that do hand crafted items, food and fun activities for kids to get them into gardening at a young age. This year unfortunately we cancelled both of our events because of the pandemic.” Like most farms, the recent pandemic has affected Bob’s Berries. “Yes, we went to an appointment based system this year for picking and for the nursery,” Clemmons said. “There were lots of bugs to work out with the system but eventually we WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
got it working ok. As a result, we were under scheduled so that we wouldn’t have any overlap of families visiting and had lots of fruit that didn’t end up getting picked. We went from hundreds of visitors in previous years to maybe 100 this season.” The appointment system Clemmons set up at the farm did have its advantages. “Everyone seems so wonderful to talk to,” Clemmons said. “The appointment system we started really helped with being able to talk to people one on one as well, which has convinced me we will continue doing it even after the pandemic.” Keeping things local and making local connections is very important to Clemmons and his staff. “We purchase all our plants through Florida family owned businesses,” Clemmons said. “The events we hold twice a year are very local oriented as well. We try to keep to strictly hand crafted and hand made products. Jams, jellies, woodworking, jewelry, other small edible nurseries, chickens, rabbits, goats, leatherworking, you name it. We also have created a huge network of local vendors that we use for our personal needs as well.”
Staying Updated and Pesticide License CEUs By Jim Frankowiak
“2020 has been a year we will all certainly remember,” said Hillsborough County Extension Agent Alicia Whidden. “While food safety and worker health safety are always important, they are paramount this year. “Please stay up with all the latest requirements and with training opportunities for worker health. Pay attention to your email for messages that bring you the latest updates on these important subjects. If you do not currently get emails from me and would like to be sure you do not miss out, send me an email and I will put you on my list. My email address is awhidden@ ufl.edu. “With the beginning of the season and purchasing and applying fumigants, you will need to have a current pesticide license,” said Whidden. “Remember you need four CORE and four Private Applicator Continuing Education Units (CEUs} to renew your license. Since we did not hold Agritech this spring, some of you may be due to renew soon and be short CEUs. If you attend Agritech annually, you would have the four CORE (General Standards, Chapter 487) and ample Private Applicator CEUs you need to renew your license every four years. “If you have attended at least two years of Agritech you should have enough Private Applicator CEUs but will be short CORE. If all you need is CORE then you can go on-line and read articles and answer a question set then send it in, if you have a passing grade you will be sent your CEU form. The University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Agents have four CEU articles online now. The link is http://citrusindustry.net/ceu/. This is the easiest way to get your CORE CEUs. If you have any questions about your license or anything else, just get in touch with me.”
If you would like to learn more about Bob’s Berries LLC or if you’d like to make an appointment to visit Clemmons’ farm, you can visit his website at www.bobsberriesfl.com or call 813-586-3262. Bob’s Berries is located at 11501 Winn Rd. in Riverview.
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Whidden’s email address is: awhidden@ufl.edu and her phone number is 813/744-5519, Ext. 534134.
MY FAVORITE FUNKY FLOWERS Lynn Barber, Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Agent University of Florida Extension Hillsborough County
At our UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County office and in my home landscape, there are several unusual flowering plants. They are so amazingly strange looking that you would need to stop and look again. We thought you might appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of each of the following funky flowering plants. These plants include: Spiral ginger, Dutchman’s pipevine, Hoya, Tillandsia, Gloriosa lily, and Chinese hat. Spiral ginger, Costus spp: This is a fast-growing perennial that can reach a height of 6-10 feet and a spread of 4-8 feet. It prefers a slightly acid to slightly alkaline soil pH of 6.0 to 7.2. Any soil texture works well. Soil moisture should be well drained. Spiral ginger has low drought and low to no salt tolerance. It prefers partial shade/partial sun and can perform well in full shade or full sun. The undersides of the leaves are very soft, and the flowers remind me of a red wax sculpture with yellow bird bills protruding. Flowering occurs from summer through fall. This plant grows well in north, central and south Florida. Dutchman’s pipe, pipevine, Aristolochia spp: This is a fastgrowing vine that can reach a height and spread of 10-15 feet. It prefers a slightly acid to slightly alkaline soil pH of 6.0 to 7.2. Sand works best as the soil texture. Soil moisture should be medium drained. Dutchman’s pipevine has medium drought tolerance and low to no salt tolerance. It prefers partial shade/partial sun and performs well in full shade. The flowers are white/purple from summer through winter. This plant is the larval food plant for several swallowtail butterflies. This plant grows well in central and south Florida.
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Wax plant, Wax flower, Hoya carnosa: This is a slow growing vine whose height and spread depend on the structure
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utilized. It prefers acidic potting mixtures which can include compost, peat or sphagnum moss. Soil moisture should be extremely well drained. Wax plant has high drought tolerance and poor salt tolerance. It prefers partial shade/partial sun. This plant produces large, round hanging clusters of cream colored or pink flowers in the spring and summer and performs very well in containers or hanging baskets. Propagation is by cuttings. For more information on this plant, please see the University of Florida publication, ‘Hoya carnosa Wax Plant, Wax Flower’, by Edward F. Gilman, at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fp257. Bromeliad, Bromeliaceae genera, and Tillandsia: There are 16 native Bromeliad species and approximately 85 native species of ‘air plants’ in Florida. Bromeliads are slow growing and generally reach a height and spread of 1-2 feet. This plant prefers a slightly acid to slightly alkaline soil pH of 6.0 to 7.2 and sandy soil. Soil moisture should be well drained. Bromeliads have high drought and low to no salt tolerance. Partial shade/partial sun is preferred, and they perform well in full shade or full sun. Tillandsia is a member of the pineapple family. They live on other plants but do not live off other plants, so they are epiphytes, not parasites. Tillandsia do not have roots on the ground, although some capture water through their roots or leaves. Some prefer sun, and others prefer shade. Propagation is from ‘pups’ produced by the mother plant. The plants themselves are incredible, and the flowers are amazing. These plants grow well in north, central and south Florida. For more information on this lovely native plant, please see the University of Florida publication, ‘Florida’s Native Bromeliads’, by Barbra C. Larson, J. Howard Frank, Ginger M. Allen and Martin B. Main, at: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/ UW/UW20500.pdf.
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Gloriosa lily, Gloriosa spp: This is a fast-growing perennial that can reach a height and spread of 2-8 feet. It prefers a slightly acid to slightly alkaline soil pH of 6.0 to 7.2. Soil texture should be sandy clay. Soil moisture should be well drained. Gloriosa lily has medium drought tolerance. It prefers partial shade/partial sun and performs well in full shade. This plant grows well in north, central and south Florida. Chinese hat plant, Holmskioldia sanguinea: This plant has a moderate growth rate and can reach a height and spread of 5-8 feet. It prefers an acid to slightly alkaline soil pH of 4.5 to 7.2. Any soil texture works well. Soil moisture should be medium drained. Chinese hat plant has moderate drought tolerance, requiring irrigation during dry seasons. It prefers partial shade/partial sun. Chinese hat plant produces bright orange/red flowers that look like a hat. Flowering occurs
For more information about the Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM Program and to register for upcoming workshops, please view our calendar of events at: https://sfyl.ifas.ufl. edu/hillsborough/upcoming-events/. You can contact the UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County at 813-744-5519. Hope you can get outside and garden. Be well.
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year-round in south Florida. It works well as a standard, hedge, border or specimen plant. This plant grows well in central and south Florida. For more information, see: ‘Holmskioldia sanguinea’, by Edward F. Gilman at: http://hort.ifas. ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/shrub_fact_sheets/ holsana.pdf.
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FORMER MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSMATES NOW STATE FFA OFFICERS By Jim Frankowiak
Emma Poole and Christian Bentrovato began their FFA journey while 6th grade classmates at Tomlin Middle School. Though they attended different high schools, they are now both Florida FFA officers. Poole, who graduated from Durant High School, is state secretary and Bentrovato, an alumnus of Plant City High School, is Area V Vice President. Poole, a fourth generation Florida FFA member, grew up around animals and vegetables. Her great-great uncle, Gray Miley, was the first Florida FFA President. She is the daughter of Freddie and Gwen Poole. Her dad is involved in residential construction and her mother works at Durant High School and Gibbs Real Estate. Poole’s family has “deep roots in the Cork area,” she said. Bentrovato is a lifelong Plant City resident. He is the son of Candy and Joe. Both of his parents are involved in education. His mother is a teacher in Polk County and his dad is Dean of Student Services at the Dale Mabry campus of Hillsborough Community College (HCC). He has an older brother, Jacob, a student at HCC; and Ryan, an incoming freshman at Plant City High School, is his younger brother.
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As state officers, Poole and Bentrovato have as their primary responsibility to serve the Florida FFA Association, Agricultural Education and Agriculture as ambassadors in local, state and national activities in a way that will inform, motivate and inspire FFA members, advisors and others to embrace and uphold the FFA mission of making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
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Florida FFA, with its nearly 30,000 members and over 300 chapters, is part of the National FFA Organization, which has more than 700,100 members in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. FFA has more than 8,600 local chapters. The letters FFA stand for Future Farmers of America and are a part of the organization’s history. However, FFA is not just for students who want to be production famers; FFA also welcomes members who aspire to careers as teachers, doctors, scientists, business owners and more. Consequently, the name of the organization was updated in 1988 to reflect the growing diversity and new opportunities in the agriculture industry. The organization’s vision is “to provide the next generation of leaders who will change the world.” The FFA motto gives members 12 words to live by as they experience the opportunities provided through membership: “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.” Poole opted to attend Durant High School, while Bentrovato chose Plant City High School. Each was heavily involved in FFA activities along with other extracurriculars. Education was foremost for each as Poole was 6th in her graduating class with a 7.02 weighted grade point average (GPA) while also being enrolled at HCC, and Bentrovato ranked in the top 3% of his class with a 6.31 GPA. He was dual enrolled at Plant City High School and HCC. In addition to her participation in myriad FFA activities, Poole was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a team WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
manager for the Durant football team, where she worked to keep the team hydrated, and National Honor Society member for three years while she was at Durant. Additionally, she volunteered at the East Hillsborough Historical Society, amassing more than 500 service hours during her high school years. Poole has held a variety of FFA leadership positions since joining the organization. She served as Tomlin FFA President, Vice President and Secretary at Durant, Hillsborough County FFA Chaplain, District IX President, Sub-district II Chairman, Durant Senior FFA Treasurer and Hillsborough County FFA Student Advisor. As a Durant Senior, Poole was Senior FFA and Hillsborough County President and District IX Secretary. In terms of FFA competitions, Poole was drawn to forestry events where she took top honors both in middle and high school, including back-to-back state championships. She also competed in floriculture (flower) competitions, winning top honors. Poole took 3rd place honors at the Florida State Fair in the Livestock Judging competition and she also showed pigs, beef heifers and rabbits. She also participated in extemporaneous public speaking competitions, winning both state and national honors, and state level talent events, including a 2014 piano performance before an audience of 5,000. Poole has also begun singing. As State FFA Secretary, Poole has responsibility for all related correspondence, as well as “being an advocate for agriculture, teaching people about the industry and its importance; and connecting with members as they seek to become champions for agriculture.” She looks forward to the overall experience “and friendships that will be formed,” she said. “It will also be a chance for me to give back to the industry.” She is thankful for the support she has received from her parents and family. Tim Cribbs, who heads the agriculture program at Durant High School, has been an important mentor to Poole, as well. “During the summer before my freshman year at Durant he told me how necessary it was to work hard to achieve and suggested the opportunity to become a state FFA officer,” Poole said. She is now the 15th state FFA officer to come from Durant High School. Finally, she gives much credit and appreciation “to my faith. “I’m thankful for this support system and coming to understand that hard work is everything. I am truly blessed and look forward to help making the world a better place.” Following her year as Florida FFA Secretary, Poole will attend Florida Southern College with plans to major in communications thanks to a full scholarship underwritten by Publix. She would welcome the opportunity to join the staff at Florida Farm Bureau once she receives her undergraduate degree, “working in communications and becoming involved in the political process.”
Growing up, Bentrovato helped his grandparents, Larry and Martha Granger, with various tasks at their horse stable in the Midway area north of Plant City. Prior to becoming involved with FFA, he was a 4-H member, showing chickens, plants and dairy cows. His interest in agriculture piqued as a Tomlin 6th grader when he was “on the wheel” and exposed to a variety of elective opportunities, sampling several for two week time periods. That was further enhanced the following two years at Tomlin and the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program with focus on agriculture. “There were more than 200 students involved in the academy at Tomlin and most belonged to FFA,” he said. His involvement in advanced biotech studies led to Agriculture Education Services and Technology (AEST) certification. Bentrovato has also been a National Honor Society member, member of the Interact Boys Service Club working on a variety of community service projects and Peer Jury member at Plant City High School, a group of students tasked with helping to keep students in compliance with various rules and regulations. “While we hope to continue and expand member support activities and participation this year, we face challenges due to the impact of COVID-19,” Bentrovato noted. “That will mean more use of online resources with greater efficiencies as we strive to advance agriculture and help to develop leaders for tomorrow.” Following his year as a state FFA officer, Bentrovato plans to enroll at the University of Florida, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, majoring in Food and Resource Economics with a minor in political science. He is thankful to his family for their ongoing support and the mentoring provided by his Tomlin Middle School Ag teachers Jason Steward, Kayla Giorgi and Kelly Goff. As to the future after UF, Bentrovato anticipates working for “an ag company, maybe starting my own company and maybe becoming involved in politics,” he said.
Congratulations to Emma Poole and Christian Bentrovato and best of luck during your year as Florida FFA officers! INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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Bentrovato, who is serving as Area V Vice President for Florida FFA, will be the link between the organization and chapters in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, De Soto, Sarasota, Hardee, Lee, Manatee and Charlotte counties.
ULTIMATE HURRICANE PREP If I’ve got this right, the last time I wrote about Hurricanes, they blew right by us, leaving nothing but a little bit of rain. Hoping for such good fortune this year, let me write once again since the season I ignored them three years ago was when we were hit rather hard by Hurricane Irma. I suppose my mind in 2017 was preoccupied with the impending birth of my second granddaughter. Like a whirlwind of her own, she, JoJo we call her, was set to arrive in the stormy month of September.
by John Dicks
The logical thing to do in such a precarious situation of having a baby waiting to be born, would naturally have to been to abandon the folly of paddling a canoe through flooded streets, much less a distance of five miles that likely would become more as obstacles obstructed their way. The smart move, you might suggest, would have been, “get in the car and go now, while you can still drive to the hospital!” Smart moves, however, don’t always work out as we would like them to.
Coincidence or not, it was that same moment in time that Hurricane Irma chose to make her own appearance. She came blasting through Florida, first in the Keys as a Category 4 storm, but still blowing strong, bent on destruction as she worked her way north towards us.
The hospital, it seems, was fully focused on its own problems. Electricity outages were zapping through the grid and power was being forced through generators. The word from “admissions” was that no admissions would be made into the hospital until the mom had morphed full force into labor.
The father of JoJo is my oldest son, John. I consider him wise beyond his years and he proved it so by conjuring up an elaborate evacuation plan for JoJo’s delivery and birth in the event of a worst case scenario, should the hurricane arrive at the same time as did his daughter.
So, at home they sat; and waited. With a gassed-up car in the driveway and an outfitted canoe in the yard, anxiously they hunkered down while winds whirled and pressure dropped. Yet still no baby ready for birth.
The biggest concern was flooding since hurricanes are prone to deliver such on the streets surrounding his home. Sparing some of the details, his well devised scheme centered on stationing a canoe outside his house, with a friend at the ready, to paddle five miles of swamped streets north to the hospital. You can only imagine, two strapping and strong best friends, settled into the bow and stern of a fiberglass canoe, fighting the wind and waves while the fretful young mother was laboring (quite literally) in the middle. Hoping, of course, that this vision (or nightmare) would never develop into reality kept them, and us, glued to the tv anxiously tracking the path of the howling weather monster. Both a blessing and a curse with hurricanes is that you can see, hear and physically feel them brewing. Unlike earthquakes and tornadoes which pop, groan and rumble unexpectedly, hurricanes give you a warning.
Hurricane Irma screamed right along, banging into Marco Island with winds blowing at 115 mph and turning north. Suddenly, with the grace of providence and some shear good luck, the buzzsaw of a storm turned ever so slightly, soaking Crystal River and headed to Florida’s Panhandle. With that shift in trajectory, and as if right on cue, labor coincided with the calming wind enabling a safer, and drier, drive and an allowable admission to the hospital. JoJo’s delivery was smooth and relatively fast. She was healthy and beautiful and doted upon by her exhausted parents. Today she is smart, delightfully sweet and as full of energy as Hurricane Irma once was! A couple of weeks ago, just shy of her third birthday, JoJo hopped onboard with her Dad, John, for her very first ever canoe ride. The word was that she didn’t much enjoy it. No surprise there!
Still, they are unpredictable. You never know precisely for certain where and when they will strike and pummel.
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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
Worth More than You Realize: The Four-Petal Pawpaw By Ginny Mink
Though this plant is not indigenous to our area, that does not make it less valuable when it comes to considering the endangered plants we have in Florida. The Four-Petal Pawpaw, or Asimina tetramera, is actually endemic to Florida, which makes it all the more important to save. Given the fact we are often overrun by invasive species, ensuring that we keep our natural ones safe here is imperative. The four-petal pawpaw is a deciduous shrub. It is generally between 3 and 15 feet tall with either one or several stems that arch. The leaves are long and yellow-green, about 2-5 inches, and have a leathery texture. They have pointed tips but are wider just above the middle. They produce an aroma with veins that are visible on both sides of the leaves.¹ Four-petal pawpaws are literally only found in Florida. Generally, if you are lucky enough to see them, they will be found in Palm Beach and Martin Counties. Since they are extremely rare, scientists have actually been able to count every single existing plant. The lack of natural habitat for them, coastal sandpine ridges in those two counties, has had a dramatic effect on their existence because these habitats are rapidly disappearing as well.² Unfortunately, this plant is not one people will be particularly drawn to protect. The stems are a grey-brown to a reddishbrown. It sprouts a deep taproot, but the real problem lies within the flowers themselves. They are a maroon color, which one would think would make the plant attractive. However, these flowers produce a fetid scent when they appear in late spring. Stinky flowers are not usually something people want around, but they only grow in Florida, as we stated before, and that in and of itself makes them worth investing in saving.³ The flowers themselves are relatively small, only reaching an inch across. While most of them have four sepals, they can have four to six petals, which makes the name a little strange. If they do have six petals the outer three petals are paler and longer than the inner three. Additionally, they produce fruit that can be as large as five inches long. They are bean shaped and lumpy. Inside you will find shiny, brown half inch long seeds.¹ Though you may have never heard of it, the four-petal pawpaw is a member of the custard apple family. It will produce more flowers and fruit when it is exposed to intense fires. The fires create more ground space for the plants to establish themselves. It also does better when there are other plants to overshadow it. However, when that happens, most of the plant’s energy is invested in photosynthesis rather than in creating flowers and fruit which then hinders its continued hope for growth expansion.²
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If you decide you want to go looking for these extremely rare plants most of their populations are found in 20 disconnect-
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ed areas. These include spots like Northern St. Lucie County, Jensen Beach, Savannas Preserve State Park, Jonathan Dickinson State Park (which is in Martin County), and in Palm Beach County all the way to the northern sections of Palm Beach Gardens.³ Though it is easy to understand why people might not be big fans of the four-petal pawpaw, it should be noted that it is a host to the zebra swallowtail butterfly. And even if the flowers stink, the fruit supposedly smell like bananas and are well loved by gopher tortoises and other small mammals to include the Florida mouse. These animals help propagate the plants which take the seeds they deposit up to eight months to germinate but they can germinate within a month when in the right setting.² As far as protection goes, about 10 of the known sites are on private lands. That leaves 10 more to be protected by three local parks in Palm Beach County and at Jonathan Dickson State Park in Martin County. If we desire to protect them, as we should, disking and other soil disturbances should be avoided, and their natural habitats should have prescribed burns or chopping provided in 20 to 50 year intervals. That may be hard to accomplish as controlled burns generally happen far more frequently.¹ The bottom line here is that the four-petal pawpaw is important to other animals and butterflies. As we know, gopher tortoises are listed as threatened here, and to prevent them from becoming endangered keeping the four-petal pawpaw as one of their food resources is necessary. And since they are the only host plant to the zebra swallowtail butterfly, this adds to their significance on the planet. Like we tell you every month, it’s our job to be good stewards of the plants and animals God provided here. That includes the four-petal pawpaw! Resources: ¹Florida Natural Areas Inventory. Four-Petal Pawpaw. https:// www.fnai.org/FieldGuide/pdf/Asimina_tetramera.pdf ²Wild South Florida. Four-Petal Pawpaw Asiminia tetramer. http://www.wildsouthflorida.com/four-petal.pawpaw.html#. X0vF0MhKiM³Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce. Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory. https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/smsfp/ irlspec/Asimi_tetram.htm Photo Resources: Bob Peterson. (2012). Fourpetal pawpaw (Asimina tetramera). (Flickr). https://flic.kr/p/cTA3Qs Scott Zona. (2018). Asimina tetramera. (Flickr). https://flic.kr/ p/29WM8iR WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
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ANTONIO CARRARO
A SPECIALTY CROP DESERVES A SPECIALTY TRACTOR
Antonio Carraro, located in Campodarssego, Padua, Veneto region of Italy, was founded in 1910 by 20-yearold Giovanni Carraro when he built the first multipurpose agricultural machine. From there, Antonio Carraro developed into a worldwide leader in the production of compact tractors for specialized agriculture work. The 20 to 100 hp tractors are a perfect fit for niche agriculture and ground maintenance. The smaller tractor with smooth lines of the cab and body, glide easily between the rows of blueberry trees, citrus groves and other crops so that precious limbs are not broken in passing but are gently pushed aside. “I was looking for a tractor for working a blueberry farm,” said Marcelo Estrada, owner of Peace River Farms, who has been using the Antonio Carraro tractor for two years. “What I found out that is very useful is these tractors are articulated, the radius to turn around is smaller and shorter than a tractor that is not articulated.” “Not in the blueberry industry, but in the citrus industry, which we’ve been a part of forever,”said Robby McKeeman, with Grove Equipment Services, “we’ve noticed a lot of changes going on with greening and space. Land is valuable. It’s getting sold off. Being able to fit more product on a smaller piece of land is important and we can’t do that with the current equipment we are using right now.” That is just one of the advantages of the Antonio Carrara brand of tractor. “Some
implements you can see what is going on up front,” said Estrada. “Specifically when we do the pruning at the end of the season. So perhaps the pruning is the most important of the year because it has to be done once a year. You have only one chance to do it right, so that’s why I was looking at this tractor.” The shape of the cab lends itself to protection of the crop. “At certain time of the year at certain ages of the bush, it covers the row and every time you get inside you start hurting the branch,” said Estrada. “The cabin, I would say, is softer. It has good visibility. You have to get used to be at a lower height. Usually, in most of the tractors, you are looking at the crop from above. Here, you look at the crop face to face. You are more able to see better the plant.” I see a huge opportunity with this equipment to get more trees on smaller pieces of land,” said McKeeman. “And then we’ve got the under shade or under cover stuff and that’s where the height of the tractor comes in to play. If that’s going to be the future, there’s not much else that can do it.” Though small in stature, the tractor is powerful enough for the equipment needed. “The T100 or T99 has 100 hp, is double traction, articulated, is powerful enough to disc and pull equipment that requires at least 50 hp,” said Estrada. “The small one that’s 40 hp, is the one that we mainly use to do the pruning, but we also have a boom sprayer that doesn’t require a high horse power capacity and we use it for spraying as well.”
Max Carraro is one of the shareholders of the company started by his grandfather. Prior to moving to the United States he was primarily in the Research and Design Department, developing new tractors and marketing the new products. When the company needed a U.S. base almost four years ago, he packed up and moved. “For me it was a not a big change because my wife is American,” said Carraro. “I have three daughters and they also speak very good English.” Although breaking in to the Florida market as been a challenge, it’s one Carraro is ready to take on. “For us, the Florida market is a big challenge because they know from us the history of the morphology of the terrain in California and Washington, especially for the steep slopes, so now, thanks to customers like Marcelo, who show the advantage of these tractors, we started having good results.” “With things changing in the industry we’ve got to adapt and change with it and this has been working in Europe forever,” said McKeeman. “They are a 110 year old company.” “I am very positive that we can add something to the market,” said Carraro. The company has more than 450 employees located between the Italian headquarters and commercial branches in Australia, Spain and Turkey. They have 600 importers, dealers and resellers all over the world.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION on Antonio Carraro, contact Grove Equipment Services at 863-537-1345 or 813-759-8722. You can also visit the Antonio Carraro web site at www.antoniocarraro.it/en/
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By Ginny Mink
Ornamental Gardening in Florida Welcome back, dear friends, to our next trip on the Literary Time Machine. These voyages always promise to bring us a wealth of information about historic plants and those that we might want to consider adding to our own landscapes. Journeying back to 1926 with Mr. Torrey Simpson is certainly an adventure and each of us is sure to learn a thing or two. This month, we will finish up on orchids and then move on to his chapter entitled, Aquatic and Wet Land Exotics (that section might be especially good for those of you in North Lakeland where it seems to stay quite damp). Why not start this month with the Schomburgkia tibicinus? He describes it as, “A noble orchid with large pseudobulbs as much as eighteen inches long and hollow, with two or three large, very thick leaves. The flowers are borne on a stem five to seven feet long that arises from the top of the pseudobulb. These are many and large, white, pink and chocolate.”¹ Apparently, this is an orchid that hails from Honduras, but the size of it is what grabs our attention most. According to an article on the American Orchid Society site entitled, Farewell Schomburgkia, things have changed since Mr. Torrey Simpson last wrote about them nearly a hundred years ago. The author writes, “Certain tropical orchids are wellsuited and often used as landscape subjects in frost-free areas of Florida. Schomburgkia tibicinis… was one of them. I say “was”, because although the orchid is still around, the name isn’t.”² This has seemed to happen a lot with the plants we’ve read about in Mr. Torrey Simpson’s book. Thankfully, it is only the name, not the orchid itself, which has disappeared! These plants are now known as Myrmecophila tibicinis due to a certain attraction from ants.² Strange reason to change names in our minds, but scientists often do odd things.
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So, since the previous orchid wasn’t an indoor type, we decided we might as well introduce another outdoor orchid for those of you with lack of porch space. That is the Vanda. He says it, “is a climbing plant with long leaves arranged distichously. It sends out very large, arched roots which fasten to limbs, trunks or other vines in such a way that though the support may be much moved about by the wind the roots and plant will give and be uninjured. The splendid flowers are in long racemes, each three or four inches across, and a fine light blue.”¹ He admits that the V. caerulea, is the best Vanda he has tried. And with the winds we often experience, it seems like it might be a cool plant to add to your outdoor landscape.
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Part 72
And now we arrive at the next chapter, Aquatic and Wet Land Exotics. He begins the chapter by stating, “In this chapter on wild gardens I have urged that cultivators of ornamental plants should attempt the growing of our wild aquatics and bog plants in and around natural or artificial pools or lakes. No garden of any extent is complete without at least a few of the choicer aquatics and wet land exotics…By this means we can easily change many of the unsightly rock pits and excavations made in mining phosphate into things of beauty.”¹ In fact, the first plant he suggests, Aponogeton distachyus, or Cape pond weed, sounds like a viable option. He pens, “An interesting submerged plant from the Cape of Good Hope whose leaves have long stems and the flowers are in twin spikes at the emersed (immersed) ends of long scapes. They are odd and quite fragrant, being produced throughout the entire season. This plant is hardy generally and should prove so all over Florida.”¹ We’ll talk about one more aquatic as we are running out of space this month. That being the Nelumbium. Mr. Torrey Simpson writes, “A splendid genus of aquatics with large, handsome leaves and magnificent flowers. N. lutea, American lotus…a species widely distributed in the eastern part of the United States whose immense leaves are raised well above the water, cupped in the center and often two feet wide. The pale sulfur yellow flowers may be ten inches across and they are followed by large, flat-topped receptacles containing the seeds. One of our noblest native plants and it might probably be grown over a considerable part of the state.”¹ There are so many amazing aquatic plants to discuss next month and we look forward to telling you all about them as we take our next trip on the Literary Time Machine. But for now, happy gardening! And we’ll see you next month! Stay dry (unless you are going to attempt to plant these aquatics!). 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. 210-212). ²Alikas, G. (2009). Farewell Schomburgkia. American Orchid Society. https://www.aos.org/orchids/collectors-items/ farewell-schomburgkia.aspx Photo Credits: Scott Zona. (2008). Myrmecophila tibicinis. (Flickr). https://flic. kr/p/4VxfhX Kerry Woods. (2005). Nuphar advena (sometimes folded into N. lutea). (Flickr). https://flic.kr/p/e2xCfw WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
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FROM THE SCIENTIFIC FIELD
By J. Scott Angle
We at UF/IFAS believe there should be more, not fewer farmers developed more than 50 videos since March, both in English in Hillsborough County and Polk County. That means reaching and Spanish to continue our mission of extending our resourcout to people who traditionally may not have had equal access es during COVID-19. to the educational materials a beginning farmer needs. Gonzalez had long wanted to be in farming, just like her grandOpportunity is baked into our land-grant mission as a univer- father was in Garrochales. She also just wanted to grow vegsity committed to access for all to higher education. It’s also a etables in her yard. But in her first attempts, her plants didn’t core value of ours to serve all Hillsborough and Polk residents, produce enough for the effort to be worth it. regardless of race, creed, nationality, gender, or who they love. Things changed when she discovered Rivera and connected Or whether English is their native language. Or whether they him to her native Garrochales in Puerto Rico, where a Facebook struggle with health. Chaidy Gonzalez, who lives in the Valrico group of residents was seeking expertise in small-scale agrineighborhood near Brandon, wants to be a farmer. But her culture because they could not get help from local authorities. halting English and her limited mobility due to her daughter’s and her own health problems long impeded her efforts to learn Rivera ended up giving via Facebook Live instruction to this how. group, called Garrochales Produce, whose leader is Marta Santos. Rivera taught them the basics on farming practices Then she found Spanish-language videos, dozens of them, and infrastructure. that essentially gave her a beginner’s education in agriculture. In addition, they were from a trusted source—a childhood Santos said it’s been a game changer for Garrochales. Memfriend. UF/IFAS Hillsborough County Extension small farms bers of the group are individually having small success and are agent Francisco Rivera had been her neighbor when she was now in discussions with a church about using some of its land growing up in Garrochales, Puerto Rico. Like her, he had come for a commercial-scale operation that could produce income to Tampa with dreams of working in agriculture. and economic development for a community still recovering from Hurricane Maria and now the pandemic. Rivera has already established a reputation for personal service. His work helping Dawn Altman establish a local farm with Gonzalez piggybacked on these horses and mini donkeys was chronicled in these pages earlier classes via Zoom from her home in this year. the Tampa area. She, too, now has great aspirations like her former He is also a founding member of the UF/IFAS Extension ini- neighbors in Garrochales to protiative called CAFÉ Latino. It’s a statewide network of agents duce on a scale that would allow dedicated to identifying and serving more of our customers – her to sell to markets. that is, everyone in Hillsborough and Polk County and indeed all of Florida. Their emphasis is on reaching people for whom That’ll be one more Hillsborough English is not their first language. farmer. Here’s to many more. Led by John Diaz, at the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences in Plant City, CAFÉ Latino is an Extension initiative that equips agents such as Rivera to connect with more underserved would-be farmers.
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In collaboration with CAFÉ Latino members’ Farming in Times of Social Distancing initiative, Rivera and Jonael Bosques (who is also the UF/IFAS Hardee County Extension director) have
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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
Paper wasps and office politics (Mischocyttarus mexicanus cubicola)
I am a born and raised Southerner; wasps are among the critters we just learn to live with and avoid. I recently had the opportunity to watch a new nest of tiny paper wasps form on the window of an office building. It was being built horizontally with the larval cells facing the horizon rather than vertically with the cells to the ground. From the very beginning a crowd of adult wasps gathered nearby while one or two wasps began construction of the basal stem of the new colony and the first larval cells. I often see these when hiking and can tell you they do not let me get close without attacking and often catch me by surprise when I am making my way through Florida scrub. Curiosity got the best of me and every night for about a week I watched the nest grow with new eggs being laid. To my surprised the budding nest was not in the least bit aggressive. The picture that accompanies this article were taken with my cell phone inches from the nest. Mischocyttarus is a new world genus of Neotropic eusocial wasps. The eusocial wasps are characterized by living in groups of cooperative adults that share the function of brood care. Reproductive functions are divided among the adult females that can lay eggs. In a eusocial colony, brood generations overlap and there will be variations in the biologic maturity of adults within the colony. Females that are not yet sexually mature will take on the duties of hunting, nest building and caring for brood. Mischocyttarus, is the largest social wasp genus with 189 species and 15 subspecies. We have two species in Florida, neither of which have a common name that I am aware of. Mischocyttarus mexicanus cubicola is found in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Additionally, it is found in the Caribbean countries of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Bahamas. Mischocyttarus mexicanus mexicanus a sister species, has been seen in nearly every county of Florida except for the most northwestern counties of the state. Up until 2009, it was believed that there was a distribution barrier in the Florida panhandle prohibiting Mischocyttarus wasps from spreading west of Alabama, however, subsequent surveys confirmed populations of M.m cubicola and M.m mexicanus wasps in Louisianna, Texas, and even Missouri. In tropical environments, both M.m cubicola and M.m. mexicanus nest throughout the year. In temperate environments, the cold winters force Mischocyttarus wasps into hibernation, therefore it is unlikely that M. flavitarsis would nest all year. I have several Sabel Palm (Sabal palmetto) next to my place and can see them nesting there from my second story window. In the wild, I can reliably find these tiny wasps nesting on the underside of Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) and Scrub Palmetto (Sabal etonia) both of which are very abundant in Florida’s scrub environments. Marcia Litte,a graduate of Cornell University, has published detailed research on the biology and behavior of social wasps since the 1970’s. Her studies of the nesting behavior were conducted here in Florida at
Litte documented two different nesting strategies Mischocyttarus wasps can employ in response to circumstances that would otherwise threaten the colony. The single queen foundation that I thought was normal is more common with larger, more mature females and typically done in the springtime. The nests of Mischocyttarus can also be co-founded by up to 20 females. A nest that is co-founded can have more than one queen each taking turns in the reproductive functions of the nest. This strategy ensures the colony always has a working queen. If during an attack, the current queen is killed, another adult female will take over as queen and resume egg production while the nest is repaired. In a study of colony defense behavior published in the Journal of Insect Science Online (31 DEC 2009), simulated attacks suggested that aggressive defense behavior had a strong correlation to the age of the wasps. In the study, researchers concluded that older wasps, both workers and queens defend the nest more aggressively than younger wasps. In a University of California, Santa Barbara study published in New Scientist (3 MAR 2017) researchers conducted similar attack simulations. By poking and prodding the queen of the nest, researchers assigned a personality to the queen based on how readily she would abandon the nest to attack the simulated threat. Researchers found that when the queen of a colony was reluctant to leave the nest to defend it, the workers tended to mimic the queens’ disposition and likewise were reluctant to leave the nest to defend it. Nest aggression serves to protect the colony and though I have not yet found a specific study that can address my curiosity of why the office nest was not aggressive, I can form my own hypothesis. Nest aggression is a function of colony preservation. It would be safer for the queen to remain with the nest to protect the eggs and larvae than for the queen to leave the nest to enter battle with a predator. The workers, especially sterile workers, are far more dispensable than mature, egg laying female. The nest that I found, may have been a gathering of co-founding reproductive females. If that was the case, they may have had a biologic disposition NOT to leave the nest to defend it, but rather stay in the nest to defend her young. I will take a closer look in the wild and hope have an opportunity to document such observation more thoroughly. When you go out this month, I encourage you to take a closer look yourself, Carefully ! INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE
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the Archbold Biological Station at Lake Placid. The American Robin (Turdus migratorius), The Florida Scub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), and the Red Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) are the three most significant natural predators of these wasps. Nesting typically begin in May and June. The nest I saw being built on the office window began the first day of August. As you can see in the photograph, there are several adults huddled near the nest while it is being built.
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RELEASE PLAN FOR ASSISTING SEASONAL AND PERISHABLE GROWERS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES; FSGA APPLAUDS ACTIONS By Jim Frankowiak
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce have released an action plan detailing the ways in which the Trump Administration will address the threat posed by increased foreign imports to American producers of seasonal and perishable fruits and vegetables. The long-awaited action drew strong appreciation from impacted producers, particularly Florida strawberry growers The Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA), representing one of the most significant segments impacted by this threat, expressed its appreciation to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross “for keeping their word to find a way to bring meaningful trade relief to Florida strawberry growers who have suffered legitimate injury from subsidized imports from Mexico.” “This Administration has embraced an issue that has historically been ignored,” said FSGA Executive Director Kenneth Parker. “It is abundantly clear that this Administration has a desire to find solutions to help level the playing field for the Florida strawberry industry and other seasonal fruits and vegetable producers.”
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The actions outlined in the plan include a request from the USTR to the International Trade Commission to initiate a Section 201 global safeguard investigation into the extent to which increased imports of blueberries have caused serious injury to domestic blueberry growers. The USTR will also pursue senior-level government-to-government discussions with Mexico over the next 90 days to address U.S. industry concerns regarding U.S. imports of Mexican strawberries, bell peppers and other seasonal and perishable products. The
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USTR will work with domestic producers to commence an investigation by the International Trade Commission to monitor and investigate imports of strawberries and bell peppers, which could enable an expedited Section 201 global safeguard investigation later this year. The Department of Commerce will establish an outreach program to connect with southeastern and other growers of seasonal and perishable fruits and vegetables to enhance understanding of applicable trade remedy laws and processes; and establish a formal channel for stakeholders to provide information related to unfair subsidies for foreign producers and exporters of season and perishable fruits and vegetables, including those in Mexico – building on continued efforts to partner with U.S. industry to identify such subsidies. Under the plan the Department of Agriculture will increase targeted outreach to producers of seasonal perishable fruits and vegetables to maximize the use of existing departmental programs; and develop a market promotion strategy for domestically produced produce, and initiate conversations with relevant federal partners to better understand the extent to which imports of season and perishable products are utilized to enable criminal activity. The agencies will also establish and interagency working group to monitor seasonal and perishable fruit and vegetable products, coordinate an appropriate plan regarding future investigations and trade actions and provide technical assistance to Congress in developing legislation on this issue. Lastly, this just-released plan does not preclude additional actions and investigations by the Administration to support producers of seasonal and perishable fruits and vegetables. WWW.INTHEFIELDMAGAZINE.COM
FDACS Honors Dustin Grooms
as Veteran of the Month By Jim Frankowiak Dustin Grooms, a U.S. Army veteran and fourth generation farmer and manager of Fancy Farms, was named Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ August Veteran of the Month. The Veteran of the Month program recognizes veterans who have excelled in agriculture or in service to fellow Floridians and honors the contributions that the men and women in uniform have made to Florida. Staff Sergeant Grooms is a U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve veteran who dedicated eight years to military service. He enlisted in the Army as a Motor Transport Specialist after graduating from high school in 1999. He served on various missions, including peacekeeping missions and contraband interdiction during his two deployments to Kosovo. Afterwards, Staff Sergeant Grooms returned to Florida and joined the Army Reserve as a drill sergeant at a unit in St. Petersburg, Florida. Upon completing his service and leaving the military, he returned to Florida to pursue farming fulltime. A fourth generation Plant City farmer, Grooms is the Farm Manager of Fancy Farms, Inc., a family-owned strawberry farm which has been operating since 1974. He grew up on the farm and helped his father, Carl, manage it. After his father retired, he took over the farm and has increased Fancy Farm’s crop variety to include blackberries, pickles, okra. peas, peppers and squash during the summer months. The Florida Department of Agriculture in its announcement of the recognition noted “Staff Sergeant Grooms is an exemplary leader and has received several awards from the agriculture industry, including the ‘This Farm CARES Award,’ given to farmers by the Florida Farm Bureau for their commitment to protecting the environment, the ‘4R Advocate Award’, a nutrient stewardship award for implementing fertilizer management practices to increase production and reduce environmental impact and the ‘Hillsborough County Young Farmer of the Year Award.’” He is also a member of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) and Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA). Grooms and his wife, Alison, are the parents of Skyler. Congratulations Dustin and thank you for your service!
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GCREC’S DR. NATALIA PERES AWARDED 2020 APS FELLOW HONOR By Jim Frankowiak
Dr. Natalia Peres, Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/ IFAS) Gulf Research and Education Center (GCREC) at Balm, has been awarded the 2020 American Phytopathological Society (APS) Fellow honor. The society grants this honor to a current APS member in recognition of distinguished contributions to plant pathology or to the society. Fellow recognition is based on significant contributions in one or more of the following areas: original research, teaching, administration, professional and public service and/or extension and outreach. Dr. Peres, according to the ATP, “is superbly gifted and a dedicated mentor of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate researchers. Her excellence in this area has served to generate multipliers of her research and outreach efforts. She has produced a generation of skilled and broadly trained researchers and crop advisors. Her commitment to mentor international students and postgraduate researchers is particularly notable.
At the GCREC, Dr. Peres conducts basic and applied research on important diseases affecting strawberry production in Florida. The goal of her program is to develop a better understanding of the etiology of the diseases and the environmental factors affecting their development and to provide more effective disease control recommendations. Dr. Peres also works closely with the strawberry and ornamental breeders on developing cultivars with some level of disease resistance and she also oversees the Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic.
“She has been an effective advocate of closer ties between the American Phytopathological Society and Brazilian Society of Plant Pathology and has been frequently engaged in these efforts by the leadership of the APS. She has mentored 27 such undergraduate and 10 graduate and postgraduate researchers in her program since 2010. With Peres’ support, the foregoing students have made 65 oral and poster presentations at APS national and regional meetings. During the same period, these students received 24 awards from the APS Foundation, UF and others, in recognition of their research and extension achievements, an incredible achievement in light of her off-campus responsibilities at the UF/IFAS GCREC.
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“Peres has also served her profession through her engagement in the APS, having served as associate and senior editors of Plant Disease; as the society representative to the International Congress of Plant Pathology (ICPP), as a coordinator and volunteer translator for the Portuguese language for the APS Education Center, and as the lead editor of the upcoming 3rd edition of the APS Compendium of Strawberry Diseases, Disorders and Pests.”
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