Southeast AgNET

Still Accepting Peanut Butter Donations

Randall — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:47:34 +0000

The efforts of sending peanut butter to Haiti will continue until the end of this month as Ken Barton, Executive Director of the Florida Peanut Producers Association, said this is a very worth-while humanitarian effort.

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Gunter Outlines Citrus Research Agreement With UF

Dan — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:05:04 +0000

The chief operating officer of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation, Dan Gunter, previewed the foundation’s proposed research agreement with the University of Florida at this week’s Florida Citrus Commission meeting. Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff has the summary.

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Lingering Doubts

Dan — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:02:31 +0000

GMO crops are still controversial. Everett Griner explains.

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AL NRCS Assisting Landowners in Eradicating Feral Swine

Julie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:15:07 +0000

The Feral swine population is growing at an alarming rate in Alabama and Steve Musser, assistant state conservationist with Alabama NRCS says landowners now have an opportunity to receive financial assistance through the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program to trap and properly dispose of the wild swine.

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Gully Branch Tree Farm 2010 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Winner

Julie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:10:21 +0000

Gully Branch Tree Farm was the 2010 recipient of the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award for Agriculture. And owners/operators Earl and Wanda Barrs explain how they merged their love of forestry and education together to share their knowledge of conservation to hundreds of students every spring.

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Florida’s Strawberry Crop Is Ready And Super-Sweet

Julie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:00:19 +0000

TALLAHASSEE – For weeks, unusually cold winter temperatures delayed Florida’s strawberry harvest, leaving grocery shelves empty. But now, finally, good news: The strawberries are ripening, and they’re even sweeter than usual.

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“Abnormally cool temperatures delayed maturation of the berries,” said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson. “Strawberries stayed on the plants longer, so they had more time to produce sugar. The result is the sweetest strawberries we’ve seen in a very long time.”

Shoppers can expect an abundance of extra-sweet Florida strawberries to be available now and in the upcoming weeks. The harvest will continue through early April and should reach its peak in the middle of this month.
“Now is the time to celebrate the harvest and enjoy Florida strawberries at the height of season,” Bronson said. “These berries couldn’t be fresher, because they’re being picked right now, right here in Florida.”

Bronson offered the following strawberry-buying tips for shoppers:

* Shop with your nose. Ripe strawberries are sweetly fragrant.

* Look for strawberries that are fully and deeply red. Be sure the color has spread from one end of the berry to the other. Don’t choose a berry with white or green spots in hopes it will ripen up on your windowsill; strawberries stop ripening as soon as they are picked.

* If you can touch the berries, check to see that they are firm but not hard.

* The calyx, the strawberry’s leafy cap, should be fresh and green.

* Avoid moldy berries and berries in wet, stained containers. Soft, mushy berries are overripe.

During the 2008-2009 season, Florida produced over $300 million in strawberries between December and April, accounting for nearly 240 million pints of fresh berries. Hillsborough County in west-central Florida is the hub of state’s strawberry production. The county produces approximately 15 percent of the nation’s strawberries — about 18 million flats per year — and virtually all the berries grown during the winter.

Bronson hopes consumers will take advantage of this year’s extended Florida strawberry season and try America’s favorite berry in some new recipes. “Strawberries are versatile and taste great tossed in spring salads, blended in smoothies, or even mixed into salsa,” he said. “Florida strawberries are in stores in abundance. Prices are great, and now is the time to enjoy these sweet, nutritious treats at their very best.”

GA Celebrates National Agriculture Week

Julie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:55:48 +0000

A large crowd kicked off National Agriculture Week with exhibits, food and entertainment during Georgia’s Agriculture Awareness Day and Gary Black, president of the Georgia Agri Business Council, says the event showcased the agriculture’s cooperative spirit.

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AFBF Wants to Put Foreign Worker Program on Pause

Julie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:48:48 +0000

The American Farm Bureau Federation has asked a federal district court to delay the Obama administration’s final rule on the H-2A foreign worker program.

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Citrus Panel Celebrates New HQ; Handles Business

Dan — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:47:43 +0000

Florida Department of Citrus and city officials celebrate the department’s new headquarters in Bartow Wednesday. Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff has that story and summarizes Citrus Commission activities.

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Ag Awareness

Julie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:42:25 +0000

American Agriculture: Abundant, Affordable, Amazing. That’s the theme for Ag Awareness Week which culminates this Saturday, March 20th, with National Ag Day. And in the following two reports, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, celebrates those principles and the farmers that work tirelessly everyday to bring them to us.

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