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For years Gene McAvoy kept a dark blue suit jacket on a hook behind the door in his Extension office. He wore it to farmers’ funerals. He considered attending funerals a gesture of respect. It was also yet another place to talk to other farmers. Gene called his job as…

Florida Farm Bureau’s Agriculture Education Services and Technology (AEST) collaborated with Florida Nursery Growers Landscape Association (FNGLA) and Florida Aquaculture Association (FAA) to host LINC 2019 in Daytona Beach Shores, Sept. 27-29. Over 140 commodity representatives and agricultural educators were able to network and present best practices for a number…

On August 21, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that negotiations yielded a new agreement with Mexican officials on tomato imports. Upon news of the announcement, Florida Farm Bureau President John L. Hoblick stated, “The enhanced enforcement measures and raised price floors in the new agreements provide the best chance…

[email protected] @JackPayneIFAS I can talk all day to policy makers and the media about how important farming is. But I don’t live it. So when I recently visited an editorial board, I brought someone who does. Farm Bureau member and vegetable farmer Chuck Obern is the 2019 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo…

Jared Plair serves counties in District 8 on the Florida Farm Bureau State Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Committee. Counties in his district include Glades, Hendry, Palm Beach, Collier, Broward and Dade. The twenty-six year old is from LaBelle and is active in Farm Bureau at the local level as…

The robots are coming. They’ll be bringing you on-demand, low-cost advice. My advice comes from people like Senthold Asseng, who spends a lot of time thinking about the future of farming. He seeks technology-based solutions to your problems. He paints a hopeful picture of your future farm. Wireless microsensors are…

Kyle Patterson represents counties in district 7 on the State Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Committee. Counties in his district include Orange, Brevard, Osceola, Indian River, Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Martin. Patterson grew up in Christmas, a small town in Orange County. He became involved in agriculture at a young age…

Of all the commodities we produce in Florida, the most important is leaders. People like John Hoblick, Brant Schirard, Adam Basford and Staci Sims are essential to the success of the other 300 commodities. The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences invests so much in leadership development…

[email protected] @JackPayneIFAS It’s often better to retain customers than to find new ones. It’s easier, and it gives you time to better understand what your customers need. Florida agriculture doesn’t have a bigger international customer than Canada. It buys more from Florida farms than does any other nation by far.

Ann Blount is more proud of making friends than making discoveries. She’s made a lot of both. The advances include a hand in the development of 76 forage cultivars and germplasms. A few friends, who know her as “Annie,” highlighted her discoveries to successfully make the case for Blount to…

It was one of those Publisher’s Clearing House winner’s moments. When Libbie Johnson got a visit from Florida Farm Bureau President John Hoblick to inform her she was a winner, she shouted, “Shut up!” in disbelief. John knew in advance that the force of Libbie’s personality is stronger than her…

Adam Cook, YF&R Leadership Class President 2018-2020 Adam Cook is a fifth-generation farmer from Gilchrist County and is the new president of Florida Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Class of 2018-2020. He and his wife, Ashley, operate Cook Farms which provides custom harvesting, fertilizer application services and produces…