All posts by Rachael Smith

Be the Voice, Live the Legacy: Sarasota County Farm Bureau

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Sarasota County Farm Bureau President Robbie Martin

Fifth generation farmer and Sarasota County native Robbie Martin is continuing a family tradition that began over 100 years ago. Martin’s great-grandfather and his brother cleared the Southwest Florida property they purchased in 1900 using only a cross-cut saw and a grubbing hoe.

The land was good to the Martin family over the last century and today, continues to provide for the Martins. Citrus, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, spinach, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, greens and beets grew in abundance where they were sold at the family’s fruit and vegetable stand. Robbie and his brother Rory became involved in the 1980s when they worked full-time with their grandfather at the stand.

“We sold fresh, hand-squeezed juice back in those days before we purchased an electric juicer,” Martin said. “In the summertime we grew black eyed peas, corn and okra and year-round we had cattle.”

Today, Martin and his wife, Leaha, along with their son, Chase (10), live on the family farm in a home they built in 2007. Martin also has a son, Hunter (22), who lives in New Jersey. The Martins produce citrus for juice and manage a small cattle herd.

In November of 2019, Robbie was elected president of Sarasota County Farm Bureau (SCFB). His brother, Rory, was his predecessor, serving a total of 23 years as SCFB president.

“I wanted to continue the good job my brother did serving our Farm Bureau for our county and for agriculture,” he said. Robbie and Rory’s grandparents also served as directors for SCFB in past years.

Last year, SCFB held its inaugural Clay Shoot Fundraiser, which raised $11,000 directly towards youth development and leadership programs for young farmers and ranchers in Sarasota County.

The successful event was held at the Knights Tale Gun Range in Sarasota. Planning for the second Clay Shoot is underway and will be held on Jan. 25, 2020. “So far, we have had an outstanding response to the event,” Martin mentioned. “I am anticipating 200-plus shooters to participate.”

SCFB strives to support the local community year-round. “We do Farm-City Week proclamations with county commissioners in the fall and our Young Farmers and Ranchers organize food drives and donate items to local pantries,” Martin said.

Robbie has served his county as an Agricultural Deputy for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department for 17 years where he specializes in cattle and horse issues, trespassing, animal cruelty cases and illegal hunting. He and his family are active members of their local church, Bayside Community Church. He is also a member of the Florida Agricultural Crimes and Intelligence Unit.

“To know that I am farming land that my grandfather and great-grandfather farmed makes me proud,” Martin stated. “It is nice to have a piece of family history that a lot of blood sweat and tears were poured into. It feels good to be able to continue to do that.”

Robbie shared a family favorite and highly requested recipe below:

Broccoli Rice Casserole

INGREDIENTS
1 stick salted butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 boxes frozen chopped broccoli
2 large bags (boil on bag rice)
1 small can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can cream of celery soup
1 small jar Cheez whiz

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in pan on medium heat, meanwhile, boil rice. Add chopped onions and chopped celery to melted butter. When the celery and onions start to brown slightly, add both boxes of chopped broccoli.

Cook broccoli, chopped celery, onions and butter on medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Using a large mixing bowl, combine all the cooked ingredients with the soups and cheez whiz together. Stir until blended well.

Using a 13 X 9 baking dish, cook uncovered for approximately 30 minutes on 350 degrees or until the top of the casserole starts to brown slightly and/or starts bubbling around the edges. The dish should serve 12-15, depending on the appetite of the eaters. Total prep and cook time –approx. 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes.

AG TALK: A Strong Partnership

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[email protected]
@JackPayneIFAS

Ten years ago, John Hoblick told an audience on campus recently, he helped find a new leader for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. He offered his humble assessment that he had done a great job.

It was his sly, humorous way of paying me a public compliment. He really has done a great job in the decade since, and that’s why he was on the podium at the UF/IFAS Dinner of Distinction in the first place.

John and I didn’t create the strong relationship between UF/IFAS and the Farm Bureau. It precedes us by decades. As John reminded us all at this year’s dinner, though, we didn’t take the relationship for granted either.

In some states, John said that night, the land-grant university and the Farm Bureau don’t get along. It hurts both entities.

By contrast, in Florida, when event organizers sought someone to offer a tribute at my last Dinner of Distinction as senior vice president, the choice was obvious. The guy who helped pick me, and the guy who’s going to help pick my successor, was the guy to bid me farewell.

As stewards of the state’s leading organizations for agricultural scientists and agricultural producers, John and I have become close friends as well as compatible colleagues. We’ve talked about fishing, family, travel and dogs. That has helped us get through the times we have disagreed.

We keep the interests of Florida farming first. We see the results in a $165-billion-a-year industry despite disease, extreme weather events, market volatility and unfair trade practices. We also see great examples of the relationship between farmers and scientists across the state.

In Okaloosa County, Farm Bureau President Keith Free watched Jennifer Bearden grow up and become a county Extension ag agent, and now he has her drive the other tractor in an annual two-vehicle parade through downtown Crestview. In Polk County, UF/IFAS Extension Director Nicole Walker and Polk County Farm Bureau Executive Director Carol McKenzie give 6,000 fourth-graders a close-up look at agriculture in their community.

Suwannee County Farm Bureau mainstay Randall Dasher and UF/IFAS Extension veteran Bob Hochmuth helped revive what had been the Suwannee Valley Agricultural Extension Center and make it a research station. UF/IFAS forage researcher and Extension specialist Jose Dubeux has a standing invitation to send his students for regular visits to Jackson County Farm Bureau board member Mack Glass’s ranch to monitor perennial peanut trials.

I could go on and on. The strong relationships with the Farm Bureau and other commodity associations helped fuel a decade of remarkable progress at UF/IFAS.

We have improved our research and education centers, earned record research funding, achieved record student enrollment in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and grown our corps of agricultural Extension agents over what we employed a decade ago.

I don’t get to pick my successor, but I did get to suggest search committee members. Like the event organizers, I found my choice was obvious. President Fuchs accepted my recommendation to put John on the committee.

He’ll do a great job. So, with Farm Bureau support, will my successor.

Jack Payne is the University of Florida’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

 

Ag Talk

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[email protected]

@JackPayneIFAS

We need two types of agricultural science – the science of now, and the science of the future. Researchers are working on what’s in your fields now as well as what might be in them in five, 10, even 20 years.

Most research done by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is on the “now” crops – citrus, tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, and many more. If you grow it, we probably study it.

We’d be doing you a disservice if we failed to prepare you for the future. Our work on alternative crops aims to identify what will make you money years from now as conditions, markets and consumers’ preferences change.

Chinese hemp variety “Puma-3”

The highest-profile alternative crop is hemp. It’s new. It’s headline-grabbing. It played a prominent role in the campaign platform of our Commissioner of Agriculture. In a decade leading Florida agricultural research and development, I’ve never seen such interest in an alternative crop.

We’ve launched an eight-site trial to identify hemp varieties suitable for Florida, to develop practices most likely to produce a profit and to assess its risk as an invasive plant. We’re doing it in part because numerous Farm Bureau members have expressed an interest in it.

We’re also doing it because the Legislature has requested that we carry out hemp research. We’re happy to comply with the Legislature’s wishes and yours. We’ll share what we’ve learned so far through our hemp program website and outreach events such as the Florida Ag Expo at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Wimauma on Nov. 21.

Hemp may someday become a profitable Florida crop. So, too, could peaches, olives, pomegranates, tea, or vanilla. UF/IFAS researches them all.

The buzz around hemp does not translate into vast acreage nor wholesale redirection of UF/IFAS research. Even the coordinator of the hemp research, agronomist Zack Brym at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center, studies many things besides hemp.

The modest hemp plots scattered across the state are dwarfed by the 582 acres of Citrus Research and Education Center groves, for example. We have another entire research center devoted to range cattle. Still another, in Suwannee Valley, focuses on crops important in that region – peanuts, watermelon, field corn, carrots and peppers. It doesn’t have a single hemp plant.

Let’s remember, peppers were once an alternative or “emerging” crop. I don’t think anyone would classify them as such today.

Good thing we got going decades ago on the scientific discoveries that have helped make Florida the nation’s second-leading bell pepper producer today. You’ve also seen a big payoff from decades of research that have provided the foundation for a blueberry industry in Florida.

We’re approaching hemp as a potential addition to a diversified rotation of crops – not as the next green gold rush. It’s a small, but important part of our research program.

We’ll provide the science so you can make your own judgment about whether hemp is worth a go. Again, we’d be doing you a disservice if we made that choice for you by not researching it thoroughly and leaving you in the dark about its potential or perils.

One of the advantages of having one of the nation’s leading land-grant universities at your service is that we can address so many needs. Attention to the new kid on the block – hemp – doesn’t detract from our work on crops that have been produced here for more than a century.

Jack Payne is the University of Florida’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

 

Farm Raised Farm Proud

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Jake and Tiffany Sache, Sache Farms, JS Custom Harvesting, Levy County

Jake and Tiffany Sache were recognized as the 2019 Florida Farm Bureau Achievement in Agriculture Award winners at the FFB Annual Meeting in Orlando on Oct. 30.

This high honor recognizes Young Farmers and Ranchers for their skill at farm production, development of their agricultural enterprise and service to Farm Bureau as well as the local community.

The Saches raise beef cattle, grow hay and operate a custom grass seed harvesting business on land in Levy County and surrounding counties.

Now a fourth-generation farmer, Jake carries on his family’s tradition with his wife, Tiffany, also a fourth-generation farmer and Chiefland native.

The Saches are high school sweethearts who married in 2010. Prior to being a stay-at-home mom to their three children, Emily (7), Sadie (5) and Kade (3), Tiffany worked as a medical assistant and phlebotomist in a pediatric office in Gainesville.

The couple serve as members of the Levy-Gilchrist County Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee. In 2011, they earned Florida Farm Bureau’s CARES Award for their superior accomplishments in natural resource conservation.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Jake serves on Florida Farm Bureau’s Fruit and Vegetable Advisory Committee as well as the Levy County Farm Bureau State Board of Directors, while Tiffany serves on the Women’s Committee.

“We are just so thankful to have the opportunity to network with other farmers our age and learn about their operations and ideas.”

The couple will compete for the National Achievement in Agriculture Competition at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Convention in January in Austin, TX.

FARM RAISED | FARM PROUD

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Ben and Katie Morris have been active members of Florida Farm Bureau since they first set foot in the Sunshine State. They have taken every opportunity to grow, learn and network with other agricultural producers.

Ben spent his adolescence on his family’s beef cattle and chicken farm in north Georgia. His passion for agriculture led him to study agribusiness at the University of Georgia. Katie dug up her Central Illinois roots to pursue a career with AgSouth Farm Credit in Georgia. During her time there, she was introduced to the agriculture in that state and everything it had to offer.

After accepting jobs with the University of Florida, the two moved to Gainesville, Florida, where they were introduced to FFBF President John Hoblick. President Hoblick welcomed the couple with open arms and encouraged them to participate in every aspect of Florida agriculture and Florida Farm Bureau.

During their time as Florida residents, the couple has relocated to Wellington, Florida with their two kids James, 4 years-old, and Virginia Ruth, 1.5 years-old. Ben is completing his PhD in Agricultural Leadership through the University of Florida’s online program and Katie is working for Wedgworth’s Inc., the state’s largest fertilizer distributor. In addition, Katie also works with the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida. Although they don’t farm themselves, their professional roles allow the two to work closely with growers across the state.

“As parents, we consider ourselves lucky and honored to work alongside the hardworking farmers who provide healthy, fresh food both for our family and our nation,” Katie said.

Being active Farm Bureau members, they look forward to the various district and statewide events where they have the opportunity to network with other young professionals from around the state. They always leave events with a fresh perspective and a new appreciation for Florida agriculture.

One of their favorite agricultural events in West Palm Beach is the Sweet Corn Fiesta. Celebrating its 20th year in April 2020, this event is a celebration of the hardworking farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area and an opportunity to educate area consumers about the production of sweet corn.

AG Talk

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Eugene McAvoy

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 University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Hendry County Extension director a “lifestyle.” Home is a Farm Bureau-insured 40-acre ranch. Nights and weekends are at county board meetings where he serves as treasurer, District 8 meetings, Young Farmer and Rancher events, state Vegetable Advisory Committee meetings and special events such as the Sweet Corn Fiesta at which he represents Farm Bureau.

In a sense, the Farm Bureau honors one of its own in recognizing Gene as Extension professional of the year at the annual convention in Orlando this month. It’s hard to think of an Extension agent for whom this would be more meaningful.

The award ceremony and convention are yet another chance for him to talk with farmers from all over the state. Not only that, but Gene usually attends the convention anyway at this own expense, and the award comes with a free night’s hotel stay!

When he’s not with farmers and ranchers, he’s communicating to them or for them. For more than two decades, Gene has run the South Florida Veg Hotline, which started as a printed newsletter and evolved into an electronic message that gets sent out almost daily. It’s got regulatory information, label changes, industry trends, new technology and more.

Then there’s his Pest-of-the-Month column. Unfortunately, he’s never had a shortage of subjects to write about.

Equally important is his work speaking to people other than you – people who don’t live or work on farms. He tells the story of agriculture one small group at a time.

Sometimes he’s telling nursing students to put away their preconceived notion of farm workers being poisoned by pesticides and instead to look out for heat exhaustion, back strains or branches poking them in the eyes as they reach for fruit on branches. Other times, he’s showing legislators how what they do in Tallahassee affects the fields and groves of LaBelle.

He has shown Audubon groups farmland that doubles as valuable habitat to birds. He reads agriculture-related stories aloud in elementary school classrooms. He takes winter visitors on all-day tours of farm country, with stops at citrus groves, sugarcane fields, vegetable farms and packing houses.

Gene knows the value of showing up. It expresses solidarity with the business. It’s a way to learn what’s important to farmers. It’s a way to make sure what you’re doing is relevant.

That was certainly the case when he was among the first to show up at wind- and rain-ravaged farms in the wake of Hurricane Irma. His firsthand accounts of what he saw helped farmers make the case for disaster relief.

The respect he has shown farmers was reflected back on him when he retired from his Extension job in August. More than 200 people came to the LaBelle Civic Center for his retirement party.

He didn’t stay retired long. I’ve appointed him associate director for stakeholder relations at the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. This summer he became president of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents.

In retirement Gene’s job title has changed. His lifestyle is unlikely to change much at all. He’ll continue to serve as treasurer for the Hendry County Farm Bureau. You’ll still see him in Orlando, LaBelle and Immokalee. Please congratulate him when you do.

Jack Payne

Jack Payne is the University of Florida’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
[email protected]
@JackPayneIFAS

 

Inaugural LINC Conference was Successful at ‘LINC’ing Educators with Agricultural Leaders

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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 of topics including environmental monitoring, precision agriculture practices, invasive plants, successful internship opportunities, urban agriculture, effective agriculture communication and automated aerial agriculture systems. Representatives from Mosaic, Foodery Farms Street-side, St. Johns River Water Management District, TPC Sawgrass, Yellowstone Landscape, Dasher Farm and many others offered workshops for educators to ensure instruction delivered in classrooms is reflective of current industry practices.

Each host organization offers industry recognized certifications aimed at providing a steady workforce for diverse agricultural employers. By linking educators with agricultural professionals in a conference setting, Keitha Bennett, AEST Director said she“hopes to provide teaching resources needed to ensure today’s graduates are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to fulfill tomorrow’s workforce needs and have a trusted, verifiable credential that leads to employment opportunities.”

Additional information about AEST certifications can be found at www.aest.ag/certify/. For questions, email [email protected].

U.S. Department of Commerce Secures Updated Tomato Suspension Agreement

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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 for a level playing field for our Florida growers. We are grateful for the work by our trade officials.”

The new agreement includes the following minimum prices for certain categories of Mexican tomatoes imported into the United States:

  • rounds and romas – $0.31/lb.,
  • stem-on tomatoes – $0.46/lb.,
  • tomatoes on the vine – $0.50/lb.,
  • specialty loose tomatoes – $0.49/lb.,
  • specialty packed tomatoes –  $0.59/lb.,
    organic tomatoes – 40% over non-organics.

The agreement also mandates a high percentage of inspections of the Mexican product entering U.S. territory. This is a stipulation not realized in previous agreements.

President Hoblick also added, “I hope the new accords help us move toward an overall solution for our seasonal and perishable producers…the safety and stability of our domestic food supply is too important to compromise any further.”

Read the Florida Farm Bureau press release.

Read the Department of Commerce announcement.

Sustainability that Protects Profits and the Planet

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Jack Payne

[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 Florida Farmer of the Year, nominated by Florida Farm Bureau Field Services District Representative, Eva Webb. Chuck drove back and forth from his C&B Farms in Clewiston, met me in Fort Myers and visited the News-Press. Our mission and message: To explain that farmers can offer solutions to climate doom instead of being blamed for it.

Chuck brought decades of street cred to the conversation. A 1979 graduate of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Chuck looks the part of a guy who lives off the land. He wore blue jeans, muddy shoes–and the pièce de résistance – a farmer’s shirt with a Gator logo on it.

He told the story of how he has long taken measures to lock carbon in his soil. He was composting before composting was cool. He took loads of yard waste from municipal haulers–waste that was headed toward a landfill–and diverted it to his fields.

These days he’s doing a lot of experimenting with microbes. His hypothesis is that the right brew of microbes in his soil can help plants absorb more nutrients so less of them seep into an aquifer or get released to the atmosphere.

He doesn’t have scientific evidence to back his claim, but Chuck and one of my soil microbiologists have been seeking funding to run formal experiments on his land and his treatments.


Chuck’s folksy, awe-shucks delivery disarms skeptics so that his wisdom can challenge people to rethink what they believe about farmers. It was an important hour spent countering the narrative of farmers as climate villains or at least adding context to it.

Toward the end, Chuck was asked where he saw himself in five or 10 years. Chuck looked surprised. Five years? With all the threats to agriculture, Chuck said, he can’t see past next season.

At the same time, he’s looking decades into the future. He wants his son, Boots, to run C&B, and then his grandkids, and maybe even his unborn great grandkids after that. So, he’s trying to take care of the land however he can.

He left them with an important message: He can’t take care of the environment without taking care of his bottom line. Chuck is at that intersection of sustainability that protects profits and the planet simultaneously.

I’ve been preaching this for years. But Chuck’s been living it, and now he’s talking about it.

Jack Payne is the University of Florida’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Jared Plair, District 8 YF&R Leadership Committee

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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 well as the state level. Plair serves as secretary of the Hendry/Glades County Farm Bureau (HGCFB) Board of Directors, chair of the HGCFB Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee and is a technical advisor on FFB’s Sugar Advisory Committee.

Plair is a farm manager for the United States Sugar Corporation where he manages more than 18,000 acres of farmland, primarily sugar, daily.

He is a graduate of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College where he received a bachelor’s degree in diversified agriculture. Currently, Plair is working on obtaining a M.B.A. from Warner University.

“My passion for agriculture really came to light in middle school when I began working for a local citrus producer,” he said. “That passion was broadened as I reached my high school years while working for various cattle operations in Hendry/Glades County.”

Agriculture was a natural fit for Plair’s future given his involvement and work experience at a young age. He explained that networking with other farmers and ranchers has been one of Farm Bureau’s greatest rewards.

“Through Florida Farm Bureau I’ve been able to meet and build relationships with people across the state,” he said. “People who are involved in various other industries, but who face obstacles similar to the ones we face in South Florida.”

Each year in October, HGCFB holds its annual meeting. “This dinner brings people together,” he said. “It gives everyone a chance to catch up with one another and see other members of the county Farm Bureau that wouldn’t normally get to see otherwise.”