Watermelon is an iconic staple during hot summer months. It is grown in the western part of Florida, spanning from north Collier County all the way to Columbia County. The refreshing fruit available from late March until mid-July and again from October to December.

Florida is the top watermelon producing state in the U.S. It is responsible for 907 million pounds of watermelon produced annually, which accounts for 36% of the country’s domestic supply. In 2022, 25,000 acres of watermelon were planted in Florida and brought an estimated $192 million to the state’s economy.

Watermelon is a great summer treat but has also been a contributor to Guinness World Records. The largest watermelon ever grown weighed 350.5 pounds, surpassing the previous record holder by 42 pounds. A fifteen-pound watermelon was consumed in 23 minutes and 7.08 seconds.

More information about the refreshing melon can be found here. Try these fun recipes this summer from the Florida Farm & Family magazine.

The 2023 Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Conference brought together more than 200 agriculturalists from across the state. Themed Growing Forward, the conference focused on equipping participants with leadership skills, industry insights and networking opportunities.  

Throughout the conference, participants engaged in a series of breakout sessions and farm tours. The session topics ranged from integrating AI in pest management, estate planning, the importance of personal branding, a legislative update on the 2023 farm bill and more. The conference featured keynote speakers Cody and Erika Archie, owners of Bar 7 Ranch in Gatesville, Texas. The couple spoke on the importance of being the voice of agriculture and meeting people where they are to share the story of agriculture. 

Conference attendees had the opportunity to test their industry knowledge and skills through various competitive events like Achievement in Agriculture, Excellence in Agriculture and Discussion Meet. The finalist for each competition will compete at Florida Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Meeting in October. From there, the state winner from each category will compete at the national level at American Farm Bureau’s annual conference in January 2024. 

The Achievement in Agriculture finalists are Buck and NoraBeth Carpenter of Madison County, Brandt and Samantha Hendricks of Santa Rosa County and John and Emilee Peterson of Baker County.   

The Excellence in Agriculture finalists are Jaime Jerrels of Levy County, Rebecca Hall of Alachua County and Bernie and Avery LeFils of Volusia County.  

The final four Discussion Meet finalists are Erin Jones of Gilchrist County, Chad Haas of Volusia County, Sarah Luther of Suwannee County and Jesse Cone of Madison County. 

Young Farmers and Ranchers between the ages of 18-35 who are interested in honing in on their leadership skills and expanding their network are encouraged to join their local county Young Farmers and Ranchers group. Next year’s conference is set for July 12-14, 2024 in Palm Beach.  

To view conference photos, click here.  

July 2023 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

By J. Scott Angle
[email protected]
@IFAS_VP

When Florida agriculture and UF/IFAS identified a sudden and emergency need to update nutrient rate recommendations, we turned to a longstanding relationship—Farm Bureau members and UF/IFAS scientists.

The Farm Bureau leader is Ben Wells, vice president of the Putnam/St. Johns County Farm Bureau. The team of UF/IFAS scientists includes Christian Christensen, Lincoln Zotarelli, Lakesh Sharma, Kelly Morgan, David Liu, Tom Obreza, and others.

We never intended for our recommendations—some of which are decades old—to become regulations. But that’s where we are. So we’re doing the research on how much fertilizer goes on crops that include potatoes, tomatoes, citrus, corn, green beans, and more.

Good science depends on real-world conditions for our experiments. It’s real at Ben Wells Produce north of Hastings. Ben produces chipping and table potatoes. Like all of agriculture, it’s a tough business.

So for him to take a portion of his acreage out of commercial production, allow scientists free passage onto his property and trust them with data from his fields is an invaluable contribution to science. It gets us much closer to your reality, the conditions you work under, than the experiments we conduct on a UF/IFAS research farm where scientists control so many factors and make all the decisions.

The support of Wells has advanced our work, especially on phosphorus rates on potatoes. Zotarelli, a professor in our Horticultural Sciences Department says industry partners like Wells provide the opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of our research under real-world conditions.

The team of scientists have all visited the Wells plot regularly, keeping him informed and coordinating operations so that commerce and science don’t collide. After all, the science is supposed to support your bottom line, not take away from it.

But that relationship, like all relationships, is built over time. The UF/IFAS through the Hastings Agricultural Extension Center has worked with Ben and his father for more than a decade. Wells, alongside other growers, has loaned his land, provided letters of support for research grants, and offered his wisdom and feedback on the work done on his plots.

He knows we come to discover, not to dictate. Indeed, in our most recent report to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, we state that the purpose of the research is to: “…achieve maximum yield and quality goals of the grower while doing so in a manner that minimizes nutrient inefficiencies to the environment.”

That trust is not only a foundation of good science, it’s a way to get it done as fast as possible. We didn’t have to spend months looking for a potato grower willing to host trials. All those Farm Bureau meetings, past partnerships, field days at Hastings, ag tours, and, of course, phone calls, made it obvious to Christian that he needed to call Ben.

It gave Ben the confidence to take that phone call, hear what the scientist had to say, and let him know it was OK to come on over and start planting—again.

UF/IFAS scientists are doing the research to protect your profit and the planet. So, in a way, is Ben. I thank him for his vital role in our science, and I hope you will, too.

Scott Angle is the University of Florida’s Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources and leader of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

July 2023 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter
NoraBeth Carpenter
Women’s Leadership Committee, District 2

Having grown up on her family’s farm and being a lifelong Farm Bureau member, NoraBeth Carpenter strives every day to educate her community and family about the importance of agriculture.

Carpenter was inspired by watching her grandfather, father and uncles build their family legacy on the farm. In 2009, NoraBeth married her husband, Buck, and left her hometown, Lee, Florida, while he served in the Air Force. After a few years, the Carpenters returned to Madison County where they established their roots and began to build their farm. In 2019, Carpenter left her job at the local library to focus full time on the farm and to homeschool their three children. Currently, they farm perennial peanut and a variety of grains.

While her family has always been a member of Farm Bureau, NoraBeth and her husband began their involvement in the Young Farmers & Ranchers program after getting married. Buck was appointed as the county chair and NoraBeth became involved in the Women’s Leadership Program. She currently serves on the State Women’s Leadership Committee as the District 2 representative.

Being involved in Farm Bureau allows NoraBeth the opportunity to continue spreading the word of agriculture, which she does through educating the next generation. Carpenter is proud of her involvement with Ag in the Classroom events and her county’s Ag Day celebration, which take place each year in May.

“By educating students and getting agriculture in front of them, my hope is for them to continue to appreciate the industry that sustains us,” said Carpenter.

Carpenter’s involvement in her community and her dedication to teaching her children about agriculture is a model example of growing forward.

”As a Florida farmer, growing forward is essential when raising a family, as they truly are the future of the farm,” said Carpenter. “My husband and I are working diligently to blaze a trail for them to follow and to set the example through faith. Our goal growing forward is to create a legacy for our children to follow in faith so that when the sun sets on our time they can continue growing forward in a new day.”

NoraBeth strives to live by words of scripture every day, specifically Proverbs 31:17-18 & 31:23-28.

“She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard, she girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.”… “Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”

June 2023 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

Calling Florida Farmers and Ranchers: Join our Fight Against Food Insecurity and Help us feed Florida with Florida-Grown products!

Florida Farm Bureau has united with Feeding Florida to ensure that fresh, Florida grown products reach food-insecure families in local communities statewide.

Florida Farm Bureau has donated $100,000 to Feeding Florida for the purchase of fresh food products directly from Florida farms. If you are interested in participating in this project, simply provide your farm’s contact information and available commodities by clicking here. Your products will be distributed through Feeding Florida’s nine food banks across the state, making a real impact to families facing food insecurity.

Don’t miss this opportunity to provide your farm-fresh product to Florida communities! Provide your information here by June 9, 2023.

June 2023 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

The United States Supreme Court struck down EPA’s expansive Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition in a 9 – 0 ruling on Thursday, May 25! The reasoning was split, with five justices (Alito, Roberts, Gorsuch, and Barrett) largely adopting the Rapanos plurality decision on what American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) advocated for in their amicus brief. The other four justices (Kavanaugh, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson) thought this went too far in regards to wetlands. Here are some highlights:

· Significant-Nexus Is Dead: SCOTUS basically says that the EPA employs sig-nex to create authority where it otherwise lacks. The judges were unanimous on eliminating significant-nexus.

· WOTUS Definition: The CWA’s use of “waters” encompasses only those relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water forming geographical features that are described in ordinary parlance as streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes.

· Wetlands: As for wetlands, the CWA extends to only those wetlands that are as a practical matter indistinguishable from waters of the United States. This requires the party asserting jurisdiction over adjacent wetlands to establish first, that the adjacent body of water constitutes waters of the United states, (i.e., a relatively permanent body of water connected to traditional interstate navigable waters); and second, that the wetland has a continuous surface connection with that water, making it difficult to determine where the water ends and the wetland begins. Four justices (Kavanaugh, Kagan, Sotomayor, & Jackson) thought this went too far.

· SCOTUS Critical of Past EPA Actions: The majority absolutely eviscerates EPA’s history of ignoring the Clean Water Act, ignoring Supreme Court decisions, and ignoring common sense. The Court describes EPA’s approach as a “freewheeling inquiry” with “weak textual argument[s].”

· Implications on 2023 WOTUS Rule: As EPA was belligerent to bring their new rule into the record even at our request to delay publication of the rule, SCOTUS took that opportunity to thoroughly tear it apart in Section IV. Remember that the Sackett case addresses the pre-2015 WOTUS definition, not the 2023 Rule. As a result, the 2023 Rule remains on the books, but functionally EPA and the Corps cannot enforce it. AFBF’s litigation in Texas and
North Dakota challenging the rule will thus be the likely vehicle to get the rule officially tossed.

Due to the implications on the 2023 WOTUS rule, the EPA and the Army Corps must go back to the drawing board. As this plays out, we will closely scrutinize their efforts to revise the definition of waters of the United States for compliance with the Court’s findings in this case. Those that wish to read the Court’s opinion with highlights of pertinent information can find it here.

June 2023 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

Public Notice by the Florida Pork Improvement Group and the National Pork Board

The election of pork producer delegate candidates for the 2024 National Pork Producers (Pork Act) Delegate Body will take place at 10:00am on Thursday, July 27, 2023 in conjunction with a Board of Directors meeting of the Florida Pork Improvement Group at the Florida FFA Association office, 5600 SW 34^th St., Gainesville, FL 32608. All Florida pork producers are invited to attend.

Any producer, age 18 or older, who is a resident of Florida and has paid all assessments due may be considered as a delegate candidate and/or participate in the election. All eligible producers are encouraged to bring with them a sales receipt proving that hogs were sold in their name and the checkoff deducted. For more information, contact the Florida Pork Improvement Group, PO Box 147030 Gainesville, FL 32614 or by phone, (352) 384-2633.

June 2023 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

By J. Scott Angle
[email protected]
@IFAS_VP

You get first shot at the latest blueberry varieties developed in Gainesville, strawberries from Balm, peanuts from Marianna, forages tested in Ona, tropical foliage from Apopka, sweet corn from Belle Glade and squash from Homestead.

The common thread running through this tapestry of discovery is the Florida Foundation Seed Producers (FFSP). John Beuttenmuller and his team make sure that our innovation machine runs for you.

FFSP works closely with the UF/IFAS plant breeding team on cultivars that thrive under Florida conditions. When those varieties are ready for release, Florida farmers get the opportunity to use them, generally years ahead of international competitors.

Meanwhile, when that head start plays out and you’re moving on to new varieties, FFSP eventually licenses cultivars abroad to protect its intellectual property, and they reinvest that money into Florida-focused innovation. 

It’s hard to imagine that we’d have a new blueberry lab in Gainesville without this revenue stream. You’re getting an innovation factory for the next discovery funded in significant part from royalties from the last breakthrough. 

FFSP licensing royalties have also been used to build greenhouses for our strawberry breeding team. And one of the high-profile gifts of our last capital campaign was the establishment of the FFSP Plant Breeding Endowment. It sets up a friendly competition to find the most potentially impactful new breeding projects at UF and brings in representatives from industry to pick which ones to fund.

FFSP does more than promote new versions of old standbys. It is central to the search for the next new Florida crop. Namely, it’s been a prime sponsor of 33 projects aimed at figuring out if enterprises ranging from barley to vanilla, olives to vegetable high tunnels, are the best bet for a new commercially viable commodity. 

And now that we’ve got 15 new faculty with expertise in artificial intelligence, we need to jumpstart their work. FFSP helped light the fuse by providing much of the funding to bring together 11 teams around projects ranging from accelerated precision plant breeding to automated strawberry yield protection. We expect AI technologies, licenses and startup companies to result.

Beuttenmuller is a friend of the Farm Bureau. He sits on your Peanut and Cotton Advisory Committee. He’s long made sure Farm Bureau is represented on his FFSP board. Nate Jameson, whose wife Anna is on the Sumter County Farm Bureau board, is FFSP’s board vice president. Kevin Morgan served on the board until his retirement as assistant to the former Farm Bureau president. Another former FFBF administrator, Jaime Jerrells, served on the FFSP board and continues to do so in her new role for the commissioner of agriculture.

Beuttenmuller is a great example of someone who helps ensure that UF/IFAS innovation is relevant to Florida farmers by actually getting it into your hands through commercialization. 

New crop varieties are intellectual property. By protecting that property, Beuttenmuller and FFSP are protecting Florida agriculture. 

Scott Angle is the University of Florida’s Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources and leader of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

June 2023 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

Erin Jones
Gilchrist County Farm Bureau President

Erin Jones is a fifth generation Gilchrist County resident. Growing up, her family had cattle, hay and peanuts on their family farm in Bell. Her family has approximately 60 commercial beef cows and a Simmental Angus bull. Jones was actively involved in 4-H and FFA during her youth.

Jones attended Florida Gateway College for her associate’s degree and transferred to the University of Florida where she received a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences. She is currently working on her master’s in agronomy from UF and works for UF/IFAS Extension as the Suwannee County Livestock Agent.

Although her parents have been Farm Bureau members for decades, Jones began her own journey with the organization when she started school at UF. She was a founding member of the Levy/Gilchrist County Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R). Jones has served as the chair of the Gilchrist County YF&R committee since 2017 and attained a position on the Gilchrist County Farm Bureau board in 2018. She currently serves as president of board.

Jones is a proud advocate for agriculture in her county and loves educating others about the benefits of being a Farm Bureau member. She enjoys participating in numerous outreach opportunities throughout the year, but particularly enjoys the Christmas parade in Bell every December and the Quilt Festival held in Trenton in March.

“We table at the Quilt Festival because there’s such a variety of people that come to the event,” said Jones.  “I feel like we get the most exposure for agriculture at that event.”

The Gilchrist County Farm Bureau board is heavily focused on youth education and development. Jones believes in the future of the young people in her community and is continuously looking for ways to engage them in agriculture.

“Growing forward for us is being able to invest in the younger generation. They are the future of our organization,” said Jones. “If we can continue to educate young people we can continue to grow agriculture in our county.”

June 2023 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

As the voice of agriculture, Florida Farm Bureau Federation strives to honor farming and ranching families throughout the state through public recognition and by also telling their stories of environmental stewardship.

Florida Farm Bureau’s County Alliance Responsible Environmental Stewardship (CARES) program publicly recognizes Florida farmers and ranchers who demonstrate exemplary efforts to protect Florida’s natural resources by implementing Best Management Practices.

Recipients are awarded a This Farm CARES sign to demonstrate to all Floridians that agricultural producers are fully committed to protecting Florida’s environment.

Help us continue to formally recognize and share the stories of Florida farmers and ranchers and their efforts to be good environmental stewards by nominating your own farm/ ranch or that of a colleague.

To nominate a farmer or rancher for their commitment to conserving our state’s natural resources for future generations, click here. The nomination deadline for the 2023 year is June 16, 2023.

Email questions regarding the nomination process to [email protected] or contact the CARES Coordinator, Courtney Darling at (352) 204-7609.