The Fulfords of Monticello have forged a path to sustainability for four generations. While producing the green peanuts for boiling for which they’re renowned, they have stewarded their land with an eye toward protecting it for generations to come.
They have enlisted UF/IFAS scientists each step of the way. Usually, they invite those scientists to their farm – the Fulfords provide the crop and the acreage, and the scientists collect the data and provide the insights.
But in May, Clay and Kari Fulford were invited to the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center—Suwannee Valley, to be honored for their commitment to their partnership with UF/IFAS. As 2026 honorees at the annual Suwannee CARES event, they were held up as environmental stewards.
CARES not only recognizes farmers but partnerships. When Clay and Kari posed for a photo commemorating the honor, they stood with Clay’s father Ernest, who continues to run the farm with him; Stephen Monroe of FDACS, who nominated them; Farm Bureau President Jeb Smith; and Joel Love of UF/IFAS, who learned to farm as a teenager working for Clay’s grandfather. It’s a snapshot of decades of labor, science and relationships.
The relationships are crucial to protecting water quality in the Suwannee Valley, where nearly one in five Florida farmers work the land. The livelihood of the Fulfords, of their descendants, and of their neighbors are at stake. Monroe states simply in his nomination that the Fulfords are always participating in UF/IFAS research to keep improving their practices.
The late Dr. David Wright, who worked out of the NFREC’s Quincy office, did cotton variety trials on a portion of the Fulfords’ farm. From this, Clay would glean recommendations on which varieties work best on his 1,500 acres.
More recently, Clay worked with UF/IFAS scientists to establish nitrogen rate recommendations for cotton. Clay explained that UF/IFAS helped him determine how much nitrogen was really needed, and that he saw the research not as something that would limit him but show him the point at which more nitrogen would be a waste of money, beyond the capacity of the plant to absorb. Finding the rate for maximum yield, Clay reasons, means not applying excess that can affect water quality.
Love, who retired just last month, helped Clay with recommendations on cover crop blends that helped the soil best retain water and nutrients for the next crop of peanuts, cotton or soybeans.
It’s a partnership built on decades of trust because much of the work occurs unseen. UF/IFAS scientists shoot Fulford a text saying they’ll be on his farm and slip in and out to do their work as unobtrusively as possible.
Suwannee CARES gives us a chance to celebrate the partnerships on which sustainability depends. Without farmers, scientists, Farm Bureau leadership, FDACS and the Suwannee River Water Management District all working together, we’d know much less about how to produce so much food while protecting the ability of future generations to profitably produce food on the same land.
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).
By J. Scott Angle
[email protected]
@IFAS_VP
