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  • UF/IFAS Extension Faculty Produce Videos to Educate Latinx Population During Pandemic

    Photo by John Diaz, UF/IFAS/In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of bilingual UF/IFAS Extension agents has created a series of educational videos to market its services and provide educational information to underserved Spanish-speaking audiences throughout Florida.

    By: Brad Buck, bradbuck@ufl.edu

    In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of bilingual UF/IFAS Extension agents has created a series of educational videos to market its services and provide educational information to underserved Spanish-speaking audiences throughout Florida.

    Known as the CAFÉ Latino (the Coalition of Florida Extension for Latino/Hispanics), the 45-member volunteer group of UF/IFAS Extension faculty works as a grass-roots organization to serve Florida’s 67 counties. CAFÉ Latino translates, disseminates and connects Hispanic and Latinx residents with information, resources and programming, specifically for non-English speaking residents.

    This time of social distancing makes the videos even more crucial, and the need for them is even more pronounced by the recent news about a sharp increase in COVID-19 infection rates in Florida’s Hispanic communities, said Jonael Bosques-Mendez, director of UF/IFAS Extension Hardee County and a CAFE Latino volunteer.

    “These are people who work our fields to provide food to your tables,” he said. “These underserved populations have been devastated by COVID-19, and UF/IFAS Extension publications are available with specific instructions on how to protect themselves.”

    The videos, titled, “Produciendo en Tiempos de Distanciamiento Social,” are their latest effort. They’re aimed at helping those whose primary language is Spanish and to do so at a time of social distancing.

    “In an attempt to better reach Spanish-speaking audiences, CAFÉ Latino members have created a science-based series of videos interviews and demonstrative videos,” said Francisco Rivera, an agricultural agent with UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County and a member of CAFÉ Latino.

    The videos cover soil nutrition, farm business planning, reproductive management of beef cattle, 4-H youth development, plant genetic selection, ornamental horticulture and many more topics. 

    CAFÉ Latino faculty are also translating UF/IFAS Extension documents known as the Electronic Data Information Source (EDIS).

    Through various platforms, the faculty hope to alleviate panic, prevent the spread of misinformation and ultimately improve lives. You can log onto YouTube to find the latest videos from CAFÉ Latino.

    Among other things, the material provided by CAFÉ Latino helps business owners implement provide protective practices to safeguard employees and clients, Bosques-Mendez said.

    The idea for the videos stemmed from a need CAFÉ Latino faculty saw to help those who were either laid off or working from home.

    “From our initial videos, we were contacted by a community that’s in both Puerto Rico and Florida that wanted to learn about backyard chicken production.”

    CAFÉ Latino met with the group several times to gauge its needs, developed surveys and conducted two workshops. As a result, the community organized a leadership structure in which they are now buying in bulk and contacting their county Extension agent.

    The group also has adopted recommended practices in food safety regarding egg-handling, biosecurity and appropriate ways to reuse poultry waste by composting it and reusing it to fertilize their crops. This reduces the chance for environmental issues associated with nutrient runoff, Bosques-Mendez said.

    “Today, more than ever, we see the need to empower as many people as we can in our imperfect society with meaningful and relevant experiences that provide positive change to individuals,” he said. “UF/IFAS Extension utilizes many educators who are willing to facilitate their subject-matter expertise with those that fall in the 20.2% of Florida’s population – people who only speak Spanish, but who need the resources we typically provide in English.”

    Without these videos, it would be impossible to reach the wide audiences CAFÉ Latino seeks to attain, he said. All this effort helps improve communities, provide for a more sufficient food system and preserve the environment.

    “Through science-based learning, stemming from research results conducted in Florida, agricultural enterprises, families and individuals can learn, reevaluate their management practices and adopt the recommendations we discuss in these videos in an accessible way,” Bosques-Mendez said. “And they can do so without having to leave the comfort of their home, and in their native language.

    “CAFÉ Latino exists to promote cultural awareness, diversity and inclusion,” said John Diaz, chair of CAFÉ Latino and a UF/IFAS assistant professor of agricultural education and communication in the UF/IFAS Plant City office. “At a time when we are in a health crisis, there is a need for dissemination of information in Spanish and that is culturally relevant. We are serving organizations and agencies with those cultural competencies and more.”

  • Coronavirus Pandemic Impacts Alabama Vegetable, Specialty Crop Producers

    By Clint Thompson

    Max Runge, Extension specialist in agricultural economics at Auburn University, believes there was impact from the coronavirus pandemic on vegetable and specialty crop growers in Alabama.

    Max Runge

    Some have still thrived with their businesses and U-pick operations despite a pandemic dating back to mid-March. Others struggled to find their footing when restaurants were forced to close and stay shut down for multiple months. Finding alternative ways to sell products was essential.

    “In general, I think it’s sort of a mixed bag. There are some of the specialty crop growers that are doing okay; ones that are letting people come to their blueberries, blackberries and strawberries; they’re getting picked out, almost daily. They’re almost having to control how much is picked every day,” Runge said. “The ones that may have been supplying restaurants were obviously hurt. If there’s a second wave and we have more closures and not able to do the serving, sit-down, that may be a market that they lose but selling direct, selling off of a website is a definite possibility. I think it’s beneficial.”

    Potential Second Wave of Pandemic

    A potential “second wave” of COVID-19 is also a possibility and could strike when temperatures start to cool, likely in October or November. Runge expects most vegetable and specialty crop growers will not alter their plans for the fall growing season.

    “Looking forward, I think like most of agriculture, our specialty crop producers are going to go ahead and plant sort of what they typically would and maybe even expand, depending on their location. If they can get it to a farmer’s market or get to the consumers in a safe way, I think they’re going to go ahead and do it,” Runge said.

    Runge said Alabama Extension has issued a survey to agricultural producers and industry leaders to gauge the COVID-19 impact on agriculture in that state. It should close on June 30.

    “Hopefully, sometime in July, we’ll have at least an idea of what the impact COVID has been on agriculture,” Runge said.

  • UF Economist: Be Open to New Opportunities

    By Clint Thompson

    Farmers can learn a lot from the first coronavirus pandemic in preparations for a potential “second wave” that might occur this fall.

    Christa Court, assistant scientist in the University of Florida/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department, said producers who were willing to adjust on the fly this spring fared more successfully than those who did not.

    Christa Court

    “I think a lot of the things that we’re learning from that the types of industries or the types of operations that are struggling are the ones that operate within a single geography or they have a single supplier for some of their key products or inputs. They didn’t see the risks coming or maybe had inventory systems that were not able to store product for the time being when operations were shut down,” Court said. “I think those are going to be the things we learn from more than looking at any specific impact that we saw from March to mid-May because we might be in a completely different situation if we come to a second wave.”

    There were growers who found success in adjusting to how they sold their crops this spring. Tifton, Georgia farmer Bill Brim thought Inside the Box when he decided to sell boxed produce straight to consumers for several weeks in April, May and June. Customers lined up the roads waiting to buy local and support a farmer who felt the pinch of a lack of a foodservice market.

    Florida vegetable farmer Sam Accursio also thought creatively in a way to provide produce to customers at a cheaper-than-normal rate in late March and early April. He sold 40,000 pounds of produce the first weekend and 60,000 pounds the next.

    “One of the other studies that I mentioned before was saying that operations that were too rigid and not willing to adjust were some of the ones that were struggling the most. I think just being open to new opportunities is one way that they can move product if they end up in a similar situation,” Court said.

    UF/IFAS Survey

    Court and UF/IFAS issued a survey this spring to analyze COVID-19 and its impact on farming operations throughout Florida. While it is normally used during times of natural disasters like hurricanes, the same premise can be applied to growers during a global pandemic. The idea is to assess what was going on with growers specifically.

    “The main aspect we were really interested in was what was going on with sales revenues. Across all of the commodity groups that we were able to analyze, there’s a wide range of reports from losing almost everything to some operations saying they were doing 80 or 90 percent more business than they were last year. If we take an average across all of them for each commodity group, the sales revenues are down about 20% and 60%,” said Court, who added that more than 700 respondents replied to the survey.

    “A lot of what we normally see with something like a hurricane is that the supply is hit. Oranges fall off a tree. Field crops are flooded. But here it was that the demand was shut off. Even if a grower had a product that was ready to go to market, there was nobody there to buy it.”

  • Scout Aphids Early and Often

    University of Georgia Extension photo/Shows early black pecan aphid damage.

    By Clint Thompson

    According to UGA Extension, aphids are one of the most important pests pecan growers need to manage during the growing season. And they’re also one of the most difficult to control.

    Black-margined aphids and yellow aphids are present all season but it’s not uncommon to see a spike in numbers in mid-to-late June and in August. Andrew Sawyer, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension area pecan agent for Southeast District, said it’s important not to treat black aphids until you start seeing nymph clusters. The threshold is when nymph clusters appear on damaged leaves.

    With yellow aphids, a glossy appearance on the leaves called honeydew is commonly seen. Tree leaves can absorb a good bit of honeydew and be fine. The threshold is 50 aphids per compound leaf.

    If you’re seeing aphid damage on your pecan trees, Sawyer offers these tips.

    1. Don’t spray broadspectrum insecticides. These are pyrethroids and chlorpyrifos. These will harm beneficial insects and flare aphids.
    2. Ignore yellow aphids.
    3. Ignore black aphids before late July.
    4. If black aphids flare up within 3 to 4 weeks following application, apply aphid insecticides and rotate.
    5. Apply gibberellic acid, which is a plant growth regulator. It can prevent black pecan aphid injury and inhibit the establishment of black pecan aphids in the orchard. Gibberellic acid does not affect aphids directly and will not control any other pest, including yellow aphids. Three applications should be made at 2-week intervals, beginning in mid-July, applying 10 oz (or 5 oz of ProGibb LV Plus) each time.
    6. Try to save Nexter late season if needed for black aphids when mites are a problem.

    Sawyer emphasizes the importance of beneficial insects. The two easiest to see in the orchard are lady bug larvae and the eggs of green lace wings. If you flip over a compound leaf and see either of these, your beneficial population is good.

  • New UF/IFAS Economist Comes ‘Home,’ Looks to Help Harness Resources

    By: Brad Buck, bradbuck@ufl.edu

    IMMOKALEE, Fla. — Kim Morgan is coming home, in a manner of speaking.

    Morgan graduated from the University of Florida three times. Mostly recently, she began her position as an associate professor of food and resources economics for the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. For now, due to CDC stay-at-home guidelines, Morgan is working for UF/IFAS, albeit from her home in Virginia.

    Morgan comes to the Immokalee center after earning tenure at Virginia Tech as an assistant and recently, associate professor of agricultural and applied economics. Before that, she worked as an assistant professor at Mississippi State.

    Kim Morgan

    Kelly Morgan (no relation), director of the Southwest Florida REC, is pleased to have Kim Morgan as a new faculty member, saying, “She has years of experience in agribusiness and marketing at two respected universities in the Southeast.”

    As the newest member of the SWFREC faculty, Kim Morgan looks forward to investigating issues brought to the attention of scientists at UF/IFAS and partner agencies by agribusiness owners.

    “People drive my research and Extension programs,” Morgan said. “Specialty crops are my primary commodity of interest, and I want to look into how changing consumer preferences along with government regulations and policies may influence grower decisions to adopt new production practices.”

    She also wants to help farmers use marketing techniques to reduce the costs of navigating the food supply chain directly to consumers.

    Not only did Morgan earn degrees from the UF/IFAS animal sciences and food and resource economics departments, she worked as an analyst with the department’s Florida Agricultural Market Research Center. There, she helped find solutions to production, marketing, financial and human risks unique to the agricultural sector.

    Now, she’s helping growers in the fertile agricultural area of Southwest Florida.

    “SWFREC is located in one of the most unique environments in the country — right in the middle of larger-scale agricultural operations led by stewards of the natural resources that make it possible to produce a wide range of commodities while surrounded by an ever-growing population,” Morgan said. “As an economist, I see it as the most exciting place in the world to study how people, companies and policymakers make decisions that impact local customers and retailers, contribute to global food-supply chains and address the intersection of agricultural, environmental, and residential resource uses.”

  • Blueberry Farmer Adjusts During COVID-19, Finds Success

    File photo shows blueberries piled up.

    By Clint Thompson

    COVID-19 struck in the middle of Denton Chapman’s U-pick blueberry season in Osceola County, Florida. Chapman had to pivot his business’ strategy on the fly and move strictly to a pre-pick operation.

    The customers responded favorably.

    “The pandemic started right when we were in the middle of our U-pick so we had to adjust,” said Chapman, with Double C Bar Ranch. “We chose to stop our U-pick. A lot of customers, they wanted to be out here, they wanted to get out. The best part about what we did, we went to a pre-pick operation where we pre-packaged and we did a drive-thru.

    “It took us by surprise how many people wanted to get out and enjoy just getting some fresh air. They stayed in their cars and we did the pre-picking and delivered fruit right to their window. People they loved it.”

    Chapman’s willingness to adjust during a time of uncertainty paid dividends for his business and possibly provided a blueprint for success next growing season.

    “That was memorable for us. The joy of people when they came out, just to get some fresh berries picked that morning delivered right to their window was priceless for us,” Chapman said. “Anyone who’s about to start their U-pick operation, just plan well, plan your flow and your social distancing. People will get out. People want to get out and get to the farm, so you’ll be successful.”

    Tips For U-Pick

    Chapman offers tips to those blueberry producers who want to implement a U-pick element in their farming operation next year.

    Marketing and advertising are key. The power of social media is the easiest, cheapest and quickest form of advertising.

    Focus on the atmosphere of the farm. There needs to be plenty of shade and seating and entertainment for the kids.

    Be willing to sell additional products. While the customers may be there primarily to pick blueberries, they may want to purchase additional products as well. Blueberry jam/jelly, drinks, snacks are easy things to have on sale in your gift shop.

  • Florida Blueberry Farmer: USMCA Not a Good Deal For Vegetable, Specialty Crop Producers

    By Clint Thompson

    One of the most vocal critics of Mexican imports into the U.S. is adamant that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will not help or protect vegetable or specialty crop producers.

    Blueberries are a popular commodity in the U.S. but also as an import from Mexico.

    “No, that’s not a good deal for specialty crops. They didn’t really address our issues at all. That was not a good deal for us,” said Ryan Atwood, blueberry farmer, who lives in Mount Dora, Florida, and is one of the state’s blueberry leaders. He farms 56 acres of blueberries, manages another 350 acres and is part-owner of the largest packing house in the Southeast United States.

    USMCA Background

    According to the USMCA, the agreement, once it enters into force on July 1, will support mutually beneficial trade leading to freer markets, fairer trade and robust economic growth in North America. But critics of the agreement will point to lack of protection for specialty crop farmers who already have to compete against imports of Mexican produce. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue even acknowledged concerns by specialty crop growers.

    The idea of fair trade seems more like a fantasy than reality for growers in the Southeast who, not only had to overcome the coronavirus pandemic this year but had to compete against the constant influx of Mexican imports.  

    “They don’t have the regulations we have. They don’t have to abide by the same rules. Their labor is definitely cheaper. They pay somebody $12 per day. I’ve got to pay them $12 an hour to get labor. It’s hard to compete with that. It’s real hard to compete with that,” Atwood said.

    Domestic Supply of Food

    Atwood commented in late April that he was “a fan of having our own domestic supply of food.” Agricultural imports from Mexico may be cheaper, but they’re not American grown. Atwood and Florida vegetable farmer Sam Accursio continue to preach the importance of supporting the American farmer.

    “I think it’s a security issue for our country,” Atwood said in late April. “We’ve got to grow our own food. You saw what happened 10 or 12 years ago when we used to import all that oil and then we got our own domestic supply going again. Other countries are going to be able to control you if they control your food supply.”

    Accursio added, “If you take Florida and California away in the winter, what do you have? You have third-world countries feeding this great nation, and I’m not going to eat it. I’m not going to do it.”

  • Clemson Extension Agents Provide Crop Updates

    According to The South Carolina Grower, Clemson Extension agents provided updates on the status of fruits and vegetables throughout the state.

    In the Coastal area, Zack Snipes reports: “A week of unseasonably mild temperatures and damp conditions slowed things down a bit. The warmer weather this past weekend and this week should put things in gear again. Tomato spotted wilt virus has been showing up on tomato fruit in the Lowcountry. The disease is vectored by thrips. Early and mid-season symptoms include stunted plants that will never make fruit and brown/purple mottling on the leaves. I have been finding plants that are asymptomatic until they fruit and then symptoms appear on the fruit. Using tomato varieties that are resistant to the disease is the best management technique.”

    File photo shows powdery mildew disease in cucurbit.

    In the Midland area, Justin Ballew reports: “Last week was very cool and cloudy. Though there was a decent chance of rain most days, we got very little and it remains dry in the midlands. The cool, cloudy weather really slowed things down and growers weren’t able to harvest crops as often as usual. Since there was little sunlight to dry up the dew each morning, powdery mildew really started showing up in cucurbits. Downy mildew still has not shown up here. Keep scouting and applying protective fungicides.”

    Lalo Toledo reports: “Squash bugs are active and laying eggs. Please scout for eggs on the underside of leaves and spray as soon as signs are visible. Squash bug nymphs are gray and have black eggs.”

    In the Pee Dee area, Tony Melton reports: “Cool temperatures making everything late especially peas and okra. Most sweet potatoes are planted. Things are drying out quickly with the heat.”

  • Potential Second Wave of Pandemic Could Impact Vegetable, Specialty Crop Producers

    By Clint Thompson

    The coronavirus pandemic struck in mid-March during harvest season for vegetable and specialty crop growers in the Southeast. Many fear a second wave of COVID-19 could strike again in October and November when temperatures start to drop. It is also when many producers have their fall crop in the ground.

    “The specialty crops would be where maybe we might see some shifts in market expectations and whether or not there’s concerns about continued disruptions in the supply chains,” said Adam Rabinowitz, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agricultural economist.  “The big question mark there is going to be having an alternative supply chain for distribution that’s available if in fact they are reliant on institutional buyers, where if we see another round of restaurants closing and that type of disruption. That was I think the big surprise this first time; how impactful that was, and we really hadn’t seen anything like that in the past.”

    Silver Linings

    One of the silver linings in an otherwise dark time for growers was finding alternative ways to sell their product. Tifton, Georgia farmer Bill Brim thought Inside the Box when he decided to sell boxed produce straight to consumers for several weeks in April, May and June. Customers lined up the roads waiting to buy local and support a farmer who felt the pinch of a lack of a foodservice market.

    Florida vegetable farmer Sam Accursio also thought creatively in a way to provide produce to customers at a cheaper-than-normal rate in late March and early April.

    “One morning I woke up at 3 o’clock in the morning on a Monday after no sales all weekend with coolers full and I said, ‘What are we going to do?’ I talked to my nucleus about this. The upcoming weekend, we put it on social media that the prices we were going to sell produce for. The consumers were excited because they didn’t have money, I had a cooler full of produce that I already picked and packed. The companies that donate produce, they were filling up. We had nowhere to go with this stuff, so we just put a low price. Consumers came and ate it up,” Accursio said. “We worked our tails off; I think it was for about five hours just steady loading cars from 5:30 in the morning on. I think the first day it was 40,000 pounds, the whole trailer load of produce was sold; one box here, seven boxes there.

    “The first day, the line was two hours long. The consumers, what they told me when they finally got up there and I’m apologizing, they said, ‘Listen, we’re all at home. We have nothing better to do.’”

    Same Thing in the Fall

    Accursio said he sold about 60,000 pounds of produce the same way the following weekend. At 50 cents per pound, consumers received a great deal to support a local farmer.

    “I couldn’t let the consumers down because they helped us out of a super jam. We kept on doing it on a smaller basis with the strictly local people coming then. When we had the big sales going on, we had people driving two or three hours to come here. We had shipments, trailer loads going to Key West from here. It was an amazing thing to watch,” said Accursio, who says he will continue this type of marketing in the fall.

    “I never really thought about selling directly to consumers but now we are gearing up for October to continue this.”

    Rabinowitz added, “Having those type of distribution options available can be very significant as not just a fallback strategy but also just as a means to increase sales on a regular basis.”

  • NOFA Deadline for CFAP is Today

    By Clint Thompson

    Today, June 22, is the last day for growers and industry leaders to submit information and data to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) about crops to be considered for inclusion in the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).

    There is a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) where stakeholders and producers of other commodities can submit information and data for consideration to be included in the program. These must be submitted by today. This is specifically for data on any commodity not currently eligible for CFAP.

    Not all commodities were covered under CFAP, which provides financial assistance to producers who have suffered a 5%-or-greater price decline or who had losses due to market supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 and face additional significant market costs.

    CFAP applications will be accepted through Aug. 28. Producers should apply through the FSA at their local USDA Service Center.

    According to Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Association, Georgia farmers are looking to add several commodities to the list covered under CFAP. These include kale, mustard, collards, turnips and specialty lettuce.