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Below you'll see everything we could locate for your search of “labor”
Candi Erick, the agricultural statistics administrator with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, reports the final citrus crop forecast of the 2016-17 season. The United States all-orange forecast for the 2016-2017 season is down 2 percent from last month and down 17 percent from last season’s final utilization. The 2016-2017 Florida all-orange forecast released …
By Arnold Schumann and Laura Waldo Florida citrus trees may require irrigation throughout the year due to the extremely sandy soils with low water-holding capacities and the warm subtropical climate with distinct drought periods in spring. Citrus trees are evergreen and may be actively growing at any time, with no true dormant phase. HLB-affected trees are particularly prone to multiple …
By Ernie Neff Even Nostradamus would have struggled to predict a career path for a 25-year-old Fred Gmitter. Gmitter had quit college after three years at Rutgers University, where he studied English literature with plans to teach. He said he “became completely disillusioned” with that plan. He married, worked as a delivery truck driver and warehouse laborer, and traveled out …
by Lloyd Dunkelberger News Service of Florida Former state Rep. Baxter Troutman entered the race for state agriculture commissioner on Monday, priming his Republican bid for a Cabinet seat with $2.5 million of his own money. “For two decades, I’ve been building a business and continuing my work in Florida agriculture,” Troutman, of Winter Haven, said in a statement. “Real …
ORANGES The 2016-2017 Florida all-orange forecast released by Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is up 500,000 boxes to 68.5 million boxes. The increase is in Valencia oranges. The total includes 33 million boxes of non-Valencias (early, midseason, and Navel varieties) and 35.5 million boxes of Valencias. For the previous 10 seasons used in …
The federal H-2A program that allows temporary agricultural guest workers from other countries has grown dramatically in recent years. Approximately 80 percent of all Florida citrus is harvested by H-2A workers, says Carlene Thissen, coordinator for farm labor supervisor training at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. She says the number of H-2A workers in Florida citrus …
By Ariel Singerman and Stephen H. Futch Uncertainty can be defined as imperfect knowledge, and risk as uncertain consequences, particularly unfavorable consequences. To take a risk then is to expose oneself to a chance of loss, in some cases expecting a gain in return. Many decisions in agriculture involve risk and uncertainty. Risk management is concerned with reducing the possibility …
By Tripti Vashisth Mineral nutrition plays an essential role in a plant’s life cycle and is critical for its growth and development. Since the early 19th century, the importance of mineral nutrition for plants has been recognized, and fertilization has become an important aspect of crop production. At least 17 mineral nutrients are considered essential for plants. These include carbon, …
Michael Rogers with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) says growers frequently ask him two questions. One is whether they need to continue to control HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllids even though HLB is widespread in Florida. The other is about the best time to spray for psyllids. Rogers, an entomologist and director of the UF/IFAS …
This year’s Annual Planning Meeting, hosted by Summer Citrus from South Africa (SCSA) brought members from across the United States and Western Cape together to review sales and marketing plans, production volumes, shipping schedules and category trends to support the 2017 season. Seald Sweet International’s Mayda Sotomayor opened the planning sessions by introducing the growers, importers, retailers, marketing team and …
As the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) celebrates its 100th anniversary, administrators are praising a decades-long relationship between researchers with CREC and the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC). “Housing the FDOC and CREC scientists at the same location has brought together the expertise needed to address any issue facing the …
University of Florida entomologist Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski presented an abundance of facts about Asian citrus psyllids at the recent Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute in Avon Park. Her presentation included a discussion on how far the HLB-spreading psyllids can travel and where they are predominantly found in citrus trees. “They’re quite capable of long-distance movement, about four miles we determined,” Pelz-Stelinski says. …
Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service issued the April 2017 citrus crop forecast. ORANGES The U.S. all-orange forecast for the 2016-2017 season is 5.11 million tons, down 1 percent from last month and down 16 percent from the 2015-2016 revised final utilization. The Florida all-orange forecast, at 67 million boxes (3.02 million tons), is unchanged from …
By Georgios Vidalakis On March 30, 2007, I received a memorable phone call in my office at the University of California (UC), Riverside. “Georgios,” said the caller, “The 2008 Farm Bill will establish the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN) for specialty crops. This program will be like no other because it will be driven from the ground up. The system …
The citrus crop forecast, delivered by Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service in Washington, D.C., showed a 4 percent drop in Florida oranges and a 2 percent drop in California oranges. In total, the U.S. all-orange forecast for the 2016-2017 season dropped 3 percent from last month and is down 13 percent from …
By Jim Hoffman This article is about my experiences with incorporating organic mulched materials into select areas of groves at Estes Citrus in the Indian River region. Our citrus groves consist of bedded, 40-acre blocks where it is common to have three or four distinct soil types in each block. Unfortunately, we have several sand-pond areas that have a history …
Ned Hancock, who recently stepped down as president of Highlands County Citrus Growers Association (HCCGA), discusses key issues the association faced in the past year and some coming in the future. Hancock says a major accomplishment last year came in concert with new Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman. Blackman “has made a significant commitment to patrol the agricultural community and …
Ozgur Batuman, a new citrus plant pathologist at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, discusses the diseases he’ll work on. “I am planning to of course tackle some of the more pressing issues that citrus growers are facing these days, one of them being huanglongbing (HLB), and confronting its vector, Asian citrus psyllid,” he says. He will also research …
By Tacy Callies Callie Walker comes from a long line of Florida farmers. In 1875, her family set up homestead in Alva. Her father, uncles, grandfather and great-grandfather have been involved in a diversity of agricultural fields including citrus, cattle, sugar cane, vegetables and row crops. “My dad and his three brothers still run the family operation — citrus and …
Mark Hudson, USDA/NASS, Washington D.C. offered the February citrus crop forecast. The forecast of non-Valencia production is lowered 1.00 million boxes to 35.0 million boxes. Size and Drop components were final last month. The Row Count survey conducted January 26-27, 2017, showed 72 percent of the early-mid-season rows, and 83 percent of the Navel rows are harvested. Estimated utilization to …
