FIELD AND GROVE MAGAZINE
Profiling Southwest Florida’s Agribusiness Community

By Cindy Cutright   Wed, Apr 15, 2009

FIELD AND GROVE MAGAZINE is going to bring this story of hard work and perseverance in Southwest Florida to our readers in a mixed media format. Part of the story will be told with the written word and the rest will be accessible through a video feed with just the click of the mouse. Look for this segment in our May issue. 

Huey P. Howard (left) with his son, Huey Jr.

By Tina Giufre   Mon, Apr 13, 2009

      If standing alone in a hot, sunny field of peppers in the middle of nowhere, collecting plant samples sounds like a good day on the job, you may like working as a crop consultant.

      Sarah Hornsby, president and owner of Agricultural Crop Consulting, Inc., likes it enough to have been in the business for 20 years, including the last 12 years owning her business based in Parrish, Fla., in Manatee County.

      Hornsby is in the business of helping her clients with insect and disease management.

      “I have a degree in biology and always had an interest in plants,” Hornsby said. After taking time off from her job as a high school teacher to raise a family, she decided to become a crop consultant instead of going back to teaching.

      “I got into it because of Dr. Will Waters, the former director of the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, which is an arm of IFAS,” she said.

      IFAS, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida, did research and developed an organized method of scouting, Hornsby said. Scouting is the monitoring of pest populations and crop developments.

      “IFAS put together all the procedures we use, like how many samples we collect, what the economic threshold of damage is. Everything my company does is based on this research,” she said.

      Agricultural Crop Consulting, Inc. has 10 clients and some of them have several farms. Hornsby and her two employees visit each farm twice a week.

      “We specify the number of plants per acre, collect data, determine what type of insects are there and what their life stage is. We do the same kinds of things when looking at diseases. Then we make a recommendation of what material is needed to solve the problem.”

      The company also does some nutritional testing and tissue sample collection, if necessary, which is sent to an agricultural lab. Soil sampling is done to determine problems that may begin in the ground. Digitized mapping is also available for clients.

      Hornsby is a certified crop advisor, having completed a certification program administered by the American Society of Agronomy. The program requires candidates meet education and experience requirements and pass exams before they are eligible to become certified. Certified crop advisors also must adhere to a code of ethics.

      “You have to have six years of experience before even applying to take the test,” Hornsby said.

      All of her education and experience helps her determine what her clients’ problems are so she can make recommendations that save them money by saving their crops. The cost for consulting services varies widely, depending on the type of crops and generally costs from $35 to $60 per acre.

      Typical problems Hornsby sees are pests. One of the most common is the silverleaf whitefly, a pest that affects all crops, such as peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini.

      “The silverleaf whitefly transmits viruses that shut the plant down,” she said. “They are our biggest pest. The pepper weevil is the biggest problem for pepper crops. And there are all kinds of worms. But the major pests that are up-and-coming are thrips.”

      There are many kinds of thrips and new ones are emerging in Florida.

      “We have always had flower thrips in Florida,” Hornsby said. “But about two years ago, we started seeing chilli thrips and western thrips. We’re a big import state. We get a lot of insects coming in from other areas and other countries.”

      Growers must also protect their crops from disease. Hornsby said that many diseases are dependent on weather. Fungi are common diseases.

      “Some funguses are cool weather funguses and some are warm weather funguses. Botrytis, a gray mold fungus, has been a big problem this year,” she explained. “It’s been a tough weather year for us. We work like crazy from September to June, with our two growing seasons, but in Florida, there’s not a lot of agriculture happening in the summer. We pretty much have summers off.”

      Salt damage can be another major problem, Hornsby said. Growers typically try to limit freeze damage to crops by pushing water up to the surface. But sometimes fungi and salt are also pushed up to the plants’ roots. Salt is the result of fertilizer breakdown and can do a great deal of damage to plants.

      Most of Hornsby’s clients come to her through recommendations, either from IFAS or her other clients. Her company started working 500 acres in 1997 and today works 4,000 acres. When she started, she worked alone. But now she employs one to two or as many as three people.

      “It’s not for everyone,” she said. “You’re mostly alone in the middle of nowhere. Or driving to or from the middle of nowhere. But for the right person, it can be a great job.”

      With Florida known for its citrus crops, Hornsby said she does some citrus work, but it’s more of a sideline.

      “Citrus is not nearly as intensive as vegetables,” she said. “Citrus doesn’t have to be perfect, especially if it’s grown for juicing. But vegetables have to be perfect.”

      She is doing her best to make sure the vegetables grown by her clients are indeed perfect.

By Staff   Tue, Apr 14, 2009

It is no secret that organic produce is gaining in popularity everyday. Store patrons are  now requesting a variety of organic produce be made available at mom and pop grocery stores as well as the larger chains. Naturally, with an increase in demand, more Florida farmers are considering making the change to organics every year. 

The University of Florida, in conjunction with the Florida Organic Growers, are holding two important seminars for area producers considering making a transition to organic production. Organic farming practices, regulations, and organic farm plan development are among the topics on the seminar's agenda. The 2008 Farm Bill's financial incentives are also slated to be discussed.  

The first seminar will be held April 22 at the IFAS Extension in Homestead.  Teresa Olcyzk can be reached at 305-248-3311 or email her at twol@ufl.edu to register or for more information.  

The following day, on April 23, the second seminar will be held at the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. Contact Gene McAvoy at 863-674-4092 or email Gene at gmcavoy@ufl.edu. for more information or to register. 

NOTE: 

Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers Inc. is accepting applications from certified organic growers and handlers in Florida who are requesting reimbursement of the cost of certification up to 75% or a maximum of $750. Reimbursement costs paid for certification between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009 will be issued until the funds are depleted on a first-come, first-served basis. October 15, 2009 is the deadline for submitting an application. Visit www.foginfo.org for more information.

By Staff   Sat, Apr 11, 2009

FIELD AND GROVE MAGAZINE staff writer, Tina Giufre, covered Lee County's Troyer Brothers' potato operation for our February issue. The harvesting season and all aspects of the operation were in full swing when she interviewed Aaron Troyer. Tina provided the magazine with a great article and some fine photos to boot. Since then we have learned Troyer Brothers Inc. will be featured nationally on PBS this fall.

A production crew affiliated with the TV program, Food Sense, visited the farm recently to videotape harvesting operations and interview key personnel. Food Sense is a new one-hour program launching in the fourth quarter of this year which will air on public television stations across the United States.

With news of food scares increasing, consumers have raised their interest in learning more about where our food comes from and the process of getting food from source to table. The show will engage farmers, industry experts and consumers in a dialogue which will help consumers understand what they are eating from a health, nutrition, and taste and value perspective.

The show will be hosted by Phil lempert, a leading food and nutrition expert known as The Supermarket Guru. He is a regular correspondent for the Today Show, makes monthly appearances on ABC's The View, and has appeared numerous times on The Oprah Winfrey Show, 20/20, CNN, CNBC, Discovery Health and MSNBC, as well as on local morning and news programs throughout the country.

Troyer Brothers Inc. is one of Florida's largest potato farms, with approximately 3,500 acres under management. Troyer's raises white, red and yellow potatoes which are sold locally, nationally and in Canada. The farm is a family-run concern, owned by brothers Vern, Don and David Troyer and is respected throughout the industry for the quality of its product and its efficient operations utilizing high-tech techniques to manage its fields.

The PBS production crew spent the day following a potato from when it was mechanically harvested from the ground by a massive tractor, scooped up into a truck and transported to the packing house, washed, scanned, sorted, graded, packaged, and then shipped out via semi-trailer the same day.

David's son, Aaron Troyer, is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the farm and was interviewed by PBS for the segment. He toured the crew through the fields and the packinghouse and explained the meticulous labeling that is used to track the produce so that any specific potato can be traced back to the same field from which it was harvested.

RED PEPPER BRUSCHETTA...

makes other bruschetta recipes simply pale in comparison! 

And its so easy to make you can serve it anytime, not just when you have hungry guests to feed. 

   3 roasted and peeled FLORIDA red peppers, julienne

1/2 FLORIDA onion, minced

    1 bunch FLORIDA parsley, chopped fine

    2 tablespoons FLORIDA garlic, minced

    3 FLORIDA tomatoes, seeded, peeled and diced small

    2 tablespoons olive oil

    1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

       salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Strain and serve on toasted baguette circles.

Yield: 3 cups

This marvelous recipe makes good use of fresh vegetables and herbs grown right here in Florida and comes to us courtesy of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 

Tue, Apr 14, 2009

Here is an opportunity that any die hard citrus label collector will simply not want to miss. The Florida Citrus Label Collector's Association is hosting a Florida Citrus Label Show Saturday, April 18 at the Winter Garden Museum between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Collectors bearing antique Florida citrus labels will be available to show, buy, sell and trade labels within their collections. For those who have never been able to attend a show before should make every effort to go to this one. This is the perfect time to visit the museum and get an up-close and personal view of some very rare and valuable Florida labels.

The museum is located at 1 North Main Street (downtown) in Winter Garden and can be contacted by calling 407-656-3244 or 407-6565544 for more information.

For those who don't know much about citrus labels here's an abridged history:

The first citrus crate labels were probably produced in California in the late 1800's following the advent of lithography. Much of the artwork was created by well-known artists who did not sign their work because it was considered commercial in nature.

Florida Grower Press in Tampa was one of this state's primary lithographic printers and a major printer of citrus labels. The labels had a great run and were used extensively for about 60 years until World War II when shortages of wood and metal mandated the replacement of crates with cardboard boxes. The new boxes sported pre-printed brand names making the labels virtually obsolete.

The colorful labels were much more than just decorative. Each label was registered with the Department of Agriculture and it relayed to the buyer the brand name and what grade of fruit was contained within the crate. The background color notated the grade:

 blue - Grade A, red - Grade B, yellow or green - Grade C.

Many of the labels' designs incorporated true personal touches, telling the buyer something of the history of the family that owned the grove where the fruit was harvested. Some families named fruit varieties after indigenous flowers or birds. The Lake Wales Citrus Growers Association, for example, always promoted a royalty theme in their labels because Lake Wales was known as the 'Crown Jewel of the Ridge'.

The labels are more than just beautiful and utilitarian or representative of a time when shipments of fresh fruit and vegetables were eagerly awaited up north. For consumers across the country, the labels affixed to the end of a wooden crate paid homage to a far away Florida citrus grove and a place in the warm sun of which most could only dream.

I want to give a big shout out to Brenda Burnette of the Florida Citrus Label Collector's Association in West Palm Beach who provided the Bounty label graphic to FIELD AND GROVE.

Mon, Apr 13, 2009

...who doesn't?

My favorite time of year came and went in just a matter of few short weeks. I am, of course, referring to early spring in Southwest Florida when each day ends just as it began, with the pungent fragrance of orange blossoms wafting through the house carried on a cool breeze.  

Resourceful individuals have tried, without much success, to 'capture' the blossom's true aroma. I've bought more than my share of orange-scented products and have concluded aerosol room sprays are too strong and perfume is well, just too sweet. Man might outsmart Mother Nature every now and again (this month's profile serves as an example), but when it comes to replicating the smell of an orange blossom, we fall woefully short. 

Also worth noting is the fact that the smell of orange blossoms (found only in groves I should add), can make one do strange things. Each morning, while driving into LaBelle this past month, I opened the sun roof to get the blossoms' full effect, slipped Garth Brooks into the CD player, and enjoyed the rites of early spring. I drove a bit too fast, sang a bit too loud, and enjoyed myself more than I should have considering I was going to work. But that's how spring and the much anticipated bloom of the Florida orange affect me every year.

And it’s not just the gradual loss of the orange blossom fragrance that I lament as we approach May. But the cool breeze that requires a sweater be worn outside in the evening or could bring a chill to the air in the morning has dissipated too. Soon the heat of summer will be upon us regrettably signaling the closure of the open sun roof and the turning down a notch of the radio.

But, of course, there’s always next year.

No doubt Clewiston will earn its name, 'America's Sweetest Town' yet again when the Sugar Festival gets underway on April 25. Scheduled events include a Big Lake Cruisers Rod Run, 5k run, rodeo, live entertainment, and an arts and crafts show. Naturally, all things sugary can be found competing in the Sugar Recipe Contest. Enter www.clewiston.org in your browser for a full schedule.

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The Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee is hosting a Citrus Mechanical Field Day and Workshop on April 22. A field trip is planned so attendees can see the Oxbow canopy shaker and other harvesting equipment in action. For more information call 239-658-3461 or contact Barbara Hyman at hymanb@ufl.edu.

* * * * *

It's not too early to plan to attend the Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference to be held in Bonita Springs June 24 through the 26. Several industry issues will be addressed from labor and immigration to marketing. We'll have more about this important event next month, but in the meantime, you can get additional information or go online to register to attend by visiting www.flcitrusmutual.com.

* * * * *

Good news for producers! USDA has extended the sign-up from June 1 to August 14, 2009 for both the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) and the forthcoming Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program. The deadline extension is intended to give producers ample time to decide to participate in ACRE or remain in DCP. To learn more go to www.fsa.usda.gov.

* * * * *

Congratulations are in order for three hard working students. The Dade County Farm Bureau recently announced the names of three scholarship recipients who plan to study for a career in agriculture. Christopher Rouse was awarded the Wayne Dunagan Memorial Scholarship; Anthony Rodiguez received the Dian Plyler Memorial Scholarship; and Keivan Zolfaghari was the Philip and Mary Marraccini Memorial Scholarship. The winners will receive their awards at a special presentation to be held at the Dade County Farm Bureau on April 21. Visit www.dade-agriculture.org. for more information.