Latest News From Florida

The Florida Watermelon Association is allocating $100,000 for research and development grants, to fight pests and diseases, study growing practices and other projects.

The 20th Annual Lipman Golf Classic tournament will once again benefit the Redlands Christian Migrant Association.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has published a final rule that revises marketing order grade and size requirements for Florida citrus.

Coral Gables, Fla.-based Fyffes Inc. donated 2,500 bananas to participants at PurpleStride New York City.

IMG Citrus, Vero Beach, Fla., has purchased a 4,000-acre grapefruit grove in St. Lucie County.

IMG Citrus, Vero Beach, Fla., has purchased a 4,000-acre grapefruit grove in St. Lucie County.

Groups such as the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas and the Border Trade Alliance continue to make misleading statements about the U.S.-Mexico Tomato Suspension Agreement in an apparent attempt to muddy the waters and stoke fear among other agricultural sectors in the U.S.

The Florida Tomato Exchange is making an unreasonable attempt to change the rules of how produce can be sold in order to eliminate its competition and unfairly control the market.

J&J Family of Farms, Westlake, Fla., has promoted Clayton Amestoy to director of farming.

Berry grower Wish Farms, Plant City, Fla., is the official grower sponsor of the 2019 Florida Blueberry Festival this week.

The University of Florida’s Plant Science Research and Education Unit has scheduled a Stone Fruit Workshop and Field Day.

Florida Classic Growers is introducing a white-fleshed peach variety in limited quantities this season. 

Growers and importers of Mexican tomatoes and segments of the U.S. tomato industry continue to spar over a Department of Commerce decision to end an agreement that holds an anti-dumping investigation at bay.

Ozblu blueberry varieties will be grown in the U.S. for the first time with Peru-based Migiva Group’s purchase of two Florida berry properties.

ORLANDO, Fla. — There’s never been a better time to highlight the inherent health benefits of fresh produce in marketing strategies: Food is medicine, and the science keeps backing it up.

Fullei Fresh, Miami, is recalling organic bean sprouts from Whole Foods Markets in Florida because of a possible Listeria Monocytogenes contamination.

Natalia Peres envisions a day when light from a machine resembling a spacecraft helps prevent powdery mildew from damaging strawberries.

Stu Monaghan, whose 30 years in the produce industry was focused on sales and management roles in the southeast, died Feb. 26. He was 52.

Well-Pict Berries, Watsonville, Calif., will celebrate its 50th anniversary at the Southeast Produce Council’s 20th annual Southern Exposure Convention and Expo March 7-9 in Orlando.

Twenty teams competed to pluck the most strawberries at the sixth annual Strawberry Picking Challenge at Wish Farms, Plant City, Fla., an event raising more than $90,000 for the Redlands Christian Migrant Association.

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is establishing a center to take a more holistic approach to solving water and land use issues facing Florida.

Village Farms, Heathrow, Fla., participated in the 15th Annual Cars for the Cure fundraiser for the American Lung Association, handing out snacking tomatoes to the crowd.

You typically don’t go to a fresh produce expo because of the hotel.

Edison and Ford Winter Estates is hosting an invitation-only celebration to mark the re-establishment of the historic Ford fruit grove in Fort Myers, Fla.

Commercial citrus growers will soon see a new seedless mandarin variety called Marathon, earning its name for an enduring ability to hang onto the tree for a long time — a trait farmers seek.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Shannon Allen never imagined she’d start the country’s first 100% certified organic fast food restaurant with a drive-thru.

Todd Dewett captured the crowd from the start.

University of Florida researchers have developed a strawberry with higher yields in November and December, when the season is starting and berries are in demand.

Florida’s orange volume should be about 77 million 90-pound box equivalents, most of which will go to processing, said Andrew Meadows, director of communications for Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual.

The Florida Citrus Hall of Fame has named the industry leaders who will be inducted into the group in 2019.

Irving Karp, who founded Carnival Fruit Co. in the early 1960s in Miami, died Dec. 24. He was 95.

NEW YORK — Mayda Sotomayor-Kirk was a baby when her family escaped the Castro communist regime on a freedom flight to the U.S.

A healthy foodservice industry translates to a robust Florida tomato business, said Michael Schadler, deputy manager of the Maitland-based Florida Tomato Committee.

Florida Citrus Mutual has hired Matt Joyner as director of government relations.

Only a small percentage of Florida’s fall produce comes from the northern part of the state, but for growers in the Florida Panhandle, Hurricane Michael pretty much presented a worst-case scenario.

Growers are optimistic about this year’s Florida strawberry crop.

The Fresh From Florida brand marketing campaign once again has a full plate of promotions, incentives and support materials ready to tout the benefits of Florida-grown fruits and vegetables.

From raising chickens for a  4-H project to representing Florida tomato growers, Reggie Brown has been dedicated to Florida’s agricultural industry.

Florida growers are struggling against imported produce from Mexico, according to Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association testimony to the International Trade Commission.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the University of Florida a $3.5 million grant to study using mesh screenhouses to guard grapefruit against huanglongbing (HLB).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the University of Florida a $3.5 million grant to study using mesh screenhouses to guard grapefruit against huanglongbing (HLB).

Florida citrus growers are asking for approval to lower size and grade standards to sell more on the fresh market.

University of Florida extension agents and economists are gathering information to develop estimates of crop loss after Hurricane Michael swept through Florida’s Panhandle.

U.S. senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson have introduced legislation that would give Florida fruit and vegetable growers recourse in the event of seasonal dumping by Mexican growers.

NAPLES, Fla. — Members of the FFVA honored longtime leaders, took in educational sessions on state politics and food safety, and discussed how the organization is preparing for the future at its 75th annual convention.

NAPLES, Fla. — The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association has named Mike Joyner as its new president.

Mike Stuart, who is retiring from the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association after 26 years, will be inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2019.

Mike Stuart, who is retiring from the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association after 26 years, will be inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2019.

In the wake of 2017’s Hurricane Irma, University of Florida agriculture economists have created a system to report disaster damage to crops faster.

An atypical case of BSE was detected in a six year-old Florida beef cow, but never entered the slaughter channels and poses no threat to the U.S. food supply.