Florida Ag Reading for Sept. 21-25
| September 25, 2009 | Posted by admin under Agriculture, News |
Here’s a quick breakdown of news and info that we have found this week relating to Florida agriculture (as seen on http://twitter.com/freshfromFL):
- The University of Central Florida launched a weekly on-campus farmers’ market (Sundays, 10-4)
- Florida seafood available this week: spiny lobster, red grouper, amberjack, red snapper and clams – find retailers near you at http://www.fl-seafood.com
- Learn how to grow your own herb garden indoors here
- Hidden Valley announced a twitter contest with their “Love Your Veggies” grant program. One elementary school will win $10,000 through the special contest.
- This week was National Farm Safety and Health Week. The National Education Center For Agricultural Safety offers safety education and proactive programs to help prevent incidents that affect agribusiness safety and welfare.
- Florida released a new muscadine grape variety, the Southern Jewel. It is an open release by UF, meaning any grower will be able to grow the plant. It is “high-yielding, disease resistant and produces fruit in big bunches.”
- Whole Foods has a Local Producer Loan Program that provides up to $10 million in low-interest loans to small, local producers.
- The Southwest Florida Water Management District has a free recreation guide available for download here.
- USDA launched their “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” website. The site “will feature social media tools to help focus the public conversation about farming and food, while engaging American agriculture and linking producers to customers.”
- September 24-30 is “Take a Child Outside Week.” Check out all of these fun things you can do with kids outside in Florida!
- The Florida Farm Bureau is reminding teachers that October 2 is the deadline to apply for Ag in the Classroom mini-grants.
- Starting October 1, the WIC program will cover fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables.
