News

New dean of UF/IFAS Extension, director of Florida Cooperative Extension named

Andra Johnson, associate director of Penn State Extension, will be the next dean of University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension and director of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the University of Florida anno... more

76 specialty crops protected by federal crop insurance

Whether you grow almonds or apples, peppers or prunes, crop insurance options are available to you. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) administers Federal crop insurance that protects 76 specialty crops, and we’re continuing to improve and e... more

Farm and food workers impacted by COVID-19 to get $700M in grants

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Sept. 7 that $700 million in competitive grant funding will be available through the new Farm and Food Workers Relief grant program to help farmworkers and meatpacking workers with pandemic-related hea... more

Lipman Family Farms launches expanded compostable packaging for organics

Immokalee, Florida-based Lipman Family Farms will showcase the expansion of their compostable packaging line at the upcoming Southern Innovations conference and the Organic Produce Summit. Designed for organic grape tomatoes, mini cucumbers, green... more

Satellite image project measuring double cropping in fields funded by NASA

With a $100,000 grant from NASA Jet Propulsion Lab’s Western Water Applications Office, Washington State University researchers will scour more than 20 years of satellite imagery to learn whether the farming technique of double cropping is increasi... more

Multifunctional robot for tomato harvesting introduced

The Certhon Harvest Robot is a multifunctional robot that detects, cuts and transports tomatoes to boxes all by itself. The deep-learning technology will make the robot smarter with each harvest. According to a news release, the Certhon Harvest Ro... more

Benefits of pollinator-attracting companion plants studied

A recent interdisciplinary research project about how pollinator-attracting companion plants help increase yield in some horticulture crops showcases the intersection of excellence when researchers from diverse fields combine research, teaching and E... more