WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
UF’s shrinking orchard is an emblem of the statewide groves its researchers are trying to save.
Read More »Bitter taste: The 20-year fight against citrus greening in Florida has farmers and researchers exhausted
On the southern outskirts of the University of Florida’s sprawling campus in Gainesville, fruit trees stand in rows on about 17 acres of land. Before the university razed nearly half of it to make room for the new baseball stadium that looms to the north, the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Research …
Read More »The Point, Oct. 19, 2022: Rubio and Demings face off in Senate campaign’s only debate
Subscribe to The Point, arriving in your inbox Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. The stories near you • WUFT News: Black-owned farms are disappearing. One Alachua County man is fighting to preserve what’s left. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently directed $2.2 billion to compensate farmers for historic lending discrimination. The …
Read More »The Point, Sept. 16, 2022: Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida is no ‘sanctuary state’ for immigrants
The controversy continued for a second day after his decision received national pushback.
Read More »Florida Farmers Are Still Trying To Get A Grasp On That Which Ails Their Citrus Crop
A disease is killing Florida’s citrus industry. Hurricanes have blown away the crop that’s spared. And with so little product left, supermarkets are settling for citrus from outside of the state.
Read More »Florida Citrus Harvest Lowest In Decades
The final forecast of the 2016-2017 season for Florida's struggling citrus industry shows the orange crop falling 16 percent from the previous season.
Read More »Lawmakers Poised To Pass Marijuana Compromise
House and Senate leaders might be divided on issues that forced them to return to the Capitol this week, but they’re in agreement about pot. Legislation to carry out a voter-approved constitutional amendment broadly legalizing medical marijuana is on the fast track, after Gov. Rick Scott added the issue to …
Read More »2018 Looms As Scott, Putnam Ready For Session
In appearances Tuesday before reporters and editors, Republican leaders Gov. Rick Scott and Adam Putnam laid out their legislative agendas, while declining to speculate on their political futures.
Read More »Florida Orange, Grapefruit Estimates Drop By Double Digits
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last week that Florida was only expected to produce 70 million boxes of oranges during the 2016-2017 growing season. Last season, Florida produced 81.5 million boxes.
Read More »Citrus Decline Continues In Florida
Citrus production continues to plummet in Florida, as the first forecast for the 2016-2017 growing season indicates a 14 percent drop in the state’s orange crop. The forecast Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that Florida growers will harvest enough oranges to fill 70 million 90-pound boxes in the coming …
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