WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
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 …
Read More »Citrus Disease Still Harms Industry Despite New Findings
New procedures are being implemented to combat greening, a serious citrus disease that affects crops worldwide. The disease is particularly detrimental in Florida, as the state’s citrus industry has an estimated worth $10.9 billion, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ website. According to Tom …
Read More »Florida’s Orange Crop Drops 16 Percent
Florida's citrus season will produce enough oranges to fill 81.5 million 90-pound boxes this year, down nearly 16 percent from the prior season. A major cause for the decrease in oranges has been citrus greening, a disease that is deadly to the crop.
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