Tag Archives: IFAS

The Varroa destructor, an aggressive mite, is the leading cause of bee decline and colony collapse. But a new research method at the University of Florida may give the bees a fighting chance.

The Hemp Industries Association of Florida brought its educational workshop to the Newberry Municipal Building Tuesday. Industrial hemp may become a staple crop in Newberry in the coming years.

Food pantries that rely on donations often face problems providing healthy food to low-resource populations. One partial solution for people who depend on food pantries in Gainesville is foraging and gardening to obtain fruits and vegetables.

The research team has already completed an initial drone flyover to get a visual of the area being treated, plotted a grid, tested soil, sampled vegetation, applied herbicide and top dressed the field with compost.

Just a few years ago, there were 20-30 dairy farms scattered across Lafayette County. Today, after steep declines in milk consumption have left many of these farms bankrupt, only about six remain.

From 1996 to 2016, Gainesville had lost 11 percent of its tree canopy. But green spaces like Cellon Oak Park, home to Florida's largest live oak, help keep biodiversity alive in the city.

The City of Gainesville passed a plastic ban earlier this year. Some local scientists see this ordinance as a good first step, but don't think it goes far enough. Here are their proposals: