The Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) was celebrating the International Year of Soils this year’s Commodity Classic in Phoenix. CTIC executive director Karen Scanlon was handing out gummy worms and recipes at Commodity Classic so families can have a fun way to learn about soils. “[CTIC] has always supported soil health by promoting conservation systems as a great combination of …
Wrapping up the 2014 CTIC Tour
2014 CTIC Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album The CTIC Conservation in Action tour of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) was the most interesting of the tours I have attended so far. I grew up just east of the Everglades in Broward County and did agricultural reporting in Florida for ten years, but I never really had the chance to …
Florida State Rep on CTIC Tour
A member of the Florida legislature joined us on CTIC Conservation in Action tour of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) last week to learn more herself about the various conservation efforts in the region. Representative Katie Edwards of Broward County says there is a lot of legislative interest in water quality projects and with her agricultural background it’s important for …
NCGA Staffer on CTIC Tour
2014 CTIC Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album Many of the participants at last week’s CTIC Conservation in Action tour of the Florida Everglades Agricultural area were from the Midwest and they were very interested in some of the very different crop production they saw in the Sunshine State. CTIC board member and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Soil Health …
Raising Cane in the Everglades
2014 CTIC Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album Planting at U.S. Sugar Corporation is done with precision, as we found out on the 2014 CTIC Conservation in Action tour last week in the Everglades Agricultural Area. Steven Stiles, U.S. Sugar farm manager, says cane is a “ratoonable crop” which refers to the stalks that are called ratoons and normally one …
Water in the Sunshine State
Florida is the third largest state in terms of population and the 14th in agricultural production, so competition for water resources is fierce in the Sunshine State. “Population growth is a big factor in driving water use demand and that will continue in Florida,” said Richard Budell, who is director of water policy for the Florida Department of Agriculture and …
Barn Owls are Sustainable Rodent Control
2014 CTIC Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album Barn owls are being used in the Everglades Agricultural Area as sustainable rodent control – and it’s working amazingly well! Richard Raid, a plant pathologist with the University of Florida, told us all about these hungry little raptors during what was arguably the most interesting stop on the 2014 CTIC Conservation in …
Learning About Everglades STAs
2014 CTIC Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album This may just look like a swamp but it’s actually a very sophisticated stormwater treatment area in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) which is one of several designed to remove phosphorus from urban and agricultural runoff. These public works projects are the second point of cleanup for the water, while the farmers …
Everglades Conservation in Action Tour Photos
Baby barn owls with a hearty appetite for rodents that destroy sugarcane were one of the highlights of the CTIC Conservation in Action tour this week in the Everglades Agricultural Area. We saw sugarcane being planted and harvested with precision, rich black soil, dozens of varieties of lettuce, a concrete post revealing six feet of soil subsidence in 84 years, …
Florida Farm Bureau Welcomes Conservation Tour
The president of the Florida Farm Bureau welcomed participants on the 2014 CTIC Conservation in Action tour to the Sunshine State Tuesday night as they prepared to visit the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) today. john Hoblick spent some time telling the group, many of whom are from the Midwest, about the EAA and the efforts Florida farmers have undertaken to …