It is harvest time in North Florida and area farmers are bringing out their harvesting equipment. This is typically the largest equipment on the farm. Larger equipment on the roads can lead to higher risk of equipment to vehicle crashes. Large machinery is designed for the field, and has limited road mobility. Riding behind …
Continue reading ‘Harvest Season Puts Tractors on the Road’ »
We were fortunate across north Florida to receive crop saving rains at the end of July and through August. There probably couldn’t have been a more perfect timing for pegging and pod fill of peanuts, and setting pods in soybeans. However, we are into our typical problems of August with plant disease and insects. If …
Continue reading ‘The Footsteps of the Farmer are the Best Fertilizer’ »
The USDA Agricultural Statistics Service recently released the 2016 Peanut Crop Estimate. Another high yielding crop, averaging 3,990 pounds per acre is predicted. This is largely a result of favorable weather in the Southeast US peanut growing areas. Georgia once again leads the way, expected to produce 55% of the national crop on a slightly …
A highlight of the recent 2016 Columbia County Peanut Twilight Tour was the presentation by an enthusiastic Tyron Spearman. Mr. Spearman is the Executive Secretary of the National Peanut Buying Points Association. This followed on the heels of an uninspiring report from Spearman in 2015 at last year’s Twilight Tour. The industry faced growing concerns …
The Tri-State Row Crop Climate Learning Network was treated to a tour of several farms in the Monticello area, hosted by UF/IFAS Extension Jefferson County. The tour included a visit to the Fulford Family Farm, where Earnest Fulford is effectively integrating bahaigrass and cattle into his cropping system. Earnest had the opportunity to work with a landowner to develop …
The Tri-State Row Crop Climate Learning Network was treated to a tour of several farms in the Monticello area, hosted by UF/IFAS Extension Jefferson County. The tour included a visit to the Brock Family Farm, where Kirk Brock utilizes a rotation of corn, peanuts, and soybeans. Kirk described the land he farms not as dryland, but rather “irrigated by God.” If my memory …
Continue reading ‘Jefferson County Farm Tour Part 2 (Video)’ »
Corn is beginning to be harvested around North Florida this week. Most all of the corn planted in the area has reached “black layer” or physiological maturity. This is where a black layer develops at the tip of the kernels, where they attach to the cob. Some farmers have started harvesting and drying grain, while others are waiting …
Many have commented that 2016 feels like a warmer summer so far. They are not speaking in terms of a temporary heat wave, but a sustained long-term temperature increase. Monitoring stations in Florida show these observations are in fact correct. North Florida is about 2-3 degrees above normal for daily average temperature from July 1 to present. In …
Farmers like to walk their corn fields preharvest and gather estimates of potential yields. This information can be used to estimate hauling, storage, forward sales, cash flow, and many other reasons. We know better than to “count our chickens before they hatch,” but we also have to be prepared for harvesting. The University of Illinois pioneered a …
This time of year we often encounter citron melons in our crops and gardens. A citron is sometimes referred to as a stock melon or a preserving melon. The citron melon belongs to the same species as watermelon, but the fruit is inedible in the raw state. It should not be confused with the citron of the …