Upcoming events and announcements

FFVA Health Care Reform meetings. Multiple dates and locations. Please see attached flyer for details.

 

Nov. 6 – Florida Ag Expo, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, Balm, FL. 7:30am-3:45pm. Please see attached postcard for details.

 

Nov. 12 – Vegetable BMP Meeting, SWFREC, Immokalee, FL. 12:00pm-3:10pm. Please see attached flyer for details.

 

Nov. 21 – SWFREC Fall Vegetable Field Day, Immokalee, FL. 9:30am-1:00pm. Please see attached flyer for details.

 

Dec. 3 – Suwannee Valley Watermelon Institute and optional Food Safety Audit Workshop, Gainesville, FL. 10:00am-7:00pm. Please see attached flyer for details.

 

Dec. 4 – Building Your Own Farm’s Food Safety Manual, Bartow, FL. 8:30am-5:00pm. See the flyer here:  http://polk.ifas.ufl.edu/AG_Safety/files/pdf/Calendar/Food%20Safety%20Workshop%20FlyerPolk.pdf. See the registration here:  https://foodsafetypolk.eventbrite.com/

 

 

Online Resources:

 

Workshop Presentations from the 2013 Naples Tomato Safety Update (Sept. 3)

http://fshn.ifas.ufl.edu/Food-Safety/

 

2013 Tomato Institute Presentations and Proceedings

http://www.imok.ufl.edu/vegetable_hort/tomato_institute/

 

2013 Vegetable Production Guide for Florida

http://www.imok.ufl.edu/docs/pdf/vegetable_hort/2013-14VegProdGuide.pdf

 

PIE Webinar: Floridians' opinions of GMOs, food safety & food security: What happens when people don't believe the facts?

Wednesday, Dec. 4
2-3 p.m. Eastern

For more information and to register please visit: http://www.centerpie.com/easy-as-pie/

 

 

Employment Opportunities:

 

Tomato and pepper greenhouse grower, Palmetto, FL. Please contact Kenny at 941-737-4803

Bunkerhill Vineyard and Winery: Multiple part time positions available. Please contact BunkerHillVine@aol.com or 941-776-0418

 

 

Other News:

 

Retail garden center looking for wholesale supplier of vegetable plants.  If interested please contact  dee@troystropics.com

 

Endosulfan now illegal for most crops: See attachment for end dates.

The insecticide endosulfan, which can be labeled as Endosulfan, Thiodan, Drexel Endosulfan or Thionex®, has been undergoing a phase-out for end-users.

 

The phase-out began on July 31, 2012 for many Florida crops such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, cucumber, lettuce, summer melon (cantaloupe and watermelon), summer squash, non-bearing and nursery stock citrus, collard greens, eggplant, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, strawberry, sweet potato, Christmas trees, and leatherleaf fern. July 31, 2012 was the last date of legal application to these crops, which have for the large part been harvested by 2013.

 

The use of this product is now illegal for all Florida crops except apple, blueberry, pepper, potato, pumpkin, sweet corn, tomato and winter squash. Floridian end-users are able to use endosulfan on these crops (apple, blueberry, pepper, potato, pumpkin, sweet corn, tomato and winter squash) until December 31, 2014.

 

If these same crops are grown in other states, endosulfan may be used in those states until July 31, 2015. Livestock ear tags and some vegetable crops grown for seed have an end-user date of July 31, 2016. Currently, there are tolerance expiration dates that are the same as the end-use date, leaving no time between a possible last application and the tolerance expiration. Under such circumstances, it is possible that a lawful application of endosulfan could result in residues in a crop for which the tolerance has been revoked.

 

 

Calling all Gator Fans –special football ticket offer for farmers!!

 

The University Athletic Association, Inc. has partnered with RAM Trucks (formerly Dodge) to offer the agriculture community as well as their family and friends, an opportunity to catch the Gator Football team in action Saturday, November 9th versus the Vanderbilt Commodores.

 

Enjoy the Homecoming Football Game at a special rate of $25 per ticket, which is 50% off the regular ticket price!

 

For details on how to get your tickets, go to

 

http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2013/09/20/gator-football-special-ticket-offer-for-farmers/

 

Go Gators!

 

 

Crystal Snodgrass, M.S.
Extension Agent, Vegetables
Manatee County Government
University of Florida IFAS Extension
941-722-4524, Ext. 230
Fax: 941-721-6796
crys21@ufl.edu
http://manatee.ifas.ufl.edu