Immigration Effects on Labor Markets

Here is an interesting summary of the key points of a research paper entitled The Effect of Immigration on Productivity:Evidence from the US States by Giovanni Peri of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Claire Brunel summarizes the findings thusly in a digest form of the paper:
1. Citizen hours and jobs are not taken by immigrant labor; there is an additive effect.
2. Immigrants increase the total factor productivity.
3. Immigrants decrease capital intensity.
4. Less educated citizens pay is minimally impacted, and higher educated citizens pay increases.

For more reading on these findings here is the digest form of the paper: http://www.nber.org/digest/mar10/w15507.html

Or for deeper reading visit this link to the actual paper: http://www.nber.org/papers/w15507

Meeting Reminder for FAWN Class May 13, 2010

This is from Rick Lusher who will be conducting a meeting here at the extension office about using information from the Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN) for scheduling irrigation.

On May 13, 2010, the University of Florida FloridaAutomated Weather Network (FAWN) will host an irrigation school at the HillsboroughExtension Service from 9 am until 1 pm, with lunch included. This seminar is free and is being funded by by the Alafia River, Coastal Rivers, Hillsborough River, Manasota,Northwest Hillsborough, Peace River, Pinellas-Anclote River, and Withlacoochee RiverBasin Boards, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Topics covered will include urban water use, estimating evapotranspiration (ET) rates and how ET affects plant water supply, using ET-based irrigation controllers, using theFAWN Urban Irrigation Scheduler, agricultural irrigation, and citrus irrigation scheduling. FAWN is a program of the University of Florida Institute of Food and AgriculturalScience (UF/IFAS), and provides weather data and weather-related services to a widevariety of users in Florida.

The Hillsborough Extension Service is located at 5339 County Road 579 Seffner, FL,33584.

Check out the FAWN site http://fawn.ifas.ufl.edu/ and look through the various FAWN Tools. These are handy when dealing with freezes and how much irrigation to run.

To register contact Rick Lusher at 352-392-0429, or rlusher@ufl.edu.

Farm Credit Insurance Meeting 4/16/10 11:30

I got this meeting notice that you might be interested in.

Attached is information on an event that Farm Credit of Central Florida is having next Friday for Nursery Crop Insurance customers. We wanted to hold a luncheon where we would be able to discuss important topics related to the crop insurance policy and really try to teach nursery owners the ins and outs of this Federal policy. Please pass it along to whoever you think might be interested in attending. Farm Credit will be supplying lunch but we ask that you RSVP so that we have a good head count for the caterer.

Thank you,

Jennifer Parrish
Financially Related Services Manager
Farm Credit of Central Florida
Cell (407) 832-9884
Fax (863) 668-8145

4/16/10 at the Mid Florida Research and Education Center at Apopka, FL
11:30-1:30pm

Come learn the ins and outs of the Federal Nursery Crop Insurance Program.
It is important that policies are written correctly to insure that your policy
is in compliance with the USDA/RMA guidelines should you ever have a claim. Failure to be in compliance could result in a penalty or a denial of coverage.
During this time we will be discussing the basics of the crop insurance policy such as pot sizes, coverage levels, plant categories, and cold protection requirements.

Come hear from a leading member of our industry, Dr. Joe Cialone,
on what he has learned by consulting with the RMA on claim issues.

Lunch will be provided
Please RSVP by Thursday, April 15th to:
**You do not need to be a Farm Credit customer to attend**
jparrish@farmcreditcfl.com
(407) 880-7883

Black Spot--New Citrus Disease for Florida

Another new citrus disease was found in Collier County Florida.

Typical black spot lesions on Valencia sweet orange caused by Guignardia citricarpa.
(Photograph courtesy of T. Schubert, DPI)

Find out more about the disease and what damage it can do by reading the Pest Alert below.

http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/enpp/pathology/citrus-black-spot.html

Career Development Event

Here is our latest snapshot of what goes on at the Nursery, Landscape, and Floriculture Career Development Event. You can click on the video to see what the event is like.

http://hillsborough.extension.ufl.edu/Ag/AgOrnProd/YouthCDE.html

We had a good time at the event with over 100 kids participating. We also thank the vounteers that made it possible.

FAWN Meeting at Extension Office

This is from Rick Lusher who will be conducting a meeting here at the extension office about using information from the Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN) for scheduling irrigation.

On May 13, 2010, the University of Florida Florida
Automated Weather Network (FAWN) will host an irrigation school at the Hillsborough
Extension Service from 9 am until 1 pm, with lunch included. This seminar is free and is
being funded by by the Alafia River, Coastal Rivers, Hillsborough River, Manasota,
Northwest Hillsborough, Peace River, Pinellas-Anclote River, and Withlacoochee River
Basin Boards, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
Topics covered will include urban water use, estimating evapotranspiration (ET) rates
and how ET affects plant water supply, using ET-based irrigation controllers, using the
FAWN Urban Irrigation Scheduler, agricultural irrigation, and citrus irrigation scheduling.
FAWN is a program of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural
Science (UF/IFAS), and provides weather data and weather-related services to a wide
variety of users in Florida.
The Hillsborough Extension Service is located at 5339 County Road 579 Seffner, FL,
33584.

Check out the FAWN site http://fawn.ifas.ufl.edu/ and look through the various FAWN Tools. These are handy when dealing with freezes and how much irrigation to run.

To register contact Rick Lusher at 352-392-0429, or rlusher@ufl.edu.

FNGLA Financial Management Conference

Growers should check this message out from the FNGLA.

The FNGLA Tampa Chapter also will be meeting this Monday 4/5/10 at the extension office at 18:30. The FNGLA Lake Region Chapter will meet Tuesday 4/6/10 at Bok Tower at 18:30 with a tour from 16:00-18:15.

We would like to take a moment of your time to share the details of the upcoming Florida Agriculture Financial Management Conference. This is a brand new, educational program designed to help Florida ag producers weather the challenges of our economy. This program has been made affordable in large part by a 2009 USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant awarded to FNGLA. Information is relevant to all agriculture commodities so a special invitation has been extended to all ag producers in Florida.
Times are tough and providing industry members with proper financial planning is critical. FNGLA has partnered with team members from Farm Credit, McGladrey & Pullen, and the University of Florida to gather key financial gurus from across the country. The stars must have been aligned during our planning process because we have an awesome line-up of speakers.
The 1½ day conference will be held at the Rosen Plaza in Orlando, FL on May 20-21, 2010. It is open to all Florida agricultural commodities and the cost of registration is $90 per person if you register before May 3, 2010. Hotel rate for the conference is $89 plus tax and reservations can be made by calling 1-800-627-8258.
Visit the FNGLA web page where you can download the brochure. http://www.fngla.org/shows/financial/index.asp
We know industry members who are financially strong will be the driving force that helps return Florida’s economy to brighter days. Please help spread the word throughout Florida!