Save the Date! May19th, Nursery Production Field Day at GCREC Balm, FL

I have been wanting to have a field day for a while now and things have finally fallen into place; colleagues have agreed to help, and space has been provided for.  So, save the date for the UF/IFAS Extension Nursery Production Field Day to take place at Balm, FL at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center on May 19th, 2016.  We will have field demonstrations of container fertilizers, herbicide efficacy on problematic weeds, liquid vs. granular preemergent herbicide demonstration, herbicides on tropical plants, moisture sensor/controller technology, a novel look at plastic mulch for container production, and other demonstrations and events you won't want to miss.  Be sure to mark it on your calendar now!

Money Available for Polk County Nurseries to Save Water

If you have some ideas for water conservation that you have been thinking about and need a little help to get you started there may be an opportunity for you.  If you are a nursery owner in Polk County and would like some assistance with water conservation practices, you should look into this ...

Financial Assistance Helps Nursery Owners Save Water

Application deadline is May 20

GAINESVILLE, Fla., April 15, 2016 — Nursery owners in Lake, Seminole, Orange, Osceola, Polk and Volusia counties can apply until May 20 for financial and technical assistance to install water conservation practices through a special sign-up for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Financial assistance will be available for eligible nursery owners to install evaporative cooling pad recovery systems or improve existing systems. “In Florida, assisting agricultural producers conserve water is a top priority for NRCS.  One nursery with an improved recycled water nursery cooling pad system can save around 22,000 gallons a month.  Through this special funding we plan to assist nursery operations implement practices that will save thousands of gallons of water per month,” said Florida State Conservationist, Russell Morgan.    

Although applications are accepted on a continuous basis for all programs, funding selections are typically made once a year. 

For more information or to apply, contact the NRCS district conservationists in the following counties:

Lake: Tavares Service Center, Suzy Daubert, 352-742-7005 x3

Seminole: Cocoa/Partnership Office, David Millard, 321-633-1702 x241

Orange & Osceola: Kissimmee Service Center, Chuck O’Rourke, 407-847-4465 x105

Polk: Bartow Service Center, Edward Sheehan, 863-533-2051 x3

Volusia: Deland Service Center, George Johnson, 386-985-4037 x3

To learn about technical and financial assistance available from NRCS, go to Getting Started with NRCS.