Sarasota

Lettuce and Other Crops Take Off in New Project at East Manatee’s Haile Middle School

JAMES A JONES JR (Bradenton Herald — May 16, 2012)

Taylor Butler holds a nice head of lettuce harvested Tuesday at Haile Middle School, while David Barton checks for others in a hydroponic stack. JAMES A JONES JR/BRADENTON HERALD

The school purchased a Vertigrow hydroponic system, where plants are grown without soil and are fed a nutrient solution in water, using a grant received in March from West Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council.

Florida Joins Artisan Cheese Movement

Laura Reiley (Tampa Bay Times — May 16, 2012)

Winter Park Dairy cheesemaker Leah Steele, 23, stirs the curds and whey before draining and hooping a batch of cheddar. Winter Park Dairy is a pioneer in producing 100 percent natural, raw milk artisan cheese. “We helped write state code, because it had never been done before,” says dairy owner David Green.

Cow, goat or buffalo; fresh or aged; stinky, tangy or rich — cheeses are as varied as the people who make them. And as with wine, cheeses reflect the “terroir” (the geography, climate and sense of place) of where they are made.

Rare Trees Grow with Abundance

J NIELSEN (Herald-Tribune — May 15, 2012)

Ray Jones, founder of Manatee Rare Fruit Council, is shown with his Golden Lippens mango tree in his garden. PHOTO BY J. NIELSEN

On Sunday, knowledgeable growers will show and sell plants and also provide some free tips as the Manatee Rare Fruit Council hosts its annual Rare Fruit Tree Sale.

Eat Near: Honey Business at My Sweetest Honey

Cooper Levey-Baker (Ticket Sarasota — May 15, 2012)

BEE HERE NOW: Nora Knepp tends to a My Sweetest Honey beehive / COOPER LEVEY-BAKER

Today, the Knepps own about 350 hives, spread out on a variety of properties, and bottle around 2,800 pounds of honey per month during season, selling their sweet stuff online and at almost two dozen local stores.

Florida Farm Workers Tell How Drugs, Debt Bind Them in Modern Slavery

Ben Montgomery (Tampa Bay Times — May 13, 2012)

Safe in a motel room, LeRoy Smith talks of his flight from a labor camp in Hastings in 2010. Last month in federal court, Smith sued the man he says enslaved him there. Safe in a motel room, LeRoy Smith talks of his flight from a labor camp in Hastings in 2010. Last month in federal court, Smith sued the man he says enslaved him there. JOHN PENDYGRAFT, Times

He wound up on a Florida farm near the small town of Hastings, being bilked blind, he says, by a man with a fifth-grade education, sweating all day for a few dirty dollars, with no way to escape from the middle-of-nowhere camp.

Florida Farmers’ Markets to Receive Funding for Equipment that Processes EBT Payments

MIRIAM VALVERDE (Bradenton Herald — May 11, 2012)

Katrina McCorkle and her daughter, Frehley Dee, 4, look at vegetable plants at the Bradenton Farmers Market. GRANT JEFFERIES/Bradenton Herald

A $78,749 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to help local farmers’ markets get the necessary wireless equipment to be able to process the electronic cards, a news release said.

Global Organic Combining Operation to Larger Sarasota County Facility

(Bradenton Herald — May 10, 2012)

Global Organic Specialty Source Inc., a wholesale distributor of organic produce, plans to combine its Miami and Manatee County operations in a larger facility in Sarasota County to accommodate the company’s growth.

Florida Church Defies Town’s Order to Move Produce Stand Indoors

Joshua Rhett Miller (Fox News — May 9, 2012)

A Florida town is ordering a church to move a produce stand where the needy can get free food grown by the faithful, saying its location violates zoning laws.

They’re Working to Learn Ropes

ANN M. O'PHELAN (Central Florida's Agri-Leader — May 9 ,2012)

Worden Farm offers an apprenticeship program but is selective in who is chosen to participate. Photo by Ann M. O'Phelan

Although the apprentices are assigned specific roles at the farm, the roles are rotated every week or so. “By rotating jobs and tasks, the apprentices learn many things and develop a variety of skills during their time as an apprentice,” said Eva Worden, who has owned the farm with her husband, Chris, since 2003.

Backyard Chickens Approved for Orlando

Jim Ford (Examiner — May 8, 2012/May 8, 2012)

A few lucky people can now raise chickens in Orlando. Photo credit: Jim Ford

The Orlando City Council approved a pilot program on Monday afternoon that will allow residents to keep up to three backyard hens per household. The new program is the result of an organized push by homeowners who want to supply their families with fresh eggs.

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In Congress, The Is-Pizza-a-Vegetable War Rages On

TIM NEWCOMB (Time — May 16, 2012)

Last year’s legislative battle opened a tomato sauce loophole for pizza being served in school lunchrooms. Now, one lawmaker is fighting back.

Need a Job? Head Out to the Farm

Anna Klenke (Care2 — May 14, 2012)

With a stagnant economy and 8.1% national unemployment rate, jobs are scarce. But there is one industry that has continued to grow despite the recession, and it is one that new grads should definitely consider: agriculture.

Police Arrest Occupy Protesters at UC Berkeley Site

Melanie Eversley (USA Today — May 14, 2012)

A couple embrace on the makeshift farm at the University of California Agriculture Research Station on May 9 in Albany, Calif. By Ben Margot, AP

The protesters began clearing the land April 22, demanding that it be used for sustainable agriculture, according to the Tribune.

The Lexicon of Sustainability: Q & A with Filmmaker Douglas Gayeton

Jenny Oh (KQED — May 15, 2012)

Douglas Gayeton. Image Credit: The Lexicon of Sustainability

The solution? We need a Marshall Plan to fix our food system, one that rebuilds the infrastructure necessary for healthy local food hubs in each community. Our project is an attempt to identify the most authentic voices in this movement and illuminate the terms and principles that define their innovative work.

MPs Call for Wider Food Strategy

(BBC News UK — May 12, 2012)

MPs said obesity and diet related illness were on the increase while food security was under threat.

The government needs to tackle the UK’s “failing food system” by linking its policies on health, environment and education, a committee of MPs has said.

Rethinking the Food Bank: It’s No Longer Just About Handing Out Food to the Hungry

Laurie Monsebraaten (thestar.com — May 12, 2012)

Nick Saul aims to change the way Canadians see food banks and food. “Food is one of the ways we can find common ground,” he says. “It is a beautiful way to organize and bring people together.” Colin McConnell/Toronto Star

The idea grew out of Saul’s frustration that food banks, which began some 30 years ago as a temporary response to an economic downturn, are now a fixture in every Canadian community. The Stop operates out of the ground floor of a public housing building and was a rundown food bank when Saul arrived as executive director in 1998.

Monsanto’s College Strangehold

Jill Richardson (SALON — May 14, 2012)

In a Thursday, May 10, 2012 photo, a farm worker prepares a tomato field near Oneonta, Ala. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

A new report has shocking findings about the connection between corporate funding and agricultural research.

Military Veterans: the Next Generation of Organic Farmers

Miles McEvoy (USDA BLOG — May 11, 2012)

A veteran and participant of the Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training program handles living basil at an organic hydroponic farm, which grows plants in water as opposed to soil. The program, started by decorated Marine sergeant Colin Archipley, passes on agricultural knowledge to veterans to not only provide healing through farming but also to support them in starting their own agricultural enterprises.

The Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training Program has helped over 100 military veterans transition to the civilian work force with other locations on the horizon.

Getting Fresh with Will Allen

LATOYA BURGESS (The Miami Herald — May 8, 2012)

Will Allen at his farm in Milwaukee, which grows 150 varieties of greens year round and helps people living in the area grow their own food as well.

The first African-American basketball player in the University of Miami history is sprouting a nationwide movement encouraging residents in low-income communities to reverse their health issues through urban farming.

Food Fears Feed Global Scramble for Land

Katie Nguyen (AlertNet — May 2, 2012)

Champions of the deals say they are good for agriculture and ultimately global food security. But critics describe them as secretive “land grabs” snatched at knockdown prices, which threaten to push smallholder farmers off their land and deprive countries struggling with chronic hunger of fertile, arable land they need for themselves.