Michael Shuman, the keynote speaker for this year’s  Florida Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises Conference, challenges everyone to take the Eat Local, Buy Local movement to the next level

Florida shoppers can expect to pay 3 to 4 percent more for groceries next year because of the historic drought in America’s heartland, a pinch that could prompt some consumers to adjust their buying and eating habits.

Robert Kluson, a Sarasota County IFAS Extension agent, says I’m not alone in marveling at the food. You’d think the post-conference evaluation forms would be full of responses to the in-depth, comprehensive training sessions and panel discussions. Nope. Most people just say how much they love the meals.

“We are certainly seeing an increased interest in gardening in this area, in general,” said Stacy Spriggs, community and school gardens coordinator for Sarasota County Extension. She said many new community and school gardens have been added throughout Sarasota County over the past year, with numbers to increase in the future.

To eliminate the risk of poisoning from eating too much fish in Florida, the amount of mercury pollution entering the state’s lakes, rivers and estuaries needs to drop 86 percent, a new analysis by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shows.

Surely this must be tilapia heaven, where the fish freely roam in a balanced ecosystem and eat their natural foods. It is a far cry from how most tilapia are raised commercially.

While most state prisons have some type of farm, interim County Administrator Gerry Demers said he believes the local program is the only one in Florida that provides for a county facility as well.

The compost prepared at Busch Gardens will give the farm a jump start on the upcoming growing season.

As part of an Eagle Scout project, Alex Ruschau and other Boy Scouts are helping to build a vegetable garden at Wilkinson Elementary School.

Local courses and workshops are geared to keeping urban produce farmers grounded and successful.