in the field hillsborough edition

2 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2012 W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M AG A Z I N E .C O M

813-689-1570Full Line of FeedsFull Line of FeedsFull Line of Feeds

Harold’s Feed & Pet SupplyHarold’s Feed & Pet Supply

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• Food Plot Mix• Food Plot Mix• Attractants• Attractants• Feeders• Feeders • and much more!• and much more!

Corner ofCorner of Martin L. King Blvd. & McIntosh Rd.Martin L. King Blvd. & McIntosh Rd.

Dover, FL 33527Dover, FL 33527

Open: M-F: 8 to 6 pmOpen: M-F: 8 to 6 pmSat: 8-5 pmSat: 8-5 pm

Closed SundayClosed Sunday

Open: M-F: 8 to 6 pmSat: 8-5 pm

Closed Sunday

• Food Plot Mix• Attractants• Feeders• and much more!

Corner ofMartin L. King Blvd. & McIntosh Rd.

Dover, FL 33527

Harold’s Feed & Pet Supply

Sauces • Dressings • SalsaRelish & more!

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IINNTTHHEEFFIIEELLDD MMAAGGAAZZIINNEE DDEECCEEMMBBEERR 22001122 33WW WW WW.. II NN TTHH EE FFII EE LL DD MM AAGG AA ZZ II NN EE ..CC OO MM

Contents

4 INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2012 WWW. INTHEF I E LDMAGAZ INE .COM

FeatureStory

History of WaterQuality in

StrawberriesPPaaggee 7744

VOL. 9 • ISSUE 2

Business Up Front

Page 10

Brama IslandPage 12

Tampa Bay’s

Fishing Report

Page 14

Strawberry Queen

Page 18

Rocking Chair

Chatter

Page 22

Tanya’s Dream

Page 32

Blazing A Trail

For 26 Years

4

Squirrel Tree Frog

Page 45

Tunnel Technology

Page 47

Recipes

Page 50

Clay Shoots

Page 52

Stick To The Plan

Cone Ranch

Page 54

Container Gardening

Page 68

Tiffany Dale

& HungerU

Page 82

Holiday Unity

Page 84

Clay Sapp

Page 86

®

Danny Aprile ..............................PresidentBill Burnett ..........................VicePresidentJemy Hinton ..............................Treasurer

Amanda Collins, Roy Davis, David Drawdy,Jim Dyer, James Frankowiak,

Stefan Katzaras, Greg Lehman,Kenneth Parker, Jake Raburn,

Alex Ritzheimer, Marty Tanner, James Tew,Patrick Thomas, Ron Wetherington, Michelle Williamson, Will Womack,

Ray Wood

DIRECTORS FOR 2012-2013

OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Judi Whitson, Executive Director813.685.9121

From the Editor Index of Advertisers�ITFM Staff


She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he willsave his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

Merry Christmas! I hope you have the opportunity to gather withfamily and loved ones this Christmas. Remember that Christmasis not all about gifts, it is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

As you gather around the table for Christmas dinner, please takethe time to bless the hands of the farmer and rancher who madeit possible for you to have a safe abundant food source.

Once you have had your fill of Christmas dinner, it’s time to GETMOVING! For five years the NFL’s PLAY 60 bus has been trav-eling the country, promoting 60 minutes of play each day foryouth to be more happy and healthy. They have joined forceswith parents, teachers and community leaders to give kids achance to play every day!

The Youth Obesity Statistics from the American HeartAssociation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are stag-gering.

• One third of children (about 9 million) in Americaare obese or at risk for obesity.

• Over the last two decades, the rate of overweightchildren has doubled in America.

• More than 60 percent of children ages 9 – 13 do notparticipate in any organized physical activity duringnon-school hours.

This should be of concern to everyone! Encourage the youngstersto find some activity they enjoy and get started in the direction ofa happier, healthier life. With more activity and food that is FreshFrom Florida, we can win this battle.

If you know someone you feel may have a heavy heart thisChristmas season, reach out to them. Give the gift of giving. Ineverything I showed you that by working hard in this manner youmust help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus,that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’Acts 20:35

Until Next Month,

Sarah

Chuck’s Tire & Automotive...........................................93Crescent Jewelers.................................................. 48 & 64Cycle Sport Concepts.........................................................5Dad’s Towing....................................................................58Discount Metals...............................................................39Dr. Barry Gaffney O.D. PA.............................................55Driscoll’s............................................................................80Earhart’s Runway Grill ...................................................95East Coast Ag Products...................................................11Fancy Farms.....................................................................25Farm Bureau Insurance...................................................77Farm Bureau Insurance/Jeff Sumner..............................91Farm Credit ......................................................................24Felton’s ..............................................................................51Fischbach Land Company..............................................63Fishhawk Sporting Clays ................................................35Florida Dept. of Agriculture............................................70Florida Mineral & Salt....................................................81Florida Strawberry Festival.............................................65Florida Strawberry Growers Assoc................................61Forbes Road Produce......................................................11Fred’s Market......................................................................9Gator Ford........................................................................93Grove Equipment Service................................................49Gulf Coast Tractor...........................................................96Harold’s Feed & Pet Supply............................3, 43 & 48Harrell’s Nursery, Inc.......................................................91Haught Funeral Home....................................................67Helena Chemical-Tampa ................................................21Hillsboro State Bank........................................................61Hillsborough County Farm Bureau....................77 & 80Hinton Farms Produce, Inc.............................................15Home Proctection Pest Control......................................24Hopewell Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home.......73I-4 Power Equipment ......................................................62Jane Baer Realty...............................................................48Johnson’s Barbeque..........................................................61Jon & Rosie’s Tree Farm.................................................91Ken’s Well Drilling & Pump Service, Inc.......................79Key Plex............................................................................56Loetscher Auto Parts .......................................................72Magnolia Hill...................................................................53Malissa Crawford............................................................36Mark Smith Excavating..................................................19Martin Law Office...........................................................36Meryman Environmental, Inc........................................58Mosaic.................................................................................9Myers Cleaners.................................................................42O’Connor Enterprises........................................................2Parkesdale Market...........................................................17Pathway BioLogic............................................................89Plant City Tire & Auto Service, Inc...............................90Savich & Lee Wholesale .................................................16Seedway ............................................................................15Shrimp & Co Express .......................................................7Southside Farm & Pet Supply........................................13Southwestern Produce.....................................................27Stephanine Humphrey.....................................................23Stingray Chevrolet............................................................37Super Service Tire & Auto..............................................66Sygenta..............................................................................31Tampa Bay Times............................................................66The Hay Depot................................................................80The Hungry Gator...........................................................53Timberlane Pet Hospital & Resort................................47Tip To Toe Day Spa & Gifts..........................................57Trinkle, Redman, Swanson, Coton,Davis & Smith .................................................................40Walden Lake Car Wash..................................................11Wells Memorial................................................................91Willie’s ...............................................................................57Woodside Dental..............................................................72Zaxby’s..............................................................................59

ABC Pizza................................................................90Ag Technologies......................................................29Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers .............................25American Cancer Society.......................................90Aquarius Water Refining.......................................90Astin Farms Strawberry Distance Challenge.......71Astin Strawberry Exchange...................................91B Powerful Promos.................................................90Badcock....................................................................23Bill’s Transmissions.................................................40Bingham...................................................................46Brandon Auto Services, Inc. ..................................36Brandon Farms .......................................................83Brandon Region Hospital......................................39Brewington’s............................................................57Broke & Poor..........................................................42Brown’s Jewelers.............................................7 & 48Cattlemen’s Beef Association.................................72Cecil Breeding Farm...............................................20CF Industries, Inc....................................................78Chemical Containers, Inc......................................21

PUBLISHER/PHOTOGRAPHY

Karen Berry

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Al Berry

SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Sarah Holt

EDITOR

Patsy Berry

OFFICE MANAGER

Bob Hughens

SALES MANAGER

Danny Crampton

SALES

Al BerryTina Richmond

Danny CramptonCalli Jo Parker

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Mona Jackson

PHOTOGRAPHY

Karen BerryAl Berry

Stephanie Humphrey

STAFF WRITERS

Al BerrySandy Kaster

James FrankwoiakSean GreenGinny Mink

Libby HopkinsCalli Jo ParkerLindsey English

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Woody GoreLes McDowell

In The Field Magazine is published monthly and is available through local HillsboroughCounty businesses, restaurants, and many local venues. It is also distributed by U.S. mail toa target market, which includes all of the Greenbelt Property owners, members of theHillsborough County Farm Bureau and Strawberry Grower’s Association.

Letters, comments and questions can be sent to P.O. Box 5377, Plant City, Florida 33563-0042or you are welcome to email them to: iinnffoo@@iinntthheeffiieellddmmaaggaazziinnee..ccoomm or call 813-759-6909

Advertisers warrant & represent the descriptions of their products advertised are true in allrespects. In The Field Magazine assumes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Allviews expressed in all articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of BerryPublications, Inc. Any use or duplication of material used in In The Field magazine isprohibited without written consent from Berry Publications, Inc.Published by Berry Publications, Inc.

The Lord make His face shine upon you andbe gracious to you.–Numbers 6:25

Index of Advertisers

Come SeeCome SeeOur ManyOur ManyGift GivingGift GivingTreasuresTreasures

Come SeeOur ManyGift GivingTreasures

You Too, CanBe A WinnerHey Readers, hidden somewhere inthe magazine is a No Farmers, NoFood logo. Hunt for the logo and onceyou find the hidden logo you will be eli-gible for a drawing to win a FREE NoFarmers No Food Sticker. Send usyour business card or an index cardwith your name and telephone number,the number of the page which youfound the logo and where on that pageyou located the logo to:

InTheField® MagazineP.O. Box 5377

Plant City, FL 33566-0042Winners will be notified by phone.

You Too Can Be A Winner!Search for the logo below and enter now!

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2012 7W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M AG A Z I N E .C O M

88 IINNTTHHEEFFIIEELLDD MMAAGGAAZZIINNEE DDEECCEEMMBBEERR 22001122 WW WW WW.. IINN TTHH EE FFII EE LL DD MM AAGG AA ZZ II NN EE ..CC OO MM

Dear Reader:

Please accept my sincere wishes for the very best ofthis holiday season, and may the New Year bringblessings to you and your family.

Ag-Venture took place a short time ago. I am delightedto report that more than 4,000 third graders inHillsborough County participated in this hands-oneducational program at the Florida State Fairgrounds.We are indebted to the many volunteers who presentedinstructional programs, our good friends at UF/IFASand Extension, as well as the active commodity groupswho helped make this program the annual success thatit is. Thanks, too, to the State Fair Authority and staff.

I would also like to extend my appreciation on behalfof Hillsborough County Farm Bureau to our Board ofCounty Commissioners for its proclamation in con-junction with Farm – City Week. This year, the mainevent for that celebration took place at Ybor City asopposed to downtown Tampa. My hats off to our vol-unteers for their time and support of this annual pro-gram that helps urbanites understand the importanceof agriculture to Hillsborough County.

Your Farm Bureau was once again recognized forexcellence in many aspects of our program in supportof you and agriculture here in Hillsborough County. Idon’t like to toot our own horn, but I firmly believe itis important for you to know that among the countyfarm bureau organizations here in Florida, we annual-ly rank among the very best in terms of programs andresults. That’s important to you because it reinforcesyour desire – exemplified by your membership – tofoster and protect the many good things that FarmBureau represents and our importance and contribu-tions to the economic well-being of our county, stateand country.

Please remember Farm Bureau is not an organizationjust for cattle ranchers and farmers, it is for any familythat believes in the traditional American way of life;our private, competitive enterprise system; privateproperty ownership, management and operation forprofit and individual satisfaction. We are a low cost,high value grass roots organization comprised of fami-lies across the country. Please take a few minutes tovisit our website: www.hcfb.org or call 813/685-9121.

Again, Merry Christmas and the very best of the NewYear.

Thank you,

DannyDanny AprilePresident

THE BEST OF THE HOLIDAYS

100 South Mulrennan Road • Valrico, FL 33594 • 813-685-9121

Board of DirectorsDanny Aprile, President; Bill Burnett, Vice-President; Jemy Hinton

Member-at-large; Amanda Collins, Roy Davis, David Drawdy, Jim Dyer, Jim Frankowiak, Stefan Katzaras, Greg Lehman, Kenneth Parker,Jake Raburn, Alex Ritzheimer, Marty Tanner, James Tew, Patrick Thomas, Ron Wetherington,

Michelle Williamson, Will Womack and Ray Wood, Judi Whitson, Executive Director


• Most of Santaʼs reindeer have male-sounding names, suchas Blitzer, Comet, and Cupid. However, male reindeer shedtheir antlers around Christmas, so the reindeer pullingSantaʼs sleigh are likely not male, but female or castrati.

• All the gifts in the ʻTwelve Days of Christmasʼ song wouldequal 364 gifts.

• According to the Guinness world records, the tallestChristmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot Douglas fir that wasdisplayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center inSeattle, Washington.

• The traditional three colors of Christmas are green, red, andgold. Green has long been a symbol of life and rebirth; redsymbolizes the blood of Christ, and gold represents light aswell as wealth and royalty.

• Mistletoe (Viscum album) is from the Anglo-Saxon wordmisteltan, which means “little dung twig” because the plantspreads through bird droppings.

• Approximately 30-35 million real (living) Christmas trees aresold each year in the U.S.

• Recycled trees have been used to make sand and soilerosion barriers and been placed in ponds for fish shelter.

• When Hans Greiner first began designing Christmasornaments, he wanted them to look like the fruits and other natu-ral items that were originally used as Christmas tree ornaments.


Lynn Connor grew up in her mom’sbeauty salon in Plant City. Shewould sit in the dryer chairs and play

with hair curlers all while watching hermom make her clients beautiful. Her dadwas a used car salesman in Plant City aswell. He sold a used van to a tropical fishfarmer in the area and that sale changedConnor’s family forever. Her mother soldthe salon and the whole family becametropical fish farmers. She learned at a veryyoung age how to become an entrepreneur.

“As a kid, I had a roadside stand where Isold tadpoles and citrus trees planted inold coffee cans,” Connor said. “I’m notsure if I had a good business or if peoplejust felt sorry for me.” Years later, shewent off to college and then came home toPlant City to work for her family’s tropicalfish farm. Deep down inside, she wantedto return to the beauty business. So, sheleft her parent’s tropical fish farm andopened her own salon. It was called“Nails, Nails, Nails” and as you can guess,it was a nail salon.

“We began to diversify and started offeringwaxing and facial services along with cos-metics,” Connor said. “I thought peoplewould never know we offered these servic-es by the name of our salon, so we re-named the salon.”

Tip To Toe Day Spa and Gifts was estab-lished in March of 1992 and it has been a

part of the Plant City community for over20 years. Tip To Toe Day Spa and Gifts isa full-service salon that is dedicated toservice and attention. All of their licensedspecialists sincerely enjoy the beauty indus-try and it is reflected on the smiles andrepeat business of their clients. They prom-ise individual attention and great servicefor all of their clients. They also have lotsof extra special products, like TylerCandles and Camille Beckman spa prod-ucts, to offer their clients, as well as sweetconfections and mulled cider. “We do giftbaskets for all occasions and we deliverthem as well,” Connor said.

The salon will be hosting a ChristmasOpen House the week before Christmas,so people can come in and check out whatthe salon has to offer. The salon will beadding massage services in January, so theywill be selling gift certificates for them dur-ing the Christmas holidays.

Connor loves being a part of the Plant Citycommunity because of comradery it has tooffer. A few years ago, Connor had somepersonal issues come about and the com-munity helped her keep the salon going.She has been approached numerous timesto re-locate the salon to a higher volumearea, but she would never dream of leavingthe community she loves so dearly.

“I’ve always been very involved with thecommunity and I want to do more with the

Plant City community,” Connor said. Sheis finding that there is a whole new com-munity that is growing in the area and theydon’t know what Tip To Top Day Spa andGifts is all about or what they have to offerthem. “Our regulars know we are here,but we want more people to come into thesalon and check us out,” Connor said. Shealso said if you are curious about whatthey have in the salon, stop in and take alook around, you may be surprised bywhat you will find, like chocolate coveredbacon or rhinestone t-shirts. She is stillthat same little girl with hometown valueswho sold tadpoles and citrus trees plantedin old coffee cans at her roadside stand.She has just expanded the stand and nowshe offers more than just tadpoles!

If you would like to learn more aboutthe services and products offered at

Tip To Toe Day Spa and Gifts, you canvisit their website at

wwwwww..ttiippttoottooeeddaayyssppaa..nneettor call them at 813-759-8637.

The salon is located at 101 S. Alexander Street in Plant City, Florida.

Business Up Front

FROM TADPOLES TO TOENAILS

BByy LLiibbbbyy HHooppkkiinnss


On Saturday, December 1, under thecover of shade trees and withthe sound of airboats and children’s

laughter on the breeze, Warner University(Lake Wales, FL) hosted “Brama IslandFamily Day,” the kick-off event of thecapital campaign for their diversifiedAgricultural Studies program set to launchin Fall 2013.

As the title would suggest, the fundraiserwas held on Lightsey Cattle Company’sBrama Island in Lake Kissimmee and wel-comed over 400 guests. The agenda for theday included airboat and horseback rides,games for kids, safari-like tours of theisland, a barbecue lunch, silent and liveauctions, and keynote speeches from leadersin the agricultural industry such as Mr. CaryLightsey and Florida’s Commissioner ofAgriculture, Mr. Adam Putnam.

Brama Island boasts 4,000 acres of essen-tially untouched Florida wildlife, and ishome to 28 endangered plant and wildlifespecies. As the land is part of a conservationeasement, for most guests, the explorationof the island truly provided a once-in-a-life-time experience.

Doris Gukich, Warner University’s VicePresident for Advancement said, “There areso many fundraising events for which chil-dren must be left at home. Our goal wasthat this would be a day about family enjoy-ing the island together while we raise themoney needed for the AgricultureComplex.” With horseback rides, treeclimbing, and outdoor games led by WarnerUniversity students, there was no shortageof fun to be had while on the island, espe-cially for smaller cowboys and cowgirls.

With so many leaders and innovators in theagricultural industry in attendance andquick to pledge their support, it was clearthat the Ag community is ready to standbehind Warner’s effort to create a programthat will meet a need for both students andthe future of agriculture in the area. LaurenLewis, Warner’s Director of AgriculturalStudies, describes her vision for the programas one that provides graduates the practicaland applied background they will need inagribusiness, production, and science tohave a successful career in the agriculturalindustry.

In his address from the “treehouse” plat-form overlooking guests and a cowboybunkhouse, Commissioner Putnam spoke ofthe value of the Agricultural Studies pro-gram that Warner is developing. “This typeof program is what is needed to bridge thegap between high school agricultureinvolvement and agricultural careers -- thatis where young talent is typically lost. I amproud to stand behind and support Warner’sprogram,” said Putnam.

When asked for her thoughts on the event,Lewis went on to say, “Warner University isso thankful to have the support of the agcommunity in developing our Ag StudiesProgram. The investment the ag communi-ty is making in our program, evident by thesupport at the Brama Island Family Dayfundraiser, is humbling and overwhelming.With the launch of the Ag Studies degreeprogram in Fall 2013, Warner Universitylooks forward to graduating the future lead-ers of our area’s ag industry.” •

By Kristin Nelson

BBrraammaa IIssllaanndd FFaammiillyy DDaayy FFuunnddrraaiisseerr IIss AA SSuucccceessss!!


Tampa Bay is Florida's largest open-water estuary, covering 400 squaremiles, with a watershed more than

five times that large, encompassing amassive 2,200 square miles. With an aver-age depth of 12 feet, Tampa Bay is consid-ered one of the most exclusive estuaries inFlorida with a wide diversity of sea life.For those unfamiliar with what an estuaryactually is, it’s a semi-enclosed body ofwater where freshwater from the riversand creeks meets and mixes with the salt-water from the ocean or, in the case ofTampa Bay, the Gulf of Mexico. Estuariesare considered one of the most productiveenvironments in the world and are oftenreferred to as a nursery for fish, and shell-fishes, and a place where young marineanimals can hide from predators.If angling is your recreational pleasureand something you enjoy, then Tampa Bayand the inter-coastal waters of thegulf coast, certainly offer some awesomefishing opportunities especially withwwwwww..ccaappttaaiinnwwooooddyyggoorree..ccoomm.

While fishing in Florida can be done com-fortably year round, fall offers some excel-lent opportunities on a variety of species.On fishing excursions, some species you’relikely to catch include snook, redfish,cobia, tarpon, trout, grouper, kingfish, andmackerel.

As we approach the cool water tempera-tures of winter, shallow water fishing defi-nitely improves. The fish start feeding fair-ly aggressively for winter and becomemore active as they search for food. They’lltake an assortment of baits from live todead. And since they will have largeappetites anglers will have greater successusing a wider range of artificial lures.

SSNNOOOOKK:: Snook are usually tops on the listas the fall transition has started and we arecatching Snook on just about every shore-line. They are on the protected list but arestill fun to catch and release. The best bitehas been at the beginning and end of eitherincoming or outgoing tides. Snook normal-ly respond to live baits as well as top waterlures, jerk baits and shallow diving lures.However, we’ve been have good success ondead baits on the bottom.

SSPPOOTTTTEEDD SSEEAA TTRROOUUTT:: NO CLOSED SEA-SON! Sea trout are found inshore and nearshore in and around sea grass flats, man-grove shorelines, deep holes and channelsand above oyster bars. Free-line liveshrimp or small pinfish near the bottomwill entice trout out of grass-bed holes.Attaching a float will allow these baits todrift over the grass beds. Casting with soft-bodied jigs and top-water poppers can alsobe effective. Trout are very delicate, soreturning unwanted or illegal fish prompt-ly to the water is necessary to maintain ahealthy population. Spotted sea trout are agood eating fish. Otherwise winter’s agreat time for the big gator trout especial-ly as they start working their way into theback-country and deeper grass flats.

RREEDDFFIISSHH:: The reds are still biting and someare still schooled up biting everythingtossed in their direction. They should con-tinue to be consistent on the flats andaround the mangroves. A variety of artifi-cial lures are catching their share alongwith live shrimp, sardines, and pinfish.The key to finding redfish, is fishing darkpatchy bottoms, especially around schoolsof larger mullet. Although chumming withlive bait works, tossing dead cut baitaround the mangroves on flooding tides

usually brings them out to investigate.Most are holding close to the shoreline butthey are also found near docks and pilings,deeper holes and channels during warmestand coolest months and around grass bedsand oyster bars. Use live shrimp fished onthe bottom or free-lined, use soft-bodiedjigs bounced slowly on the bottom, or usesmall gold spoons.

FFLLOOUUNNDDEERR:: They can be found near chan-nel edges on sandy bottoms, near tidalpasses and docks. Use live shrimp, smallsardines/greenbacks, sand fleas, sardines,pinfish, or jigs bounced along bottom asyou drift.

IINNSSHHOORREE GGAAGG GGRROOUUPPEERR:: The inshoregrouper bite will pick up, especially as thewater temperatures cool down. However,you cannot keep any fish caught afterOctober 31. Recreational Gag Grouperseason is only open from July 1 throughOctober 31 each year. It seems ridiculousto me but we let them do it to us so it’shard to complain about it. Fishing shouldbe good when we can avoid the northerlycold fronts and high winds. Lots of fishnear shore and Tampa Bay, coming upwith a few really nice ones but they’ve gotto go back.

KKIINNGGFFIISSHH,, SSPPAANNIISSHH MMAACCKKEERREELL,, BBOONNIITTOO,,BBLLUUEEFFIISSHH:: December cold fronts are hereand so are the traditionally high winds thatfollow. As the water temps fall with eachpassing front the near beach kingfish biteshould improve. Tons of bait should bringthe kings, Spanish mackerel, bluefish andbonito within a mile or so of the beach orinside the Bay. We’ve been having greatsuccess on huge Spanish mackerel insideTampa Bay.

by Captain Woody Gore

Let’s Go Fishing in December


“Give Me a Call & Let’s Go Fishing” – 813-477-3814 CaptainWoody Gore is the areas top outdoor fishing guide. Guidingand fishing the Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, TarponSprings, Bradenton, and Sarasota areas for over fifty years;he offers world class fishing adventures and a lifetime ofmemories.

Single or Multi-boat Group Charters are all the same.With years of organizational experience and access to theareas most experienced captains, Woody can arrange andcoordinate any outing or tournament. Just tell him what

you need and it’s done. Visit his website at:WWWWWW..CCAAPPTTAAIINNWWOOOODDYYGGOORREE..CCOOMM, send an email [email protected] or give him a call at 813-477-3814.


in January


Plant City strawberries are finally inseason! These are our most promi-nent strawberry months, as Plant City

is the winter strawberry capital of theworld. The farmers are working tirelesslyto guarantee that the strawberries are topquality and delicious to eat. While PlantCity berries are popular in the winter, thework lasts all throughout the year. Thefarmers and agriculturists are the strong-hold of the strawberry industry, but a smallportion of that industry goes beyond work-ing the land and the science of the crop.Communicating the importance of thestrawberry industry to the consumers andpeople of this great community is a vitaljob and is one that is done all year long.

While there are many associations commu-nicating the importance of strawberries,this article is specifically speaking of theStrawberry Festival Queen and Court.Each year a new set of five girls is chosenin the prime of strawberry season. Theyare knowledgeable of the industry andhave a passion for sharing this vital fruitwith the people of the town. This year, asevery year, Plant City was blessed with atremendous group of young ladies. ChelseaBowden, Calli Jo Parker, Chelsea Talavera,Erica Kelley, and Olivia Higgins are eachwell equipped for the job and are excep-tional at having fun while doing it. Theyhave a long list of events they are asked toattend. At each one they represent them-selves, their families, the strawberry indus-

try, and the Lord. The girls constantlyremind themselves how truly blessed theyare, and thank the Lord for everything hehas done for them in the past year. As theiryear rapidly comes to a close we thought itwould be nice to shed light on just whatthey do for the industry that provides PlantCity with so much.

Their job begins immediately after the pag-eant, speaking with local radio stations andnewspapers. However, the majority of theirduties revolve around the FloridaStrawberry Festival. During these elevendays the girls are basically the face of theFestival. They advocate the strawberryindustry, and show through their actionsand excitement throughout the Festivalexactly what the Strawberry Industrymeans to Plant City. The Festival began asa celebration of the harvest of strawberries.Now, while the festival has evolved intomuch more, the foundation is still thereand vibrant. The Strawberry Queen andCourt, along with the Florida StrawberryGrowers Association Ambassadors, auc-tion off the Best Flat Strawberries eachyear. This is a contest between farmers tosee who, in fact, had the best berries thatday. The girls are presented with the oppor-tunity to speak about the strawberry indus-try numerous times during their reign at theStrawberry Festival, on stage introducingacts, in different tents throughout the festi-val grounds, and especially while visitingwith the people who enter the festival gates.

The job doesn’t stop at the Festival, how-ever. Chelsea, Calli Jo, Chelsea, Erica andOlivia, attend numerous agriculturalbanquets where they are asked to speakabout their experiences with the industryand how it is important to everyone, them-selves included. This year they had thetremendous opportunity to attend twobanquets that the Commissioner ofAgriculture, Adam Putnam, attended. Itwas a very special occasion to share thestage with the most prominent face ofFlorida agriculture. Hearing speakers likeCommissioner Putnam is an excellentreminder to the girls that StrawberryQueen is bigger than them. It is represent-ing an industry that their home towndepends on so fervently.

These five young ladies are asked to attendlocal elementary school functions as well.This is one of their favorite acts of service.Speaking with young children about whatagriculture is, breaking it down to its sim-plest form: where our food comes from!The girls realize that it is vital for theseyoung students to understand whatagriculture is at a young age. At BaileyElementary for the Great American Teach-In, the girls were faced with students excit-ed to learn. They took their prior experi-ences, like seeing a strawberry field whileon the school bus in the mornings, andmade the connection to agriculture andlearned that without it we could not eat.This is an excellent chance for the girls to

instill life lessons in the students’ minds aboutmaking goals, working hard, and learning thatGod made each of us differently but in his imageand we should embrace our differences, not puteach other down.

The strawberry industry is full of many differentaspects. It leads us down different paths all for onepurpose. The Strawberry Queen and Court are amere example of the vast aspect of communicatingagriculture. However, it is one that hits very closeto home, as everyone in Plant City is familiar withtheir big crown, sashes, and red lips. But as theiryear of service to the community they love so muchis closing, they would like everyone to rememberthat Strawberry Queen is more than the famousgarb, it is an opportunity for teenage girls to makea difference. It is an opportunity to advocate theagriculture industry, to ensure that Plant Cityremains the loving friendly place it has been forgenerations, and to be certain that everyone theymeet knows the Lord.

Chelsea, Calli Jo, Chelsea, Erica, and Olivia havehad a fantastic year and we wish them the best ofluck in their future endeavors. •


2200 IINNTTHHEEFFIIEELLDD MMAAGGAAZZIINNEE DECEMBER 22001122 WW WW WW.. II NNTT HH EEFF II EE LL DD MMAA GG AA ZZ II NN EE ..CC OO MM


Iam so glad the election for President is over. I don’t knowabout you, but I got tired of all those political ads on TV,radio, newspaper, computer and unsolicited phone calls. Can

you imagine, they could have put most of the money spent onadvertising on the national debt and most likely have gotten usout of this financial crisis.

This world is spinning, and I’m getting dizzy. Some things getunder my skin, like all these kids running around with droopypants. For the life of me I don’t know why they wear their capsside ways… their heads aren’t crooked.

Speaking of people, I sometimes think the crazy people have moresense than we do. For example, a farmer in Chattahoochee wasdriving his wagon with a load of horse manure near the insaneasylum. One of the inmates was standing at the fence and calledto the farmer, “Hey, what are you going to do with all thatmanure?” The farmer replied that he was going to put it on hisstrawberries. The inmate couldn’t believe it and said, “You mustbe crazy. We put whip cream and sugar on ours.”

Do you ever wonder about the sanity of our leaders inWashington, the way they give our money away? I remember astory where the University of Minnesota received a grant for$390,000.00 to work on a three-year program to set an “odoremissions rating system” for regulating the states more than35,000 feedlots. According to a newspaper in Minneapolis, theyhired government officials and judges to go sniff the feedlots sincethere was currently insufficient due process of law. By now theyhave developed objective standards on the types of odors andtheir strength since the program was in 1997. I guess sniffing thenearly 200 chemical components of cow and pig manure in orderto categorize them for the formal state stench test was exciting.Can you imagine? Someone asks you what you do for a living,and you tell them, “I’m a sniffer of cow and pig manure.”

I remember a number of years back when the Plant City Jayceeshad a fund-raiser called “Cow-Patty Bingo.” The Jaycees markeda field into squares with a different numbers in each square.Freshly fed cows were released onto the field. They would takebets by selling the numbers for $5.00 each. The $100.00 potwould go to the person who bought the number that a cowpooped on first. This grew old after a few years.

Later the Jaycees started holding a rodeo each year on the prop-erty just east of the railroad tracks across from the Red Rose Inn.The big attraction, of course, was Alvin and William Futch, alongwith other local cowboys showing off their skills at bronc and bullriding.

Some of you may remember when they would put a Brahma bullcalled “Big Sid” in front of Barwick’s Drug Store in downtownPlant City to promote the rodeo. If anyone rode “Big Sid” for ten-seconds or more they would win $1,000.00. Of course the Futchboys were first in line. No one ever won the jackpot, but I canremember Alvin Futch sailing through the air into the bleachersover a six-foot fence about six seconds into his ride. I think it wasCarlos Cone and Chief of Police Bob Spooner that caught himbefore he hit the spectators in the bleachers.

Did you know Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum has a collectionof cow hairballs? The largest, most humongous cow ball comesfrom a cow in Michigan who produced the top prize in a 2004nationwide Believe It Or Not contest. The owner of the winingcow ball won $2,000.00. Also on exhibit are more than 235additional hairballs, making it the largest such assortment in theworld.

You will find other bovine exhibits of interest at the Ocean City’sBelieve It Or Not museum, such as a six-legged, full size cow fromTexas. Also is a 22-year old steer that has two extra legs growingout of its front shoulders and throat area. This animal weighed

1,500 pounds at death in 1999. If that’s not enough, check out thetwo-headed, four-legged Siamese twin Holstein calf, born onMother’s Day, 1986 on a farm in Pennsylvania.

In October I sent out an e-mail to a number of my friends askingfor reasons to be happy if you burn the Thanksgiving turkey. Iwanted to gather this information for my neighbor, Mark Poppell,who always cooks a turkey outside in his smoker. He has beenknown to forget to check on it while watching a ThanksgivingDay football game. So what do you do with burnt turkey?

Sorry to say I did not get back many replies until afterThanksgiving. Since most of my replies were rather humorous Ithought I would pass them along now. One said Thanksgiving isa traditional American Holiday where families all over the UnitedStates sit down for dinner at the same time—Halftime!

David Vick wrote, don’t worry aboutburning the turkey. Salmonella will not be

a concern, no one will overeat and everyonewill think its Cajun Blackened. Others

noted that your pets will not pesteryou for scraps. Carving the

bird will provide a goodcardiovascular workout, and afterdinner the guys can take the bird

outside and play football.

In closing, remember that todayis the oldest you’ve ever been,

yet the youngest you’ll ever be,so enjoy the day to its fullest. •



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10th AnnualPlant City Pig JamThe Greater Plant City Chamber of Commercehostedthe10thAnnualPlantCityPigJamStateBBQChampionship on Saturday, November 17, 2012 atthe Randy Larson Softball Four-Plex Stadium inPlant City.

Individuals competed in professional and amateurcompetitions sanctioned by the Kansas CityBarbeque Society (KCBS) and those attending hadtheopportunity to sample somewonderful BBQ.

Prizes were awarded with professionals vying for a$3,000 Grand Champion award, $2000 Reserveaward and cash prizes through 10th place in fourfood categories.

Top three overall and in each category are listedbelow:

Overall:1. I.A.B. 30BBQ -672.00002. SwampBoys - 666.85723. 4 Smokin' Butts - 663.4286

Chicken:1. SwampBoys - 176.00002. 4 Smokin' Butts - 174.85723.Worlds SmokinQ - 173.1430

Ribs:1. I.A.B. 30BBQ - 177.14302. Poppell Insurance - 171.42863. UnknownBBQ - 170.8572

Pork:1. Tiki TimeBBQ - 171.42882. All RackedUpBBQ - 170.85723. SmokinN theBoysRoom - 169.7142

Brisket:1. DivaQ - 176.00022. HotWachula's - 172.00003.GarlandQ - 170.8570


Foodhooks.........................................$22Baby Butter Beans............................$14Green Beans.......................................$14Pole Beans .........................................$14Speckled Butter Beans.....................$14Blackeye Peas....................................$14Butter Peas ........................................$14Conk Peas .........................................$22Crowder Peas ....................................$14Pinkeye Peas......................................$14White Acre Peas................................$14Sugar Snap Peas ...............................$15Zipper Peas........................................$14Green Peas .........................................$14

White Corn.........................................$13Yellow Corn ........................................$13Cream White Corn 4#........................$6Cream Yellow Corn 4#.......................$6Collard Greens...................................$13Mustard Greens..................................$13Turnip Greens ....................................$13Spinach ...............................................$13

Cut Okra .............................................$13Breaded Okra.....................................$13Whole Okra ........................................$13Sliced Yellow Squash........................$13Sliced Zucchini ..................................$13Brussel Sprouts..................................$13Baby Carrots ......................................$13Broccoli...............................................$13Cauliflower .........................................$13Mixed Vegetables..............................$13Soup Blend.........................................$13

Blueberries 5# ...................................$15Blackberries 5# .................................$15Dark Sweet Cherries 5# ...................$18Mango Chunks 5# .............................$15Pineapple Chunks 5#........................$15Whole Strawberries 5# ....................$15Cranberries 5#...................................$15Rhubarb 5# ........................................$13Peaches...............................................$15Green Peanuts ...................................$15

*** All Items Are 8 lbs. Unless Otherwise Noted.***

WALK-INS WELCOMECall – or go on-line to place your order today and we’ll have it ready for you to pick up!

www.SouthwesternProduce.comINTHEFIELD MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2012 27W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M AG A Z I N E .C O M

GEORGIA PECANSHALVES & PIECES

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Dry CreekDry Creek

Mymother always said I was too busy looking aheadand I couldn't enjoy the moment. Boy, was she right.So this year I've decided to enjoy Christmas and not

get hung up in all the rush.

I even wrote a poem about slowing down and enjoying thelittle things of the season. I hope when you read it; it will slowyou down a bit in this hectic season.

Christmas Stop

Is it the things around us that changes or is it us?Today we all run around at Christmas time and

we’re all in quite a fuss.

To that I say just stop.Christmas isn't walking thru a mall to shop.

Christmas is love.Not standing in lines and thru Wal-Mart’s doors we shove.

I say it’s not about you or I.It’s as simple as looking up into the northern sky.

We don’t need a dollar to see and feel it.Just relax and look at that candle that is lite.

Feel the cold against your cheek.Look at that steam floating off the creek.

Watch the snow fall down.Listen to all the Christmas sounds.

The wood is popping in a fire.The laugh of a baby as a motheris playing with it, to try to tire.

Slow Down It’s ChristmasBy Les McDowellPhotos Courtesy of Linda Constant

The sound of a distant bell.Listening to an older person and the stories they have to tell.

Stop and feel the warmness in your heart.That’s what Christmas was about from the very start.

You see Christmas isn’t what’s happeningall around us on the outside.

It’s the glow that lights us up inside.

So this Christmas don’t move so fast it passes you by this year.Think of Christmas as everything you love and hold dear.

Merry Christmas from our Dry Creek Family to yours.Dry Creek on Verizon Saturday nights at 7:30 PM ET.

Everybody knows whereDry Creek is...

cause it’s inside eachone of us.

Watch Dry Creek onBlueHighwaysTV, Channel 246on Verizon Sat nites at 7:30.Go to DDrryyCCrreeeekkTTVV..CCoommfor more information.

Check us out at ddrryyccrreeeekkttvv..ccoomm


Federal County Natural ResourceConservation Team Working Well...

Customers Are More Than Satisfied


Exciting things are happening in natu-ral resource conservation in Florida.We are talking about a program that

involves the Hillsborough Soil and WaterConservation District partnering with theNatural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS) of the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, working together to helplandowners and lessees conserve naturalresources. With one goal being 20 projects,that accounts for 500 acres of additional, sus-tainable farmland in Hillsborough County,and these projects are worth $5,000,000 toour economy in construction costs.

The district has been promoting naturalresources conservation since 1946 with itsprimary goal to help solve local naturalresource problems with quality technicalservices that are available at no cost. It isgoverned by a five member elected board.

“Our focus is on soil and water conserva-tion,” said Roy Davis, newly elected mem-ber of the board. “The district is alsoinvolved in several educational outreachactivities annually. Some of these activitiesinclude several competitions that result ineducational awards, both trophies andmoney, for the winners.”

Through its partnership with NRCS, thedistrict, based at NRCS offices in Plant City,has access to equipment, resources andexpertise of that federal agency. Its staffersalso work closely with other governmentalentities including the Southwest FloridaWater Management District and the coun-ty’s Environmental Protection Commission.The focal point for the team’s efforts arelands that produce our food and fiber, habi-tat for fish and wildlife and filtering systemsfor our water and air. Change impacts con-

servation, including soil erosion, crop rota-tions, animal feed-grazing operations, urbansprawl, as well as emergencies such as flood-ing and wildfires.

“A significant portion of our work is associ-ated with helping growers benefit from theincentive-based conservation programs thatpromote good stewardship and for sustain-ability of their operations,” notes DistrictEngineering Specialist Kim Ford.“Depending upon circumstances, we eitherrespond individually or with a team todetermine the type of technical and designassistance that is needed by the inquiringlandowner or lessee. In addition to plandesign, we work with our regulatory agencycolleagues to help resolve any issues thatmay arise. That helps save time for both theapplicant and involved agencies.

“There are times when applications andrequired documentation can seem over-whelming,” said Ford. “However, by work-ing together our team’s goal is to addressand resolve these matters on a timely basis.”In 2012, the District has provided the designand permitting assistance for 17 projects tofarmers in Hillsborough County. Some havecompleted their projects and most are pur-suing cost-sharing with either the SouthwestFlorida Water Management District(SWFWMD) or NRCS assistance. The scopeof the assistance required ranged from help-ing growers secure permitting for stormwa-ter and irrigation ponds, to farm expansionsand conversions of land use from one cropto another, on through to efforts to makeland more sustainable.

Most projects begin with the initial site visit,required surveying and plan design. “Someof the design resources include HillsboroughCounty’s Stormwater Model results for thecounty that includes stages of creeks andfloodplains in the project area,” said Ford.“Other resources are posted on our web-site.” The next step is submission ofrequired materials to regulatory officials,most often SWFWMD, HillsboroughCounty EPC and the county’s AgriculturalExemption from Planning and GrowthManagement.

“Each of these projects has required any-where from 30 to 80 hours of design work,”said Ford. “Our average is approximately50 hours for the design and AutoCAD

drawings. With the team approach, tworecent projects were designed and receivedthe regulatory approvals in 60 days from theinitial site visit.”

While cost-sharing is not the primary focusof this process, “it is essentially the icing onthe cake when it occurs,” said Ford.

The best testimony comes from applicants,who – in addition to saving approximately$5,000 for each completed design – havebenefited in other ways.

“After the original site visit by regulatoryagencies, we were convinced to give up, butMr. Ford began working with us to help usthrough the process,” said Bob Hinton ofHinton Farms. “We are nearing the end ofour approval process and for the first time in45 years of farming, we can say that there issomebody in government there to help us.”

“Because of Mr. Ford’s attention to the legalside of our project, we were always assuredthat we continuously followed the guide-lines established by NRCS and SWFWMD,”noted Dale Lewis of Harrell’s Nursery.

While recognized by the individuals he hasassisted, Ford is quick to share credit withhis team members. “From the efforts of mycolleagues at NRCS and the WaterManagement District to the people we oftenwork with at EPC, it is our team approachin working with our clients that has helpedexpedite the process and fully comply withguidelines. And, when we can help withcost-sharing, that is just another benefit toour customers.”

The Water Management District’sFacilitating Agricultural ResourceManagement System (FARMS) programand several USDA programs areparticularly popular in this area.Information on the FARMS program isavailable at www.watermatters.org, whileUSDA-NRCS program information isavailable atwwwwww..ffll..nnrrccss..uussddaa..ggoovv//pprrooggrraammss// .

For more information about Soil andWater Conservation District programs andassistance, visit wwwwww..hhiillllssbboorroouugghhssooiillaannddwwaatteerr or call 813/757-3740.

By Jim Frankowiak


Dairy products are essential to the American way of life. Welove our cheeses and yogurts, sour creams and coffeecreamers. Of course, there are other areas of the world

that aren’t so dairy oriented and well, they just don’t know whatthey’re missing. Obviously when people discuss dairy products thefirst inclination is to assume it has been supplied by the udders ofa bovine. However, Tanya Cook is enthusiastic about anotherform, the one that comes from her Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats.

Tanya says, “I grew up right on the outskirts of what is nowFishHawk. I moved to Lithia in 1966 on a farm. We had the usualcows and pigs and goats. I was the typical farm girl, loved every-thing we had. I had to name everything even if it ended up on thedinner table. I always had my feet on a farm. We were kind of self-sustaining. We grew our own meat products and vegetables. Itwas what I learned to love and what I missed when I grew up andgot a job and got married. I always wanted to have my ownfarm.”

Tanya’s desire to return to the lifestyle she knew as a child neverleft her. She married Walter Cook and they had a daughter,Drogheda. Then, just as she’d always hoped, they bought a sixacre farm back in Lithia. She returned home to her roots in 1988.She explains, “I raised my family and wasn’t able to do too muchfarming or animal raising. In 2007, I retired from the medical fieldand got two goats, two very old and sick goats which just madethe love of animals bloom. They were very old, one passed awaywithin two weeks of owning her.” This tragic beginning did nothinder Tanya’s enthusiastic return to farm life though.

She explains, “I knew I wanted goats but I wasn’t sure what breedI wanted. I was used to the larger breed of dairy goats. I didn’teven know there was a miniature breed, just kind of ran acrossthem in research. I thought they were just pygmy goats but they’reactually a breed in themselves, they’re called Nigerian Dwarf. Ichose them because of their size, their friendly nature and their

milk production. I was very intrigued by the amount of milk thesesmall statured goats can produce. They can produce between oneand three quarts of milk a day. It’s considered a sweet milk whencompared to other dairy goats. It’s very high in butter fat, it canhave between six and ten percent butter fat which translates intomarvelous cheese; it’s very good for that.”

Since Tanya is no stranger to the concept of self-sustained farm-ing it makes perfect sense that she would desire to raise an animalthat could provide some nutritional value to her family. She elab-orates, “I bought my first goats because I wanted the milk prod-ucts. I bought non-registered stock to make milk and cheese andsoap. I met a Nigerian breeder and all of her stock was registeredthrough the ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association) and I pur-chased my first two registered does and she talked me into goingto a goat show in Pasco County. I enjoyed myself and I decided Ihad to show dairy goats,” she laughs. “I did hours of research tolearn about breeding a good dairy goat, researched farms all overthe country to see about their stock and different breeding lines.”So, what began as a means of supplementing her family’s foodprovisions became an even greater passion as she discovered thatshe really loved being in the ring showing her goats. This ofcourse led her to begin breeding Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. Shesays, “Breeding dairy goats is very challenging to breed correctanimals to have the best milk production. My first show that Iattended, I had a four month old buck, he placed first place, hewas junior champion and he finished the show as reserve grandchampion competing against 42 Nigerian bucks.” This success iswhat spurred her onward. She adds, “I guess after coming home,that’s when I started developing my herd so that I could get thefeatures, you know, the conformation that I liked so that I wouldhave the breeding lines I wanted. We continued to grow. I havefive bucks in my herd and approximately 25 does. We have sever-al championships, and best udder. That’s a coveted prize whenyour doe gets best udder!”

Tanya does her part to help students learn about Nigerian Dwarfdairy goats. She supplies kids (baby goats) for 4H and FFA proj-ects. She says, “I enjoy speaking with the kids in the 4H and FFAto get them to show a dairy goat. Of course, there’s not the mon-etary recoup because you’re not gonna sell your dairy goat at theend of the show. The dairy goat shows are growing, the interest isthere with the breeders, we just need to get the word out to theFFA and 4H. I’ve got a waiting list for babies for show. The tim-ing’s a little off for kids because our show season starts in the win-ter time so we want our does to have babies then so they’ll be inmilk for our show. Kids need to look for their projects in thespring for the following year.” These are words of wisdom if yourchild is interested in showing a Nigerian Dwarf.

In closing, Tanya instructs, “There’s a couple of great websiteswhere you can learn about the Nigerian Dwarf. There’s theNigerian Dwarf Goat Club of Florida (www.ndgcf.com) and thenthere’s the Florida Dairy Goat Association (www.fdga.org). Goatpopularity has grown a lot in Florida but breeders like myselfwould prefer to see more. You can go to other parts of the coun-try and get goat products at corner stands but the FloridaDepartment of Agriculture won’t allow us to sell stuff for humanconsumption.” Obviously Tanya would love to be able to sharethe products her goats generate. Thusly, it is imperative that thegeneral public learn more about the benefits therein. You canlearn more at the websites provided above, or you can check outTanya’s website: wwwwww..ttllccffaarrmmssddwwaarrffggooaattss..ccoomm or give her a callat (813) 633-3883. In addition, if you’re feeling particularlyadventurous, you can attend the March Mini Madness event atthe Pasco County Fairgrounds on March 9, 2013. •


Nights of Shimmering Lights is set tolight up State Route 60 just east ofBrandon, FL with a million colorful

LED lights. The second season at theHillsborough County Fairgrounds, 215Sydney Washer Road, Dover, FL opened itsgates at dark on November 24. Many newadditions this year are planned to entertainvisitors. Get your picture taken with Santaand drop your letters to Santa in our mail-box. Stop by the Holiday Village for shop-ping, outdoor holiday movies and some hotchocolate. Watch the animated light showat the Tree Symphony area. Don’t miss the

best fresh hot donuts in Tampa Bay. Enjoyyour trip Under the Sea from your personalvehicle while enjoying the sounds of theseason. Over 200 new lighted elementshave been added this year including a 20foot light Ferris Wheel and Cinderellascene.

Be one of the first five cars in line each nightand get a free picture with Santa. Nights ofShimmering Lights is a Toys-for-Tots dropoff spot. You bring a new toy and we giveyou a gift! Register your school or non-profit organization at www.NOSL-TB.com

to participate in the fundraiser. It’s as easyas 1-2-3. 1) Pre-register your school/non-profit; 2) Visit on one of the fundraisernights (check the calendar for dates) 3)Mention your school/organization. Ten per-cent (10%) of your admission fee goes backto your organization.

Gates open at dark each night and closeat 9 pm weekdays, 10 pm Friday and

Saturday.Open Thursday-Sunday until December 16

then nightly until December 30.

The Florida Ag Expo, held November 7 atthe UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research andEducation Center in Balm, is the only showwhere Florida vegetable growers can get thelatest information on trends and techniques,insect and disease management and tour newfield trials. Tomato, strawberry, pepper andcucurbit growers found a wealth of valuableinformation during the show.

Drive TheHoliday LightsAt The HillsboroughCounty Fairgrounds

FloridaAg ExpoFlorida’s Premier EventFor Fruit &VegetableGrowers



Nathan Boyd, Ph.D., has joined thefaculty of the Gulf CoastResearch and Education Center

as an assistant Professor with bothresearch and Extension responsibilities.He will work in the fruit and vegetableareas with focus on strawberries, toma-toes, peppers and cucurbits.

Most recently, Professor Boyd was anAssociated Professor – VegetationManagement in the Department ofEnvironmental Sciences, Nova ScotiaAgricultural College, Truro, Nova Scotia,Canada. He had been at the college sinceNovember of 2005. He has also been amember of the Faculty of GraduateStudies at Dalhousie University, Halifax,Nova Scotia and a ResearchHorticulturalist at the U.S. Department ofAgriculture’s Salinas, California ResearchStation were he conducted research onorganic weed management techniques inhorticultural crops and cover croppingtechniques for organic cropping systems.

Professor Boyd was awarded hisDoctorate in Plant Science by theUniversity of Manitoba, his Master ofScience in Plant Science from Nova ScotiaAgricultural College and his Bachelor ofScience in Biology/Statistics fromDalhousie University.

“I considered the opportunity at the GulfCoast Research and Education Center agreat chance to join a highly regardeduniversity and to continue the type ofwork I enjoyed at the USDA facility inCalifornia,” said Professor Boyd. He andhis wife have three children, the mostrecent addition coming to their familyjust four weeks before their relocation toFlorida.

“Helping growers manage weeds moreeffectively as we proceed into the postmethyl bromide era is my primary focus,”

said Prof. Boyd. “The first step in thatregard is the chance to meet individualgrowers and the associations that repre-sent them.”

While a member of the faculty at NovaScotia Agricultural College where hetaught at both the graduate and under-graduate levels, Dr. Boyd was successfulin securing substantial research fundingfrom a variety of sources, both public andprivate. “In addition to these fundingsources, many industry partners providedsignificant amounts of funding, either asresearch contracts or as funds to be usedto acquire matching funding,” he noted.Among those partners were OxfordFrozen Foods, DuPont Canada, BayCropScience, Dow AgroSciences, NovaSource, Wild Blueberry ProducersAssociation of Nova Scotia and others.

Prof. Boyd has published in both peer-reviewed and non peer-reviewed publica-tions and has been invited to speak at avariety of forums and conferences. HisExtension activities have included presen-tations, participation in field days andgrowers seminars, weed identificationand management recommendations forgrowers, as well as for specimens left atthe college and field visits for growerscollaborating with his research program.

“While my primary focus will be onstrawberries, tomatoes, peppers andcucurbits, my background and work doesoffer substantial insights into blueberriesand I do anticipate sharing that informa-tion with my colleagues,” said Prof.Boyd.

When not involved in research orExtension activities, Prof. Boyd enjoysspending time with his family, hiking andcanoeing. •

New WeedScientistJoins Gulf CoastResearchAnd EducationCenterby Jim Frankowiak


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The weather is cooling down, and freshFlorida greens and lettuces are in theirpeak season now. Many types of let-

tuce thrive in Florida, including differenttypes of the most common categories:Romaine, Crisphead, Butterhead, and LooseLeaf. Romaine lettuce has long, green leaveswith a crunchy, juicy bite. The crispheadtype, which includes iceberg lettuce, hasgreen leaves surrounding inner white leavesand has a very mild flavor. Butterhead haslarge soft, tender leaves with a sweet flavorand includes Boston lettuce. Loose leaf types,such as green leaf, red leaf, and oak leaf aredelicate with a mild flavor and have vibrant-ly colored leaves.

All of these types of lettuce are bursting withvitamins and minerals, such as fiber, iron,and vitamins A and C. Very low in calories,lettuce has a high water content. Eating moreof this veggie is surprisingly easy and a greatway to help stay hydrated.

NUTRITIONAL PROFILEBursting with a variety of vitamins, minerals,and antioxidants, lettuce is a nutrition stand-out. According to the American Institute forCancer Research, a diet rich in dark greenleafy vegetables, including lettuce, lowers therisk for developing a variety of cancers. Ingeneral, the darker colored leaves have morenutrients than their paler counterparts.

In addition to cancer-fighting properties, let-tuce is considered an excellent source ofthe vitamins A, C, and K, and a very goodsource of dietary fiber, folate, manganese,molybdenum, and potassium. Additionally,lettuce contains plentiful amounts of iron,B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium,

phosphorus, and copper. High levels ofhealth-promoting phytonutrients such ascarotenoids and flavonoids also act in benefi-cial ways in the body.

According to the United States Departmentof Agriculture (USDA) National NutrientDatabase for Standard Reference, two cupsof raw fresh Romaine lettuce (94 g) contains16 calories, 1.2 g protein, 0.3 g fat, 3.1 g car-bohydrate, and 1.9 g of dietary fiber. One cupof lettuce also provides 164% of the DailyRecommended Value (%DV) for vitamin A,120% for vitamin K, 38% for vitamin C,32% for folate, 8% for fiber, and plenty ofother vitamins and minerals. Lettuce is one ofthe lowest calories foods available and ispacked with nutrients!

VITAMIN CFresh Florida lettuce is high in Vitamin C,which is important for a healthy immune sys-tem, cancer prevention, healthy blood circula-tion and wound healing. This vitamin acts asa potent antioxidant in the body, neutralizingharmful free radicals and preventing itsdamaging effects in cells. Vitamin C, alongwith the vitamins A and K found in lettuce,prevents oxidation of cholesterol, which helpsto thwart plaque from forming in arteries.By fighting cell and tissue damage, Vitamin Cprotects against cancer and other diseases,such as the common cold. This vitamin alsohelps the body absorb more iron and aids inthe development of strong bones and teeth.

Current research findings support that thebenefits of vitamin C derives from consump-tion of whole fruits and vegetables. A highintake of produce, including lettuce, is associ-ated with a reduced risk of death from allcauses, including heart disease, stroke, andcancer. Taking supplements does not seem toprovide the same protective benefits as eatingraw or cooked lettuce.

FIBERLettuce and other leafy green vegetables con-tain a significant amount of dietary fiber,which can help lower cholesterol, assist withdigestion, and prevent constipation.According to the American Institute forCancer Research, a diet high in fiber maydecrease the risk of several types of cancerincluding colon, rectum, breast, and pan-creas. Dietary fiber decreases cholesterol bybinding to bile salts and excreting them fromthe body. More cholesterol is then brokendown to form new bile, which also helps pre-vent atherosclerosis.

A two-cup serving of raw lettuce providesalmost 8% of your daily requirement forfiber, which means that a large salad com-posed of lettuce and other veggies can go along way in filling your fiber requirements.

Fiber can also help maintain steady bloodsugar levels and promote a feeling of satiety.

FOLATEFlorida lettuce is a good source of folate, avitamin that can reduce the risk of birthdefects of the brain and spinal cord (neuraltube defects) in the fetus. Pregnant womenshould consume a diet high in folate, andeating lettuce and other vegetables and fruitsevery day can help.

Folate is also essential for growth and devel-opment, and plays a key role in DNA forma-tion. Its heart-healthy benefits come from itsability to lower homocysteine levels in thebody. Homocysteine is an amino acid in theblood that is correlated with heart disease.

Additionally, low levels of folate have beenlinked with low energy levels, depression andeven memory impairments. So it’s an essen-tial vitamin for everyone, in addition to itssignificant importance for the developingfetus.

HOW TO SELECT AND STOREChoose lettuce that looks crisp and deeplycolored and is free of wilting, yellowing ordark spots. The leaves and stems should lookfresh and tender and feel dry to the touch. Tostore raw lettuce, pat leaves dry with a papertowel, place in a tightly wrapped plastic bagand squeeze out as much air as possible. Thehardier lettuces, such as romaine can berefrigerated for up to six days, while the moredelicate leaf lettuces will stay fresh only for aday or two. Do not wash lettuce until imme-diately before use.

HOW TO ENJOYWash well before use to remove dirt. Dryleaves well, either with paper towels or witha salad spinner. Several ways to enjoy thisvegetable include:

• Sautéed lightly with olive oil and herbs• Used as a decorative and edible plate liner

under the entrée or a fruit salad• Stir-fried with soy sauce, mushrooms,

and baby corn• Chopped as a salad base, taco topper,

or sandwich topper• Briefly sautéed and added to pasta• Used as a low-carb bread alternative• Wrapped around meat, tofu, or nuts• Tossed into a stew or soup

Fresh Florida lettuces are at their peaktoday. These festive green and red leavescan be a delicious part of any meal.

SELECTED REFERENCEShttp://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

http://www.whfoods.comhttp://www.ipmcenters.org

By Sandy Kaster, M.S. Clinical Medicine,B.S. Nutrition Science

FloridaLettuceFresh fromthe Earth

FloridaLettuceFresh fromthe Earth


•• HHIILLLLSSBBOOUURROOUUGGHH FFAARRMMEERRSS MMAARRKKEETTSS ••

SSWWEEEETTWWAATTEERR SSUUNNDDAAYY OORRGGAANNIICC MMAARRKKEETTSweetwater Community Farm, 6942 W. Comanche AvenueTampa, Florida • Open-air / seasonal • November throughMay Sundays, Noon to 4:00 p.m. Contact Information: Andrea Harms, Market Manager 6942 Comanche Avenue Tampa, FL 33634Telephone: (813) 887-4066 • www.sweetwater-organic.org

TTAAMMPPAA DDOOWWNNTTOOWWNN MMAARRKKEETTLykes Gaslight Square Park400 and 500 Block Franklin Street and200 and 300 Madison Street, Tampa, Florida 33602Open: Mid-October through Mid-MayFridays, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Contact Information: Ms. Tiffany Ferrecchia601 North Ashley Drive, Suite 1100Tampa, Florida 33602 • Telephone: (813) 649-8747Email: [email protected]

TTAAMMPPAA WWHHOOLLEESSAALLEE PPRROODDUUCCEE MMAARRKKEETT2801 East Hillsborough Avenue Tampa, FloridaOpen year-round: Monday through Saturday from 3:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.Contact Information: Peter Filippello2801 East Hillsborough Avenue Tampa, Florida 33610Telephone: (813) 237-3314

YYBBOORR CCIITTYY SSAATTUURRDDAAYY MMAARRKKEETTCentennial Park at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 19th Street, Ybor City Tampa, FloridaYear-round, Saturdays: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Contact Information: Lynn SchultzP.O. Box 5294, Tampa, Florida 33675-5294 Telephone: (813) 241-2442Email: [email protected] Web: www.ybormarket.com

•• MMAANNAATTEEEE FFAARRMMEERRSS MMAARRKKEETTSS ••

DDOOWWNNTTOOWWNN BBRRAADDEENNTTOONN FFAARRMMEERRSS’’ MMAARRKKEETTOld Main Street (12th Street West) Bradenton, Florida October through May • Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Contact Information: Susan Blake, Market Manager 101 Old Main St. - City Hall Bradenton, Florida 34205Telephone: (941) 544-8077 Fax: (941) 932-9552Email: [email protected]

LLAAKKEEWWOOOODD RRAANNCCHH FFAARRMMEERRSS’’ MMAARRKKEETTMain Street, Lakewood Ranch, Florida Street-side MarketOpen November through May Saturdays, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Contact Information:Bob Fernandez, Market Manager 301 North Hillcrest Drive Clearwater, Florida 33755 Telephone: (727) 461-7674 Email: [email protected]

•• PPAASSCCOO FFAARRMMEERRSS MMAARRKKEETTSS ••

DDOOWWNNTTOOWWNN NNOORRTTHH PPOORRTT RRIICCHHEEYY MMAARRKKEETTHistoric District, Railroad SquareNebraska Avenue, one block east of GrandNew Port Richey, FloridaOpen: Year-Round, Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Contact Information: Carlene Hanlon6231 Grand Boulevard, New Port Richey, FL 34652Telephone: (727) 842-8066 • Fax: (727) 264-0460Emails: [email protected] [email protected] • www.nprmainstreet.com

FFLLOORRIIDDAA EESSTTAATTEESS WWIINNEERRYY MMAARRKKEETT25241 State Road 52, Land O’ Lakes, FL 34639Second and fourth Saturday of each month 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. • Contact Information: Ron Hunt25241 State Road 52, Land O’ Lakes, FL 34639-7172Telephone: (813)996-2113Email: [email protected] • www.floridaestateswines.com

•• PPIINNEELLLLAASS FFAARRMMEERRSS MMAARRKKEETTSS ••

DDOOWWNNTTOOWWNN CCLLEEAARRWWAATTEERR FFAARRMMEERRSS’’ MMAARRKKEETTDowntown on Cleveland Street (500 block) Clearwater, FL • Mid-October through May-Wednesdays, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Contact Information:Bob or Pat Fernandez, P.O. Box 1017, Clearwater, FL 33757Telephone: (727) 461-7674 • Email: [email protected]

DDUUNNEEDDIINN GGRREEEENN MMAARRKKEETTPioneer Park, corner of Main Street and Douglas AvenueDunedin, FloridaMid-October through April • Fridays, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Contact Information: Richard Kendler, Market Manager200 Woodette Drive, No. 803, Dunedin, FL 34698Telephone: (727) 733-4215Email: [email protected]GGUULLFFPPOORRTT TTUUEESSDDAAYY FFRREESSHH MMAARRKKEETTBeach Boulevard, near 29th Avenue South Gulfport, FL Open year round • Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.Contact Information: Daniel Hodge4920 29th Avenue South, Gulfport, FL 33707Telephone: (727) 366-4086 • Email: [email protected]: www.gulfportma.com/Freshmarket.html

LLAARRGGOO’’SS DDOOWWNNTTOOWWNN MMAARRKKEETTUlmer Park • 301 West Bay Drive, Largo, FL 33771Open November through April Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Contact Information: Kinsit CooleyP.O. Box 296, Largo, FL 33779Telephone: (727) 587-6740 • Fax: (727) 586-7406Email: [email protected] • Web: www.largoevents.comMMAARRKKEETT IINN TTHHEE PPAARRKKHeritage Village, 11909 - 125th Street Largo, FL 33774November through mid-April Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Contact Information: Richard Kendler, Market Manager200 Woodette Drive, No. 803, Dunedin, FL 34698Telephone: (727) 733-4215Email: [email protected]

OOLLDDSSMMAARR DDOOWWNNTTOOWWNN FFRREESSHH MMAARRKKEETT100 State Street West next to City HallNovember through AprilWednesdays, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Contact Information: Richard Kendler200 Woodette Drive, No. 803, Dunedin, FL 34698Telephone: (727) 733-4215Email: [email protected]

SSAAFFEETTYY HHAARRBBOORR FFAARRMMEERRSS’’ MMAARRKKEETT400 Main Street - Downtown Safety John Wilson ParkSafety Harbor, Florida • Mid-October through MayThursdays, 8:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Contact Information: Bob Fernandez301 N. Hillcrest Drive Clearwater, FL 33755 Telephone: (727) 461-7674 • Email: [email protected]

SSTT.. PPEETTEERRSSBBUURRGG SSAATTUURRDDAAYY MMOORRNNIINNGG MMAARRKKEETTFirst Avenue South and First Street St. Petersburg, FLOctober through May • Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Contact Information: Gail Eggman104 Fareham Place, North • St. Petersburg, Florida 33701Telephone: (727) 455-4921 Email: [email protected]

•• PPOOLLKK FFAARRMMEERRSS MMAARRKKEETTSS ••

AAUUBBUURRNNDDAALLEE FFAARRMMEERRSS’’ MMAARRKKEETTDowntown - 119 West Park Street Auburndale, FLNovember through April • Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Contact Information: Larry Helms119 West Park Street Auburndale, FL 33823 Telephone: (863) 965-5545 • Fax: (863) 965-6319Email: [email protected] www.auburndalefl.com

HHAAIINNEESS CCIITTYY FFAARRMMEERRSS’’ MMAARRKKEETTRailroad Park - Downtown(Sixth Street and Jones Avenue) Haines City, FLYear-round, Wednesdays, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Contact Information: Tommy Cassel, Market Manager P.O. Box 1507, Haines City, FL 33845 Telephone: (863) 421-3700 • Fax: (863) 421-3701Email: [email protected] http://www.ci.haines-city.fl.us

LLAAKKEELLAANNDD DDOOWWNNTTOOWWNN FFAARRMMEERRSS’’ CCUURRBB MMAARRKKEETT200 North Kentucky Avenue, Lakeland, FLOpen September to July • Wednesdays 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. • Saturdays 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Contact Information: Mr. Jim Luna228 South Massachusetts Avenue Lakeland, FL 33801Telephone: (863) 687-8910 • Fax: (863) 683-2783Email: [email protected]/curbmarket

•• SSAARRAASSOOTTAA FFAARRMMEERRSS MMAARRKKEETT ••

PPHHIILLLLIIPPPPII EESSTTAATTEE FFAARRMMEERRSS’’ MMAARRKKEETTSSPhillippi Estate Park5500 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FLOpen November - April, Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Contact Information: Tim Brown, c/o Phillippi Estate Park,5500 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida 34231Telephone: (941) 266-6691 • Fax: (941) 373-7080Email: [email protected]

SSAARRAASSOOTTAA DDOOWWNNTTOOWWNN FFAARRMMEERRSS’’ MMAARRKKEETTDowntown Sarasota - Corner of Lemon Avenue and Main Street Sarasota, FloridaYear-round • Saturdays, 7:00 a.m. to noonContact Information: Leann Aldridge, Market Manager1365 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34236Telephone: (941) 951-2656Email: [email protected]

CCOOMMMMUUNNIITTYY FFAARRMMEERRSS MMAARRKKEETTSSFor More Information Contact:Agriculture Industry Development Program HillsboroughCounty Economic Development Department P.O. Box 1110, Tampa, Florida 33601-1110Phone: (813) 272-5909 Fax: (813) 276-2638http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/econdev/agriculture/

Listings in this directory are not paid advertisements andare provided as a free service. A listing in this directorydoes not imply an endorsement by Hillsborough CountyBoard of County Commissioners, the EconomicDevelopment Department, or the Agriculture EconomicDevelopment Council.

Sources: Hillsborough County Agriculture IndustryDevelopment Program and the FL Department ofAgriculture & Consumer Services.

Community Farmers Markets

Information courtesy ofwww.hillsboroughcounty.org


Karen Dennis grew up just a few miles away from the 4-H head-quarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland, but she was neverinvolved with 4-H as a child. She was a girl scout. It wasn’t

until her adult years that she became involved with 4-H and has beenvolunteering with the Trailblazers 4-H club of Brandon for 26 years.In addition to being the leader of the club, she is also a member of theHillsborough County 4-H Foundation Board and she has judged the4-H Public Speaking Competition for 15 years for Alafia and CiminoElementary Schools in Brandon.

“Over the years I have judged record books for the Florida State Fairas well as public speaking competitions for 4-H and district dayevents,” Dennis said. Her club has 21 members and the majority ofthe students are involved with the dog project, but some are alsoinvolved with the horse and rabbit projects and have taken part inhorse judging as well. All of her members are involved in the CitizenProject, which helps them learn to value others and to be a goodcitizen of their local, national and global communities. The structuredlearning, encouragement and adult mentoring that the studentsreceive through this project play a vital role in helping them achievefuture life successes.

Studies have shown that students who are involved with the 4-Hprogram get better grades in school and are more likely to pursuea future course or a career in science, engineering, or computertechnology. They are less likely to engage in risky behaviors and theycontribute more to their families and their communities.

Being part of the community is something that is important to Dennisand the Trailblazers. During the holidays, members of the club giftwrap shoes boxes filled with personal care items and deliver them toa local nursing home. They also bring their dogs and put on agilityand obedience demonstrations for the residents. “The residents werethrilled to see the kids and their dogs,” Dennis said. “The kids were

so enthusiastic about their visit that they plan to do it again thisyear.” The club is also going to make fleece blankets to deliver toShiners Hospital for Children in Tampa to give to the children whoare patients at the hospital. In the past, the club has also spent the dayat a local horse rescue doing yard work.

Dennis has seen her students grow and mature from being involvedwith 4-H and she loves how they are developing leadership skills withthe dog project. “The kids that have more experience in training dogshave stepped up to help the new members with training their dogs,”Dennis said. “Some of our members who were too shy to speak up infront of a group of people have learned to speak up and take part inall of the activities and discussions.”

4-H members lead by example. They chart their own course, exploreimportant issues and define their place in the world. They also standup for themselves and their communities. Dennis feels strongly aboutwhat the 4-H program has to offer her students. “Public speakingcompetitions teach the kids not to be afraid of speaking to a group ofpeople, which will impact their school careers as well as prepare themfor their professional careers,” Dennis said. Her students are alsorequired to keep records for their projects and 4-H has helpedthem to be more responsible with their money. “They set goals at thebeginning of the year, keep track of expenses and income involvedwith their projects and at the end of the year they have a profit andloss statement,” Dennis said. “They also keep track of the number ofhours that are spent training and caring for their animals.”

Dennis hopes that her students will take what they have learnedfrom being a part of the Trailblazer’s 4-H club and use it to becomesuccessful adults in the future. If you would like to learn more aboutthe 4-H program you can visit the 4-H website at wwwwww..44--hh..oorrgg. •

Blazing a Trail FOR 26 YEARS

By Libby Hopkins

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On a recent hiking adventure, 10yr oldHannah called out to us with elation thatshe had found a blue frog and began track-ing it for a chance to get a good picture.Hiking is a regular family event for us andHannah’s participation in the observationand identification of wildlife has empow-ered her to correctly identify an impressivevariety of wildlife. When we asked her whatkind of frog she was tracking, she repliedshe thought it was a tree frog but it was ina palmetto bush and moved away too fastfor her to be sure. My initial thoughtsexcluded the possibility of a blue frog andfavored alternatives such as the Tiger Beetle,which can have an iridescent blue col-oration and they too are very fast. I alsoconsidered the possibility that youngHannah had seen a blue morph of a largejumping spider but neither the beetle northe spider are large enough to be mistakenfor a frog. We proceeded with an open mindtrekking through knee high palmetto look-ing for a blue tree frog in the middle of theday. When we finally spotted this elusivecreature, we were all fascinated; Hannahhad actually found a blue frog. This experi-ence is evidence that sometimes, our adultreasoning is shadowed by a child’s naturalwillingness to accept possibilities. A closerlook at nature through the eyes of a childdemonstrates that there is still plenty ofenchantment in the forest for child andadult alike to admire.

The Squirrel Tree Frog (Hyla squirella) is acommon southeastern frog that ranges asfar west as Texas and as far North asVirginia. Of all the treefrogs of NorthAmerica, the Squirrel Tree Frog (Hyla

squirella) is thought to have the greatestcapacity for quick color change making apositive identification difficult. The mostcommon coloration is a pale green whichmakes them resemble the American GreenTreefrog (Hyla cinerea). The AmericanTreefrog (Hyla cinerea) however, is one ofthe larger of the Hyla genus growing up to5/8” larger than the Squirrel Tree Frog andis characterized by a prominent whitestripe, often outlined in black running downtheir sides.

Like other treefrogs, this species hasenlarged sticky toe pads that help it cling totrees. Squirrel Treefrogs are distinguishedfrom other similar species by process ofelimination. One sure fire way of distin-guishing this frog from others is to listen toits call. The Squirrel Treefrog gets its namefrom its distinctive squirrel-like call.Squirrel Treefrogs have smooth skin todistinguish them from the much largerBarking Treefrogs (Hyla gratiosa) that haverougher skin. Squirrel Treefrogs may have alight stripe running from under its eye alongits jaw, the upper lip is often yellowish orbright green or may even have a white linealong upper jaw. Some Squirrel Treefrogshave dark bars between their eyes and caneither be spotted or plain. Squirrel Treefrogsdo not have spots on the inner thighs, thisfeature distinguishes the Squirrel Treefrogsfrom the Gray (Hylachrysoscelis/versicolor)and Pine-woods Treefrogs (Hyla femoralis).Squirrel Treefrogs have a poorly developedyellowish stripe on each side if they haveone at all distinguishing it from theAmerican Treefrog.

Squirrel Treefrogs breed from March toOctober, usually mating after it rains. Thoseof us that have lived in Florida for anylength of time can attest to the inseparableducklike chorus that follow a rain shower,it’s because of this chorus that the SquirrelTreefrogs are often called “rain frogs.”Squirrel Treefrogs have external fertilizationand lay about 1,000 eggs attached to under-water vegetation in shallow water. Afterhatching, these frogs remain in their tadpolestage for about 45 days before completingtheir metamorphosis into adult frogs. In thewild, squirrel treefrogs occur in a widevariety of habitats, including hardwoodhammocks, bottomland and floodplainforests and swamps, pine-oak forests, andpine flatwoods. During the day, they can befound resting anywhere that provides acool, moist and shady escape such as theunderside of palm leaves or small chambersof old trees.

This species has become well adapted to civ-ilization and often found in urban back-yards or around porch lights where anabundance of food insects can be found.Garden shrubs are a particularly favoredhideout and frequently attract overwinter-ing groups of frogs. Though SquirrelTreefrogs prefer open wetlands, drainageditches in Florida are usually a pretty goodplace to find these frogs and the assortmentof wildlife that make up the food chain inwhich it exists. If an adventure is on yourcalendar this month, take a child along andlet them lead, encourage them to share theirperspective and the enchantment of natureis sure to follow. •

By Sean GreenPhotos courtesy of April WietreckiA Closer Look

Squirrel Tree Frog (Hyla squirella)

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Protecting Florida’s $80 million blueberrycrop from freeze damage is always awintertime challenge, but a University of

Florida study shows that structures called hightunnels could shield plants from cold and pro-mote earlier fruit ripening.

Though the initial investment can run from$18,000 to $25,000 per acre plus labor,high tunnels deliver better quality fruit, big-ger early yields and higher prices if growersbeat competitors to market, said BielinskiSantos, an associate professor with UF’sInstitute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

The study, published in the current issue ofHortTechnology, tracked two growing sea-sons on a commercial blueberry farm inAlachua County. The results showed thattemperatures outside the tunnels plunged tofreezing or near-freezing 61 times during thestudy. Temperatures fell that low just threetimes inside the unheated tunnels.

High tunnels may increase air and soil tem-peratures and protect the plants from windand rain damage, leading to better floweringand more fruit, said Santos, based at UF’sGulf Coast Research and Education Centerin Balm.

Plants grown in the tunnels produced about4.5 tons of ripe fruit per acre by the end ofMarch, no ripe fruit came from similarplants grown outdoors during that time.Wholesale prices for domestic blueberriesare highest early in the season, starting atabout $7 per pound in early April, he said.

“Usually, Florida growers start harvesting inearly April,” Santos said. “The more fruityou can harvest early in the season, themore money you’ll make.”

Growers can also save money with high tun-nels because they minimize the need foranother freeze protection strategy – sprin-kling the plants with water to form a layerof ice. In the study, tunnel-grown plantsneeded about one-tenth the water for freezeprotection as plants grown outdoors.

The study involved two blueberry varietiesdeveloped at UF, Snow Chaser andSpringhigh. Snow Chaser is especially wellsuited to life in high tunnels, Santos said.

Made by stretching thick plastic sheetingacross an arched frame, high tunnels resem-ble Quonset huts, he said. Although theyhave variable dimensions, most tunnels have

roofs anywhere from 8 to 20 feet high, withends and sides that can be open or sealed,depending on the weather.

The technology is popular in other parts ofthe world but still catching on in the UnitedStates, Santos said. In Florida, high tunnelsand other protective structures account forabout 250 acres of production, mostly forhigh-value crops such as blueberries, straw-berries, tomatoes and bell peppers.

“We always thought it was really complicat-ed and expensive,” Santos said. “So for thepast six years I’ve tried to ‘vulgarize’ thetechnology and develop a system anyonecan use.”

Santos said he knows of one Florida blue-berry grower using high tunnels; the ownerstried two acres in 2010 and later expandedto 80 acres. Others have expressed interestin the system.

Santos and co-author Teresa Salame-Donoso, a research associate at the Balmcenter, have begun collecting data for aneconomic study on blueberry production inhigh tunnels.

“We already have some numbers, and we’recollecting the kind of information growersneed to make up their own minds aboutusing high tunnels,” he said. “I see morepeople doing it eventually.” •

By Tom Nordlie


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FloridaStrawberryTiramisu

Florida StrawberryMascarpone Panini

Recipes Courtesy of the Florida Department of Agricluture

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries1 1/4 cups strawberry preserves1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons orange liqueur1/3 cup orange juice1 pound Italian mascarpone cheese,room temperature

1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled1/3 cup natural sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract52 ladyfinger cookies

PREPARATION

Whisk preserves, 1/3 cup orange liqueur andorange juice together. Place mascarponecheese and two tablespoons orange liqueur inlarge bowl; fold just to blend. Using a whisk,beat cream, sugar, vanilla and remaining twotablespoons orange liqueur in another largebowl to soft peaks. Stir 1/4 of whipped creammixture into mascarpone mixture to lighten.Fold in remaining whipped cream a smallamount at a time.

Slice half of the strawberries. Spread 1/2 cuppreserves mixture over the bottom of a 3-quartserving dish or a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.Arrange enough ladyfingers over strawberrymixture to cover bottom of dish. Spoon 3/4 cuppreserves mixture over ladyfingers, then spread2 1/2 cups mascarpone mixture on top. Arrangetwo cups sliced strawberries over mascarponemixture. Repeat layering with remaining ladyfingers, preserves mixture and mascarponemixture. Cover with plastic and chill at least8 hours or overnight.

Slice remaining strawberries. Arrange overtiramisu and serve.

PREPARATION

Heat a panini press or griddle over medium heat.Spread a thin layer of mascarpone on top of eachof the eight bread slices. Add an even layer of freshsliced strawberries to four of the bread slices. Usethe other four slices of bread to top the sandwiches.Brush the sandwiches with butter and grill or pressuntil golden, about five minutes. Transfer the paninito a cutting board and dust with confectionerssugar. Serve warm.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin

8 slices fresh bread (1/2 inch thick)

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

confectioners sugar for dusting

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

RECIPES


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Although I am from rural Kentucky,I’ve never been a hunter. And thoughI have never hunted, I learned to

shoot a gun as a youngster, usually mygrandfather’s single shot 22. I would occa-sionally target shoot, my target being abucket in my grandparent’s yard.Somewhere along the way I learned to use ahandgun, again, targets in the yard were myspecialty. Those buckets didn’t stand achance.

Fast-forward a few years to 2012. I havelived in Florida for many years now. I tookthe class to get my concealed weapons per-mit, so the handgun has been fired a fewtimes. I did move up from buckets to actu-al printed targets – attached to a bucket.But that has been the extent of my weaponexperience for many, many years.

Until now.

In The Field magazine had a booth set up ata sporting clay shoot a couple of monthsago. We toyed with the idea of puttingtogether a team to enter, but I was fearful ofthe 12 gauge shotgun that had belonged tomy dad, and prior to that my uncle. It wasold. It was going to kick me into Georgia.So we went, we watched and we promotedIn The Field.

But – here it comes, after the event someoneoffered to let us try our hand at clay shoot-ing with their 20 gauge. I was a bit nerv-ous, but after a little instruction, I steppedup, said the magic word (that’s “pull” forthose of you who have never done a clayshoot) and pulled the trigger. The clay shat-

tered into a million pieces and I stood withmy mouth hanging open as I watched themfall to the ground. WOW! It was completebeginners luck I assure you. Karen Berry,the publisher of In The Field was next. Shehad the same result! As you can imagine,that moment the sport of clay shooting hadtwo new participants.

Look out FishHawk Sporting Clays! Herewe come!

Located on beautiful well-manicured wood-land in the FishHawk area, this club is topnotch for the sporting clay enthusiast, frombeginner to the most advanced. Managedby Buzz Hinton, this facility offers twosporting clay courses, an 8 station “White”course for beginners (that’s me!) and a 16station “Red” course that is more challeng-ing. Buzz compares the White course to thebunny slope if you were skiing. Now if youare like me, you will do the White course,but head right over to the Red course whenyou are finished. I can never get enough ofpulling the trigger and hearing the“BANG.” Yes, even when I miss, which isoften the case, I love it.

In addition to the fantastic courses, theyhave a 5-stand and a voice activated trapfield. Five Stand is similar to sporting clays.There are five “stands” or stations and avariety of targets are thrown.

FishHawk Sporting Clays opened onJanuary 9, 2010 so their anniversary is rightaround the corner! Buzz and CammyHinton invested in the project, but not oneto be a “silent partner,” Buzz set out to

learn in the business from the ground up.Eventually the Hinton’s bought out one ofthe original owners, Wayne Evans. Evansmanaged the club for the first two and ahalf years, planned the course and wasinstrumental in getting the business up andrunning. Now Buzz owns one third,Cammy owns one third and Jenny Le, whois not involved in the day to day operations,owns a third.

FishHawk Sporting Clays is open to thepublic! Memberships are available, whichgives you a reduced rate on clays, targets,ammunition, golf cart rental, merchandise,etc, so if you are going to be a regular youmay want to consider membership.

You don’t have a gun? Don’t worry! Theyhave both 12 and 20 gauge rental gunsavailable. If you are looking for someinstruction in the art of clay shooting, theycan recommend an instructor for you andonce a month an instructor will be on handfor women and children at no additionalcost!

All ages are welcomed, although the young-sters must be accompanied by an adult.Gun safety is of utmost importance and eyeand ear protection must be worn. Trust me,good ear protection is a wonderful thing tohave. And if shooting is something youwant to try, invest in the personalized earprotection from Jack Concannon. He is atFishHawk Sporting Clays most of the win-ter. He’s a World Sporting Clays VeteranChampion and 11 time National SportingClays Association All-American just toname a few of his accolades.

FishHawk Sporting Clays is open tofundraising opportunities with companiesand organizations like FFA and also teambuilding with corporations. They will workwith any group to make an enjoyable expe-rience to raise money for their charity ofchoice.

You know you want to try it. I love it!When you are there, look for me. I’ll beshooting my Dad’s Browning 2000 12gauge, which doesn’t have the recoil I hadimagined. Chances are you will see me missmuch more often then hit. But you will alsosee me smiling and laughing. It’s a greattime!

Call FishHawk Sporting Clay’s at813-689-0490 or visit their web site at

wwwwww..ffiisshhhhaawwkkssppoorrttiinnggccllaayyss..ccoommYou will be glad you did!

Clay ShootsBy Sarah Holt



Though it is officially called The Lower Green SwampPreserve, this 12,800-acre parcel of land in northeasternHillsborough County is best known as the Cone Ranch, a

largely undeveloped parcel of Florida wilderness. Initiallyacquired as a potential well field by Hillsborough County in 1988,management of the Preserve is now under the aegis of the county’sParks, Recreation and Conservation Services Department.

But that’s just part of the story. There was a move in the middle ofthe last decade led by then County Commissioner Jim Norman toturn a portion of the property into an amateur sports complex.That initiative ended after attracting widespread public resistance.

A short time later there was another effort to subdivide the landinto six parcels with the individual owners agreeing never to devel-op the land. That, too, drew heavy public opposition and thatplan was also scrapped.

In 2010, the land was acquired by the county’s EnvironmentalLands Acquisition and Protection Program, guaranteeing itspublic status in perpetuity and prohibiting development. But thestory is far from over.

There’s no one better to provide a keen insight into the ConeRanch lands than Alvin Futch. Born and raised on the propertywhere he also worked cattle and did just about everything fromhunting, fishing and working the land, Futch and his son Carson,came up with a plan in the early 90s to plant slash pine seedlingson 2,200-acres of the parcel.

“The idea actually came from Paul Acosta, who was president ofRotary International at that time and promoted growing trees tosave planet earth,” said Futch, who has been a lifelong Rotarymember in Plant City since 1957. “President Acosta came toTampa shortly after that land was acquired and discussed hisinternational initiative to help save the planet. It seemed like amajor tree planting project would be ideal.”

With the approval of the Plant City Rotary Club Board, Futch andhis son, Carson, who also served as Rotary club president, devel-oped a multi-year plan to plant one million seedlings over 2,200-acres of the ranch. The Rotary Club formed a partnership with theHillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department and thatled to a resolution by the Board of County Commissioners toallow the harvest of timber at the proper intervals with the direc-tion of the Florida Forest Service. The revenue derived from the

Stickto the

Plan!

ConeRanch

ByJim Frankowiak


harvest of timber would be applied to theDepartment of Parks and Recreation.

“I had been in the timber business for 24years at that time and the plan my sondeveloped would generate in excess of $1million over a period of years and lead tocreation of a perpetual forest,” said Futch.

The Plant City Rotary Club contributedmore than $40,000 to the project over aperiod of several years along with dona-tions from Container Corporation ofAmerica, Weyerhaeuser Corp., TampaElectric Co., W.S. Badcock Corporationand Keen Forest Management.

“Keen actually grew and planted theseedlings,” said Futch. “And while the signalong Knights Griffin Road and a lot ofstories about the project say one millionseedlings were planted, the actual numberof seedlings planted was 1.2 million.”

Part of the plan included Florida ForestService supervision of the thinning and themarketing of timber after the initial 15years and continuing through a 35 yearperiod. That will lead to a perpetual forestthat re-seeded itself.

“As of this time there has been one partialthinning that has resulted in salesapproaching $400,000,” said Futch.Additionally, the Florida Division ofForestry (now called the Florida ForestService) revised its recommendations fortimber management of the parcel in Mayof 2011. The plan reflected the impact ofan infestation of pitch canker in the slashpines and impacts of Hurricanes Francesand Jeanne. Damage from pitch canker inturn lead to an extensive beetle kill. Therevised management plan called for thelongleaf pine to be the primary speciesused for the next generation of pine treesinstead of relying on current pines to refor-est the stands impacted by disease.

This reforestation and continued thinningrequires access to all stands within the pre-serve and three bridges must be either con-structed or rebuilt if this critical work canoccur. “Funding should be available as aresult of sales that have already occurred,”noted Futch. Plans are underway to con-struct those bridges, according to RossDickerson of the county’s ConservationServices Section. “We expect to get pricesback by year end and construction shouldtake place within the next 6-12 month,” hesaid. “The bridges themselves should nottake very long to construct, but we have toaccount for permit review and approval.”

“Our basic plan has proven its value,” saidFutch. “I am pleased to know that the crit-ical remaining steps will be able to betaken once those access bridges have beencompleted, enabling the final stages of ourplan to occur.”

Moving along simultaneously is an overallmanagement plan of the preserve that willenable the public to enjoy its natural splen-dor perhaps as soon as late in 2013.However, a good bit of work has to bedone, including completion of the accessbridges. County officials have speculatedover a time in the not too distant futurewhen the preserve will become a populardestination for those who enjoy hiking,birding and getting back to the wayFlorida used to be – possibly like it waswhen Alvin Futch and his fellow cowboysworked the land.

“We have had a few interruptions alongthe way, but I feel good about where weare today and the plans for the immediatefuture,” said Futch. “Let’s just stick to theplan. It’s a good one with its own source offunding so we don’t have to rob Peter topay Paul.” •

Will Womack, a new member ofthe Hillsborough County FarmBureau Board, spends equal

amounts of his time within the city limits ofTampa and east county. His election to theFarm Bureau Board has given him “theopportunity to bridge this boundary as wellas support the rich history of this greatinstitution and Hillsborough County’s Agcommunity.”

It is an appropriate comment from a recentgraduate of the Wedgworth LeadershipInstitute for Agriculture, a programdesigned to prepare potential leaders toassume greater leadership responsibilities intheir organizations, industries and commu-nities. The institute began in 1989 at theUniversity of Florida and was originallycalled the Florida Leadership Program forAgriculture and Natural Resources. Itsname was changed in 2003 to honor thecontributions of George Wedgworth toFlorida agriculture.

Born in Manassas, Virginia into a tobaccogrowing family, Womack’s parents opted tomove to Tampa Bay when he was a toddler.“I returned for graduate school in Virginiaand we vacation on family property inVirginia, but I was raised here and amproud to have spent my formative years andadult life in Florida.

Womack attended Countryside HighSchool in Clearwater and was “part of atwo-time state championship wrestlingteam.” After high school, he attended theUniversity of South Florida and LongwoodCollege in Farmville, Virginia where hestudied Social Science. He was also a colle-giate rugby player.

After college, Womack worked as a supportstaff supervisor at the State Attorney’sOffice in the 13th Judicial Circuit, initiallyoverseeing the records division and thenmoving to Division O, which is also knownas first appearance court. “This was a greatjob for a college student or recent graduate,but not the career I wanted,” said Womack.“I thought I might want to be a lawyer.Despite breaking my mother’s heart, Ithought better of it. In lieu of law school, Iattended graduate school in Virginia, study-ing Sociology/Criminology. Dissatisfiedwith his job prospects on returning to theTampa Bay area, Womack considered pur-suing a doctorate, but chose instead tobegin his business a decade ago and it hasgrown and added divisions during thattime.

“I am engaged to and operate my businesswith Katherine Belz. She is from Osage,Iowa and holds a degree in horticulturefrom Iowa State University. We have abeloved Bull Terrier named Bella.”

The business is Tampa Bay Landscaping, alandscape contracting company based outof Thonotosassa, working primarily insouth Tampa, though has undertakenassignments throughout Florida. “We spe-cialize in landscape design, installation con-struction, estate maintenance, pest control(horticultural services) and consultingengagements.

“The vast majority of what we do is consid-ered estate maintenance or installationwork,” said Womack. “A small amount ofour work is commercial, often the office ofa residential customer such as a physicianor lawyer, who has invited us to also main-tain their office.” Womack is an activemember of the Florida Nursery, Growersand Landscape Association, holding severalstatewide positions and twice TampaChapter president. He is also a Universityof Florida Environmental HorticultureProduction Extension Advisor and YouthAdvisor, as well as a GreenFest committeeadvisor and speaker.

“The privilege of being selected for theWedgworth Institute was no doubt one ofthe proudest personal achievements of mylife, and undoubtedly the most beneficialrealization of my professional life,” saidWomack. “Dr. Hannah Carter, her staff, my29 classmates and the program’s distin-guished alumni, were all instrumental inenlightening me as to the richness anddiversity of Florida’s agriculture.

“I look forward with great optimism toserving Farm Bureau and hope to bring afresh viewpoint, fresh marketing opportuni-ties and new membership prospects to ourboard and fellow members.” •

The Opportunity to Bridge Cityand County Boundaries By Jim Frankowiak


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813.546.1000P.O. Box 2677 • Brandon, FL 33509

Note: While every attempt is made to provide as accurate information on the property offering as possible, FISCHBACH LAND COMPANY, LLCdoes not guarantee the accuracy thereof. Buyer shall rely entirely on their own information and inspection of property and records.

Ideal property for Farm or Ranch! 12 inch well, 10 inchwell, and two 6 inch wells already in place. $1,600,000

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INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2012 63

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Hello everybody. It’s hard to believethat when you read this my year will

be half over. My year thus far has beeneverything I ever dreamed it would. Sofirst may I say thank you again to every-body who made this opportunity availableto me. November is all about being thank-ful for what we have in life. That beingsaid I would like to take a differentapproach to my journal this month. Iwould like to take my space this month toexplore the connection betweenThanksgiving and agriculture education.

The roots of Thanksgiving are directlyrelated to agriculture education and goback to the fall of 1620, with the landing ofthe Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. ThePilgrims experienced a terrible winter withover half of their colony dying from diseaseand starvation.

As spring finally arrived in the new colonyand everything was going wrong, thePilgrims were very fortunate to meet anEnglish-speaking Indian called Squanto.Squanto became a great friend to thePilgrim Colony. Squanto instructed thePilgrims in agriculture, taught them how toprepare the soil, and helped them conquerstarvation by showing them edible plants,animals, and shellfish.

When planting time arrived, the Colonistsgathered at one of the fields to receiveinstruction in the growing of a new cropcalled maize. Squanto showed them how toplace three fish in a hole with their headspointing in and their tails out with a seed ofmaize planted in the center. So really,Squanto was the first agriculture educatorin our nation’s history.

With autumn came the Pilgrim's first har-vest. When the bountiful harvest of cropsand produce was stored for the winter, thePilgrims had a great feast and shared it withthe Indians. They all gave thanks to Godand thus the celebration of Thanksgivingbegan.

As you can see agriculture education is,and always has been, vital to our survivaland therefore must be protected. Asalways, feel free to contact me [email protected] with any ques-tions, comments, or concerns.

Merry Christmas, and have a funand safe holiday season.

David WaldenArea 5 State Vice President

Three Fish In A Hole


JJOOSSEEPPHHIINNEE CCAARRVVAALLHHOO, 92 of Plant City, diedNovember 16, 2012, at her home. Surviving aredaughter, Ruth St Pierre (Roger); 5 grand chil-dren; several great granchildren; 2 great-greatgrandaughters; and several nieces andnephews.

GGUUSSTTIINN,, RRAAYYMMOONNDD EE.., 88, Lakeland, FL (for-merly of Leonardsville, NY) passed awayNovember 29,2012 at his home surrounded byhis loving family. Raymond is survived by hisloving wife of 6o years, Loretta.

LLEEOOTTAA CCAAIINN MMIILLEEYY MMAAUUEERRSSBBEERRGG, formerlyof Plant City, Florida and North Fort Myers,Florida, answered the calling of her Lord onNovember 29, 2012, in Easton, Maryland fromstroke related complications. Leota was bornin Plant City, Florida on December 29, 1934, toAthal and Quincy Cain.

DDOONNAALLDD WWAAYYNNEE PPRRAATTTT, 88 of Valrico diedNovember 28, 2012 at the VA Home. BornNovember 24, 1924 in Shelby Township,Michigan, he was the son of the late MervillePratt and the late Stella Stahl Pratt. He wasthe husband of Joy Christie Pratt.

CCHHRRIISSTTOOPPHHEERR CCHHAANNNNIINNGG TTHHOORRPPEE, 36 ofPlant City, died November 24, 2012 at hishome. Born May 29, 1976 in Lakeland, Florida,he was the son of Tom Thorpe and EvelynMartin Thorpe. He was the husband of JillThorpe.

LLOORRII HHOOLLGGAATTEE, 53, of Weirsdale died onNovember 24, 2012 at her home. Born January8, 1959 in Plant City, Florida, she was thedaughter of Charles Brunson and Florence GillBrunson. She was the wife of ReginaldHolgate.

SSIIMMOONN CCAALLDDWWEELLLL, 75 of Dover, diedNovember 22, 2012, at Brandon RegionalHospital. Born July 27, 1937, he was the son ofthe late Virgil Caldwell and the late NetchelMeeks Caldwell. He was the husband of IrisCraig Caldwell.

FFAARRRREELLLL NNOORRTTOONN RROOBBEERRTTSS, 81 of Plant City,Florida died November 20, 2012. Born July 15,1931 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he was theson of the late Oscar Roberts and the lateKathleen Gray. He was the husband of CarolynSwift Roberts.

AANNTTHHOONNYY JJAAMMEESS HHIITTSSOONN, 26 of Plant City,died November 20, 2012, at his home. BornJuly 26, 1986 in Plant City, Florida. Tony was amember of St. Clement Catholic Churchwhere he was Altar server of the year. He wasalso an Eagle Scout from Troop #14 in PlantCity.



Container gardens are quite populartoday and an attractive alternativeto in-ground plantings. Portability

is a key feature for container gardening.Containers can be moved to a differentlocation for more or less sun, shade, waterand protection from weather and seasonalchanges. This enables tropical plants to begrown in areas that receive freezing weath-er. If you place larger containers onwheeled plant stands, it’s even easier tomove inside your garage, lanai, to yourfront porch or indoors. Containers helpyou control irrigation according to theneeds of the plants. They encourage exper-imenting where you can try a wide varietyof plant materials and controlled climates.Selecting the container itself is an impor-tant decision. Porous containers, unglazedclay pots, terra cotta and wood, dry outfaster than non-porous containers. Non-porous pots, glazed, plastic and metal,retain soil moisture better than porouspots which can be a good or bad thingdepending on your watering habits. Mostplants die from over versus under water-ing. Make sure there is a drainage hole inthe bottom of the pot. If there isn’t one,you can use Styrofoam packing peanuts inthe bottom of the pot to elevate the plantroots above the excess moisture in the bot-tom. That will also make the pot lighterusing those ‘peanuts’ versus soil and easierto move.

Plastic containers are less expensive,lighter and easier to clean than porouspots. Many plastic pots on the markettoday have been manufactured to look liketerra cotta, so they are more attractivethan in the past. Metal containers, brass,copper or aluminum, generally providedrainage holes in the bottom so the soildrains properly. Wire baskets are anothercontainer alternative and require a liner tohold the soil in place. Liners includeSphagnum moss, coco-fiber and recycledcarpet pads.

The nine principles of the Florida-FriendlyLandscapingTM Program hold true for con-tainer planting as they do for landscapebeds. One of the best aspects of containergardening is the flexibility that itoffers. You can achieve Right Plant-RightPlace, the first and foremost of the nineprinciples, with a container even when theconditions of your landscape do not matchthe plant’s needs. For instance, if a plant isacid loving, but your soil pH is alkaline, acontainer could be an easy solution. Add asoil amendment that acidifies the contain-er soil, and you have the Right Plant in theRight Place!

Locate sun-loving plants in the sun. If thesoil is moist, don’t water. Use slow releasefertilizers that do not leach through thesoil after irrigation or rain. Manage pestsresponsibly by using environmentally

friendly products and spot treat as needed.Select plants that attract wildlife so youcan enjoy butterflies and hummingbirds.

Consider grouping several plants with thesame requirements together to createattractive combinations. These require-ments include light, water, soil texture andpH. Also consider the mature size so youare not over or under-planting. Plants canbe combined with an eye to color schemes,contrasting textures and differentforms. Be sure to consider proportionwhen creating plant combinations. Try tohave at least one plant that is as tall thecontainer. Finally, group several containerstogether to create visual impact.

For additional information on containergarden designs and plants for visualimpacts, please see “Container Gardensfor Outdoor Spaces” by Gary W. Knox:http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep326.

For assistance with horticultural ques-tions, call 813-744-5519 Extension 4, or

visit us at the Hillsborough CountyExtension Service, 5339 County Road579, Seffner, FL. More gardening infor-

mation is available at:hhttttpp::// //hhiillllssbboorroouugghh..eexxtteennssiioonn..uuffll..eedduu

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Congratulations tothe Durant andJ. F. St. Martin Citrus

teams. They placed secondand ninth respectively outof 47 teams in the FFA StateCitrus Contest at theLeadership Training Centerin Haines City on Wednesday,December 5. Participantswere asked to identifyvarious insects, diseases,deficiencies and weeds thathamper citrus production.They were also asked toidentify the various root-stocks and varieties thatare currently used in Florida.

Please congratulatethese students on theiraccomplishments!!!

State Runner Up and 9th Overall

Pictured (Front row from left to right) are Kennedy Sewell, Margaret Holt, KatherineTagliarini and Olivia Johnson. Back row, (l to r) Thomas Sturgis (FFA Advisor) RandyPickford, Jonathan Rowell, Adrian Rivera, Jake Belisle, Dalton Chesser and Konnore Long.

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At a recent meeting of grow-ers, Commissioner AdamPutnam made the statement

that water is one of the most impor-tant resources for the future of agri-culture. The quantity and quality ofthe water you may obtain willdetermine your land use. As afarmer, that means what you growand how much. As a land owner, itmeans the degree and type ofdevelopment allowed for yourland. Competition for the waterresource will continue to be moreaggressive with allocation beingdependent upon the perceived ben-efit to the community. This willbe a discussion of agriculturalwater from a historical perspec-tive, following one commodity…strawberries and how one industryanswered that challenge.

In the beginning, water use meant waterwagons and skinner, low pressure over-head irrigation, for strawberries grown onsand. Since the water holding capacity ofthe soil was critical, much of the earlystrawberry acreage was located near butnot in low-lying areas. In the truest of pio-neer efforts, swamps were drained andwater channelized to allow for more till-able land. These were different times. Ithelps to remember that when the WaterManagement Districts were establishedafter Hurricane Donna, their primary mis-sion was flood control.

In the most basic of terms, water fulfillstwo functions essential to plant productiv-ity. First, water provides turgidity, or struc-ture for the plant. It maintains the integri-ty of the plant’s cell wall. Second, water isthe media for nutrients to flow from thesoil, generally through the roots and intothe plants. A successful crop depends onmaking sure adequate nutrients are at theroot zones. Maintaining water qualitydepends upon making sure those nutrientsaren’t carried away from the plant asstorm water (surface movement) orleechate (soil movement).

Just because the problem is simple, doesn’tnecessarily mean the solution is easy.Before plastic mulch, growers only had to

contend with the end of the hurricane sea-son and fall monsoons. Water most oftencame from Mother Nature, and the pri-mary freeze protection consisted of placingcypress troughs over the single rows ofstrawberries when a freeze threatened.However, with the advent of plastic mulchin the 1960s and the arrival of the moreefficient overhead rainbird irrigation,everything changed.

Once the plastic was laid over the beds, itbecame virtually impossible to add addi-tional nutrients as the season progressed.The grower was faced with contendingwith an unsure future. Every freeze eventrequired freeze protection with overheadirrigation, which resulted in some of thenutrients placed in the bed being lost. Inyears with several freeze events, growersmight find themselves short on nutrientsfor maximum spring production. Growerswould usually add fertility insurance toprotect themselves from having inadequatefertility in cold growing seasons.

Sometimes this insurance paid for itself.Sometimes the grower would grow lus-cious cover crops. Sometimes growers suf-fered through a spring with the side-effectsof excessive fertility.

It was about this time that Dr. EarlAlbregts arrived at the Dover ResearchCenter. He correctly summarized that thebest way to increase the nutrient efficiencyin the growing bed, and thereby reduce thenutrients lost to the plant, was to bandpart or all of the fertilizer high in the cen-ter of the bed where it was less likely to beswept away during freeze protection andyet would be near enough to the plants tobe utilized for the plant’s needs. It shouldbe noted that growers typically wouldbroadcast their fertilizer either over thefield evenly, or over the area where thebeds were to be formed and incorporate itinto the soil before bedding. The goal wasuniformity so each plant would receive thesame amount of fertilizer. Dr. Albregtsconcept of banding part or all of the fertil-

izer in the center of the bed was at first metwith resistance, as it flew in the face of his-torical practice. There were concerns thatsome of the plants wouldn’t have adequateaccess to the fertilizer, while other wouldreceive too much and would suffer fromfertilizer burn.

A cross section of the bed with matureplants proved otherwise. It seems thestrawberry plants sought out the nutrientsand before long had developed a networkof roots reaching for the fertilizer in thecenter of the bed. Plants performed well onabout a third less fertilizer, because thenutrients were targeted at the root zone,rather than broadcast throughout the bed,and were less likely to be leeched out dueto overhead irrigation from freeze protec-tion.

Concurrent with Dr. Albregts efforts, acommercial enterprise undertook anotherapproach to solving the need for adequatefertility for the spring crops. They devel-oped a wheel with spade-like protrusionsthat was loaded with liquid fertilizer andrun over the rows to inject fertility into theoutside face of the bed in February or earlyMarch. This procedure had limited suc-cess, partly because it injected the fertilizertoward the outside of the bed, by necessi-ty, distant from the mature plants.Secondly, the process was by nature intru-sive, puncturing the plastic at the point ofentry and opening the bed to weed seeds,and disease. However, this procedureopened an entirely different approach tofertility … liquid application.

During the early 1980s, Israel was gainingattention for a watering system thatreduced the amount of water needed toproduce a crop by placing the water rightat the root zone. While this system wasbeing used in an arid region, it seemed thatthere might be some application for sub-tropical production if the additional costfor irrigation could be justified.

Dr. Albregts theorized that this systemwould be the ideal method to increase theefficiency not only of water, but also nutri-ents. However, he was well aware thatconverting a field to drip irrigation wouldrequire a second irrigation system, anoverhead irrigation system for plant estab-lishment and freeze protection, and dripirrigation for the plant’s growing cycle. Dr.Albregts predicted the savings in fertilizerand water as well as additional produc-tion, would more than offset the costs.


Another limiting factor, in addition to cost,was developing the technology for the newsystem. Emitters in the drip tube had toremain free of sediment, as the systemserved individual plants and clogged emit-ters meant dead plants. Historically, nearlyall fertility systems employed dry fertilizer.Considerable effort went into not onlyimproving the drip irrigation delivery sys-tem, but also the solubility of the liquid fer-tilizer mix to reduce clogging.

The future was set when a few progressivegrowers converted their fields to drip ferti-gation systems, and were successful. Thestrawberry industry has never seen a newtechnology embraced so quickly or so com-pletely as the transition from a dry fertiliz-er system relying totally on overhead irri-gation to a liquid fertility system utilizing adual irrigation system of drip for produc-tion and overhead for plant establishmentand freeze protection.

For the first time, growers were able toprovide the daily needs of the plant for

nutrients and water right at the root zone,to maximize efficiency and minimize wast-ed resources. The mix of water and nutri-ents could be modified to meet the growthand production requirements of the plantthroughout the production cycle, withattention to the maturity of the plant (sizeand maturity of root structure, productionrequirements) and bed conditions (ambientand soil temperature, day length).Moreover, IFAS research had long demon-strated that there were varietal differencesas to optimum nutrient levels but the tech-nology wouldn’t allow the precision toexploit this knowledge. Now customizingthe plant nutrient cycle based upon varietywas possible.

However, the true test for success is at thebottom line and in sustainability of theprocess. In the past 25 years, the strawberryindustry has more than doubled its acreage.The industry is using about the same totalpounds of nitrogen today as they were aquarter of a century ago, and less totalwater for the production cycle. Moreover,

according to on site research conducted byDr. Craig Stanley at the Gulf CoastResearch and Education Center and fund-ed by SWFWMD, nearly all of the nitrogenapplied for strawberry production, reachesthe plant. His data demonstrates that lessthan half a pound of nitrogen per seasonleaves the plant root zone over an entireacre. That is an amazing statistic and a truesuccess story.

Of course, the story still continues. As longas there are competitive uses for resources,the cost to benefit to the community will bequestioned. However, if the past is anyindication of the future, those challengeswill be met and overcome by the pub-lic/private partnership proven to solve thecommunity problems at hand. Hand inhand, the agricultural industry and theUniversity of Florida land grant system isan unbeatable team. •

INTHEFIELD MAGAZINE DECENBER 2012 77W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M AG A Z I N E .C O M

No Farmers No FoodPictured:

Third grade students atSpringhead Elementary

You are invited to theRED CABOOSE

to see Santa

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Place: 908 Joe McIntosh Rd, Plant City, FLDate: December 21st & 22nd

Time: 2 PM to 6 PMIn co-operation with Operation Lifesaver Highway-

Rail Grade Crossing Safety ProgramOff Highway 39 – North of Sam Allen Road

Information: Call R.W. Willaford (813) 759-3345


4892 Sun City Center Blvd.Sun City Center, FL 33573

P O Drawer LPlant City, FL 33564

12880 E US Highway 92Dover, FL 33527



It doesn’t field a football team or evenhave a campus, but HungerU is an impor-tant aspect of the world’s growing hunger

crisis and Valrico’s Tiffany Dale is a memberof its first class.

The project, which is with the Farm JournalFoundation, is a Farmers Feeding the WorldInitiative called HungerU Tour. The initialtour focused on the Midwest, stopping atseven universities and the National FFAConvention at Indianapolis after a weeklongpreparatory session held at Milwaukee,Wisconsin.

“The purpose of the tour was to educate andengage students and consumers in discussionabout the importance advance agricultureplays in addressing the hunger crisis, bothlocally and globally,” said Dale, who wasselected from a number of candidates nation-ally to be a member of the first HungerUclass. The tour, which covered the October –early November time period, was sponsoredby DuPont, a leader in agriculture researchand science.

“DuPont provided us with an interactive toolto display called the global food securityindex, which is accessible on the web(http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/). It pro-vides visitors with an insight into the globalhunger crisis considering accessibility, afford-ability and quality and safety of food.” Thisindex was displayed on 60-inch televisionsmounted on a 40-foot wrapped trailer.“Signs with facts about hunger and agricul-

ture production were also displayed aroundthe exhibit.”

“Overall, the goal of the tour was to engagediscussion, education and awareness amongstudents about the world hunger crisis andhow advance agriculture contributes to alle-viating the issue,” said Dale. “Global popu-lation is projected to be 9 billion by 2050;therefore high yields and increased food pro-duction and nutrition are a few key areasdemanding attention. We encouraged stu-dents to join the hunger discussion and con-tribute their experiences and ideas they arediscussing in class regarding the issue on theHungerU Tour Facebook and Twitter pages.”

“Along with the exhibit, we worked withstudent organizations at a number of theuniversities to plan food forums on campus,”said Dale. “Forum panelists includedresearchers, policy makers, individuals fromagribusiness food bank employees and oth-ers.”

The tour’s first stop was Michigan StateUniversity, then continued to Kansas StateUniversity, University of Illinois, PurdueUniversity, Ohio State University, theNational FFA Convention, University ofMissouri and finished up at Iowa StateUniversity. Additional tours are planned forother areas of the U.S. in 2013.

You might wonder why Dale applied forHungerU and this whirlwind tour of theMidwest. “I appreciate and love agricul-

ture,” said Dale, who recently completed herMaster of Agribusiness in Food andResource Economics degree at the Universityof Florida. “Learning all that I can and advo-cating on behalf of agriculture is somethingthat I enjoy and hope to do professionally.While a student I interned at SouthwestGeorgia Farm Credit, volunteered at theFlorida Strawberry Growers Association andserved the Florida FFA Association at thestate convention.” Dale was also a studentassistant at the Natural Areas TrainingAcademy, Gainesville.

“Each of these experiences has taught meabout different aspects of agriculture, deep-ening my appreciation and admiration forthe industry,” she said. Her efforts have beenrecognized with scholarships from the O.M.Griffin Memorial and participated in the AgDay Collegiate Leadership Summit. Dale hasalso obtained GAP Food Safety Certificationand holds memberships in Florid FarmBureau, Gamma Sigma Delta AgricultureHonors Society, American Agri-women andThe Alpha Tau Alpha, AgriculturalCommunications Honors Society. Dale alsoserved as president of the Master ofAgribusiness Student Organization.

As to the future, Dale is actively seeking acareer opportunity where she will be able tonurture and share her love for agriculture onbehalf of an agribusiness or organizationsrepresenting agriculture. •

By Jim Frankowiak

By Calli Jo Parker

HHoolliiddaayy UUnniittyy

Christmas is the most special time ofyear. It not only celebrates the birth ofJesus, but it is a time of unity among

everyone in our community. The entire towndecorates for Christmas, holds an event sole-ly to power the Christmas lights, and has aparade celebrating the season. Peopleremember to care for the needy, and lovecompassionately at Christmas time, thingsthat we should do all throughout the year.The National FFA Organization is foundedon service, and this year our local FFA chap-ters have truly taken this to heart.

I took a survey of each FFA Chapter in ourcounty and realized that our FFA membersare spectacular. They are humble givers trulyliving up to their FFA Motto, and they need-ed to be recognized as such.

The Eisenhower Middle School FFA chapteris participating in the Nutrients for Life

Foundation’s “Helping Communities Grow” program. This gives FFA chapters the opportunity to help their communities become better

informed about the positive role of plant

nutrients, fertilizer, and

related agricultural issues. The students pres-ent on agriculture’s role in producing healthyfood for healthy people. This allows the stu-dents to take the skills they have obtained inthe FFA and give back to their communities.

Plant City High School FFA members begantheir community service early in October.Each year they travel to J.S. RobinsonElementary school to decorate pumpkinswith the special needs students. This is anexcellent experience for the FFA members aswell as the students of J.S. Robinson. Thekids love the high school FFA members somuch Plant City FFA Advisor Leigh Casonsays, “They begged them not to leave!” ThePlant City FFA members are also growingbeans specifically to give to the Plant CityFood Bank for Christmas. This is exemplifiestheir agricultural knowledge and uses thatknowledge to serve their community.

Another high school who serves annually isDurant High School. The Durant FFA chap-ters do a bike drop every Christmas. Theygive from their funds to purchase a bicycleand give it to one child in need thatChristmas. This is always a humbling oppor-tunity as an FFA member. It makes the stu-dents realize just how blessed they are andhow much they can impact the life of a child. The Steinbrenner FFA chapter is doing afundraiser to provide senior citizens withwarm clothes and small gifts.

These Christmas blessings will go to the Carrollwood Care Center.

These FFA members have a passion for thosewho long for their youth, those who are notable to provide for themselves any longersimply because of their age and health.Compassion is something that these FFAmembers are sharing with the elderly in theircommunity, providing memories and a senseof humility that they will cherish forever.

Lennard FFA is participating in a cannedfood drive. The food will all go to the LocalMigrant Food Pantry. Last year these FFAmembers collected 285 cans and are trying tocollect more! This is such a thoughtful placeto deliver, helping those who help our agri-cultural industry run. Lennard FFA membersare doing an excellent job sharing joy witheveryone this Christmas.

The National FFA Motto is, “Learning toDo, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Livingto Serve.” The FFA members in our commu-nity are truly living to serve this Christmas. Itis encouraging to see our youth striving toimpact the lives around them. I urge each ofyou to do the same this Christmas, bringsome canned foods to the Food Bank, volun-teer at your church, be kind and cheerful dur-ing the Christmas season and never forgetour Savior who is the true meaning ofChristmas. •

8844 IINNTTHHEEFFIIEELLDD MMAAGGAAZZIINNEE DDEECCEEMMBBEERR 22001122 W W W. I N T H E F I E L D M AG A Z I N E .C O M


Agriculture continues to be a vital mainstay of HillsboroughCounty’s economy, as shown by the 2011 agriculture sales andacreage estimates released this week by the Hillsborough

County Agriculture Industry Development Program and HillsboroughCounty Extension Service.

According to the data, the 2011 sales estimate of HillsboroughCounty agriculture products is $832 million, up $16 million from2010. Hillsborough County has 2,843 farms, which is the secondlargest number of farms of any county in the state of Florida.

Hillsborough County covers more than 1,000 square miles, and255,532 acres of that (39 percent) is used for agriculture production.Hillsborough ranks as the 4th largest producer of agricultural prod-ucts in the state, and 59th out of 3,076 counties in the United States.Strawberries continue to be the highest sales crop at $388,125,702,which is almost 47 percent of the County's total agricultural sales.Hillsborough produces 90 percent of the strawberries grown inFlorida, and nearly 11 percent of the strawberries grown in the nation.Hillsborough also produces 14 percent of Florida's tomatoes, and 5percent of the tomatoes grown in the U.S.

The next highest sales crops after strawberries are:

• Vegetables production at second with $150,000,000 with18 percent of annual sales.

• Ornamental plants at third with $139,232,407 accounting for16.7 percent of annual sales.

• Aquaculture at fourth with $23,546,112 and 2.8 percent ofannual sales.

• Beef cattle/pasture at fifth with $18,934,207 and 2.2 percentof annual sales.

Local agriculture sales support the local economy through relatedbusinesses such as banking, real estate, transportation, packaging,equipment, seed, agricultural suppliers and services, and marketingfirms. •

Hillsborough CountyIs One Of The Nation’s TopAgricultural Producers

Grill SetWinners!

In The Field magazine took part in the 2012 Plant City Pig Jamin November by setting up a display and giving out samples ofdelicious boneless pork ribs grilled on a Traeger grill by Bill Jr. withHarold’s Feed & Pet Supply. A BBQ tool set, donated by Harold’sFeed & Pet Supply, was up for grabs and went to Mr. and Mrs.Savidge! Congratulations on your win! We hope you use the set tocook up some delicious Fresh From Florida meat.


“You’re Calli Jo Parker.”

These were the first words Clay Sapp ever said to me. It takes aspecial person to leave such an impact on your life that youremember the first conversation you had with them. But that’sexactly the kind of person Clay is, an impactful one. I met Claynearly five years ago at one of the many FFA leadership confer-ences held in Haines City. God placed us in the same group thatsummer, where we became fast friends. Although it has only beenfive years, it feels like we have been friends for a lifetime. To knowClay is to know passion. Clay is passionate about life. He trulyunderstands what it means to have a purpose in life, and takes theopportunities he is presented with to fulfill that purpose. Clay hashad a tremendously successful FFA career. At a young age he sethis sights on becoming a State FFA Officer and achieved that goalbecoming the 2010-2011 State FFA President. Clay was passion-ate about impacting the lives of students all across the state, help-ing them to grow and develop their knowledge of the agriculturalindustry. It was those same passions that lead Clay to his decisionof running for National FFA Office. Clay was elected the 2012-2013 National FFA President in October at the National FFAConvention.

Last summer, Clay was asked to put on an FFA conference inLafayette, Florida. During that weekend he was able to work withstudents and see them grow as leaders. It was after that weekendthat he realized he was truly passionate about students; studentsthat wanted to advocate for agriculture and who wanted to befuture leaders in their communities. He wanted to make sure thatnot only students in Florida but students nation wide had anopportunity like that Lafayette conference, to build themselves asleaders. National Office would give him the opportunity toachieve this goal.

After making the decision to run, a lot of work was required ofClay if he was going to win. Clay, who for most of his life wasknown as a procrastinator, devised a plan and spun into action.

He began by creating what he called a “support team.” This wasa group of people who each had particular skills that would helpClay achieve his goal. His former teammate, Nicole Lyles, hadpreviously served on the National Officer nominating committee,more popularly known as “Nom-Com.” Nicole was essential inhelping Clay prepare for his interviews and speaking portions ofthe selection, because she knew exactly what they would be look-ing for. Clay says he could not have come this far without theFlorida FFA State Staff. They spent many hours preparing andputting together practices and interviews for Clay. They connect-ed Clay with many different agricultural industry leaders aroundthe state. Clay not only had to be prepared for personal inter-views, but he needed to be knowledgeable of the agriculturalindustry as well. The key was to be prepared for a variety of ques-tions to show his knowledge of agriculture and the FFAOrganization. Putting together this support team very early onallowed Clay several months to prepare for National Convention.National Convention was a four day process. Clay began with hispersonal interview. This was a few questions, getting to know thecandidates and gain a better idea of who the candidate is as a per-son. Then they went to one on one interviews. This is where Clayhad a 10 minute interview with each Nom-Com member sepa-rately, which added up to 45 different questions in 90 minutesabout his character, leadership abilities, and past experiences.After these interviews, the candidates took writing and multiplechoice tests. The purpose of this was to see how much knowledgethe candidates had on the FFA, Agriculture Education, andGeneral Agriculture. Then they made the cut down to the top 24.The remaining 24 candidates were moved into a facilitation room.There they were presented with a leadership topic and had 60minutes to prepare a 10 minute workshop. That same day Clayhad to deliver a five minute speech based on an agriculture issuehe was given 20 minutes before. Finally, the Thursday ofConvention, he had one final 10 minute personal interview.

As you can imagine it was a strenuous week for Clay, but it gavehim the opportunity to learn a lot about himself and other people.Clay says that the National Officer Selection process allows you

By Calli Jo Parker

to get to know an enormous amount of people in a very shortamount of time. He spent a lot of time with his fellow candidates.They often went to dinner and spent time learning about howeach of them prepared for the process, their colleges, and theirhomes across the country. Whether they made the team with Clayor not, he knows that these will be friends he will keep in touchwith for the rest of his life. In his travels as a National Officer, heknows that whether he is in Kansas or Washington, that he willhave a place to stay and friends he can catch up with. He alsobecame friends with the individuals on the nominating committee.In the process, Clay said he was able to show them much abouthimself, but he got to know his interviewers as well. He learnedabout their lives, origins, and passions, and says that these ninepeople will be friends forever.

Clay actually knew a few members of his National Officer teamfrom previous experiences. He was a delegate with the Californiacandidate before he was a state officer, then they became stateofficers at the same time. The Georgia candidate, who was select-ed as the National FFA Secretary, he met at a national leadershipconference for State Officers. The rest of his teammates are fromall across the country. Clay is excited about getting to know themand about their cultures and traditions from their parts ofAmerica. He knows that with their different strengths and weak-nesses, they will create a very successful National Officer Team.

Awaiting any decision out of your control is hard, however wait-ing to see if you are a National Officer in front of thousands ofpeople, not including the people watching on live TV, is almostunbearable. Leading up to the final session, Clay experienced sucha mix of emotions. He was anxious and excited to be done withthe process. But he was also nervous, uncertain, and hoped thathe was able to show the committee everything he wanted them tosee about himself. Clay says he was reminded right before thatsession just how grateful he is to have the support of people whoconstantly encouraged him throughout the week and weeks lead-ing up to the convention. The process allowed him to see that winor lose he has one of the greatest support systems a guy could askfor. He is surrounded by people who are willing to support him inall of his endeavors and are willing to do whatever it takes for himto be successful. Whether he won or lost, he was glad to knowthat he was blessed with those people in his life.

During that final session, when he heard that the Alabama candi-date was chosen as the Southern Region Vice President, Clay washopeful of President or Secretary. But then, when the Georgia can-didate was announced Secretary he knew he didn’t make it. It was

very rare for the nomination committee to pick three officers fromthe same region. In his mind, defeat was acceptable, however itwould have hurt, simply for the sake of how much hard work heput into the entire process. He figured he had not been selectedand it was time to chase a new dream. But then, when he heardthe first two letters in Florida he was in disbelief. Clay wasabsolutely shocked and thrilled at the same time. Clay says thewhirlwind of a moment was one that he wished he could bottle upand savor time and time again.

Becoming the National FFA President has still not fully sunk in forClay. He and his team have set a few goals for the year. The mainthing is that they want each FFA member on every level to have asmany opportunities to become engaged in the National FFAOrganization as possible. They are searching for ways to engagemembers in ways they haven’t been able to before. For himself,Clay is striving to constantly grow in every experience he takespart in this year. There will be many places he will go that he willhave never experienced that culture and various traditions theypossess. He is prepared to feel a little out of place at times, but hisgoal is to step out of his comfort zone. This year provides thepotential for him to grow and develop himself in a way that noother opportunity has given him, and he plans to take advantageof that over the next year.

Clay would like to initially thank his parents for teaching him totrust in God’s plan and developing him to be a person of highcharacter. Thanks to his parents, Ed and Gina Sapp, Clay trulyhas a servant’s heart and a passion for impacting the lives aroundhim. Tears of joy streamed down their faces as Clay wasannounced the National FFA President. They had resolved toaccept whatever God had planned for Clay, and were thrilled thatGod rewarded him for all of his hard work. Clay is thankful to allof the people throughout his FFA career and the state of Floridawho spent their time and energy in developing him into the leaderhe is today.

Clay has come a long way since that very first day he came up tome. I knew then that Clay had impacted my life, but I had no ideathe lives he would soon touch simply by being himself. Clay has atremendous opportunity this year to represent the agriculturalindustry, the National FFA Organization, and the Lord who hasblessed him so very much. In his first address as the National FFAPresident, with a humble heart he encouraged everyone to “Thinkbig” because you never know just what God may have in store foryou. •



When you’re thinking of gifts this season, remem-ber that those that are handmade are often themost cherished. If there is little time left to make agift, a fun option may be to make your own giftbag. A gift bag can be made of any sturdy papersuch as construction paper or even a good heavypaper grocery bag. Sealing leaves onto the paperwith a generous coat of glue and water looks greatwith brown bags. If you want to really play withcolor, there are plenty of tutorials online for mar-bling paper with shaving cream and food dye orink. The idea of marbled paper was used to illus-trate this project and is certainly not the only wayto jazz up the gift bag.

Naturally Amazing Activities

Make A Christmas Gift BagBy Sean Green

Step 2If you want to sketch the crease lines before folding orcutting, Creases are at: ½”, 2 ½”, 4 ½”, 12 ¼”, 14 ¼” and16 ¼” leaving 7 ¾” on the right hand side.

Measuring from the folded left edge; make an addi-tional crease at 2” from the folded edge (crease 2).

From (crease 2) measure 2” and make another crease(crease 3).

From (crease 3) measure 7 ¾” to make the next crease(crease 4).

From (crease 4) measure 2” to make the next crease(crease 5).

From (crease 5) measure 2” to make one more crease(crease 6).

The paper should have two mountain folds and 7 ¾”paper remaining as illustrated.

Step 3Fold the gift bag from the rightside to the left side to glue it tothe fold that was made with(crease 1)

Step 4a) Cut the corners of the gift bag along the creases sothe flaps can be tucked in to form the bottom of thebag.b) Glue the flaps to each other on the inside of thebag. (cardboard can be glued to the inside bottom ifdesired)

Step 5a) Cut a small strip of card stock (4 x 4) and fold it inhalf to create a folder to glue the handle into.b)Glue the handle material into the inside of the gift bag.c)Repeat step 5(a) and 5(b) for the other side of thebag.

Step 1Cut paper to 24 x 14 inch sheet of paper (landscapeorientation) for a large gift bag.

Note: The outside of the paper should be facingdown if both sides are not decorated.

Make a crease ½” in from the left side of the paper.(crease 1)


Though he has only been “on board”since the middle of September, new UFInstitute of Food and Agricultural

Sciences dean for extension and director ofthe Florida Cooperative Extension Service,Dr. Nick Place, has some very specific priori-ties he is addressing in his post. While he isnew to the position, Dr. Place is very familiarwith both UF and Florida, as well as thediverse population served by extensionstatewide.

Dr. Place had been associate dean and associ-ate director of University of MarylandExtension in College Park, Maryland, wherehe had been since August of 2007. Prior tothat position, he had been an eight yearfaculty member of UF’s Department ofAgricultural Education and Communication.Dr. Place was the department’s graduatecoordinator and spent two years as coordina-tor for the Program and Development andEvaluation Center, which assists facultymembers in designing programs and assess-ing their effectiveness.

Specializing in extension education, Dr. Placetaught undergraduate and graduate courseson the role and development of extension,extension methods, adult education, exten-sion administration and supervision andextension systems.

“It was my familiarity with the strength ofthe Florida extension program that prompt-ed me to apply for the position,” he said.Following a national search, Dr. Place wasselected and rejoined the UF faculty in mid-September.

“I want our program to progress by buildingupon our strengths and engaging more incross disciplinary initiatives to meet currentand future challenges of agriculture, con-sumer sciences and youth,” said Dr. Place.He noted the current challenges of feeding agrowing population with a limited land base,the impacts of climate changes and the needto educate the public regarding “where ourfood comes from.”

Beyond food systems, Dr. Place favors cross-disciplinary programming that emphasizesfood safety and security along with familyeducational outreach that blends science,nutrition and the alarming and continuingincrease in obesity among today’s youth.

“I also firmly believe we have an excellentopportunity to advance youth programs witha STEM (fields of study involving science,technology, engineering and mathematics)focus that highlight careers in agricultureacross Florida,” said Dr. Place. “There is astrong element of entrepreneurship inagriculture that our youth must recognize.Our programs must strive to broaden thethinking of youth so they understand andappreciate the demands and opportunitiesacross the broad field of agriculture.”

Dr. Place also believes there is a strong needto better communicate the overall value ofwhat extension does. “All of our stakehold-ers must have a clear understanding of thefull impact of our work,” he said. Like allLand Grant institutions, UF/IFAS has a three-pronged mission of teaching, research and

extension – an effort that includes facultymembers positioned across the state whotranslate research findings into informationeasily understood by the public.

“We have an effect on the state’s economy,the environment and the people of Floridathrough our varied activities, and in thesedifficult economic times it is important thatthose we serve and those who help supportour efforts truly appreciate the scope of ourwork.

“Our Educators and Specialists do not servethe public simply for the compensation theyreceive,” he said. “They all believe stronglyin what they do, seek to make an impact onothers and enjoy helping them becomeengaged in the educational process,” saidDr. Place.

With regard to Hillsborough County and thecurrent need to identify and select a newdirector, Dr. Place said that effort will moveforward shortly after the first of the year.“We appreciate the challenges of that posi-tion in terms of administrative and program-ming responsibilities” he said. “DistrictExtension Director Dr. Charlie Vavrina rec-ognizes the need for a realistic balance withthose responsibilities, and I am confident wewill find the right person able to effectivelyaddress the issues and challenges of that postthat is so important to the residents of thecounty.” •

Building On AStrong StatewideExtension Program

By Jim Frankowiak

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Classifieds Tel: 813.759.6909 [email protected]


Look for great giftideas in theclassifieds!

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