Looking for something fun to do with the family on New Year’s Eve day? How about a Fresh From Florida Parade in Orlando?
You may remember it as the Orlando Citrus Parade, one of the largest sports-affiliated parades in the nation. It’s scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and will include incredible floats down a two-mile stretch of downtown Orlando.
To get more information on this event, read my Editor’s Pick.
This year my husband and I decided to find a local tree farm and cut down our own Christmas tree. This is a big adventure for our family of 6, especially since our 4 children are all still 3 years and under. I was very reserved about this idea at first. I had heard stories from friends that years ago they had gone to a Florida tree farm and ultimately ended up calling an exterminator to come and take care of the all the creepy-crawlers living in the tree and spreading through out the house! So naturally, a mom with 3 toddler girls and a 6-month old boy would be concerned about bringing in a tree infested with bugs. But my husband did his research.
He selected Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest in Eustis, Florida. It’s about an hour and 10 minute drive from our home in Osceola County, which is quite the drive for our little ones, but we figured it would be an adventure that might be worth taking. We were not disappointed!
When we arrived the place was buzzing with families, laughing kids, and smelled sweetly of fresh pine. Our three girls giggled with delight at the farm animal zoo, and absolutely loved the “reindeer” ride pulled by a tractor.
Then the search for the perfect tree began. For those who don’t desire a “choose and cut” Christmas tree, the farm also offers a variety of pre-cut northern trees for purchase, but of course, we were there for the “choose and cut” experience.
Even though the tree farm was swarming with a lot of eager customers, the tree farm was big enough for everyone to spread out. So we took our time walking around and inspecting the 3 different varieties. After much consideration – this one’s too short, this one has a bare spot, this one’s just right! We selected a Sand Pine that’s about 7 feet tall and just about as perfectly shaped as it can get!
It does have a very slender trunk, which gave us a little trouble when we put it in our stand at home. But with a little extra work, Ryan figured it out and now it fits beautifully in our family room by the window.
Consequently, the branches are also very slender, so if you have a lot of glass and/or heavy ornaments, I would caution you about this variety. Take care and make sure you select stronger branches for those heavier decorations!
Overall, it is a perfect tree for our family, and to my delight we don’t have a single creepy-crawler problem!
Once every ten years (in accordance with the United States Constitution), lawmakers from across the state redraw Florida’s boundary lines for equal representation (aka, Redistricting). Well, it has been ten years, and it’s that time again.
Districts are redrawn with the goal to accommodate population changes and ensure that the population within these districts are as equal in number as possible. Don’t let the simplicity of this sentence fool you though. There are many factors that can affect how these district lines are drawn.
For example, flsenate.gov explains that the “Florida Constitution requires that districts be contiguous. A district is contiguous if all of its territory is in actual contact, uninterrupted by the territory of another district. Contact at a corner or right angle is insufficient, but territory may cross bodies of water. The Constitution allows state legislative districts to overlap, either partially or entirely.”
To add to the complexity of the matter, “in November 2010, the voters added Amendments 5 and 6 to the Florida Constitution. These Amendments prohibit line-drawing that intentionally favors or disfavors a political party or an incumbent. The Amendments also afford protection to racial and language minorities. Districts may not be drawn (1) with the intent or result of denying or abridging the equal opportunity of racial or language minorities to participate in the political process; or (2) to diminish their ability to elect representatives of their choice. Finally, unless it would conflict with the standards described above, the Amendments require that district populations be as nearly equal as practicable, and that districts be compact and, where feasible, follow existing political and geographical boundaries.”
To help Florida voters remain informed about the process, as well as have a voice in the matter of Redistricting, the Florida House of Representatives is using www.floridaredistricting.org. The Florida Senate is also providing updates at www.flsenate.gov/redistricting. These websites provide updates, videos, tools, resources, and more in order for you to have a voice in this important change to Florida’s boundary lines.
I encourage you to visit these websites to learn more about this topic. Share your thoughts and opinions about Redistricting and get the word out. The more residents involved, the more informed and united we can be about this process.
I went to the Small Farms Conference at Osceola Heritage Park this past Saturday morning and I saw some familiar faces, as well plenty of new ones.
It was great to see folks like Kim Lyons of Merchant Source and Rick Montney with Propak. These are two companies that are doing some exciting things in the field of agritechnology. Lyons introduced me to a new compact piece of equipment that farmers are using at farmers’ markets: you attach it to your smartphone, and it instantly allows you to swipe your customers’ credit cards for their purchases. Montney showed me a new software suite for digital filing and management that specifically has the small farms operation in mind.
I met Candace Pollock, who is the Public Relations Coordinator for the Southern SARE, and James Clements, the Enviromental Specialist II for the Office of Agricultural Water Policy at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Be looking for pictures from the conference in the next edition of Central Florida Ag News. In the meantime, pick up a copy at any one of our hundreds of news stands and subscribe to have future copies delivered to your door.
The July 2011 edition of Central Florida Ag News hits news stands this week, and if you haven’t heard, this issue marks the one year anniversary of the publication!
One year ago to date, we featured PCSO Sheriff Grady Judd and Florida Blueberry Growers Association President Bill Braswell on the cover.
This issue, we are “Asking the Juicy Questions” that the citrus industry faces. With questions like “Who’s Winning the HLB War?”, “To Spray or Not to Spray?” and “Can Technology Save the Satsuma Capital?” We provide some very in-depth and news-breaking answers.
Look for the new issue coming this week, and feel free to send me your juicy questions on the citrus or any agriculture industry.
We had the cover shoot on Friday, 7/1 for the July edition of Central Florida Ag News, and I’m very excited about this next edition.
Not only is it our one-year Anniversary issue, but it’s also the Annual Citrus Report, which will include all the juicy news of what’s happening in the citrus industry. I won’t give away too much, except for that our cover was shot in a local citrus grove (we had plenty to choose from).
Even though it was early in the morning, it already felt like it was 90 degrees (which should come as no surprise), but it was a beautiful morning. A great day for a cover shoot, in fact. On the drive to the location I did drive through a patch of rain and thought for a fleeting moment that we’d have to postpone, but like many of our summer showers, it came and went within moments and the sun was bursting through the clouds again.
So look out for the next edition of Central Florida Ag News, which will hit news stands on 7/13.
This morning at 9:30 a.m., the President of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, Jim Strickland, addressed the House Agriculture Committee’s Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Subcommittee about the state of the U.S. Beef industry.
In this testimony, Strickland testified “the challenges cattle producers face regarding federal laws and regulations, including proposed environmental regulations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain, Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s proposed livestock marketing rule and more.” To view Strickland’s full testimony, click here.
It’s also important to note that the House of Representatives is set to vote on on H.R. 910 tomorrow: a legislation to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. This legislation is supported by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and they strongly urge all those who care about the beef industry to contact their representative urging to vote in support of this bill. To read more about H.R. 910, click here.
What do you think of this bill? Share your thoughts on our FACEBOOK page or comment on this blog! We want to here from you!
At Central Florida Ag News, we want to get to know you a little better. So in an effort to find out what you like (and yes, even what you don’t like) about our magazine and our website, we are updating our online poll every week!
When you go to our homepage and scroll down to “Today’s Poll,” make sure you’ve answered the current question. The one we currently have posted simply asks what features you like most about our website.
This poll will not be up for long, so go to CentralFloridaAgNews.com now and take a second to tell us more about what interests you! Getting more of what you want is only a click away.
We’ll be updating this poll on a weekly basis, so make sure to come back and check it out. If you want to share suggestions or feedback about our magazine and website, but don’t see a poll question about it, don’t hesitate to post a comment on our Facebook page or send us an e-mail at news@centralfloridamediagroup.com.
If you’re a Noble Juice fan, then raise you’re citrus glasses to this: recently, USDA officials toured the operations of William G. Roe & Sons (parent company of the Noble Juice brand) to see how a government-backed loan helped the fourth-generation, family-owned citrus business retain nearly 300 jobs, increase its employee count by about 50 full-time equivalents, and invest approximately $3 million in equipment.
You can see a picture of the tour and read the full press release by clicking here.
The Florida Strawberry Festival is set to kick-off this Thursday So don’t forget to head to Plant City with the kids this weekend for some fun – Florida Strawberry style! The 76th annual event boasts the bountiful harvest of strawberries grown in Plant City, along with concerts, rides, games, exhibits of agriculture and more!
Which reminds me, if you’ve never seen the serene beauty of a strawberry field on a cool Florida morning, then feast your eyes on the beautiful pictures of Neat and Sweet Farms in Lakeland.
Photos from this online gallery were also featured in the February edition of Central Florida Ag News. So if you’d like future copies delivered right to your door, then click here to subscribe.
Once you’ve gone to the Florida Strawberry Festival, I encourage you to come back and comment on our Facebook page, right here on this blog, or e-mail me at celeste.walls@centralfloridamediagroup.com and tell me what you enjoyed at this year’s festival.
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