By: Olivia Doyle Every year, February 14th causes people to shower their valentine with gifts, cards, candies and roses. Let us take a look at Valentine’s Day by the numbers for some surprising facts surrounding the holiday, its history, and the economic value of this romantic holiday for both Florida’s economy and abroad. Red roses are symbolic … More Valentine’s Day impact on Florida agriculture
This month in our “Day in the Life” series, we follow Alvaro Pertuz, an inspector working on the giant African land snail eradication program in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. A special thanks to Daniel Benjamin, Public Information Specialist, for following Alvaro for the day and contributing to the blog this week. Alvaro Pertuz has worked … More Day in the Life – GALS Inspector, Alvaro Pertuz
DPI offers different internships ranging from lab technicians to communications and beyond. As this new year gets underway, we would like to introduce you to our newest intern at DPI. Meet Olivia Doyle, a communications intern in the technical assistance (TA) office at the Division of Plant Industry (DPI). Olivia is a junior studying at the University of … More UF Student gets her start at DPI
The Don’t Pack a Pest (DPAP) program experienced great success and progress in 2018. The Florida DPAP program was able to successfully launch partnerships with two Caribbean countries, Suriname and Trinidad. Program coordinators were also able to establish partnerships with other Caribbean countries, St. Lucia, the Bahamas, St. Kitts, and Grenada. The Division of … More Don’t Pack a Pest – 2018 Recap
As 2018 draws to a close we reflect back on all we were able to accomplish in our giant African land snail (GALS) eradication program this year. In September, GALS reached a 7th anniversary milestone. Since that celebration, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Plant Industry and the United States Department … More Giant African Land Snail – End of Year Recap
Have you ever wondered about what the different roles with the Division of Plant Industry entail? On our blog, we will be highlighting a different position at DPI each month in a “Day in the Life” series. Each “Day in the Life” post will follow a regular day in the life of the featured person … More Day in the Life – Plant Inspector, Brian Alford
Are you interested in testing out your green thumb, or already know you have one, but do not have the space because of city living? We have curated a starter guide for how to experience rural gardening in the urban jungle! Growing your own herbs or house plants is becoming more popular, especially among Millennials. … More Starter Guide to Urban Gardening
Florida is known for its sunny and tropical weather, however, on occasion, when the winter months creep up, the temperature can drop to freezing or below. Florida residents may not be equipped with the necessary knowledge to protect their plants, so we wanted to share a few things to consider when a Florida freeze does … More How to prepare for a Florida freeze
If you are looking to travel to Florida for a quick trip to the breezy beaches or thrilling theme parks, visit family and friends, or coming to stay permanently, here are some tips to follow to ensure you have an enjoyable and safe experience benefiting both you and all of Florida’s residents, agriculture and natural resources. If you are planning to … More Traveling to Florida — What you need to know
In September, one of our entomologists, Dr. Paul Skelley, was invited to travel to Cuiaba, Mato Grosso, Brazil by Fernando Vaz-de-Mello, a professor at the Federal University of Mato Grosso, to be a guest scholar of the Department of Biology and Zoology. The Department of Biology and Zoology has a visiting scholar program, which encourages international research … More Dr. Paul Skelley – Research trip to Brazil
