From the Director: Our goal is to provide the faculty with the latest news from the Center research projects and extension activities, and other timely information items. Please feel free to use the contents of the newsletter in your county newsletters and education activities as you wish. If you'd like additional details on newsletter items, contact the faculty member author or our editor, Cheryl Vergot.
Regards, Dr. George Hochmuth, NFREC Director
 

Dates of Interest:

December 4:  Restricted Use Pesticide Training, Bonifay Ag Center

December 6:  West Florida Dairy Production Conference
                       Washington County Extension Office   9:00 am (CST)

December 7:  Gadsden County Tomato Forum
                       The Golf Club of Quincy  9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

December 11:  Weather School
                         Jackson Co. Extension Office

December 12:  New Building Ceremony

                         NFREC Quincy FL

December 14:  Florida Bull Test Sale
                        NFREC Beef Unit,  Marianna

January 11:  Watermelon Meetings
                      Jackson County

January 25 and February 1, 8, 15, 22:  Beef Cattle Management Short Course
                                                                Local Extension Office

February 15:  Panhandle (NW Florida)
                       Beef Conference & Trade Show
                       Marianna Ag Center

February 16:  Winter Florida Bull Test Sale
                        NFREC Beef Unit

February 19-20:  Fed Cattle Show, Jackson County Ag Center

March  1:  Beef Cattle Management Course
                  Local Extension Office
 

 Personnel Notes
        Charlie Riddle (Biological Scientist) recently began working with Russ Mizell, NFREC-Monticello.
Charlie worked previously at  NFREC-Marianna.
          Julie Woolever, NFREC-Marianna, will be the new Office Assistant at NFREC-Quincy beginning
December 18.  Welcome, Julie!!
          Good bye to Leszek Majchrzak, NFREC-Quincy, who has been working in Dr. David Wright's program.
Leszek (or Leslie as we call him) returns to the university in Poland to continue work on his PhD.   We will
miss this hard worker with the winning smile.  Good luck, Leslie.

More Info on Dates & Misc.
Construction is now underway at NFREC Quincy for the new facility!   S & L Construction is the contractor.
See the progress as it takes place on our Web site:

 nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/construction/photos/nfrec Construction Site

Warning: Errors will occur if not viewed in Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape 6.0 or higher

Watermelon/Cucurbit Meeting
will be held on Thursday, January 11, 2001 12:30 P.M. Jackson County Agricultural Complex Auditorium,
2741 Pennsylvania Avenue, Marianna  and 6:00 P.M. Washington County Extension Office Auditorium, 1424 Jackson Avenue (Hwy 90), Chipley, FL.

New Web Site
Jackson County Extension has a new web site.  Now you can email the agents, look up publications and keep up with the schedule of events in the area at your computer.  Currently, we are working to develop links of interest and a service directory to add to the site, but there is already a great deal of information available with just the click of a mouse.  The University of Florida has provided numerous publications on agriculture, youth and money management and most of them are available online.  This site provides direct access to this information, because the searching has already been done for you.  Take a look and bookmark this site, the address is http://jackson.ifas.ufl.edu

Florida Bull Test Sales
The University of Florida will be having their first annual Bull Test Sales in December and February.  The fall-born bull test sale will be held Thursday, December 14 at 12:30 PM at the North Florida Beef Research Unit near Greenwood.   After years of hard work, the Florida Bull Test is a reality.  There are 117 fall-born bulls on test, and the top performing 2/3 will be sold.  Approximately 78 bulls, representing 10 different breeds,consigned by breeders from all across the Southeast will be sold.   This will be the most evaluated group of bulls at an auction in Florida.  Available data will include: gain test performance, ultrasound measurement of carcass traits, breeding soundness exam and EPD=s. All bulls have received equal treatment and have been evaluated by the University of Florida  in the heat and humidity of a Florida summer. All bulls have received a full regiment of vaccinations and will be screened for temperament and structural soundness.  Buyers should understand, however, that these are yearling bulls born in the fall of 1999. A management fact sheet will be provided to each buyer to guide them on the proper care and use of yearling bulls.

Currently there are also 62 winter born bulls on test.  These bulls will sell on Friday, February 16.  The Northwest Florida Beef Conference and Trade Show will be held on Thursday the 15th, the day before the sale, and will provide producers an opportunity to get a better understanding of how the bull test works and how to use the data to select their future herd sires.

 Dairy Conference Set
 The West Florida Dairy Production Conference will be held 9:00 am CST, December 6th at the Washington County Extension Office.  Program content includes: Dan Webb-Use of "Palm Electronic Record Book", Barney Harris-Basics of Dairy Cow Feeding, Dr. Bill Berman, DVM & dairyman- his experience in managing a dairy herd for Johne's.  Dale Eade will demonstrate a floatation tank for "Downer Cows" that has been purchased the Panhandle DHIA.  Lunch will be sponsored by the Trade Show Exhibitors.

Beef Management Short Course
The University of Florida in conjunction with County Extension Offices across the state will be offering a Basic Beef Cattle Management Short Course on Thursday nights from January 25 - March 1 at 7:00PM Eastern (6:00 PM Central Time).  The first hour of the course will feature Extension and Research Specialists with the second hour being taught by the local agent for information more specific for each area.  There will be a $10 registration fee per person to cover materials and refreshments for the course.  Two text books necessary for the course,  “Florida Cow-calf Management” and the “Florida Forage Handbook” will be sold for an additional $10 each.  Topics for the course will be:  Fences and Facilities, Forages and Pastures, Feeding the Cow herd, Breeding Programs, Herd Health, Reproduction Management and Marketing.  All of the speakers will be presenting information aimed at producers with 100 cows or less.  This course is designed to be a basic overview of beef cattle management in Florida.  This is a great opportunity for everyone who works with beef cattle to have broad training on the major areas of cattle management.  If you would like more information, contact your local Extension Office.

Weather School 2000 for Agriculture
Monday, December 11, 2000
Jackson County Extension Office, Marianna, FL

Please help us by pre-registering.....
  Contact the Jackson County Extension Office, at (850) 482-9620, fax: 482-9287, or email HEJ@mail.ifas.ufl.edu.  This will help us insure adequate refreshments, lunches and written materials are available for all attending.

Weather School 2000 is provided through the cooperative efforts of the Agricultural Weather Task Force and the University of Florida.  Offered at six locations over the State, the schools are tailored for the agricultural industry in the locale where held. Representatives from Florida State University, the University of Miami and the University of Florida will provide a brief overview of El Nino-La Nina and the level of reliability of long range forecasts.  They will also give examples of the types of long range guidance available and how these products can impact agriculture.  Representatives of the National Weather Service (NWS) and private weather forecasting services will provide information on forecast products they generate that can be used by agriculture.  The afternoon session deals with using weather information.  IFAS researchers will discuss one or more corp models that have been, or are under development. Growers can see how weather data can be incorporated into a management tool that can help them with their day to day decisions.  Representatives from emergency management will discuss what weather data they utilize to deal with severe situations such as hurricanes, fire, etc., and show how these products can be incorporated into an action plan to protect life and property. The last portion of the school will cover plans for completion of the IFAS Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN).  An outline of the program is provided below.

Morning Session: Weather Forecasting and Data Sources

9:30 a.m. CST Registration
10:00 am   Welcome and Opening Comments
10:05 am Long Range Outlooks Climate Studies and Information
10:30 am Mid and Short Term Forecasts
10:45 am Private Forecast Services
11:00 am Emergency Forecasts
11:30 am Data Available from National Weather Service
11:45 am Data Sources Growers Use

Afternoon Session: Using Weather Forecasts and Data

12:45 p.m. Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN )
 1:00 p.m. Plant Models: Field Crops
 1:30 p.m. Pest Management for Tomatoes
 2:00 p.m. Irrigation/water management
 2:30 p.m. Lightning distributions
 3:00 p.m.  Emergency Management
 3:30 p.m. Future Plans and Grower comments

(NFREC News 2-24, H. E. "Ed" Jowers, Jackson County CED)

North Florida Fair Numbers
There were:      156  4-H participants in the Farm Judging at the North Florida Fair,
                           111 FFA participants in the Farm Judging
                         2500 preschool children came through the NFREC booth
                      31,000  (40%)  of  the paid gate attendance came through  the University of  Florida/IFAS NFREC booth!!

(NFREC News 2-24, Lawrence Heitmeyer, Leon County CED)
 

PROGRAM UPDATES

ENVIRONMENTAL HORTICULTURE

                       Weed Control By Plateau in Field-Grown Wildflowers
 James H. Aldrich and Jeffrey G. Norcini
NFREC-Monticello

Plateau  (imazapic; Cyanamid) is an herbicide labelled for use in noncrop areas such as roadsides and in restoration projects. It is especially useful in these sites because it will kill weeds (and prevent their regrowth) yet allow the growth of many desirable native wildflowers and grasses.

On March 15, 2000, Plateau (plus the surfactant Latron B-1956 at 0.25% v/v) was applied over-the-top of field-planted local ecotypes of 3-month-old dye flower (Coreopsis basalis) and 1-yr-old black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta) using a tractor-mounted side boom.  Rates of Plateau were 2, 4, or 6 oz product per acre as a single or split application (split = 1, 2, or 3 oz/A applied two times 4 weeks apart).

On dye flower, a single application of 2 oz/A resulted in >50% reduction in weed cover 4 and 8 weeks after treatment (WAT).  The 2 oz/A rate also caused significant injury (chlorosis, stunting, and/or leaf distortion) at 2 WAT. However, by 8 WAT damage was within an acceptable range, with no apparent injury by 12 WAT.  The 1 oz/A rate applied twice provided weed control equal to the 2 oz/A rate but with less damage at 2 WAT.  Although the damage from 1 oz/A applied twice was worst at 8 WAT, it was not significantly different than damage caused by the 2 oz/A rate at 12 WAT.

On black-eyed susan, the 1 oz/A rate applied twice reduced weed coverage >50% yet caused no significant amount of damage (chlorosis, purplish foliage, stunting, and/or leaf distortion) to black-eyed susan compared to hand-weeded plots 8 and 12 WAT.

Weed control provided by Plateau was reduced, especially in the black-eyed susan plots, by the occurrence of annual trampweed (Facelis retusa) and purple cudweed (Gnaphalium purpureum), two apparently Plateau-tolerant weeds.  It appeared that without such weed species, Plateau could offer significant weed control in field-grown wildflowers with only minimal damage.

We gratefully acknowledge the U.S. Department of Agriculture IR-4 program for their financial support of this study.
(Norcini/Aldrich, NFREC News, 2-24)
 

 Thought for the Day:         Many hands,  many minds,  one goal.

Cheryl Vergot, Public Relations
NFREC - Quincy, U/F IFAS
E-Mail: cvergot@ifas.ufl.edu
Phone: (850) 875-7112

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an Equal Employment Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age handicap or national origin.
 

COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORK IN AGRICULTURE, FAMILY & CONSUMER SERVICES, STATE OF FLORIDA, IFAS, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AND BOARDS OF COUNTY COMMISSIONER COOPERATING

An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution