Category: Farm & Outdoors

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Contributor After FWC staff presented options on highly regulated black bear hunting and the public provided their comments at the August and November 2025 Commission meetings,…

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. Many Jefferson County 4-H youth participated in the North Florida Fair and brought home team and individual awards across three age divisions (junior, intermediate and senior )…

Laura Young ECB Publishing, Inc. The agriculture extension office for Jefferson County is now fully staffed again. The most recent team member to be hired is FAMU Cooperative Extension 4-H and Agriculture…

Gideon Burrell Contributor The North Florida Fair was very interesting and fun. It had a variety of things to do: games, rides, shows and many other things.  On 4-H day at the…

Jennifer Mason Contributor Throughout this dry fall, I find myself kicking around the woods observing the shrubs and trees that are stressed from this prolonged drought. Many trees didn’t really have much…

Frank Humphries Florida A&M University Pruning vines too early creates a higher risk of cold damage during unpredictable winter warm-ups and frost events. Muscadines are a grape native to the southeastern United…

Florida Dept. of Agriculture Contributor The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will open an application cycle for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program (RFLPP), beginning Monday, Dec. 15, at…

Laura Young ECB Publishing, Inc. This month we’re making the transition from fall into winter, watching the days get shorter and shorter and then begin, almost imperceptibly, to extend again. In these…

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. The first sanctioned hunting season for Florida black bears in a decade starts on Saturday, Dec. 6. During the season, which is planned to last until Dec….

Laura Young ECB Publishing, Inc. The Jefferson County Farm Bureau, in collaboration with the Monticello Kiwanis Club, hosted another successful Farm-City Week Luncheon on Wednesday, Nov. 19. The annual event brought together…

Suwannee River Water Management District Contributor To help enhance public awareness of water levels and the impact rainfall has on current conditions in North Florida, the Suwannee River Water Management District (District)…

Shelby Martin Florida Farm Bureau Emerald Greene, owner of Greene Publishing, Inc. and ECB Publishing, Inc., has been named the 2025 Florida Farm Bureau Newsperson of the Year. This announcement was made…

Florida Farm Bureau Contributor   Tyler Shadrick, of Shadrick Farms in Madison County, has been named the 2025 Florida Farm Bureau Achievement in Agriculture award winner. His announcement came at Florida Farm…

Florida Farm Bureau Contributor  More than 450 grassroots members gathered in Daytona Beach Oct. 27-29 at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort for Florida Farm Bureau’s 84th State Annual Meeting. Voting delegates discussed and approved policy resolutions that were adopted as the organization’s policy…

Hailey Waldo ECB Publishing, Inc. The Florida Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness has officially opened its annual Florida Farm to School Essay Contest, inviting high school students across the state to…

Laura Young ECB Publishing, Inc. When the camellia bushes start blooming, which they are right now, they bring back memories of my brother-in-law Randy, who died relatively young in a car accident….

John McGuire and Kier Klepzig Contributors There has been a recent increase in pine tree deaths reported in a swath extending from Tallahassee, Fla., heading north to Thomasville, Ga., and then east…

John Dooner Southern Forestry Consultants, Inc. Florida Forests Week is Oct. 26-Nov. 1. It’s a special time for those of us who own, manage and depend upon Florida’s forests for our livelihoods….

Laura Young ECB Publishing, Inc. Jefferson County has for many years had a vibrant 4-H program with strong participation among local youth. Built up during John Lilly’s long tenure as the 4-H…