AM/PIC 2022 Thursday Tour Highlights

 

There were so many great tours of the agriculture and natural resources in South Florida.  It was really hard to choose just one.  The following are pictures and brief descriptions from each of the Thursday Tours. Just keep scrolling through to see a few snapshots from each of the tours.

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Tour #1 Northern Everglades Agriculture

This tour helped participants discover the beauty and challenges of the relationships between the Florida water system and local agriculture. The tour started at Butler Oaks Dairy Farm on the Kissimmee River. The dairy has been on the river since 1965. They recycle all their water and strive to improve water as it traverses their varied landscapes before it enters the Kissimmee River. The farm is nestled between the man-made channel structure that runs from Orlando to Lake Okeechobee and the old meandering runs of the natural system.

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Next the group visited one of the oldest and largest cattle ranches in Florida, Lykes Brothers. While the ranch division specializes in cattle, they’re property also diversifies into hunting leases, timber, sod and vegetable production. The NACAA tour group visited the water farm to see how their operation benefits from water storage and filtration.  The state of Florida pays private land owners to hold water during periods of high rainfall in the summer and fall.  This 8,300 acare water farm allows water to slowly move and filter in a wetland for two weeks before exiting the property.

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The group joined Tour #2 for lunch on the banks of the Kisssimmee River near where it enters Lake Okeechobee, the largest freshwater Lake in the Southeast for a fried a catfish lunch.  The lunch speaker was an expert on the history of water drainage projects from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades. Several key pieces of legislation have changed how water drains through South Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

The final stop of the tour was an airboat ride on the tributaries entering Lake Okeechobee, for an up-close look at this unique ecosystem system and the wildlife that utilize these wetland areas.

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Tour #2 Cowboys & Ice Cream Tour

The Cowboys & Ice Cream Tour highlighted the cattle and dairy industries in Okeechobee County. With stops at Williamson Cattle Company, Larson Dairy, and Buck Daniel Ranch, tour participants, learned about the history of these multi-generation family operations.

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The morning started with a visit to Williamson Cattle Company, a commercial cow-calf operation that has recently added seedstock production with the purchase of a registered Brangus operation. In addition to cattle, Williamson Cattle Company also produce catfish in Alabama and citrus in Florida.

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The next stop of the day was the Larson Dairy. Tour participants were able to walk through the milking parlor and barns with a relaxed question and answer session. They also learned about the slick-haired cattle gene that is being studied to help with heat tolerance of dairy cattle.

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A great lunch was had at Scott Driver Park with catfish, baked beans, coleslaw and swamp cabbage and an assortment of ice cream flavors from Milking R Dairy, a local dairy in Okeechobee.

After lunch we headed off to our final stop at the Buck Daniel Ranch, a commercial cow-calf operation and horse breeding and training operation. Participants were able to watch calf roping demonstrations to see the training regimen roping horses are put through at the ranch.

Aside from learning about the cattle and dairy industries in Okeechobee County and the agricultural diversification of the operations, this tour showcased some bright, young and upcoming agriculturalists in Okeechobee County as John Wesley Williamson, Jenna Larson, Ryleigh Kaye Adams shared about the operations and Kaycee Hanchey and Slade Butts showed off their roping skills for tour participants.

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Tour #3 Gators, Grass, and Caladiums

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The tour took us to the caladium capital of the world, Lake Placid, Florida. After driving by the fields of colorful caladiums, we visited one of the largest producers of caladiums in the world.

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We then visited a park downtown Lake Placid that was planted with caladium varieties at the sight of the upcoming Annual Caladium Festival.

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We then had a pulled pork BBQ lunch with all the fixings before heading to Duda Sod to hear a brief history of the Duda family and their farming operations across the US while touring their sod farm.

Our last stop took us to family-operated Parker Island Gator Farm that raises alligators for meat and hides.

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Tour #4 Sweetest Tour in South Florida

The Sweetest Tour in South Florida began the day with a trip through the Everglades Agricultural Area where attendees passed by hundreds and thousands of acres of sugar cane.  They also saw rice and witnessed the rich black muck soils that support agriculture in the area.  Tour guide Gene McAvoy gave a detailed description of agricultural production in Florida and Palm Beach County which ranks as the number one county in the value of crops produced east of the Mississippi.

First stop was the UF IFAS Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade where visitors toured the campus learning about the research conducted there and saw the subsidence post which bears witness to how much the muck soils have oxidized over the past 100 years.  The also learned that the EAA is America’s winter salad bowl producing a wide range of leafy greens and celery as well as being a leader in sweet corn and green bean production.  In fact the EAA produces over 3.5 billion ears of corn a year enough to circle the globe several times.

Second stop was Hilliard Ranch in Clewiston where multi-county livestock agent Lindsey Wiggins provided an overview of Florida beef cattle production. Here they learned that Florida is primarily a cow-calf state.  Tour participants viewed a group of steers awaiting shipment out west.

From here we proceeded to our 3rd stop – US Sugar in Clewiston – America’s Sweetest City – where guests learned more about sugar cane production in South Florida which is one of only three states that produce sugar cane and that Florida accounts for over ½ of US sugar cane. A few agents from Pennsylvania argued that Hershey Pennsylvania is America’s Sweetest City but quieted down when Gene countered that chocolate is actually quite bitter until it is sweetened with sugar produced in Florida.  At US Sugar host Les Baucum described the cropping cycle and how sugar is harvested.  He noted that US Sugar is heavily invested in precision and ag and artificial intelligence and that it boosts the world’s largest privately owned WI FI network which covers over 250,000 acres and is used to direct and monitor many of the operations involved in the planting, production ad harvest of sugar cane.  While at US Sugar we visited the sugar storage barns where guests were amazed by the mountain of raw sugar awaiting processing into refined sugar.

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From US Sugar the bus went south through Devils Garden last strong hold of the Seminole Indians in Florida where Gene discussed the history of the Seminole people and the provided background on the origin of the Seminole tribe and the three Seminole Indian wars.  We stopped at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation where we had lunch at the Swamp Water Café and tried Indian fry bread and honey butter as well as Indian tacos and other more traditional fare.  While on the reservation guests were able to see captive alligators up close and in person.

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From Big Cypress we headed south and crossed Alligator Alley where attendees witnessed the vastness of the Everglades River of Grass.  Our last stop of the day was Gator Park an airboat and wildlife attraction in Everglades National Park outside of Miami where we boarded airboats which took us out into the “river of grass” where our tour guide talked about the unique plants and animals that inhabit the area.  Attendees again had a chance to see gators up close and in person.

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From there we went back to the South Florida Fairgrounds where the Hendry County Cattlemen’s Association served up a delicious 16oz ribeye and all the fixin’s that was a great finish for a great week.

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Tour #6 Beautiful Tropical Ornamentals

Professional Horticultural Tour in Miami (Dade County).  We visited the UF Tropical Research and Education Center labs and bromeliad nursery.  After lunch the group toured an orchid nursery and a local fruit stand.

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Tour #7 Liquid Vices in the Land of Sunshine

Those who attended the Liquid Vices in the Sunshine State tour tasted a variety of locally made beverages during their tour.

The lively tour of Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company factory included the chance to take a bottle or two of juice with them when they left to head to Pierced Ciderworks where they had their choice of twelve different flavored ciders brewed on-site and made with locally sourced fruits and flavors, like coconut and mango.

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The next stop was the Sunshine Kitchen, a food business incubator where Sour Sea Cow brews the sour ciders and mead they showcased. They were joined there by another juicemaker, Kali Kitchens, who makes and distributes cold-pressed juices and cold-brewed coffee.  Lunch, catered by one of the members of the Sunshine Kitchen, True Roots Catering, was done under the pavilion at Summer Crush Winery and was followed by a tasting of all ten of their muscadine wine varieties.

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Everyone came away from this full day of sampling with a taste of Florida in one form or another and a little more knowledge about beverage making.

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Tour #8 Indian River Lagoon Tide to Table Tour

NACAA/AMPIC 2022 participants learned about aquaculture in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) from growing oysters and clams in the richwaters to growing fish and ‘sea vegetables’ as part of Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute’s Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) system.

Participants met and discussed with shellfish aquaculture industry members (Treasure Coast Shellfish and Orchid Island Shellfish) on the joys, challenges and beauty of working in the IRL.

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They even got to sample oysters and clams harvested directly from the aquaculture farm they toured on the boat and for lunch– a true Tide to Table experience! For some visiting agents it was their first time trying shellfish and learning about aquaculture.

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Special thanks to all the tour hosts (TC Shellfish, Orchid Island Shellfish, FAU-HBOI) and vendors (Capt. Hiram’s resort – River King boat tours and Blackfins Restaurant). And extra special thanks to our tour sponsor Schmidt Marine Technology Partners.

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Tour #9 Florida Cattle Ranches

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We began our tour at the Adams Ranch Located in South Central Florida. Home of one of the top 20 Cow/calf ranches in the United States. Adams Is well known for their registered bulls and heifers for commercial cattle herds.

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Before touring the ranch a presentation on the history of the ranch was presented in the ranch museum.  While viewing the native and improved pasture land we stopped at a cracker house to see how the folks lived when the ranch was first started.

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With over 70 inches of rain annually this flat terrain has a tendency to flood.  The ranch has a network of drainage canals that regulates the water. Tropical grasses are planted that do good in saturated soils.

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It was weaning time. These calves were taken off their dams a couple days before this picture was taken. Part of them will be sold for commercial breeding bulls, the remaining will be raised and marketed under the Adams Ranch’s own brand.

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The next stop Wynne Ranch Brangus.  The color of the cattle changed but the quality stayed the same. The Wynne Ranch is a producer of bulls and heifers for the commercial cattle producers.  We noticed that there was no shortage of grass in any of the fields.

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After a day looking at all these fine cattle, everyone was ready to eat a good steak that was provided by the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, at the South Florida Fairgrounds

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Tour #10 Florida Turfgrass

Tour attendees stopped by The Everglades Club on Palm Beach  and visited with UF graduate and Golf Course Superintendent, Mr. Brian Birney.

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While at The Everglades Club on Palm Beach, tour attendees learned about the reverse osmosis water system and allows the golf course to be irrigated without potable water.

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Turf tour attendees stopped by the Baptist Health Training Complex – home to the Miami Dolphins (https://www.miamidolphins.com/trainingcomplex/). Head Groundskeeper, Edwin Lamour, shared about managing natural grass and artificial turf fields for a professional football team.

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The Turf Tour stopped by the UF/IFAS Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center and looked at a few of the research projects being conducted by graduate students Patrick McLoughlin and Alejandra Sierra.

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The last stop on the Turfgrass Tour was the King Ranch Sod Farm, near Belle Glade, Florida.  A sod harvest demonstration was provided for tour participants.

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Tour #12 Sweetest Place on Earth

The Everglades Agricultural Area, home to over 400,000 acres of sugarcane! This tour highlighted sugar production in Florida, from cultivation of sugarcane to the milling and packing processes.

Tour pictures will be added when provided by tour hosts.

First we visited a sugarcane field owned and operated by Florida Crystals, one of the largest sugarcane growers in the state, to learn how sugarcane is grown and harvested.

Next, we visited Tellus Products to learn how sugarcane byproducts are being used to produce recyclable products, including plates and bowls. This portion of the tour will highlight other environmental benefits of sugarcane.

Next, we visited the UF/IFAS Everglades Research and Education Center for lunch and learned how UF faculty are improving sugarcane production across the United States.

For the final portion of the tour, we visited the Florida Crystals Okeelanta Sugar Mill and Packaging Facility. The mill houses a co-generation system that recycles yard waste from Palm Beach County and returns the electricity by-product back to the electricity grid as well as utilizing the sugarcane bagass (sugarcane stalk fiber) to power the mill and the office complex. Here we will learn how sugarcane is processed to produce various types of sugar products, and how these products are packaged for consumers across the country.

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Tour #14 Exotic Plants and Tropical Fruit

Participants on tour #14 visited South Florida’s tropical plant nurseries, edible tropical fruits groves, and cultivated gardens. Our journey began with a visit to Excelsa Gardens, a tropical plant nursery that specializes in high-quality rare and exotic plants. Unique heliconias, philodendrons, palms, and ferns are just a few of the plants you we saw. We also saw beautiful bromeliads, alocasias, cocoa and breadfruit to.  

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Just a stone’s throw away is the 13-acre Tropical Bamboo Nursery and Gardens, was our next stop. Their display garden features 200 varieties of clumping and spreading bamboo that they grow and sell.

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Our next stop was to the Mounts Botanical Garden to see the previously exotic plants and bamboo in a luscious garden setting. MBG, which began around 1954, was named in honor of Marvin U. “Red” Mounts, an Extension Agent in Palm Beach County. He established and cared for the Garden’s fruit tree collection to help produce new food resources that could help families overcome vitamin deficiencies.

Our final stop was at the shores of Lake Okeechobee for a tour of Erickson Farm. This 4-generation family operation grows gourmet mangos, avocados, starfruit, and other tropical delicacies.

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Tour #15 Seas and Gardens Tour

The Seas to Gardens tour traversed Martin County, from our Indian River Lagoon along the coast to a community garden in our rural western region. At our first stop, tour participants enjoyed the panorama of lagoon and mangroves at the Florida Oceanographic Society’s Coastal Center (FOS). Sea turtles, nurse sharks, and fish swam below us, as FOS educator Zach Jud shared about our coastal resources and efforts to preserve and restore them.

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Afterward, we meandered the grounds, visiting the sting ray touch tanks and hiking the nature trails. Next, we had a fabulous lunch at the Colab Kitchen. Sandwiches were served with a heaping side of fresh mixed greens from Colab Farms.

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Farm Manager Hannah Brock stopped by and answered participants’ questions about their hydroponic production, which includes cut flowers!

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With ample time for a leisurely lunch, some tour participants visited nearby businesses, including Castronovo’s Chocolates and the Roasted Record (a coffee shop/record shop). Ready to continue exploring, we next traveled to a Habitat for Humanity-constructed neighborhood in Indiantown, where a Boys’ and Girls’ Club (BGC) community garden is thriving. We were welcomed by UF/IFAS Extension Martin County Master Gardener Volunteers (MGVs), excited to treat us a taste of tropical Florida! But first, a BGC employee and MGV with more than 30 years of service to UF/IFAS, Paula Smith, led us on a tour, sharing how the neighborhood has embraced the garden and made it a success.

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Then, the team of MGVs, led by co-host Natalie Parkell and volunteer Ruth Levy, offered tropical fruits and vegetables of all sorts, like mangosteen, miracle fruit, jicama, sapote, jaboticaba, starfruit, and jackfruit.

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The lush and eclectic, vining and ground-covering, fruiting and flowering growth in the garden, was a reminder of all things possible.

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Welcoming people, delicious fruits, and space to wander or relax made this stop a wonderful way to conclude our tour.

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Many thanks to co-leader Natalie Parkell, the Florida Oceanographic Society, the MGVs, Colab Farms and Kitchen, the Boys and Girls Club, and the Indiantown community gardeners for hosting us.

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#18 Turtles & Beaches

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#19 Private Palm Beach Garden Tour

Lynn Barber and Susan Haddock, Florida led the Private Garden Tour for people from Maryland, Mississippi, Minnesota and North Carolina.  The group toured Pan’s Garden, Kit Panel’s home landscape, and The Society of the Four Arts.

Pan’s Garden was established in 1994 and named for the ancient Greek god of shepherds and wild places. It is a one-half acre showcasing hundreds of native plants. The bald and pond cypress were beautiful. This garden is maintained by staff and volunteers. There were many plants I had not seen before, and all were well marked/identified.

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Kit Panel’s landscape in West Palm Beach was a sculptured delight. The property is on the intercoastal waterway bordering a walking path. There were dozens of blooming orchids growing on and hanging from many trees. All agreed the garden was incredible and extremely well maintained by her part time horticulturist and two full time garden staff.

The Society of Four Arts was a garden treasure with many rooms and fountains. There were numerous interesting, to say the least, statues and benches where people were enjoying the view, as were we!

All three gardens were impressive and ever so different. We had a fabulous lunch at E. R. Bradley’s Saloon with an intercoastal waterway view; we highly recommend the crab cakes. What a wonderful and enjoyable experience.

 

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#20 Idyllic Treasure Coast 

Smithsonian Aquarium in Ft. Pierce, Florida

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Tour #21 – Airboat the Everglades

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