2019 Panhandle Ag e-News Reader’s Choice Awards

by | Jan 17, 2020 | Awards & Recognition, General Agriculture

Reader's Choice Award

Most popular articles authored in 2019.

The Panhandle Ag Extension Team would like to thank our subscribers and social media followers for your interest and support of Panhandle Ag e-News in 2019.  Keep sharing those emails, posts, and tweets to help us spread the word, so more producers sign up for this service.The Panhandle Ag e-News project began in April of 2012. Over the past eight years, 1,634 articles have been published that are searchable by topic area, keyword, author, or by using the search box provided at the top of the site. The Panhandle Agriculture Extension Team is made up of 41 county agents and state specialists that serve farmers and ranchers in Northwest Florida.

In 2019, the Panhandle Ag Extension Team contributed 199 articles that provided timely information to farmers and ranchers related to farm management, pest management, best management practice recommendations, plus numerous announcements of upcoming educational events.  Each week links to the most recently published articles were shared through 43 electronic newsletter issues (emails), as well as through Facebook and Twitter Accounts.   In 2019, readership increased 15% over 2018, with 336,825 page views (923/day).  The number of email subscribers rose 4% to 4,518 people.  The social media followers grew 10% to 3,068.  In 2019, the website reached a new milestone with over 1.25 million page views, since the project began in 2012.

Readers Choice Awards

At the start of each year the statistics are compared for the articles that were published the previous year, with the authors of the most popular articles given recognition of the Reader’s Choice Awards.  There were a number of the articles that were very popular this year, but there were several that really stood out.  The following are the 30 most popular articles published in 2019.

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1st Place

New Biosecurity & Interstate Transportation Requirements for Horses in July

Dr. Suandra TenBroek, UF/IFAS Equine Specialist wrote the most popular article in 2019.  Her article made horse owners aware of new requirements for interstate transportation of horses.  The new Electronic Equine CVI, or EECVI, will require a veterinarian to do an initial exam and “Health Certificate,” and then the owner will use an online tool to request a permit for each movement or event. The change is being made to provide better documentation for the interstate movement of horses, so appropriate measures can be taken if there is a disease outbreak.  This article received 18,427 page views in 2019.

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2nd Place

Dispelling Cattle Mineral Supplementation Myths  

Matt Hersom, UF/IFAS Beef Nutrition Specialist discusses his top 10 common myths, hearsay, and misinformation that surround mineral supplementation for the beef cow herd along with his thoughts about them.  This article received 5,374 page views in 2019.

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3rd Place

USDA Transitioning to EID Tags for Official Cattle Identification   

Nick Simmons, UF/IFAS Escambia County Extension Director, provided an article that outlined USDA’s plan for cattle identification in the future.  Over the next several years, federal animal identification rules regarding traceability will undergo a multi-year transition to solely Electronic-Identification Tags (EID).  This article received 1,894 page views in 2019.

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Honorable Mention

Considerations Before Contracting for Chipped or Shredded Wood Debris Application on Agricultural Land      

A team of authors that included: Mike Mulvaney, WFREC Cropping Systems Specialist,  Cheryl Mackowiak, NFREC Soil Specialist, David Wright, NFREC Agronomy Specialist,  Barry Tillman, NFREC Peanut Breeder, and Pat Minogue, NFREC Forestry Specialist wrote an article on a timely topic. During the cleanup effort following Hurricane Michael, contractors had chipped or shredded tree debris, and were offering to pay farmers to allow the materials to be spread on agricultural land. Thir article outlines some key issues that should be considered before allowing wood debris application on agricultural land.  This article received 1,002 page views in 2019.

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Other popular articles written in 2019 included:

5              Sunn Hemp: A Fast Growing Annual Forage Legume         942

6              Florida Pasture Endophyte and Mycotoxin Update            850

7              2019 Cool-Season Forage Variety Recommendations for Florida  758

8              Disrupted Tupelo Bloom Expected this Year          693

9              Hurricane Relief Sales Tax Refund Forms                               648

10           Torpedograss Slowly Attacking the Panhandle     612

11           Understanding Stocking Rate vs. Stocking Density              608

12           Calibrating Your Boomless Pesticide Sprayer          592

13           Controlling Broomsedge and Vaseygrass in Pastures Using a Weed-Wiper    568

14           Beware of Toxic Plants that Can Cause Kidney Failure in Livestock               544

15           Sorghum Silage – A Cost-Effective Alternative for Beef Cattle Operations    490

16           Purina Recalls Producer’s Pride Cattle Cubes from Florida Tractor Supply Stores    483

17           Mayhaw – a Native Fruit Tree Worth Considering for Niche Markets             468

18           Renovating Centipede Grass Infested Pastures        465

19           Improving the Reproductive Efficiency of Beef Cattle Herds              460

20           Using Man’s Best Friend to Detect Citrus Greening               441

21           Farmers are Doing their Part to Protect Florida’s Shoal Bass            390

22           Tropical Soda Apple has Established in Santa Rosa County                369

23           Governor Activates Disaster Bridge Loans for Farms Impacted by Hurricane Michael             361

24           Avoiding Potassium Deficiency in Cotton   336

25           Hurricane Michael, Rainy-Season & Forages Did Not Mix Well in Northwest Florida this Year            331

26           Four Panhandle Farmers and a County Agent Recognized by the 2019 Southeast Hay Contest               330

27           The Great Florida Cattle Drive of 2021 will Celebrate 500 Years of Florida Ranching               324

28           Paraquat Certified Applicator Training Required to Prevent Poisonings       314

29           The Economics of Grazing Cool-Season Annual Forages     305

30           Florida Pasture Fertility Survey Preliminary Results             285

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In addition to the articles shared each week, a short YouTube video was shared under the title of “Friday Features.”  In general these videos related to some form of agricultural issue, farming techniques, new innovative tools and equipment, or farm humor.

The top 10 Featured Videos in 2019 were:

1          Florida Crackers – The Cowboys of Florida              1,091

2          Fence-Line Hay Feeders             694

3          Rotation of Hay Feeding Locations             579

4           Farmers Struggle to Recover After Hurricane Michael        543

5           Baxter Black – How to Distinguish Cowboys from Farmers in Town                529

6          The Beef Drool Log              501

7          The Tractor Engineer Who Revolutionized Cotton Farming             393

8          Uncertain Future of the Timber Industry in Calhoun County           356

9          Improving Mature Bahiagrass Quality with Nitrogen Fertilization 335

10         WireTight Fence Repair Tool         333

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You might want to also check out the most popular articles from previous years:

Doug Mayo
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