Commercial agriculture/horticulture agents provide educational services through:

• Field days and field consultations;

• Demonstration plantings;

• Product marketing and management strategies;

• Farm visits;

• Office consultations;

• Applicator pesticide certification exams and CEU seminars; and

• Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN).

Educational programs cover a wide array of subjects such as nutritional requirements, pest management, cultivation, irrigation, variety/rootstock performance, cold protection, pruning, marketing, water conservation, equine husbandry, and livestock and forage production.

Plant clinics for horticultural businesses are offered at the Agricultural Center, Tavares, and at the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, Apopka. Commercial fruit growers benefit from monthly O.J. meetings and various field days held throughout Central Florida. Equine husbandry classes are conducted twice yearly for local horse owners.

To subscribe to the following newsletters, contact the extension office:

• Citruslines — monthly (citrus growers/producers).

• Agxact Facts — quarterly (livestock/natural resources)

• Orchard Almanac — quarterly (fruit and nut)

• The Cutting Edge — quarterly (horticulture)

FAWN provides accurate and timely weather data to a wide variety of users. This weather information is essential for agricultural, horticulture and natural resource management. The data is collected and reported every 15 minutes. Sixteen automated weather stations are located at University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences Research and Education Centers and Extension Service sites in Central and South Florida.

Log on to the FAWN Web site at http://fawn.ifas.ufl.edu.