As usual, the crowd at the Florida Ag Expo was up early and revving to go. The pickup/SUV ratio to regular passenger car in the parking lot was probably at least 10:1. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Let's Roll
Upon entering the Expo grounds, it was hard to miss St. Lucie Tire & Battery's mobile unit ... among other things. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Fine Forecast
Sunny, breezy conditions with temperatures in the 80s greeted participants at the 2014 Florida Ag Expo. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Plane And Simple
UF/IFAS Extension agent and Florida Grower contributor Gene McAvoy (right) learns more about the unmanned aerial vehicle parked at the Altavian Drones booth. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Go Big Or Go Home
The addition of larger pieces of equipment on the grounds of the Florida Ag Expo this year made many attendees take pause. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Staked Tomato Harvester
Grower Tony DiMare takes a closer look at the staked tomato harvester on display from Ag Harvesters. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Kick The Tires
Everglades Farm Equipment brought a fleet of tractors and other vehicles for this year's Florida Ag Expo. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Positive Growth
Due to demand from industry suppliers, more exhibit space was added outside at the Florida Ag Expo. Photo by Frank Giles
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Follow The Leader
The entrance to the main exhibitor tent was a bustle of activity all day at the Florida Ag Expo. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Seeking Solutions
Nearly 90 industry suppliers set up displays inside and outside of the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. Photo by Frank Giles
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Welcome To The 2014 Florida Ag Expo
Gulf Coast Research and Education Center director Jack Rechcigl welcomed an eager crowd to the 9th annual Florida Ag Expo. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Starting Lineup
[From left] Todd McClure, West Coast Tomatoes; Danny Johns, Blue Sky Farms; Dudley Calfee, Ferris Farms; and David Hill, Southern Hill Farms participated in a lively panel discussion, which was moderated by FFVA's Sonia Tighe. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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On The Hot Seat
The grower panel kicked off the program at the 2014 Florida Ag Expo. Multiple topics were explored to explain how the participants find fixes on the farm. Connecting with consumers, social media marketing, and labor efficiencies were discussed by each. In addition, several questions from the audience kept the conversation going. Photo by Frank Giles
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Fixing Farm Labor
Grower panel participant Todd McClure of West Coast Tomatoes talks about how his operation has switched to paying its laborers with pre-paid debit cards to reduce risk. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Meeting Of The Minds
During the first break, growers Tony DiMare (left) and Tom O'Brien of C & D Vegetable Co. (center) ponder possibilities in the wake of the panel discussion. Photo by Paul Rusnak
It's not all vegetables at the Florida Ag Expo. UF/IFAS citrus breeders were on hand in the courtyard to slice up some juicy orange and grapefruit varieties for attendees to taste. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Freeze Frames
Agriculture and art lovers alike admired the work on display at the 'Florida Highwaymen' booth. Artist R.L. Lewis (seated) made an appearance and created a new piece from scratch. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Picture Perfect
An original 'Florida Highwaymen' artwork piece created by artist R.L. Lewis was among the giveaways at the 2014 Florida Ag Expo. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Loading Zone Only
Split into two concurrent sessions (Vegetable Breeding, Production, and Weed Management; and Vegetable Health), the field tours were once again a huge draw. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Class Is In Session
Drs. Jay Scott (left) and Sam Hutton (right) commanded the first stop of the Vegetable Breeding, Production, And Weed Management field tour. Photo by Frank Giles
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Variety Show
Cropping decisions are made easier by what's revealed about yield evaluations for hybrids and inbred lines. Photo by Frank Giles
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Seeing Is Believing
Florida Ag Expo attendees got a first-person perspective of prospective releases from the UF tomato breeding program. Photo by Frank Giles
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Food Safety Focus
UF/IFAS' Keith Schneider acted as moderator and participant for the session titled "Final Rule Update And Water Testing And Quality Requirements Under The Food Safety Modernization Act." In addition to an overview, he also delved into the necessity of microbial sampling. Schneider provided two main takeaways for those in attendance: Keep records; and know the quality of your water. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Insider Info From FDA
Michael Mahovic, FDA, provided attendees with updates to the Food Safety Modernization Act. In particular, he mentioned changes regarding the Produce Safety Rule. Revised definitions of small farms and small business are among the tweaks. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Meal Ticket
A hungry crowd emerges from the educational sessions, tradeshow area, and the first round of field tours and makes its way toward the lunch tent. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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If You Build It ...
A plethora of participants spent the day at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center learning, seeing, and doing.
Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Lunch Is Served
Despite the sprawling nature of the Florida Ag Expo, lunchtime brought everyone together. Good BBQ will do that. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Give It Away, Give It Away Now
The big door prize at the 2014 Florida Ag Expo was the massive John Deere gun safe from Everglades Farm Equipment. Many entered, only one could win. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Interest Group
A first for the Florida Ag Expo, the unmanned aerial vehicle demonstration drew plenty of interest. Attendees left lunch early to fill three wagons (2 more than what was originally thought would suffice) to make the trek out to the field to watch and learn more about this high-flying technology. Photo by Frank Giles
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What's Up, Docs?
Assisted by Dr. Gary Vallad (right), Dr. Amr H. Abd-Elrahman explains the advantages of geomatics via unmanned aircraft, including accurately georeferenced imagery; being color and infrared capable; ability to target identification and target classification; maximizing coverage of ground area; high-resolution images; and appropriate post-processing methods. Photo by Frank Giles
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Ground Control
This is an example of the ground detection system being used by UF//IFAS scientists in conjunction with their unmanned aerial vehicle research. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Drone Down
UF/IFAS Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research Program coordinator Matthew Burgess gave specs on the UF-created UAVs to an interested crowd who attended the on-site demo. The craft is constructed of carbon fiber and Kevlar. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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We Have Lift-Off
How easy is it to get this aircraft airborne? The battery-powered UAV even can be launched by hand from an airboat. Photo by Frank Giles
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Bird's Eye View
According to researchers, the aerospace engineered UAV contains autonomous flight control capability and can even operate in winds up to 30 mph. Photo by Frank Giles
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The Great Wide Open
Some of the pros for using unmanned aerial vehicles include enhancing existing ground and air-based survey methods, ease of operation, and overall safety by keeping scientists on the ground. Some of the cons include having to deal with very strict FAA regulations and other airspace restrictions. Photo by Frank Giles
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Fresh Perspective
Susan Nardizzi, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, gave growers more than a few reasons why they should tap into Fresh From Florida branding. The recognizable logo on your produce can do a lot for sales, especially in a marketplace seeking sustainable solutions through buying local. Photo by Frank Giles
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Social Gathering
University of Florida Ag Economics Students presented a spot-on presentation demonstrating how to get the most out of social media. During the presentation, it was noted four out of five Millennials seek information on a mobile device. In addition, they highlighted several growers as prime examples of how to use digital domains correctly including, Lipman, Wish Farms, and Blue Sky Farms. Photo by Frank Giles
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Getting To Know Nematicides
UF/IFAS researcher Dr. Gary Vallad addresses questions during the Vegetable Health field tour about nematicide options. Vallad mentioned impressive results from the new product Nimitz (ADAMA). Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Field Trip
Trials involving tomatoes, peppers, cucurbits, strawberries and more are a large part of what scientists at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center focus on. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Education On The Go
Wagon loads of attendees made the 90-minute journey (4+ stops) to find out the latest research happening in crop protection and vegetable breeding. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Trial And Error
The Vegetable Health field tour included a look at trials of chemistries in the treatment of major maladies such as bacterial spot. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Disease Identification
In the field trials involving crop protection, what do you find? Plenty of the disease in the flesh. Here is what appears to be bacterial speck. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Learn And Earn
The field tours help make the Florida Ag Expo a unique event. It gives growers and industry stakeholders the chance to get an up-close look at the vital research being done on their behalf. In addition, this was the first year in the event's history where CEUs could be earned for attending the field tour. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Pest Management Pointers
During the Vegetable Health field tour, UF/IFAS researcher Dr. Hugh Smith discusses different IPM methods. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Bright Idea
One IPM option involves the use of reflective mulches to repel vegetable pests. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Artfully Done
Have paint, will travel. 'Florida Highwaymen' artist R.L. Lewis not only showcased some of his Old Florida landscape paintings, but also his skills. The painting to his left was started and completed in short order. Photo by Frank Giles
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To The Victor ...
What's better than winning an original 'Florida Highwaymen' painting? How about getting a picture with the artist. R.L. Lewis (left) was happy to present the winner with one of his creative works. Photo by Frank Giles
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Pick A Winner
Florida Grower sales rep Chad Gillyard reaches into the John Deere gun safe to pick the grand prize winner. Photo by Frank Giles
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Safe And Sound
Dan Inglima of Everglades Farm Equipment congratulates the lucky winner of the John Deere gun safe. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Let The Countdown Begin
Reminiscent of watching a rocket launch from the Space Coast, Florida Ag Expo attendees stopped what they were doing to watch the Rotor Group helicopter's dramatic departure from the show. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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Up And Away
The late afternoon flight of Rotor Group's boom-equipped helicopter coincided with the wrapping up of another successful Florida Ag Expo. Photo by Frank Giles
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It's A Wrap
Whether indoors or outdoors, the tradeshow vendors saw a lot of traffic during the 2014 Florida Ag Expo. Photo by Paul Rusnak
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See You Next Year!
The 2015 Florida Ag Expo is scheduled for Nov. 4. Photo by Paul Rusnak
Farming professionals from across Florida and beyond came out in droves for the 9th annual Florida Ag Expo at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm.
Nearly 700 attendees pre-registered for the single-day short course/field day/tradeshow event presented by Florida Grower, UF/IFAS, the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, and the Florida Tomato Committee.
Scan through the slideshow above to see images captured by the editors of Florida Grower and to learn what was seen and heard during the Expo.
Also, click here to see a running list of the top tweets made during this year’s Florida Ag Expo.
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Paul Rusnak is the Senior Online Editor of American Vegetable Grower, American Fruit Grower, and Greenhouse Grower magazines, all Meister Media Worldwide brands. He is based in Northeast Florida. See all author stories here.
November 9, 2014 
