Passionate Ag-vocate. Experienced association executive. On a mission to promote responsible use of fertilizers and pesticides in FL agriculture.
Lakeland, Florida
Joined May 2009
- Tweets2.6K
- Following538
- Followers900
- Likes3.1K
Mary Hartney retweeted
Samira Daroub has received the 2026 Agri-Industrial Award from the Belle Glade Chamber of Commerce, recognizing a career connecting our research with the needs of South Florida agriculture.
More on what earned the @EvergladesREC director this honor 🔗 bit.ly/4yt7xuB
ALT The image features the text "Agri-Industrial Award" alongside the logo of The Chamber, which includes a stylized representation of wheat and a family. To the right, there is a portrait of an individual in business attire with a blurred background.
Mary Hartney retweeted
Congratulations to Dr. Unruh from his friends at FTGA!
From WFREC:
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) West Florida Research and Education Center (WFREC) is pleased to announce that Dr. Bryan Unruh has been appointed Center Director, effective January 29, 2027.
Dr. Unruh brings 30 years of experience, expertise, and dedication to WFREC and is ready to take the reins. After earning three degrees from land-grant universities, he joined the WFREC faculty in 1996. Since then, he has established himself as a national leader in golf course turfgrass management science.
Dr. Unruh’s contributions include leading the development of both the Florida and U.S. golf course Best Management Practices manuals. His outstanding service to the industry has earned him numerous accolades, including a Lifetime Service Award from the Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Florida Turfgrass Association’s prestigious Wreath of Grass Distinguished Service Award.
The faculty, staff, and students at WFREC look forward to a bright and productive future under Dr. Unruh’s leadership.
As Dr. Unruh prepares to step into this role, current Center Director Dr. Wes Wood will retire in January 2027. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Wood for his exceptional leadership, dedication, and many accomplishments over the past 12 years. His contributions have made a lasting impact on WFREC, and he will be greatly missed.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Bryan Unruh on his appointment and thanking Dr. Wes Wood for his outstanding service to WFREC!
Mary Hartney retweeted
A YES vote on Amendment 2 helps us:
🌳 Keep the land in farmland
🍓 Keep growing Florida fresh food
🧑🌾 Keep future generations on the farm
Learn more at FloridaFarmBureau.org/YesOn2
Mary Hartney retweeted
Congratulations to @FLCrystalsCorp, @USSugarFLA, and @SCGCFL for being the first in the Everglades Agricultural Area to receive the This Farm CARES award. The @SFWMD announced that EAA farmers achieved a 65% reduction in phosphorus levels during Water Year 2026, more than double the 25% reduction required under the Everglades Forever Act.
Mary Hartney retweeted
Inbox: UF setting up the Ballard House in DC after getting sizable donation from Brian & Kathryn Ballard
FFAA members support Florida farmers in so many ways—growers’ success is the industry’s goal. Sponsorships are just one example. Justin Newsome with Syngenta was the sponsor for FFVA’s Annual Conference breakfast today. Thank you Syngenta!
Mary Hartney retweeted
If you think Tallahassee will permanently fund Florida’s cities and counties for the next 20, 30 or 40 years if Amendment 3 passes, you haven’t spent much time in Tallahassee.
I spent 12 years there. The Legislature may fully intend to backfill local governments today. I even believe them in the short term.
But governors change. Legislatures change. Recessions happen. Budgets tighten. Priorities shift.
And inflation hits this promise from both directions: the homestead exemption grows with inflation, increasing the local revenue hole, while the cost of police, fire, roads, labor and everything else local governments buy rises too.
So the amount Tallahassee must send won’t stay flat. It permanently grows.
Eventually, Tallahassee will ask the obvious question: Why are we permanently subsidizing local governments?
And that’s when the trap closes.
We will have permanently damaged the local tax base in the Constitution, while the promise to replace those dollars was never permanent at all.
A permanent and growing obligation backed by a temporary political promise. What could possibly go wrong?
Mary Hartney retweeted
People love to say we should go back to a time when food was natural, medicine was simple, and we weren’t surrounded by synthetic chemicals.
There’s just one problem.
That world existed.
And people died young in it.
For most of human history, a contaminated glass of water could kill you. A small cut could become a fatal infection. Childbirth was dangerous. Pneumonia was deadly. Smallpox killed hundreds of millions.
Then something extraordinary happened.
We started understanding the world around us.
Jenner gave us vaccination.
Pasteur helped reveal the microbial world.
Semmelweis showed that something as simple as washing hands could save lives.
Fleming discovered penicillin.
Chemists learned to purify water, make medicines, disinfect wounds and manufacture molecules that nature either couldn’t provide or couldn’t provide in sufficient quantities.
And life expectancy soared.
Today we are so protected by those advances that we have the luxury of forgetting what life was like without them.
We romanticize “natural” and fear “synthetic” because generations of science have insulated us from many of the natural things that used to kill us.
Nature isn’t good.
Synthetic isn’t bad.
Those are descriptions of origin, not measures of safety or value.
The irony is that many of the people most afraid of modern chemistry are alive long enough to fear it because of modern chemistry.
Progress has a strange side effect:
Eventually people forget what it saved them from.
Mary Hartney retweeted
It takes one bad study to create a scientific myth.
And decades of good science to try to kill it.
Let me tell you about two papers that changed the way millions of people think about science. 🧵1/
Mary Hartney retweeted
I had such a great experience at the Lilienfeld Alliance Conference, meeting wtih other scholars on how to best teach concepts in critical thinking. My talk discussed disinformation in agriculture. Check it out, fresh info and a fun talk. youtube.com/watch?v=9nLVBpHP…
Mary Hartney retweeted
The USDA's final citrus forecast of the 2025-2026 season offered a ray of hope Friday, showing an increase of 720,000 boxes of oranges and 100,000 boxes of grapefruit over April's numbers.
centralfloridaagnews.com/usd…
Mary Hartney retweeted
Sulfur plays a quiet but critical role in how America feeds itself — it’s a key input in the crop nutrients farmers depend on to grow our food.
Right now, global sulfur prices have skyrocketed from a historical $100–$300/ton to over $1,000, driven by international conflict, disrupted supply chains, and foreign export restrictions from countries like China and Russia.
Here’s the frustrating part: America produces enough sulfur to meet its own needs — but much of it is being exported to state-run competitors overseas, driving up costs for American farmers and consumers.
The fix is simple: keep American sulfur working for American production.
Food security is national security. Take two minutes to tell your lawmakers to act. 👉
phosphateinnovation.com/cont…
Mary Hartney retweeted
In honor of Jake Rogers, @SenRickScott is donating his Q2 salary to the Shepherd Center, the nation’s premier rehab hospital specializing in spinal cord and brain injuries
Jake’s obituary is below 👇
Paralyzed from the neck down, Jake Rogers told his mother of a vision: there was a version of him that was still physically healthy, still studying abroad to become a doctor, still hiking mountains and sailing the seas.
And then he willed it into existence
But tragedy struck last week.
RIP, Jake. You were so young
bevisfh.com/m/obituaries/jac…
Mary Hartney retweeted
UF researchers developed a reusable gel that captures "forever chemicals" from water more effectively than many existing filters, creating new steps toward cleaner drinking water. brnw.ch/21x3K79
Mary Hartney retweeted
Farmers Feeding Florida is now a permanent resource thanks to this year’s Farm Bill. That’s $76 million over two years connecting Florida farmers to families in need of fresh food.
Mary Hartney retweeted
Heading to #NAITC26? Join Nutrients for Life Ambassador Jamie Brown for "Fertilizer Comes from Nature: Elements that Nourish the World."
📅 June 23, 2026
⏰ 3:00–4:00 PM
📍 Convention Center Meeting Room #554
We hope to see you in Providence!
Mary Hartney retweeted
Florida's soil archive has a new home!
@SoilWaterSci moved more than 8k samples collected during @USDA_NRCS soil survey efforts from the 1960s into a larger workspace with more room for storage, research & student learning while preserving an invaluable scientific resource.
ALT Red, black and silver shelves in a storage room will hold thousands of soil samples.
ALT Red, black and silver shelves in a storage room will hold thousands of soil samples.
ALT Red, black and silver shelves in a storage room will hold thousands of soil samples.
ALT Dozens of cardboard boxes holding soil samples are stored on top of and underneath a wood and metal wall shelving unit.
Mary Hartney retweeted
One summer camp. One lifelong friendship. Two future @UFEntNem entomologists.
Alex and Christian met as fourth graders at the UF Entomology Field Camp, commonly known as Bug Camp. Today, they're roommates at UF studying entomology, and both say Bug Camp set them on the path to where they are now.
From collecting insects and learning scientific techniques to meeting mentors and discovering future careers, Bug Camp gives kids the chance to explore science in a hands-on way. Sometimes all it takes is one summer to spark a lifelong passion.
To learn more about their story and see the full video, click the link tr.ee/5M6Uki1U8T
Mary Hartney retweeted
As technology plays a growing role in agriculture, protecting farmers’ data is more critical than ever.
In a new blog post by @IFAS_VP, he outlines how UF/IFAS is responding to growers’ concerns — following FFVA President Mike Joyner’s call to strengthen data protections.
From data ownership and anonymity to cybersecurity and responsible sharing, this work is centered on protecting farm data while supporting a strong, profitable industry.
👉 Learn more about how UF/IFAS is tackling agricultural data privacy, and what it means for your operation: ffva.com/page/headlessblog?s…
