Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by J. Scott Angle
UF/IFAS Provides Workforce Development Opportunities for All Ages
UF/IFAS Provides Workforce Development Opportunities for All Ages May 2026 More than 4 in 10 Florida farmers are at least 65 years old. Collecting Social Security is not the future of Florida farming. We’ve got an aging workforce challenge on our hands. UF/IFAS can’t make you younger (give us a few more years to work on that with our medical center!). But every day we cultivate the next generation of farmers and other agriculture and natural resources professionals.
Tallahassee Democrat: Commerce, UF making Florida an AgTech hub to save farmers
When you pour Florida milk on your cereal and sip Florida OJ as part of your morning ritual, you’re making economic and national security decisions. Buying local isn’t just a quaint notion of supporting a mom-and-pop dairy or produce stand. It’s a strategic commitment to strengthening the rural economy and reducing reliance on imports in a world where distant disruptions can empty grocery store shelves. It’s our job to defend your food supply.
Commerce, UF making Florida an AgTech hub to save farmers | Opinion
J. Scott Angle and J. Alex Kelly Your Turn April 16, 2026, 5:05 a.m. ET When you pour Florida milk on your cereal and sip Florida OJ as part of your morning ritual, you’re making economic and national security decisions. Buying local isn’t just a quaint notion of supporting a mom-and-pop dairy or produce stand. It’s a strategic commitment to strengthening the rural economy and reducing reliance on imports in a world where distant disruptions can empty grocery store shelves.
Work Ready Florida Prepares Future Agriculture Professionals
Work Ready Florida Prepares Future Agriculture Professionals April 2026 UF/IFAS Photo by Tyler Jones Throughout her career at a high school with no ag program, Musiq Williams has been tested on distinguishing beneficial bugs from agricultural pests, how the farm-to-fork chain feeds us, and on reading nutrition labels.
Keeping Florida’s Farms on Florida’s Land
Keeping Florida’s Farms on Florida’s Land March 2026 Almost everything we do at UF/IFAS contributes to keeping working lands working. We do it with a laser focus on keeping you profitable. The combined threats of rising input costs, volatile markets, extreme weather and pests can threaten farmers’ bottom lines and make it more economically attractive to plant that final crop: rooftops. We can’t control weather or the price of fertilizer.
Conservation Easement Guide Now Available
Conservation Easement Guide Now Available February 2026 Maybe you’ve heard piecemeal about incentives available to keep your farm a farm. Commissioner Simpson is the loudest and proudest champion for conserving ag land through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. There are federal programs that fund agricultural conservation easements, too. In a few places, a non-profit or your Board of County Commissioners might offer incentives to keep your land in agriculture.
Extension Summit Acknowledges Importance of Trust and Data Security
Extension Summit Acknowledges Importance of Trust and Data Security January 2026 By J. Scott Angle @IFAS_VP You can trust your Extension agents to keep conversations with you private. We’re learning that, in addition to a handshake agreement about on-farm work, you want to know that we’re protecting your sensitive data about yields, fertilizer use, irrigation and soil health – what sets your farm apart from your competition.
Farm Bureau Policy in Action Through Partnerships and Advocacy
Farm Bureau Policy in Action Through Partnerships and Advocacy December 2025 By J. Scott Angle @IFAS_VP Many of us experience the UF/IFAS-Farm Bureau partnership through our personal relationships — leader to leader, farmer to county agent. At October’s fantastic annual meeting in Daytona the relationship was codified – again. It’s the policy of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation to partner with UF/IFAS. FFBF voting delegates reaffirm that annually through approval of the policy book.
Dr. Rice Named Extension Professional of the Year
Dr. Rice Named Extension Professional of the Year October 2025 By J. Scott Angle @IFAS_VP Ron Rice has been a bridge for the two Florida Farm Bureaus in Palm Beach County to the county government. In fact, he is county government. Our Extension leaders are employees of the counties they work in as well as of UF/IFAS.
New Public Perception Initiative Launched by IFAS
New Public Perception Initiative Launched by IFAS August 2025 By J. Scott Angle @IFAS_VP UF/IFAS exists to meet your needs. To find out what those needs are, we listen. We have thousands of conversations a year – farmer and county agent, student and professor, producer and researcher, President Smith and me. Now we’re seeking a stakeholder-to-scientist conversation that turns listening into research.
International Agricultural Research Protects and Advances Florida Farming
International Agricultural Research Protects and Advances Florida Farming June 2025 By J. Scott Angle @IFAS_VP Scientific work we do in Mexico and Ethiopia helps farmers in Suwannee Valley, the Everglades Agricultural Area and Southwest Florida. In the short term, work abroad is our first line of defense against pests and disease. The hope is to stop invaders like the Asian citrus psyllid before they get to Florida.
Legislative Priorities Inspire Rural Renaissance
Legislative Priorities Inspire Rural Renaissance May 2025 By J. Scott Angle, UF/IFAS Senior Vice President As I thank you for your support for the UF/IFAS legislative agenda this year, I emphasize how important that support was at this political moment. This year’s legislative session started with a call from our Senate president for a rural renaissance.
Florida innovation, American farmers and a path to competitiveness
Research that created new plant varieties has saved billions of lives around the world. Agricultural research in the U.S. also saves livelihoods, as well. J. Scott Angle [ UF/IFAS PHOTOGRAPHER | UF/IFAS ] American farmers face global competition in the produce aisle. Labor challenges put them at a disadvantage. Innovations from research keep them competitive. Part of the beauty of agricultural research as a tool to even the playing field in international trade is that it does not punish other nations.
Florida must train an agriculture labor force for AI integration | Opinion
For decades, Florida has faced a grave dilemma: import labor or import food. We’ve chosen (correctly, in my view) to import labor. While a certain amount of fair trade with Mexico, Canada and even China is good, we do not ever want to depend on them for our next meal. A coming transformation in Florida agriculture offers a way out of this dilemma. Artificial intelligence and other technologies could substantially reduce the amount of labor needed to plant, pick and pack.
AI in Florida agriculture will improve farming, create careers and put better food on your table
1 day ago Here's everything you need to know to unlock new pleasure. When you think about the clitoris, you’re probably picturing that super-sensitive nub that’s visible on the outside of the body, located at the top of the vulva where the inner labia meet. But there’s a lot more to the clitoris than meets the …
AI in Florida agriculture will improve farming, create careers and put better food on your table
Fewer than 2% of Americans live on a farm, so the other 98% can be excused for a misperception of farming based on YouTube reruns of “Green Acres.” Here’s the reality: 21st-century American agriculture is a high-tech enterprise. Since the days of farmer-president Thomas Jefferson, American farmers have relied on cutting-edge technology to provide more nutritious food more affordably for American families. J.
The scholarship of honorifics
Corresponding Author John M. Davis Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA Correspondence John M. Davis, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. Email: jmdavis@ufl.edu Contribution: Conceptualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing Search for more papers by this author
Mangroves are part of the infrastructure that protects Florida’s coasts | The Invading Sea
By J. Scott Angle, UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) We have a defense against surging sea water that we’re not using it to its fullest. What’s more, it’s already in place. It just needs some restoration. It lines the coast, and while it’s fighting flooding, it’s also sequestering carbon and filtering water. Mangroves are a big part of the seascape from Oleta River State Park to the Keys.
J. SCOTT ANGLE/NICK PLACE: Foes on field, friends in field: UF, UGA feed the world
We didn’t give an inch to each other this Saturday, but on Sunday the University of Florida and University of Georgia return to working together on thousands of acres creating regional prosperity through plants. If you love peaches and peanuts, drink OJ for breakfast, wear Gator or Bulldog T-shirts, or live in a wood-frame house, you’re part of why the food, agriculture and natural resources sector is Georgia’s No. 1 industry and second only to tourism in Florida.
Florida farmers need federal help to compete with low-priced Mexican fruits and vegetables | Opinion
At the University of Florida, we take great pride in helping farmers solve problems, whether it’s pests, weeds or drought. But our team at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences can’t do much to ensure Florida farmers have a fair market in which to compete. Fortunately, our elected leaders are advocating for urgent political action on a problem biological science can’t solve — action I hope gets broad support and results in immediate relief.
Lakeland woman inducted into 4-H Hall of Fame
Judy Raymond remembers, back in the late ‘80s, the way the 14-year-old commanded the room and spoke with such poise. She left the Polk County 4-H Council meeting thinking, “I want that for my kids.” With Raymond, “my kids” soon became a lot more than the ones under her roof in Lakeland. She started the Polk County Home Grown 4-H Club, and it grew to 120 members. For her 35-plus years serving the youth of Polk County, Raymond was inducted into the Florida 4-H Hall of Fame in July.
Grooms family inducted into Hall of Fame
Hillsborough County 4-H was in a rough spot. A local farmer who had volunteered his field for a U-pick fundraiser had to back out at the last minute. Hillsborough 4-H Foundation leader Betty Jo Tompkins turned to Carl and Dee Dee Grooms with a request—can we send a few hundred people to your farm to pick your bushes clean and keep for 4-H the money they spend for the berries? Just one time. To Carl and Dee Dee, berries are business. But they’re also service.
UF/IFAS Expands Geomatics Program
Additional faculty added at Plant City campus. To get a good look at how water on the beds affects strawberries’ growth, Amr Abd-Elrahman looks from the sky. His drones collect images that he converts into a map to reveal how small changes in irrigation look across an entire field. He can make a map of weeds for scientists developing smart sprayers that hit only weeds, not crops.
UF/IFAS Focusing on Fast Help for Growers - Central Florida Ag News
By J. Scott Angle jangle@ufl.edu @IFAS_VP UF/IFAS continues an all-hands-on-deck/solutions-now response to HLB to accelerate our science to the speed of need. This preceded my arrival, but since I became the leader of UF/IFAS two years ago my message to our researchers has been to focus first on what can benefit growers right now. The topics of much of our research are often driven by funding source.
Wedgworth Creates Leaders and Role Models - Central Florida Ag News
by J. Scott Angle jangle@ufl.edu @IFAS_VP An important way UF/IFAS supports the local blueberry industry is the development of new varieties. Another way we help is the development of new leaders.
Farmers' climate-smart ethic will lead challenge of feeding the world
When I left Washington 21 months ago to return to academia, I rediscovered how farmers, foresters and ranchers see their lands not only as the nation’s source of food and fiber, but as some of the best climate-solutions tools we have at our disposal. We need to leverage that ethic if we as a nation are realistic about achieving emissions reductions goals. It will give us stronger standing to encourage other nations to adopt such goals in Glasgow next month and beyond.
Everglades snail kite research by university of florida signs of hope
J. Scott Angle Special to The News-Press We know whether the Everglades snail kite becomes more or less endangered every few hours. At least we do at Lake Tohopekaliga, an 18,810-acre lake located southeast of Kissimmee A University of Florida research team is always counting. They use GPS trackers, nest cameras and airboats, not to mention old-fashioned binoculars, to verify the data that comes in through the gadgetry.
Everglades snail kite research by university of florida signs of hope
J. Scott Angle Special to The News-Press We know whether the Everglades snail kite becomes more or less endangered every few hours. At least we do at Lake Tohopekaliga, an 18,810-acre lake located southeast of Kissimmee A University of Florida research team is always counting. They use GPS trackers, nest cameras and airboats, not to mention old-fashioned binoculars, to verify the data that comes in through the gadgetry.
Everglades snail kite research by university of florida signs of hope
We know whether the Everglades snail kite becomes more or less endangered every few hours. At least we do at Lake Tohopekaliga, an 18,810-acre lake located southeast of Kissimmee A University of Florida research team is always counting. They use GPS trackers, nest cameras and airboats, not to mention old-fashioned binoculars, to verify the data that comes in through the gadgetry. The constant updates inform decisions on whether to let water in or out of what’s called Lake Toho for short.
Treat trees as infrastructure, not afterthoughts
Trees’ little brothers are shrubs and green groundcover, but their concrete cousins include streets, sidewalks and sewers. On Arbor Day (April 29), we pay homage to trees as work horses, not show horses. They cool urban heat islands, sequester carbon, shelter wildlife and filter stormwater. There’s even been research indicating they reduce car crashes. It’s important to treat trees as infrastructure, not afterthoughts.
This is how we can double food production by 2050
It’s a collision course: We’ll need to feed another 2 billion people by mid-century, even as climate change threatens our ability to produce food. Georgia, Florida and other Southeastern states must play a central role if we’re to feed the world and simultaneously protect the planet. If we fail to rise to this challenge, we risk a multitude of problems driven by hungry people. And a new report released from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change only heightens the concern.
Endangered Everglades snail kite making a comeback, with help of UF researchers
J. Scott Angle We know whether the Everglade snail kite becomes more or less endangered every few hours. At least we do at Lake Tohopekaliga (Lake Toho, for short), an 18,810-acre lake located southeast of Kissimmee. A University of Florida research team is always counting. They use GPS trackers, nest cameras and airboats, not to mention old-fashioned binoculars, to verify the data that comes in through the gadgetry. The constant updates inform decisions on whether to let water in or out of the lake.
Raptors Tell Us That Everglades Restoration is Working
Looking down at the Everglades from a thousand feet, one might see a sea of white wading birds dotting the shallow waters. The Everglades ecosystem is often associated with large colonies of herons, egrets, and other long-legged species that rely on the river of grass for the small fish and other prey items that hide in the waving sawgrasses. However, this watery realm is integral to so many others.
Guest column: Signs of hope for endangered Everglades snail kite
J. Scott Angle We know whether the Everglade snail kite becomes more or less endangered every few hours. At least we do at Lake Tohopekaliga (Lake Toho, for short) an 18,810-acre lake located southeast of Kissimmee. A University of Florida research team is always counting. They use GPS trackers, nest cameras and airboats, not to mention old-fashioned binoculars, to verify the data that comes in through the gadgetry. The constant updates inform decisions on whether to let water in or out of the lake.
Snail Kite Monitoring Key to a Resilient Future
Popular Stories More than 40,000 Call for Protecting Paradise in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Top Five Ways to Explore the Everglades We know whether the Everglades Snail Kite becomes more or less endangered every few hours. At least we do at Lake Tohopekaliga. A research team is always counting. They use GPS trackers, nest cameras and airboats, not to mention old-fashioned binoculars, to ground truth all the data that comes in through the gadgetry.
Public science depends on involvement of community members
J. Scott Angle Immediately after planting thousands of plugs of marsh grasses along G Street in Cedar Key, the scientists made their first discovery: No rain in the forecast for eight days, a real threat for plants getting established. Fortunately, they knew a guy who could bring rain faster than that. Captain Kenny McCain is a fifth-generation Cedar Key resident with no science degree.
Signs of hope for endangered Everglades snail kite | Opinion
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Sun Sentinel. We know whether the Everglade snail kite becomes more or less endangered every few hours. At least we do at Lake Tohopekaliga, an 18,810-acre lake located southeast of Kissimmee. A University of Florida research team is always counting.
Signs of hope for endangered Everglade snail kite
By J. Scott Angle We know whether the Everglade snail kite becomes more or less endangered every few hours. At least we do at Lake Tohopekaliga, an 18,810-acre lake located southeast of Kissimmee A University of Florida research team is always counting. They use GPS trackers, nest cameras and airboats, not to mention old-fashioned binoculars, to verify the data that comes in through the gadgetry. J.
Serving the health needs of residents in rural counties is critical | Opinion
J. Scott Angle The backbone of Florida’s second-largest industry, the farming communities the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences serves, is in rural counties. We rely on a healthy rural workforce to feed us. As the only university with a presence in every Florida county, UF has a special obligation to serve the needs of those who don’t have the same access to services that city residents enjoy.
Florida corn growers made pact to reduce fertilizer Original
Corn growers in the heart of Florida family farm country took a big personal risk this year to keep the Suwannee River a little cleaner. They cut fertilizer use by hundreds of thousands of pounds so less would sink past their plants and into the aquifer and river we rely on for drinking water. But it could also mean a smaller harvest and a smaller payday. Why take the risk? Because someone they trusted got them to talk frankly about just how much fertilizer they really needed to use.
Trees should be treated as infrastructure
Trees' little brothers are shrubs and green groundcover, but their concrete cousins include streets, sidewalks and sewers. On Florida Arbor Day (Jan. 21), we pay homage to trees as work horses, not show horses. They cool urban heat islands, sequester carbon, shelter wildlife and filter stormwater. There has even been research indicating they reduce car crashes. It is important to treat trees as infrastructure, not afterthoughts.
Florida’s Agricultural Innovations Ensure More Food Choices and an Economic Boost - Central Florida Ag News
by J. SCOTT ANGLE Last summer’s historic heat in the West scorched our food supply. It threatened workers’ health, shriveled crops, and stressed water resources. More frequent extreme weather events like the heat wave mean we must change the future of farming if we want to be a nation that feeds itself. Florida offers a window on that future.
UF needs legislative support in addressing acute shortage of veterinarians Original
J. Scott Angle and Dana Zimmel Working animals account for billions of dollars in sales, spending and jobs in Florida — when they’re healthy. They need doctors just like you and I do. There aren’t enough of them. There’s a national shortage of veterinarians, especially those who treat large animals. It’s not hard to see why. They make less on average than small animal veterinarians. They work long and unpredictable hours making “house calls” on patients that can’t come to an office.
UF needs legislative support in addressing acute shortage of veterinarians
A donkey that was one of over 150 animals rescued as the result of a LCSO animal cruelty investigation. The donkey was taken to Triple R Horse Rescue. Working animals account for billions of dollars in sales, spending and jobs in Florida — when they’re healthy. They need doctors just like you and I do. There aren’t enough of them. There’s a national shortage of veterinarians, especially those who treat large animals. It’s not hard to see why. They make less on average than small animal veterinarians.
UF needs legislative support in addressing state's acute shortage of veterinarians | Opinion
J. Scott Angle and Dr. Dana Zimmel Working animals account for billions of dollars in sales, spending and jobs in Florida—when they’re healthy. They need doctors just like you and I do. There aren’t enough of them. There’s a national shortage of veterinarians, especially those who treat large animals. It’s not hard to see why. They make less on average than small animal veterinarians. They work long and unpredictable hours making “house calls” on patients that can’t come to an office.
Florida's lack of big animal veterinarians poses economic problems
By J. Scott Angle and Dana Zimmel Working animals account for billions of dollars in sales, spending and jobs in Florida —when they’re healthy. They need doctors, and there aren’t enough of them. There’s a national shortage of veterinarians, especially those who treat large animals. It’s not hard to see why. They make less on average than small animal veterinarians.
Opinion: Lakewood Ranch has hundreds of stormwater ponds. Could they clean the water?
University of Florida scientists want to discover whether plants instead of grass on the banks of the stormwater ponds’ perimeters could act as filters, such as these plantings at Bradenton Area Convention Center. University of Florida Public scientist Michelle Atkinson sees potential for Lakewood Ranch to teach the state important lessons about how to reduce the incidence of green rivers and red tides without homeowners having to do a thing. The Ranch has hundreds of stormwater ponds.
UF Poinsettia Sale represents town-gown relationship at its best
J. Scott Angle It’s that time of year again: Your poinsettias are ready. What started as a hands-on learning project has evolved into a Gainesville community holiday tradition. The University of Florida Environmental Horticulture Club holds its annual Poinsettia Sale on Dec. 9-11 at 2475 Memorial Road, behind Fifield Hall (just northeast of the new baseball stadium). More information is at www.gatorpoinsettia.com. It’s an opportunity for you to get poinsettia varieties you won’t find anywhere else.
Challenging conventional wisdom about cattle and meat with science and data
Opinion J. Scott Angle, the former director of the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, provides some examples of how scientists at University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are looking deeper into long-held beliefs about cattle and meat. Written By: J. Scott Angle | 3:00 pm, Oct. 19, 2021 × J. Scott Angle is the former director of the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with J. Scott
Contact J. Scott, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack