A research center in Immokalee struts its stuff

IMMOKALEE, Fla. (AP) Southwest Florida Research & Education Center, the region’s powerhouse for agriculture science, is enjoying a renaissance.

The center north of Immokalee was on the verge of closing three years ago, until farmers and ranchers saw the risk to their industry. They flexed their political muscle, and things started changing.

On March 29, the center showed off the fruits of these labors at an open house.

Nearly 200 people – ranging from working ag professionals to retirees from all walks of life – attended.

They took tractor-driven tram tours in the center’s groves and fields, watched lab demonstrations and tucked in a barbecue chicken lunch with all the trimmings.

“I was a science teacher,” said Linda Merschtina, a New Jersey retiree who now lives a good part of the year in Cape Coral. “The labs, the equipment are state-of-the-art.”

She listened with interest to scientists describing their experiments in vegetable production: “We have a garden in New Jersey, but we haven’t figured it out here, yet.”

The 31-year-old center, situated on 320 acres, serves growers, farmers and other agribusiness clients in Lee, Collier, Hendry, Glades and Charlotte counties.

It’s part of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences network of research, extension and teaching programs – and a key player in keeping the region’s citrus and vegetable industries sustainable and profitable.

Especially crucial is helping the citrus industry in its battle to stay productive with so much of the crop afflicted with the citrus greening disease, which causes fruit to drop prematurely.

On the tram tour, center citrus production manager Tim Gast noted a block of Valencia citrus trees “look relatively healthy, because we apply a lot of micronutrients to them.”

With no known cure for greening, the chief goal is to strengthen the trees.

Citrus alone in the five counties of Southwest Florida recorded an estimated $362 million in direct sales in 2015.

The five counties’ total agricultural production, services and food processing and distribution activities plow more than $8 billion annually into the area economy, according to ag center estimates. Direct farm sales reached nearly $1.4 billion in 2015.

Center upgrades over the past three years have included a 7,000-square-foot wing with new laboratories and offices and seven faculty hires.

“When the precision agriculture engineer comes in late July, we’ll have 13 faculty members here,” said Calvin Arnold, center director.

That’s one more faculty member than when Arnold left the Immokalee center during his first stint as director, more than 20 years ago. Three years ago, attrition had brought the faculty member count to roughly six.

Still to come: Four new greenhouses. Construction begins Monday.

Public dollars have borne most of these costs.

However, Arnold is counting on private-sector fundraising to build a new dormitory for graduate students and interns.

“All the new faculty members are looking for grad students,” Arnold said. “We’ve got to have the dorm space.”