Spring 2019 Newsletter
Greetings!

Welcome to the Spring Edition of my "Real Estate Resource" Newsletter.

Please check out my website waltbethel.com to view my listings, search for property, or to enjoy one of my archived newsletters.
  
Walt
Florida Blueberry Growers Face Competition from Mexico
The Florida blueberry industry started in the 1970s because IFAS developed a variety of blueberries called Southern high bush, which are productive in Florida’s mild climate and fruit at just the right time. Fast forward 40 years and Blueberries are the 8th most profitable winter crop in the state.

Blueberry growers like Straughn Farms in Waldo work closely with IFAS to help them research and develop new varieties for Florida growers. It’s the only way Florida can stay competitive in a market that’s becoming saturated with Mexican Blueberry imports.

From 2015 to 2017, blueberry imports from Mexico doubled. ABC Action News Tampa explains that providing Mexico with UF made varieties hurts Florida Growers and helps the competition. However, IFAS explains in a statement that the news report was a misrepresentation of the facts.

IFAS executive director John Beuttenmuller explains if they didn’t license their patents to growers in Mexico, the patent wouldn’t be covered by international law. “It would be essentially the same as falling into the public domain”.

IFAS explains that licensing blueberry varieties to Mexico gives them control over that part of their production . Less than 2% of imported Mexican blueberries are UF varieties according to Beuttenmuller. That number has decreased each of the last 3 years.

Beuttenmuller says 70% of the money that comes from licensing blueberry varieties goes back to Blueberry research which is critical because Florida blueberry growers are facing a shortage of workers who can pick blueberries. IFAS says they are working on developing varieties of blueberries that can be picked by machine, which is critical if Florida growers are going to stay competitive during the spring blueberry season.

Source: WCJIB News
Drone Images Can Accurately Find, Count Citrus Trees
By using drone technology , Florida citrus growers can find out how many trees live in their groves and, eventually, they may detect the health status of the trees, a new University of Florida study shows Imaging from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can accurately detect and count citrus trees and spaces where trees have had to be removed in groves, said Yiannis Ampatzidis, an assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering. This technique would save growers time, money and labor costs . It also lets growers know how many trees they must order from nurseries so they can replant.

The system also can be used to evaluate citrus varieties and rootstocks by detecting tree traits that citrus breeders would want to know about, Ampatzidis said. Those include traits that produce healthy and tasty fruit and a higher yield.

Eventually, researchers with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hope to use the UAV images to detect citrus tree traits that would lead to quicker diagnoses of heat stress and pest diseases, including the deadly citrus greening disease.

For the new research, Ampatzidis and his colleagues attached an imaging mechanism to a UAV, and it accurately detected citrus trees and gaps between trees in a grove in Hendry County, Florida. Because many citrus trees are damaged or die from citrus greening disease, farmers have to remove the plants from their groves. That tree removal causes gaps between trees.

This is the very first step toward developing an individual tree analysis ,” said Ampatzidis, a faculty member at the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC) in Immokalee, Florida. “Growers need to know the number and location of tree gaps in order to order and replant new trees. They need to know problematic areas and weak trees.”

The drone technology should also help citrus growers deal with new agriculture insurance policies that require detailed information about each grove , he said. For example, most insurance firms want to know the number of trees in each field, so growers need to accurately report that.

Right now, farmers try to manually measure the number of trees in their groves, said Ampatzidis, who works with several growers trying to address these issues. Those growers say other UAV-based systems are not as accurate as the UF/IFAS-developed UAV-based sensing system.

“We flew in a field with about 5,000 trees and failed to detect only eight to 10 trees,” he said. Other systems growers had used failed to detect more than 500 trees, Ampatzidis said.

Collecting citrus data manually is extremely time consuming, labor-intensive and costly, Ampatzidis said. For example, in a recent study with 50 rootstock varieties and 5,000 trees, scientists had to collect data about traits such as tree size and height, tree stress and more tree by tree. To do so, they must measure the size and height of every tree with measuring tapes or poles, which takes a lot of time, he said. In collaboration with Ute Albrecht, an assistant professor at the UF/IFAS SWFREC, Ampatzidis is developing a UAV-based high throughput system to automate this data collection procedure.

The new UF/IFAS research is published in the journal Remote Sensing.

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MLS: C7410799
Total Acres: 2.72
Listing price: $1,250,000
Large Warehouse with 8.5 Acres Zoned Industrial Light 
2692 Nat Ave. Arcadia, FL 34266
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MLS: C7249502
Total Acres: 8.5
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3410 County Rd 760 Arcadia,FL 34266
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Total Sq Ft: 2,779
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5871 SE Hwy 31 Arcadia, FL 34266
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MLS: C7413967
Total Acres: 348.79
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MLS:C7413970
Total Acres: 24.87
Listing price: $1,500,000
About Walt Bethel
Walt Bethel is a fifth generation Floridian, born and raised in Arcadia, with a vast knowledge of all areas of Florida Real Estate and an ardent appreciation for Florida history.  
The purchase and development of his first orange grove when he was just sixteen years old fueled Walt's passion for real estate.  
Since then, he has bought, owned, and sold a wide variety of properties throughout a successful business career. His investments have included acreage, agricultural properties, residential homes, condos, and commercial properties. 
Walt's marketing and sales experience was cultivated over time at his family's business, Bethel Farms, where he marketed, managed, and sold products to "Big Box" retailers across the Southeastern and Midwestern United States.
From an early age, Walt's dad instilled in him the values to work hard and always have a goal, to look for a better way of doing things, and to constantly improve on them.  
The daily implementation of these principles, coupled with his enjoyment of networking with new people and his experience in business, sales, and marketing, have contributed to Walt's success as a Realtor.
 Walt has served on various boards and committees throughout the years. He has coached and actively supports local youth athletic programs and leagues. 
He and his wife Jill, also a fourth generation Floridian, reside in Punta Gorda. They have two children, a daughter Peyton and a son Truman.
Walt Bethel | RE/MAX Harbor Realty| 863.990.1748 | wbethel@waltbethel.com | www.waltbethel.com