Episode Summary:

On Episode Eleven, Brennan and Robbie are joined by Dr. Isaac Esquivel, UF/IFAS Extension Agronomic and Forage Entomologist at the North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy, FL. This week, you will learn about the Cotton Jassid, some preliminary data the taskforce has found, and some talk on other invasive insets.

Dr. Esquivel's Faculty Profile: https://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/faculty-directory/isaac-esquivel/

Chapter Markers:

0:00 Cold Opening Intro

0:32 Ag in the Cab Podcast Intro

2:02 Brennan and Robbie's Opening Segment

4:31 Dr. Isaac Esquivel Introduction

3:43 Dr. Esquivel Talks About His Background

6:31 Discussion with Dr. Esquivel on the Cotton Jassid

37:59 Discussion with Dr. Esquivel on other Invasive Insects in Agronomic and Forage Crops

44:49 Closing Segment with Brennan and Robbie

Show Resources:

Dr. Esquivel's Article on Cotton Jassid: The Cotton Jassid: What We Learned in 2025 & What to Expect in 2026 | Panhandle Agriculture

Episode Summary:

On Episode Ten, Brennan and Robbie are joined by Dr. Casey Ritz, UGA Extension Poultry Science Specialist and UGA Poultry Science Department Extension Coordinator. This week, you will learn about avian influenza, how it is spread, biosecurity steps to take to protect your backyard flock, what is backyard/small flock poultry, basic steps for starting a backyard poultry flock, and much more.

Dr. Ritz’s Faculty Profile: https://poultry.caes.uga.edu/people/faculty/casey-ritz.html

Chapter Markers:

0:00 Cold Opening Intro

0:30 Ag in the Cab Podcast Intro

2:01 Brennan and Robbie's Opening Segment

3:30 Dr. Casey Ritz Introduction

3:57 Dr. Ritz Talks About His Background

4:56 Discussion with Dr. Ritz on Influenza

15:36 Discussion with Dr. Ritz on Backyard/Small Flock Poultry

45:17 Closing Segment with Brennan and Robbie

Resources on Backyard Poultry:

Robbie's Backyard Poultry Workshops:

Quincy Class: https://25GadsdenSpringBackyardPoultry.eventbrite.com

Crawfordville Class::https://25WakullaBackyardPoultry.eventbrite.com

Episode Summary:

On Episode Nine, Brennan and Robbie are joined by Dr. Nico DiLorenzo, UF/IFAS Extension Beef Cattle Nutrition Specialist. This week, you will learn about the Florida Bull Test and how the program is designed to benefit cattlemen, what feed efficiency is, winter supplementation option, balancing cattle diet nutrition, technologies to help measure and manage cattle diets, the Hay Balancer Dr. DiLorenzo developed, and the importance of forage sampling in managing the quality of cattle diets.

Dr. DiLorenzo's Faculty Profile: https://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/faculty-directory/nicolas-dilorenzo/

Chapter Markers:

0:00 Cold Opening Intro

0:31 Ag in the Cab Podcast Intro

2:04 Brennan and Robbie's Opening Segment

4:08 Dr. Nico DiLorenzo Introduction

4:41 Dr. DiLorenzo Talks About His Educational Background and Research

6:50 Discussion with Dr. DiLorenzo on the Florida Bull Test

16:20 Discussion with Dr. DiLorenzo on Winter Supplementation and Feed Efficiency for Cattle

54:49 Closing Segment with Brennan and Robbie

Resources on Beef Cattle Nutrition from Dr. DiLorenzo:

The Hay Balancer: https://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/media/nfrecifasufledu/docs/excel/The-UF-Hay-Balancer_v1.1.xlsm

Dr. DiLorenzo's Video Instruction on how to use the Hay Balancer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSbEr1DnbYY

Silage Feeding with Ag Bags: https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2022/10/28/self-feeding-of-silage-bags-to-reduces-labor-for-cattle-operations/