Irrigation Preferences of Florida Potato Farmers and the Economic Effects of Cost Share on Subirrigation-Drainage Tile Installation

The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a herbaceous annual that grows up to 100 cm tall and produces a tuber – also called potato – so rich in starch that it ranks as the world’s fourth most important food crop, after maize, wheat and rice. As the potato plant grows, its compound leaves manufacture starch that is transferred to the ends of its underground stems (or stolons). The stems thicken to form a few or as many as 20 tubers close to the soil surface.

FRE departmental programs reflect the diversity of Florida's agriculture which has more than 200 commodities. The Department has 40 faculty members involved in a full range of research, extension, and teaching programs including Agribusiness and Consumer Behavior, International Development, Natural Resources and Environmental Economics, Marine Resource Economics, and Agricultural Economics, Trade, and Policy. In addition to 33 faculty members located at the main campus in Gainesville, seven faculty are found at research and education centers located throughout the state. 

 The Hastings Agricultural Extension Center (HAEC) is a UF/IFAS demonstration and research unit in Hastings, FL.