From the Director
Spring brings new beginnings to the natural world and this year it’s bringing exciting developments to the WFREC. The new graduate student dormitories at the Jay Research Facility are nearing completion and we will hold the ribbon cutting ceremony on 30 June 2026. We expect to begin housing graduate students in the dorms before fall semester begins. The farm crew at the Jay Research Facility is being restructured owing to vacancies created by job changes and the retirement of Greg Kimmons, our Farm Manager. Although we hate to see employees leave, it gives us a chance to realign the open positions in a manner that will improve farm and research operations. We are currently seeking good candidates for an Agricultural Assistant III and will soon be posting an announcement for the Farm Manager position. Please spread the word about these positions that are good paying jobs with good benefits at a great place to work. We also recently received word that we can start the hiring process to replace two professors (Drs. Miller and Thetford) who are retiring at the end of 2026. These hires will help ensure that the excellent WFREC undergraduate teaching program continues relatively uninterrupted. The search committees for these positions have been formed and it’s my hope that the new professors join us in January 2027. Speaking of retirements, I have let IFAS upper administration know that I will retire from my position as Professor and Center Director on 31 January 2027. It has been my honor to serve in this position for the last 13 years. It wouldn’t be spring at the WFREC without our Spring Festival of Flowers. Robin Vickers has grown this event tremendously over the past few years, and it’s now a signature experience in NW Florida that is attended by thousands. This year the festival dates are Friday 4/10 through Sunday 4/12 and I hope to see you there. Until then – GO GATORS!
What an honor for the WFREC to host the RCAS Winter 2026 Meeting dinner at the Jay REC on February 10th! Huge thank you to The Cutting Board for the fantastic food! RCAS Winter 2026 Hosts: Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (Host) - Tallahassee, FL University of Florida/IFAS (REC Tour Host) Auburn University-Gulf Coast REC (REC Tour Host)
Check out the Dune restoration work done in January, by the UF/IFAS Dr. Debbie Miller and Dr. Mack Thetford, FWC and FloridaCorps!
The FloridaCorps Pensacola crew has teamed up with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the University of Florida for an exciting dune planting project! By the end of this project, 12,000 plants will be planted across 115 plots along Perdido Key, Fort Pickens, and Santa Rosa, helping strengthen and restore our coastal dunes!
The Florida Stakeholder Engagement Program (STEP) promotes the adoption of science-based education and outreach on Best Management Practices (BMPs) through farm management competitions focused on input use efficiency and profitability. The WFREC hosted the STEP Cotton Competition Banquet on Tuesday. We want to thank all our participating teams and say a congratulations to our competition winners! The top five winners were selected based on a combined index developed by normalizing their profit and efficiency scores. Award values: • Overall Competition Winner - $2000 - Billy Browning • Runner-up - $1500 - Brandt and Samantha Hendricks • Third Place - $1250 - Guilherme Morata • Fourth Place - $1000 - Tyler Brown • Fifth Place - $750 - Scott Walker, Sam Walker and Brandon Walker
Dr. Donovan and Dr. Wonkka's Fire Ecology and Management students put their training into practice during a successful prescribed burn. Under Justin McKeithen's leadership, the class gained real-world experience in fire science and operations—participating in holding, ignition techniques, and on the ground fire science data collection. Exciting to see our future fire practitioners in action!
The WFREC celebrated Moo Brown for 10 years of service here at the Jay Research Facility. Wishing you a very happy retirement and precious time with your family - you will be missed!
Cropping Systems Crew
Moo and his wife Jeannie are going to be missed here at the WFREC!
Moo with his family. We hope you enjoy your retirement and get to do ALOT of fishing.
Honors and Awards
Congratulations to the following WFREC faculty that have been awarded a 2026 CALS mini grant in the amount of $5,000! *Carissa Wonkka (WFREC/SFFGS), Victoria Donavan (WFREC/SFFGS), Rita Thrasher (WFRES/SFFGS), Mack Thetford (WFREC/HOS) - Burnable Garden Beds for Experiential Learning in Fire Ecology
2026 Refereed Publications
Nwosu, N. J., Upadhyaya, Y. R., Ajani, O., Dar, E. A., Brym, Z., Sharma, L., Singh, H.* (2026) Growth and biomass response of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivars to nitrogen rates for fiber production. Crop Science, e70258. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70258 Shah A., Nwosu N., Singh K., Singh S., Dar E.A., Sharma L., Borgato E., Singh H*. (2026) Biochar as a Sustainable Strategy for Improving Nutrient Use Efficiency and Crop Performance. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, pp.1-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-026-03141-8 Dar E.A., Omara P., Iboyi J., Sharma L.,Singh H*. (2026) Physiological, Vegetation, and Biochemical indicators for biomass, nitrogen uptake and lint yield forecast in cotton. Industrial Crops and Products https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2026.122788 Dereje A. B., Singh H., Dar E.A., Sharma V., Dukes M., Sharma L. (2026) Modeling nitrogen management to balance yield and nitrate leaching in maize in Florida. Agronomy Journal https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.70279
Dar, E.A., Iboyi, J., Birhan, D. A., Sharma, L.K., Singh, H*. (2026) Long-term effects of planting date, irrigation and nitrogen on yield, nitrogen use efficiency and nitrate leaching in Florida cotton production systems. Journal of Environmental Quality https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.70131
Extension Articles- Singh, H., Dar, E.A., Carter, E., Dukes, M.D. and Sharma, L., 2026. Nitrogen Fertilizer Recommendation for Florida Cotton: SS-AGR-499/AG495, 1/2026. EDIS, 2026(1). Katoch, K., Dukes, M., Kumar, S., Capasso, J., Leitão, D., Singh, H. and Sharma, L., 2026. Nitrogen Fertilizer Guidelines for Corn Production in Florida: SL541/SS757, 3/2026. EDIS, 2026(2). Sidhu, S.S., Wright, D., Tillman, B., Dufault, N., Small, I.M., Esquivel, I., Grabau, Z., Singh, H., Matcham, E., Borgato, E. and Capasso, J., 2026. Peanut Production Guide: Management and Cultural Practices for Peanuts: SS-AGR-501/AG497, 1/2026. EDIS, 2026(1).
2025 Grant Funding
Dr. Carissa Wonkka, Assessing the interactive impacts of cogongrass and invasive woody plants on fire regimes of the southeastern USA" Joint Fire Sciences Program $488,155 Dr. Carissa Wonkka, Resolving Fine-Scale Fire Behavior to Improve Fire Effects Modeling in Southeastern Pine Forests. UF/IFAS Archer Early Career Seed Grant proposal $49,792 (Rita, Mack, Tori and I) Burnable Garden Beds for Experiential Learning in Fire Ecology. CALS Instructional Award Improvement Mini Grant $5,000