Richard Raid At Kiwanis December 9

LABELLE, FL. -- Dr. Richard Raid, Associate Center Director and Professor Plant Pathology UF/IFAS Research and Education Center, Belle Glade, FL will present a program on Barn Owl Research in the Everglades Agricultural Area at Dallas Townsend Agricultural Extension located at 1085 Pratt Blvd., LaBelle at 7:00 pm on Monday December 9, 2019. This free program is hosted by Hendry-Glades Audubon Society.

Dr. Raid continues work with the UF Barn Owl Program which utilizes barn owls for sustainable rodent control in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) with the use of owl nesting boxes. These birds provide low‐cost, sustainable rodent control. 

The pests, particularly cotton rats and marsh rabbits, cause up to $30 million in damage each year to the area’s 700,000 acres of sugar cane, rice and vegetable crops. Using the program as an outreach and education program, hundreds of student volunteers assist in the building and installation of owl nesting boxes in the Glades. 

He also works with local area educators to develop school gardens to promote agriculture at the elementary and middle schools. He developed a program to aid growers in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) on management of their vegetable disease programs.