“A fellow YF&R helped us out immediately with work, and I am back in the groves working in production again,” says Ryan Armstrong, who is president of the Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R) 2018-20 Leadership Group. “Fortunately, citrus is one of the few farming sectors that has seen a positive impact since the coronavirus.”
HERITAGE, COMMUNITY AND TECHNOLOGY SHAPE RESILIENCE TO PANDEMIC By Sophy Mott
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has sent a ripple effect through all facets of life, including agriculture. New parents Ryan and Sydney Armstrong of Lake Placid couldn’t have predicted that just seven days after their son was born, Ryan would lose his job growing juice oranges on several thousand acres. But, the Armstrong family – just like countless others – has found a way to adapt. 18
FLORIDAGRICULTURE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
KEEPING IT LOCAL For many consumers, the recent challenges of COVID-19 have made them more mindful of the important role local producers play in their communities. Nationwide,
PHOTO: ISTOCK.COM/ THEDMAN
How Ag ADAPTS
A WAY OF LIFE Ryan and Sydney both grew up with a deep appreciation for agriculture and have been witness to many changes in the industry over the years. Sydney was involved in FFA and later joined Florida Collegiate Farm Bureau. Armstrong’s family farm was settled in the 1820s in Brooksville, where it has weathered its share of production changes, from raising hogs to producing watermelons. It’s where he grew up, and where the family now runs cattle on about 400 acres. “I spent the majority of my childhood in the truck on our farm with my great-grandfather B.A. Crum,” says Armstrong. “Growing up, we grew our own food, canned it and used our own cattle for our meat. It was amazing to grow up on a farm that had a high level of self-sustainability.” And while it’s safe to say the ag world has significantly changed in the last 200 years – his farming ancestors never participated in a board meeting via Zoom, for example – there still are challenges.
