From the Lakeland Ledger:
Comments attributed to University of Florida President Bernie Machen that "agriculture is a dying industry in the State of Florida" and "not worthy of the investments being made by the Legislature" in the university’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) have united the state's agriculture industry in opposing Machen's effort to cut $50 million from this year's budget and a similar cut in the next fiscal year. "He's getting a full-frontal attack from agriculture saying we are important," said Doug Bournique, executive director of the Indian River Citrus League in Vero Beach. "The word's getting very strongly back to the University of Florida that agriculture is very important to this state -- it's the backbone." (more)
