Florida residents can get 10 free flowering trees by joining the Arbor Day Foundation during January.

New members will receive two Sargent crabapple, three American redbuds, two Washington hawthorns and three white flowering dogwoods.

Click here to request membership online.

"These beautiful trees will give your home in Florida lovely flowers with pink, yellow and white colors," said John Rosenow, the Arbor Day Foundation's founder and chief executive. "These trees are perfect for large and small spaces, and they will provide food and habitat for songbirds."

The free trees are part of the foundation's Trees for America campaign.

The trees will be shipped postpaid at the ideal time for planting, between Feb. 1 and May 31, with enclosed planting instructions. The 6- to 12-inch-tall trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free of charge.

Members will also receive a subscription to the Foundation's bimonthly publication, Arbor Day, and The Tree Book, which includes information about tree planting and care.

UPCOMING

The local Arbor Day 2014 observance is Jan. 16 at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences extension office on Airport Road in Crestview. The time will be announced later.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 10 free flowering trees available for new Arbor Day members

While people often define hay quality by its palatability, they also need to consider digestibility and nutritional value. To evaluate hay on these parameters, you need to sample and test your hay.

It's easy to take a hay sample. Wesample each hay lot separately at the extension office. A hay lot is hay from the same field and same cutting that is harvested under the same environmental conditions and has the same forage composition.

You can take hay samples with a hay probe. Next, send the sample to a lab, such as our University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Forage Extension Laboratory, or a private lab, such as Waters Lab in Georgia.

Sample results at least should include crude protein and total digestible nutrients, and should be reported on a dry-matter basis. Dry matter refers to the portion of the forage after water is excluded.

Reporting on a dry matter basis allows us to compare different forages. Crude protein, or CP, is the nitrogen and amino acids in feeds. Total digestible nutrients, or TDN, represents the energy value of feeds, which is the sum of digestible fibers, starch, sugars, protein and fats in the forages.

Knowing CP and TDN, along with evaluating the palatability, will allow you to determine how much to feed to maintain body conditioning for your livestock.

Bahiagrass hay seems to be less palatable sometimes, but this is more of a management issue. Bahiagrass is often cut after peak palatability. Generally, good bahiagrass hay will provide appropriate nutrients for livestock if palatability is high.

Bermudagrass, which seems to be more palatable to picky eaters, contains adequate nutrients for most livestock.

Call me at 689-5850 or email heady@ufl.edu to learn more about hay sampling or to have your hay sampled.

Jennifer Bearden is an agent at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EXTENSION CONNECTION: Hay testing is important to livestock owners

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is considering dividing the state’s Hunting Zone D — from Pensacola to Tallahassee — into two deer management units.

Proposals would require that bucks harvested north of I-10 in Hunting Zone D have antlers with at least three points on one side, and each point must be 1 inch long. South of I-10 in Zone D, the minimum antler requirement would be two points on one side.

See more details on proposed changes to deer hunting regulations>>

The proposal includes an exception to antler requirements in both units; youths 15 years old and younger may continue to harvest bucks with at least one antler 5 inches or longer.

The FWC also is considering rescheduling antlerless deer season — “doe days” — on private lands within Zone D. Currently in that zone, the season to take deer of either sex, except spotted fawns, runs Dec. 26 through Jan. 1.

In proposed rules, dates north of I-10 would change to eight days distributed across four weekends: Saturday through Sunday after Thanksgiving; the first weekend of muzzle-loading gun season; the third weekend of general gun season; and the weekend after Christmas.

South of I-10, in Zone D, the proposal would change antlerless season to four days, the weekends after Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The purpose of modifying the antlerless deer season is to spread out the hunting opportunity, so that more hunters may be able to participate without substantially reducing deer populations, an FWC spokesperson said.

Proposals for Zone D, if passed in April, would take effect during the 2014-15 hunting season.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New deer hunting regulations proposed for northwest Florida

Citrus canker is a serious disease of citrus trees that was recently confirmed for the first time in southern Santa Rosa County. Because of questions I’m getting from the public, I’d like to share the following article written by Blake Thaxton and Mary Derrick, with University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Santa Rosa County, and Mikaela Anderson, with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Plant Industry.

Canker is caused by the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri. Citrus canker has been a major pest in south and central Florida. It is economically damaging to the citrus industry and is also problematic to homeowners because it causes premature fruit drop and discolored fruit. Eventually infected trees become unproductive.

Canker was first introduced in 1912 into Florida and was declared eradicated in 1933. The disease was found again in the Tampa area in 1986. It was declared eradicated in 1994, but once again was found in 1995 in Miami. This time, the disease was not successfully eradicated, in part because hurricanes made the disease too widespread to control.

Despite its prevalence in south and central Florida, this disease has not been known in the Panhandle. The University of Florida and FDACS/DPI will be assessing the extent of the disease in Santa Rosa County.

How might you know if your citrus is infected by canker? One of the best indicators of canker is the presence of lesions, diseased spots, on the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves. The lesions are raised and have a rough surface and are surrounded by yellow halos. Similar lesions may be present on the fruit and stems as well.

If you suspect that your trees may have citrus canker, contact the DPI helpline at 1-888-397-1517 before taking any action, to reduce accidental spread of this disease.

Canker is highly contagious to citrus only and spreads rapidly due to wind, rain its presence on people's hands, clothes and tools.

Do not transport plant material that shows canker symptoms. Decontamination practices should be used when going from one citrus tree to the next. Hand washing with soap and water for 20 seconds or more to eliminate bacterium on the skin should be practiced, as well as using alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Pruning tools that come into contact with citrus should be disinfected by a fresh solution of one ounce of household bleach to one gallon of water.

Do not move a plant infected with citrus canker. Please call your local extension office for further instructions.

For more information on citrus canker, see The Homeowner Fact Sheet PDF or the citrus canker pathology website.

Larry Williams is an agent at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EXTENSION CONNECTION: Citrus canker found in Northwest Florida

CRESTVIEW — Every other year the community gets a double dose of pleasurable holiday spirits from the Crestview High School chorus, and 2013 was the year for us to be treated.

As if the previous weekend's Madrigal Dinner wasn't enough, the 120-voice chorus's always enjoyable Christmas concert was just icing on the gingerbread.

Click here to see a photo gallery from the concert>>

Click here to see video from the chorus Madrigal Dinner and Christmas concert>>

Under the able hand of choral music director Kevin Lusk, the kids took Thursday night's audience through a winter wonderland of song, including old favorites, new music, and favorites given a new twist.

As they've done in the recent past, the Destiny and Chanticleer show choirs alternated during the first set. A standout number for the former was "Mr. Santa," sung to the tune of the 1954 pop song "Mr. Sandman."

Chanticleer's doo-wop version of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" rounded out the set as a toe-tapping follow-up to the ensemble's equally fun version of "Jingle Bells" that opened with a smooth solo by Paolo Hora.

The Men's Choir's version of "Winter Wonderland" was a pretty piece, though couldn't quite top the Women's Choir's stunning "Little Drummer Boy," which like Ravel's "Bolero," built and built to a joyous crescendo.

The women's rousing, perky sleigh ride song, "Jing-a-Ling, Jing-a-Ling," was likewise a delightful wintery romp that segued into Chorale's set of more stately music.

The elite choir's rendition of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" ratcheted my Christmas spirits into high gear, especially as it wasn't the version we normally hear.

Chorale's performance of the Caribbean carol, "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy," featured a piano duet between accompanist Leon Curenton and special guest Pam Myers that beautifully enhanced the spiritual.

Rounding out the evening, the entire chorus was augmented by more than 25 chorus alumni in the traditional performance of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" from "The Messiah."

The rousing piece always draws the audience to its feet, not just out of respectful tradition but in enthusiastic appreciation for another enjoyable concert that never fails to be a precious Christmas gift.

If I may offer one criticism, it would be that we had trouble hearing the soft but lovely voices of the Destiny girls, especially when they'd be executing choreography that resounded on the wooden stage and platforms, nearly drowning out the singers.

My only other lament is that 8-year-old Waylon Hopwood, a Bob Sikes Elementary School student, won the Oreo cheesecake door prize and I didn't. But 'tis the season to be generous, so I won't begrudge my loss. Merry Christmas, Waylon.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview High chorus Christmas concert a gift for the ear (PHOTOS, VIDEO)