BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Is Luke Harlow a part of the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Sciences family, or is UF/IFAS Extension a part of his family?
The answer is both.
Harlow is the new horticulture/small farms agent for Bradford County’s Extension office. He’s been working in Extension since 2015, but he’s not the only one in his family employed by UF/IFAS. His wife, Erin, has been working in Extension since 2008 and is currently working in the Columbia County office.
Bradford’s newest agent is not to be confused with former agent Luke Miller, though Harlow said it’s funny he replaced someone who shares the same first name.
“I always say I’m still the original Luke,” Harlow said. “I was actually the only Luke in the entire state of Florida with the Extension service until Luke Miller showed up.”
Harlow has been on the job in Bradford for approximately a month, so he’s still settling in.
“I’m still kind of trying to figure out the lay of the land and kind of where I can best help the office and then the citizens,” Harlow said. “So far, I’m really enjoying it.”
Before getting into Extension, Harlow worked in landscaping, as a pest-control operator and then as a middle-school agriculture teacher.
Harlow said he saw Extension as a better fit for him. He gets to still be involved in education, but his work includes working with adults as opposed to youth only. He enjoys interacting with farmers and growers.
He’s also found himself back on a school campus as he’s been working with Starke Elementary students on establishing garden beds.
Harlow likes the idea of providing agriculture education to youth.
“We are a rural community, so certain kids work with their families, and they grow home gardens,” Harlow said. “Some of the kids grow and raise cattle, but some don’t. Those are the families we really try to work with — knowing where the crops grow that they’re eating and where it all originates from.”
Harlow began working in Extension in Nassau County. He spent a year in that office before taking a position in Clay County. From there, Harlow moved to the Union County office in late 2019.
“I thoroughly enjoyed Union County, but a lot of why I made this change is I get to work in some of the areas I really enjoy working in — horticulture and small farms, which Bradford County has a little more of.
“I think it’s better suited for my passions and what I enjoy doing.”
One of the things Harlow will be doing in Bradford is working with the Master Gardeners program, which is exciting to him. He worked as a landscaper at the age of 17 and said he has knowledge that can help others.
“It is exciting because it is something I’ve always been passionate about,” Harlow said, adding, “It’s nice working with people who have that same passion they can share with you, and you can talk about it,”
Harlow anticipates a big part of his job being to provide assistance to the county’s small farms so that they can be sustainable and profitable.
“I think that’s going to be one of the harder things — how do those guys market (their products)? How do they work with what they’ve got when you’ve got so many increases on inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.)?”
Harlow said the cost of fertilizer, for example, has gone “through the roof.” The goal is to work with farmers on how they can use less fertilizer and maximize its use.
The new agent can also talk with small farmers about diversification and adding non-traditional crops to supplement their income.
Whether it’s working with farmers, Master Gardeners or anyone with a home garden, a priority right now is for Harlow to get out and meet people.
“That’s kind of number one — boots on the ground,” he said.
When he’s not busy with Extension work, Harlow enjoys the hobby of blacksmithing. He makes things such as wall hooks, dinner triangles, necklaces and sleigh bells.
“Just lots of trinkets and stuff like that,” Harlow said.
The recent Bradford 4-H auction featured a set of Harry Potter dueling wands made by Harlow.
Harlow said he became involved in the craft when he discovered there was a statewide association devoted to it. The association hosts conferences that consist of classes.
“I just started learning and really started enjoying it,” he said.
Another hobby, which he shares with his wife, is freshwater kayaking. They enjoy visiting a lot of the state’s springs, especially Silver Sisters Springs, which is part of the Chassahowitzka springs group.
“When we have a free weekend, we’ll go out and take a small day trip,” Harlow said.
Harlow said he and his wife would like to take a trip to Georgia’s Tallulah Gorge in in the future and have their children — 10-year-old Nathaniel and 6-year-old Josephine — enjoy the experience as well.
“We went there when we were first married — when we were younger and more fit,” Harlow said. “We’ve set a goal — we want to take the kids there at some point.”
When that will be is a question that will be answered in the future. A question Harlow is eager to answer now is how he can have an impact as the newest Extension agent in the county: “Where can I best help the community?”
