BRADENTON, Fla. — The country’s first commercial bamboo plantation is up and running in Bradenton.
Mixon Farms decided to plant bamboo after their citrus crops started going bad a couple of years ago.
"We said we’ve got to do something, we kept putting in and spraying and not getting any crop out of it," said Dean Mixon, owner Mixon Fruit Farms.
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They say bamboo is a super nutritious food and has many health benefits.
"People all the time are like, you eat it? And I’m like Yeah! We are the first in the country to grow it specifically for food," said Janet Mixon.
They say more than 200 citrus farmers reached out to them wanting to learn more about planting bamboo.
Mixon's will harvest the bamboo this fall.
