If you are a baker and use vanilla in your baking, you have no doubt noticed that the price of real vanilla has skyrocketed in recent years as people turn towards natural flavors rather than artificial vanillin. According to a recent article in the Miami Herald, vanilla is now worth more than silver. Vanilla is an orchid and is grown in a number of tropical locations, but it under attack by changes in climate, geopolitical turmoil, and a hurricane that hit Madagascar in 2017, destroying 30% of the crop. But there are already natural species of vanilla plants in Florida and the cultivation of vanilla would work well as a secondary crop with avocados, so farmers are beginning to consider adding it as a specialty crop. You can read more about it at https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article213526259.html.
