Southeast AgNET

More than 450 Florida Farm Bureau Federation leaders from across the state gathered in Orlando for the 67th annual meeting last week.

The Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award was presented to Orange County cattle producer Bobby Beagles and the late Suwannee County farmer George Poucher.

Larry and Jenny Black of Polk County couple were selected as the winners of Florida Farm Bureau’s Achievement Award, formerly known as the Outstanding Young Farmer and Rancher competition.

Scott and Sarah Joe Thomas, a Marion County couple, were chosen as the top winners of the Excellence in Agriculture competition, for farmers and ranchers who are under the age of 35 and do not derive the majority of their income from an owned farm operation.

Keith Shiver of Lafayette County won the Young Farmer & Rancher Discussion Meet. Shiver runs a dairy farm and serves on the board of directors for his county Farm Bureau.

James Snively, a Certified Crop Advisor for Southern Gardens Citrus, Inc. in Clewiston, is the 2008 winner of the Florida Excellence in Crop Advising Award

Legislative issues topped the agenda at Florida Farm Bureau’s annual meeting last week in Orlando. Senate Ag committee chairman JD Alexander says Florida is facing budget shortfalls that will make the next legislative session just as challenging as this year was.

Listen to report here:

Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff interviewed Sen. Alexander about a number of issues at the annual meeting:
Listen to full interview here:

John Hoblick of DeLeon Springs was elected president and Rick Roth of Wellington was elected vice president of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation at last week’s annual meeting in Orlando.

Hoblick says one of the topics of discussion at last week’s meeting was trade.
Listen to report here:

Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff interviewed Hoblick at the annual meeting:
Listen to full interview here:

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy last week released the National Biofuels Action Plan (NBAP), an interagency plan detailing the collaborative efforts of Federal agencies to accelerate the development of a sustainable biofuels industry.

Listen to report here:

Tyron Spearman has this quick reminder about the Sunbelt Ag Expo which officially starts Tuesday.

Learn more about this years event by clicking Sunbelt Ag Expo

The 67th Annual Meeting of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation has been underway this week in Orlando, and FFBF’s Pat Cockrell said when it comes to policy issues, a lot of discussion has taken place concerning input costs which farmers across the state are facing.

Sponsoring this report:
The 2008 numbers are in and Valencia’s projected a drop of 10%. Hear the broadcast here.

CLICK HERE for a printable PDF document of the COMPLETED crop forecast chart.
ALSO we are posting the link herein that will take you directly to the page of the USDA website that will have the actual crop forecast document posted shortly after the broadcast is completed. Here is that link: http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Florida/Publications/Citrus/cpfp.htm

TALLAHASSEE – Florida Governor Charlie Crist has announced a $1 million grant for the Florida Agriculture Center & Horse Park Authority Inc. through the Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development. The funds will support a market study, site planning and basic infrastructure for expanding the 500-acre Florida Horse Park, located on the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway near Ocala. Read the rest of this entry »

In Sarasota, Florida this week John Deere officials displayed hundreds of tractors, many of them new models to become available in 2009, many of them geared toward the ‘lifestyle’ rural crowd and folks involved in things like citrus, nursery, vineyards and other agriculture operations. According to John Deere representatives on hand for the event, the new models coupled with the more traditional larger models target today’s farm equipment consumer no matter what size of the operation. Whether it be for the very large ag operations or the very small, and all in between, John Deere seems to be making a real effort to serve all market segments when it comes to farm and lawn care equipment. In this post herein you can listen to interviews and view documents we received from the John Deere folks this week in Sarasota, as they hosted agriculture media along with John Deere dealer representatives from throughout North America. Just click to see the rest of this post and you’ll find links to the interviews and other materials. Read the rest of this entry »

Today Tyron Spearman has information about a program in the new farm bill called SNAP.

And he also wants to reminds everyone about the Sunbelt Ag Expo which will take place next week in Moultrie, Georgia.

Click Sunbelt Ag Expo to learn more about next week’s big event.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2008 - Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer today announced that USDA has awarded more than $28 million through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) to solve critical specialty crop agriculture issues, address priorities and solve problems through multifunctional research and extension.

The Specialty Crop Research Initiative was established by the 2008 Farm Bill to support the specialty crop industry by developing and disseminating science-based tools to address needs of specific crops and their regions in five focus areas: Read the rest of this entry »

This week in Sarasota, Florida John Deere is holding an ag media event to kick off its “Drive Green” campaign. We’re on the scene here in south Florida for this event. Hear more in this report and be sure to stay tuned to Southeast AgNet for more information.
Sponsoring this report:

With the large amount of money involved in the recently announced bailout plan, Tyron Spearman looks at where it may benefit certain areas of agriculture.

We at Southeat AgNet were honored to be invited to the celebration of the partnership of the World Equestrian Games and Alltech Equine Products. I, Nicholle Saylor, participated in the event on behalf of our company. Being of the equine industry I understand the importance this partnership will bring to Florida as participants gather in our state to condition their mounts for this spectacular event. The Alltech World Eqestrian Games will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2010 and will be broadcast live on the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) as well as NBC. Spectators will enjoy athletes and horses from several different disaplines ranging from dressage and eventing to reining and even Para-Equestrian. Theses events will spread over 16 days of extraordinary competiton ending in eight world championships. For details on this exciting partnership and tickets to the World Equestrian Games visit Alltech Equine Products and FEI World Equestrian Games.

Good luck to Alltech and all the exhibitors, owners and horses participating in this wonderful event!

Both the American Farm Bureau and the National Farmers Union supported the financial bailout approved by Congress last week.

Listen to report here:

Today Tyron Spearman talks about some of the regulations for the new Country of Origin Labeling.

Some folks from the Southeast did well at the recent World Dairy Expo held in Wisconsin.

To learn more click here: World Dairy Expo

USDA is on a mission to explain the details of country of origin labeling to the producers, packers, wholesalers and retailers who now need to make it happen in the stores according to Lloyd Day, Administrator of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.
Listen to report here:

RENO, Nev., Oct. 3, 2008 - Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer today said that USDA would fully implement President George W. Bush’s directive to offer incentives to farmers and ranchers for opening up their land in the Conservation Reserve Program to the public for hunting, fishing, bird watching and other recreational activities. Schafer made the announcement at the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy today in Reno. Read the rest of this entry »

The Georgia Young Farmers Association has a brand new campaign underway to remind consumers how important farmers across the state are to them. Harry Thompson says they have a variety of information available about the industry so people can learn more about the food and fiber production across the state.

Tyron Spearman looks at the latest peanut stocks and processing numbers and also reminds those in Georgia about the sales tax days underway to help conserve energy.
Peanut Stocks Report
GA Sales Tax

Gainesville, FL., October 3, 2008 - Are you a conservation minded landowner in need of advice or financial incentives for your farm or ranch? A comprehensive conservation plan may be just what you need. A conservation plan is a written record of your management decisions and the conservation practices and systems that you plan to use and maintain on your farm. Carrying out your plan will achieve the goals of protecting the environment on and off your farm or ranch as well as meeting your individual management objectives. Having a conservation plan may also help qualify you for various USDA conservation programs that can help you implement your plan. Read the rest of this entry »

Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks was elected President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) during their semi-annual meeting last week.

Listen to report here:

Listen to interview by Randall Weiseman with Commissioner Sparks:

Producers in Florida who were impacted by Tropcial Storm Farm may now be eligible for financial assistance to help restore agricultural operations harmed by the wind or water. A total of 59 counties in the state have been designated as eligible by the the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).

Listen to report

Established farmers who were farming at the time of the Aug. 18 - Sept. 12 disaster in the following counties and who sustained storm-related losses are now eligible to be considered for FSA emergency help: Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, De Soto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Polk, Putnam, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sarasota, Seminole, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia and Wakulla. Local FSA offices have details.

After six years, the country of origin labeling initiative that was part of the 2002 Farm Bill finally goes into effect today.

Under Secretary of Agriculture Bruce Knight says it will be at least another six months before the law is enforced.

Knight says they worked hard to make sure the law took concerns of all stakeholders into account.

The Florida Cattlemen’s Association invites everyone to this weekend’s Ranch Rodeo Finals and Cowboy Heritage Festival in Kissimmee. It starts Friday night and runs all day Saturday October 3rd and 4th.

To learn more or to get rodeo tickets click Here

As congress works on a financial bailout that lawmakers say is necessary to help all Americans, farmers and ranchers and the agricultural credit system overall are in better shape than most.

Thefts on the farm are increasing. What can be done about it? Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff has suggestions from law enforcement that might be a help.

Today Tyron Spearman reminds growers of an important deadline coming up September 30th and looks back at a fuel tour held last week in Georgia.
Important Deadline
GA Fuel Tour

The 31st annual Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie will kick off this year the way it has for the past 19 years - with the naming of the Sunbelt Farmer of the Year at the opening luncheon on October 14. One farmer from each of the ten Sunbelt states will be competing for the title this year, including: Lamar Dewberry of Alabama, Randy Strode of Florida and Clayton “Wayne” McKinnon of Georgia.

Listen to reports here:

Alabama

Florida

Georgia