Florida’s state budget contains bad news for Florida’s food banks with a 50 percent cut in transportation funding. David Reaney, President of the Florida Association of Food Banks, says that the cut puts an added strain on an already challenging task.
New Fumigant Regulations Released
The new regulations for fumigant buffers have been released by the EPA and will go into affect in 2011. The EPA has developed a fact sheet regarding the new buffer requirements.
Looking for a Disaster Declaration
We remind growers that Governor Crist declared a state of emergency late last week for Brevard, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Lake, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia counties. This enables farmers to quickly harvest and transport their crops to help mitigate further losses from the recent rain fall. The Commissioner of Agriculture’s office is hoping to have a disaster …
Producers Encouraged to Document Crop Loss
As rain the rain fall continues to add up throughout the state of Florida, Josh Craft with Florida Farm Bureau says crop loss is also increasing.
Too Much of a Good Thing
The recent rain has been a welcome site to many in the state of Florida but Josh Craft, Assistant Director of Agricultural Policy for the Florida Farm Bureau, says it may be too much for Potato growers.
FL Rains Continue – New Anchor for AgNet’s Specialty Crop News
From drought conditions to downright flood conditions in many Florida specialty crop production areas, growers continue to deal with rain in many areas of Florida, some right about the time of harvest. Stay tuned in days to come, as AgNet’s Julie McPeake (photo) takes the anchor position for Specialty Crop news reports here at the network.
Weight Restrictions Eased To Help NE FL Potato Harvest
This just in late Friday from the Florida Dept of Agriculture: WEIGHT RESTRICTIONS EASED ON TRANSPORTING POTATO CROP FROM NORTHEAST FLORIDA AS A RESULT OF FLOODING TALLAHASSEE — Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced that weight restrictions on transporting potato crops out of northeast Florida have been eased as a result of flooding rains in …
Small Farms Conference
The Florida Natural Resources Conservation Service is encouraging landowners to attend the statewide Small Farms and Alternative Enterprise Conference. More information can be found on their website.
Concern About Crop Disaster in Hastings Growing Area
(Gainesville, Fla.) As heavy rains continue, the Florida Farm Bureau Federation today urged producers in the Hastings area to prepare for heavy crop losses. As much as 17 inches of rain has fallen in the area so far this week, assuring agricultural producers will have problems harvesting potatoes, cabbage, cantaloupe and other fresh vegetables, as well as sod.
USDA Radio: Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder Research Update
Here’s an update from Gary Crawford at USDA Radio about the Colony Collapse Disorder and its impacts on the nation’s honeybees.