A wide range of candidates, with a wide range of interests, have now formally entered the race to become the next Commissioner of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It is a race close to our hearts, and already heavy on the minds of those in Florida who are among our target audience of farmers, ranchers and agribusiness people in this region. You can expect we’ll be covering comments of candidates we run into along the way, like we did Rick Minton (photo) recent days at the summer meeting of the Florida Fertilizer and Agrichemical Association in Naples. Minton is one of only a couple of those in the race who comes from a family of direct involvement in this major Florida industry. In this report, Minton poses a pointed challenge to Florida’s agriculture community about the primary process in this important statewide race.
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