(NAFB) — The United Fresh Produce Association and industry partners have presented a comprehensive Produce Market Stabilization Program to the Department of Agriculture. The proposal would immediately support critical financial needs in the produce supply chain. In addition, 108 members of Congress have sent a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue urging USDA to support the proposal. United Fresh President …
FDA Reassures Consumers That Food is Safe
(NAFB) — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to once again reassure American consumers that food is available and safe to eat during the coronavirus outbreak. The FDA released a 30-second PSA last week designed to cut through confusion and misinformation about the food supply during the pandemic. It reiterates the message the FDA and the fresh produce industry …
Meatpackers Close a Few Plants Due to Coronavirus
(NAFB) — Fears of meatpacker employees contracting coronavirus due to the close conditions they work in have led to several facilities idling production in recent weeks. For example, Tyson Foods has temporarily ceased operations at its pork plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, after two dozen employees were found positive with the coronavirus. Politico says at least three people who work …
FFA Members Continue Doing to Learn and Living to Serve During COVID-19
(FFA) — As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the country, many schools have turned to e-learning, and after-school activities have come to a halt. What hasn’t ended, however, is FFA members living out the FFA motto – Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve. Throughout the country, there are stories of FFA members and alumni …
Some Herbs You Can Grow in Water
If you are thinking of growing your own herb garden, why not try hydroponics. Cathy Isom tells you about some herbs you can grow in water. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. If you love cooking with fresh herbs, you’ll be happy to know you can grow your own from a cutting. It’s as easy as filling a …
FDACS & Commissioner Nikki Fried Create List Connecting Farmers & Buyers
(FDACS) — Agriculture Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) announced the creation of a Florida Farm to You commodities list, connecting potential buyers with farmers and producers of Florida-grown commodities like fresh produce, seafood, poultry, and more. With restaurants and foodservice businesses closed due to COVID-19, agricultural producers across the country have struggled to sell perishable products like …
Dairy Producer: Unsettling Feeling to See Loads and Loads of Milk Going Down the Drain
By Clint Thompson Calvin Moody has been a dairyman for more than two decades and has never experienced what he’s had to go through over the past few weeks. “This is absolutely the first time in my lifetime that we’ve ever had to dump milk. I’ve been in the dairy business for over 20 years and never had to dump …
Loan Maturity for Marketing Assistance Loans Now Extended to 12 Months
Provides Producers with Marketing Flexibilities Amid COVID-19 Uncertainties (USDA) — Agricultural producers now have more time to repay Marketing Assistance Loans (MAL) as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020. The loans now mature at 12 months rather than nine, and this flexibility is available for most …
UF/IFAS Extension Helps Get Food Directly From Farmers to Customers During Pandemic
(UF/IFAS) — As the novel coronavirus disrupts the usual methods to deliver food from farms to consumers, UF/IFAS Extension agents are helping connect growers with customers. Two such specialists are Sarah Bostick, an agriculture agent with UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County and Lisa Hickey, a sustainability agent with UF/IFAS Extension Manatee County. The two are now working together to encourage farmers …
Florida Farmers Worried About Presence of Foreign Produce
During the Florida Farm Bureau Federation (FFBF) and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Town Hall last week concerning COVID-19 and its effects on Florida agriculture, one issued discussed was how fresh produce growers were having difficultly moving their products. But foreign produce continues to be prevalent in stores. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said this is something …