Recalled Lettuce in E. coli Outbreak From California, Not Florida

(FDACS) — On Friday, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration announced that romaine lettuce associated with an outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 is likely from the Salinas growing region of California. 40 illnesses have been reported across 16 states since September 24. Florida-grown lettuce is not implicated in this outbreak, and the FDA has indicated there are neither positive samples nor reported illnesses in …

USDA and Georgia Sign Shared Stewardship Agreement

Highlights Cooperative Approach to Land Management (USDA) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue joined Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to sign a Shared Stewardship agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the State of Georgia. The agreement was signed at a ceremony at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural …

State Completes Wakulla, St. Johns Land Buys

(NSF) — The state Department of Environmental Protection has completed the acquisition of a pair of Florida Forever sites in Wakulla and St. Johns counties that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet agreed to buy for $10.7 million in July. The department announced Friday the $4.2 million purchase of 717 acres within the Wakulla Springs Protection Zone Florida Forever project …

Commissioner Nikki Fried on ITC Ruling on Mexican Tomato Threat

(FDACS) — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted 4-0 affirming that imported Mexican tomatoes unfairly threaten the American tomato industry. The ruling came after the U.S. Department of Commerce recently re-opened the antidumping investigation that began in 1996, and after finding that Mexican tomatoes had been dumped into the U.S. market at prices 21 percent below fair market value, on average. In …

Romaine Recalled Before Holiday, This Time Packaged

A growing E. coli outbreak and advisory before Thanksgiving is reminding everyone of last year, but this one is less encompassing. Around 100,000 pounds of packaged salads are recalled due to E. coli illness reports in eight states. The salads are Ready Pac products from Missa Bay out of Maryland. Seventeen illnesses with seven hospitalizations have been reported. The products …

ITC Affirms that Mexican Dumping Threatens U.S. Tomato Growers

(FTE) — In a unanimous decision, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made an affirmative determination that dumped Mexican tomato imports threaten the U.S. industry with material injury. This determination comes on the heels of an announcement last month by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which found that Mexican tomatoes had been dumped in the U.S. market at an average …

Legislation to Preserve Family Farms Introduced in Congress

(NCBA) — The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced its strong support for the “Preserving Family Farms Act of 2019.” Introduced by U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D – 20th Dist. – Calif.) and Jackie Walorski (R – 2nd Dist. – Ind.), this important bipartisan legislation would expand IRS Code Section 2032A to allow more ranchers and farmers to take advantage …

Disaster Block Grant and MFP Dollars Coming

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the second tranche of 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments’ aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations’ will be coming soon. Tyron Spearman has more on that, plus also notes Disaster Aid Block Grant money will be coming to some producers in the Southeast. Sponsored …