Georgia Cattlemen’s Convention Underway

The 2019 Georgia Cattlemen’s Association Convention and Trade Show and Beef Expo is underway at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry. New GCA Executive Vice President, Dale Sandlin, officially started this past Monday but is already busy meeting and talking about various issues with producers from across the state. One of those is hauling cattle, something he is very familiar …

Ranchers Invited to Florida Beef Cattle Short Course

Ranchers across the state of Florida are invited to attend the 2019 Florida Beef Cattle Short Course, May 8-10, in Gainesville. This year’s program titled, “Connecting the Dots, Calf to Carcass”, will cover a variety of topics. Some of those include looking at Market and Industry Trends in the Beef Business, Customer Satisfaction and National Tenderness Survey, Value and Mechanics of Meat Exports, …

Alabama Grazing Academy Set for April 17

It was announced this week that the Alabama Grazing Academy is set for April 17 at the Chilton Research and Extension Center in Clanton. The one-day workshop, hosted by the Alabama Extension animal science and forage team, begins at 8 a.m. and will wrap up about 5:45 p.m. In a release, Alabama Extension forage specialist, Dr. Leanne Dillard, said “Producers will learn about how …

Federal Program Repairs Popular Arcadia Park

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service  has provided $740,000 to DeSoto County through Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP) assistance to help to repair hurricane damage a popular park in Arcadia, Fla.  Hurricane Irma struck Southwest Florida as a Category 3 in fall 2017. The hurricane dropped from 10 to 15 inches in the Peace River drainage area, which covers 1,367 square miles. The Peace …

USDA Census of Agriculture One Week Away

Videos on how to use Census data are now available The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will release the 2017 Census of Agriculture results on Thursday, April 11, at noon ET. The full Census report will include millions of data points, including number of farms, land in farms, total value of production, demographics, and …

USDA Launches New Farmers.gov Features to Help with H2A Applications, Managing Loans

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched two new features on farmers.gov to help customers manage their farm loans and navigate the application process for H2A visas. “Customer service is our top priority at USDA and these new features will help our customers as they manage their farm loans and navigate the H-2A temporary agricultural …

If You Eat, You Are Involved in Agriculture

By Sen. Ben Albritton I have enormous respect for Congressman Francis Rooney and his life of public service. However, I have grave concerns about the congressman’s recent misinformed, inaccurate, and hostile comments about agriculture in Florida. Describing any sector of Florida agriculture as a “menace” clearly shows a lack of understanding of how agriculture has been a highly successful partner …

Alabama Prospective Planting Numbers Released

A year of tumultuous weather and natural disasters, 2018 brought challenges where expectations were high for good yields and market pricing. In Alabama alone, producers experienced hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding on top of the usual changes in weather farmers expect. Alabama Cooperative Extension System economist, Max Runge, said while uncertainty is normal in the agricultural sector, there is more uncertainty for 2019 …

AFBF Concerned about Labor, Trade if Border Closed

The American Farm Bureau Federation is urging the administration to make sure that any steps undertaken to tighten enforcement at the U.S. border do not create more uncertainty for agricultural producers. “Right now, farmers and ranchers are toughing it out,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Many of our products are caught up in a trade dispute. Mother Nature has devastated the …