ICYMI: Commissioner Nikki Fried Announces FDACS Clean Water Initiative

(Tallahassee, Fla./August 6, 2021) — Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried held a series of events across Florida announcing the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Office of Agricultural Water Policy Clean Water Initiative, updating and strengthening the Department’s water policies to better protect the state’s natural resources.  At stops in Fort Myers, Sarasota, Tampa, St. Pete, and Stuart, Commissioner Fried met with scientists, environmental advocates, and local elected officials to roll …

New CBD Comes From Orange Peels

The company Peels has launched a CBD oil made from orange peels. Peels was founded by National Football League veteran Chris Hetherington, who serves as the company’s chief executive officer. Peels’ process of deriving CBD from orange peels is called cyclic terpene assembly, a proprietary technique for combining organic molecules. This process combines terpenes from orange peels with olivetol, a naturally …

Pre-Harvest Peanut Meeting Next Week

A pre-harvest meeting for the peanut industry will be held next week. Tyron Spearman has the details. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Critical Funding To Enhance Brahman GeneticsApril 24, 2026Strong Relationship Exists Between the Florida Cattle Enhancement Board and UF-IFASApril 17, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Funding For Quicker Response to Research QuestionsApril 10, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides …

AFBF, Senators Concerned with Possible Water Rule Roll Back

The fight over the Biden EPA’s move to roll back the Trump EPA’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule that reversed WOTUS is heating up. At least 30 GOP farm-state senators are behind a bill to make permanent last year’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule that reversed Obama WOTUS and its wetlands permit requirements. The issue is a major concern for the American …

NCBA Region 2 VP Looking Forward to Nashville

The 2021 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show will be held next week at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. Fred Smith from Clayton, North Carolina serves on the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Executive Committee as Policy Vice President for Region 2. And he is really looking forward to the big event. The Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show runs August 10-12. For more information, visit convention.ncba.org. Sponsored …

USDA Extends Beef Checkoff Petition Drive Deadline

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this week granted an extension to organizers of the National Beef Checkoff Petition Drive until October 3, 2021. The extension grants extra time for organizers to collect the necessary signatures on the petition calling for a producer vote of the National Beef Checkoff Program. The South Dakota Livestock Auction Markets Association and Kansas-based Stratford Angus organized …

Assistance Helps Farmers and Ranchers Conserve Natural Resources

Florida farmers, ranchers and forest owners can apply until September 1,2021 for financial and technical assistance from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for fiscal year 2022 funding. Through EQIP, agricultural landowners can receive financial and technical assistance to improve soil, water, air, plants, animals and related resources. Eligible land includes cropland, rangeland, pastureland, private non-industrial forestland and other …