Last week, members of Congress returned to Washington D.C. to pass the latest version of funding for relief and stimulus efforts in response to COVID-19. Reece Langley, Vice President of Washington Operations for the National Cotton Council (NCC), explains what the measure includes and how it will provide relief for America’s small businesses. For small business owners who applied before …
UGA Extension Ag Economist: Crop Rotation is Key
By Clint Thompson University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Ag economist Adam Rabinowitz is hopeful producers will stick to their usual crop rotations this year when considering what commodities to produce. Rabinowitz is wary of farmers who might be tempted this planting season to switch planned acreage of cotton to peanuts due to cotton prices being drastically low. “Certainly, the cotton …
Florida Drought Leads to Water Restrictions in Lee County
By Clint Thompson Florida’s long drought has led to water restrictions on Lee County in the southwest part of the state. On Friday, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and Lee County announced mandatory irrigation restrictions. According to the press release, the restrictions addressed low aquifer levels. “On the coast, they rely a lot more on wells, well fields. …
FDACS Accepting Hemp Applications
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently approved Florida’s state hemp program and today, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) began accepting applications from farmers seeking to grow industrial hemp. A 2018 federal farm bill legalized hemp as an agricultural product after decades of debate about the issue. Industrial hemp can be used in numerous products and …
Groups Ask Treasury Secretary to Guard Against Further Ag Consolidation
A coalition consisting of 68 farmer, environmental, and antitrust groups across the country sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on consolidation. They’re asking him to ensure that pandemic relief funds do not lead to the further consolidation of the food and agriculture industry. The letter asks Mnuchin to invest the stimulus funds in farming systems that lift farmers …
NASS Preparing for 2022 Census of Agriculture
The National Agricultural Statistics Service recently mailed out the National Agricultural Classification Survey (NACS) to 350,000 potential farmers and ranchers. The NACS will help identify all those engaged in agricultural activity in the country to ensure that they are included in the 2022 Census of Agriculture. NASS requests that each person who receives the survey respond by May 4. “NACS …
U.S. Cattle On Feed Down 5%
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its April Cattle on Feed Report. It shows the number of cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the U.S. for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head was 11.3 million head on April 1, 2020, 5% below April 1, 2019. The inventory included 7.08 million steers and steer …
NCBA on Relief Funds for Producers
This week, Congress did approve an increase to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) beings money from the first round ran out quickly. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Vice President of Government Affairs, Ethan Lane, provides an update on relief funds available to cattle producers. Following NCBA’s letter to USDA this week, members in both chambers of Congress sent a letter …
Hoping for More Peanut Butter Purchases
To help peanut farmers during this time of COVID-19, there are requests for USDA to make more purchases of peanut butter for various programs. Tyron Spearman has the story. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsMarch 1, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Offers Targeted Research for Florida Cattle IndustryFebruary 20, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Allows Viable Research in the Cattle IndustryFebruary 6, 2026Florida …
Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried Sends Recommendations to Governor’s Re-Open Task Force
Tallahassee, Fla. – On Thursday, Agriculture Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried, a member of the Florida Cabinet, sent to the Governor a detailed report of recommendations to the Re-Open Florida Task Force. “As the Constitutional officer responsible for overseeing our state’s agriculture industry, and as your colleague on the Florida Cabinet, independently elected by the people of the great state of …