by Brad Buck University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Florida weather is unpredictable. While you cannot control the weather, you can use UF/IFAS-developed weather databases to improve farming, home irrigation and flood control. Researchers with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences have written a new Extension document that summarizes several weather data portals …
Changes Needed in Farm Bill Safety Net Outlined at Senate Hearing
Dairy farmers in Michigan and across the nation need federal lawmakers to revise the safety net created in the 2014 Farm Bill to provide them adequate risk management protection, according to a dairy farmer from eastern Michigan who testified in Frankenmuth on Saturday at a Senate hearing. Darrin Siemen of Harbor Beach, Mich., told a Senate Agriculture Committee field hearing …
Florida Commissioner’s Spotlight: FRESH! Recipe – Blueberry Casserole
On this week’s Commissioner’s Spotlight, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam is joined by Executive Chef Justin Timineri to talk about using what’s in season in his new Fresh! Recipe video: Blueberry Breakfast Casserole. You can follow Florida Commissioner Adam Putnam on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Discover more by visiting FreshFromFlorida.com. Image: Executive Chef Justin Timineri Blueberry Breakfast Casserole provided by …
Florida Lawmakers to Vote on Budget Today
Florida Lawmakers did close on the state’s budget deal last Wednesday, but it wasn’t until Friday afternoon that it was finally released. But that was good enough to allow time for the 72-hour budget “cooling off” period required by the Constitution so the vote can take place this afternoon on what should be the final day of the 2017 Florida …
Cauliflower at Center Plate
Cathy Isom has us craving the vegetable that’s moving from boring side dish to center plate. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Gone are the days when we turned up our nose to the funny looking white veggie on the sides of our dinner plate that resembled mini trees. Cauliflower is taking center plate and no longer …
Canada Offers Potential U.S. Ethanol Export Growth
With Canada seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 megatons by 2030, the U.S. ethanol industry is eager to help Canada reach the goal. The U.S. Grains Council says the U.S. ethanol industry last month visited Canada to tout U.S. ethanol. The industry also commented on the proposed Canadian Clean Fuel Standard. Canada has an existing national blending mandate …
ChemChina Secures Shareholder Approval of Syngenta Takeover
State-owned ChemChina has secured its takeover of Syngenta after more than 80 percent of Syngenta shareholders approved the acquisition. The Financial Times reports 80.7 percent of shares had been tendered by the end of the offer period on Thursday evening, above the 67 percent minimum required for the deal to go ahead. The $43 billion deal, announced more than a …
Avian Influenza Found in Mexico
The World Organization for Animal Health reports that highly contagious H7N3 avian influenza was confirmed Thursday at a farm in west-central Mexico. The virus was discovered in a flock of 15,000 birds that had been vaccinated and did not show any clinical signs of the disease, according to agriculture officials in Mexico. Reuters reports that the farm is under quarantine …
Senate Bill Would Protect Farmworkers
U/S.A bill introduced last week in the U.S. Senate would give farmworkers a path to legal status and citizenship. California Senators, Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, introduced the legislation last week that would shield farmworkers who are in the country illegally from deportation and create a path to citizenship, according to the L.A. Times. Feinstein says “farm labor is …
Agri View: Damaging Weather
Everett Griner talks about the damaging weather is not over for farmers in today’s Agri View. I just heard a local forecaster say that last winter was the warmest winter we have had across the south, which is from Georgia to Arizona, since 1917. I do know that a record number of destructive storms, and tornadoes, have struck the southeast …