(FDACS) — Congressional leaders agreed upon a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues setting new case records, the bill will provide some direct assistance to families and additional funding for food production and distribution, among other priorities. On the bill, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried offered the following statement: “For more than nine months, COVID-19 has upended the lives …
CoBank: 2021 Year Ahead Report on U.S. Rural Economy
The speed of the economic recovery will largely hinge on the availability, dissemination and reach of COVID-19 vaccines, pushing a pent-up consumer demand to later in 2021. That’s according to a comprehensive year-ahead outlook report just issued from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Division. “The coming year will be a recovery year for most Americans and the businesses that make up the …
Retail Orange Juice Prices and Sales on the Rise
The most recent Nielsen report reveals promising news for Florida retail orange juice (OJ) sales. During a recent Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) webinar, Marisa Zansler, director of the FDOC Economic and Market Research Department, presented a summary of the second Nielson report for the 2020–21 citrus season through the four-week period ending Nov. 28. The report shows that OJ sales for this period …
Applications Open For Hurricane Zeta Assistance Through Ag Foundation
(ALFA) — The Alabama Farmers Agriculture Foundation (AFAF) is accepting applications through Jan. 15 from farmers who suffered losses related to Hurricane Zeta. AFAF and Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell said the Foundation established a Hurricane Relief Fund in response to calls from farmers and businesses who wanted to help their neighbors. It was utilized earlier this year for …
2020 Land Market Ending with Optimism
(NAFB) — The 2020 land market closes with optimism, according to Farmers National Company. The year started with land prices strengthening before COVID-19. The pandemic paused the land market before interest returned in the summer. Now, Randy Dickhut of Farmers National Company says an improved outlook for grain prices and government aid increasing farm income has resurrected interest in farmland. …
Peanut Deliveries and Marketing Report
The Federal State Inspection Service is reporting on peanut deliveries. There are still plenty of buying points across Georgia, Florida, and Alabama that are bring in peanuts a little bit late. Tyron Spearman has some nukmbers for you, along with other peanut news. Other marketing news across the board. They are still selling peanuts for Christmas. You might want to …
Ethanol Industry Needs Support, as COVID-19 Losses Near $4 Billion
With COVID-19 cases on the rise again, state and local governments are taking additional actions to limit travel and promote social distancing. In turn, consumption of ethanol-blended gasoline is rapidly falling again, threatening to derail an already tenuous economic recovery in the ethanol industry. Through November, U.S. ethanol producers had already lost $3.8 billion since the start of the pandemic, according …
EU Announces Tariffs on U. S. Peanuts and Other Products
Just as the pandemc has spiked a second time, the European Union (EU) has imposed a 25 percent tariff on U.S. peanuts and other products. Tyron Spearman reports the market is trying to figure out how to get around the tariffs. Listen to Tyron’s report. There are hopes that this will sometime in January. The tariffs went into effect on …
Increase to Certain Incentive Payments for Continuous CRP Announced
(USDA/FSA) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is increasing incentive payments for practices installed on land enrolled in the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is upping the Practice Incentive Payment for installing practices, from 5 percent to 20 percent. Additionally, producers will receive a 10 percent incentive payment for water quality practices on land …
Farm Bureau Stepping Up in Dean Foods Legal Proceedings
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is getting involved in the Dean Foods legal proceedings. The major dairy processor filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in November of 2019. Dairy farmers who had previously sold milk to the company have been sent letters demanding repayment of previous milk checks. In the letters, producers are being threatened with legal action if they …