On Monday, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried, State Senator George Gainer (R-Panama City), State Representative Brad Drake (R-DeFuniak Springs) and Florida Forest Service Director Jim Karels toured Hurricane Michael-damaged Jackson County and surrounding areas and discussed hurricane damage and ongoing recovery efforts and needs. The group toured several agricultural operations including timber, cotton and soybean farms in Jackson and Calhoun counties, and met with state forest …
Land and Water Money Considered in Storm Recovery
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried indicated Monday she could back a legislative proposal to use money voters designated for land and water projects to help recovery efforts from Hurricane Michael. After reviewing agricultural damages Monday, Fried said at Chipola College in Marianna that her office was looking into a proposal (SB 376) by Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, that would designate at …
USDA Employees Back at Work
The partial government shutdown is over, at least until February 15th. In a story from Tyron Spearman, USDA employees are back at work today. Sponsored ContentFCEB Recurring Funding Provides Opportunity for Longer Term Research ProjectsOctober 10, 2025Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Advances Forage ResearchOctober 3, 2025Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Acts As Catalyst For Timely ResearchSeptember 26, 2025
Tariff Mitigation Payments May Not Be What Was Expected
A senior USDA official says the amount of money sent to farmers to help mitigate the financial damage from the trade war may not be as much as expected. An Agriculture Dot Com article quotes USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey as saying up to two-thirds of the Trump trade aid payments were made by early January. Northey says, “up to …
Government Reopening Draws Reactions
Secretary Perdue Statement on Reopening the Federal Government U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement in response to President Donald J. Trump’s announcement of reopening the federal government: “President Trump’s announcement of the reopening of the federal government is welcome news, as it will bring thousands of our employees back to work and return us to our …
Federal Government Reopens for Now
After a month-long shutdown, the federal government reopens officially for three weeks following an announcement from President Donald Trump. The 800,000 federal workers who have been on furlough will be receiving back pay for the days that offices were closed due to the shutdown. The funding will keep the government running until February 15. “I am very proud to announce …
Alabama Hurricane Michael Relief Fund Applications due Jan 31
Farmers in Alabama who were impacted by Hurricane Michael are being reminded you have until Thursday, January 31st to apply for grants from the Alabama Farmers Agriculture Foundation (AFAF). According to Foundation Chairman Jimmy Parnell, the nonprofit will disperse almost $200,000 donated by individuals, county Federations and agribusinesses following the disastrous storm. In a release Parnell said, “We have been overwhelmed …
Georgia Legislators Discuss Budget
Week two of the 2019 session for the Georgia General Assembly was spent mostly discussing budget issues. Georgia Agribusiness Council (GAC) President, Will Bentley, not only looks at what took place this past week, he also told Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman they are looking forward to the GAC Annual Meeting and Legislative Breakfast. Sponsored ContentFCEB Recurring Funding Provides Opportunity for Longer Term Research ProjectsOctober …
USDA to Reopen FSA Offices for Additional Services During Government Shutdown
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that all Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices nationwide will soon reopen to provide additional administrative services to farmers and ranchers during the lapse in federal funding. Certain FSA offices have been providing limited services for existing loans and tax documents since Jan. 17, and will continue to do so through Jan. 23. Beginning Jan. 24, …
Growth in Operating Loans Boosts Farm Lending
The volume of non-real estate farm debt continued to increase in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the Federal Reserve’s Agricultural Finance Databook. Total non-real estate farm loans were up nearly eight percent from a year ago, which was the seventh consecutive quarter of annual growth in loan volumes. In a news release, the Federal Reserve said the increase …