Vote on Florida Lawsuit Limitation Bill Delayed

A scheduled committee vote on a bill that many agricultural businesses in Florida are watching was delayed Monday after the measure’s primary sponsor, Senator Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg, was delayed in another meeting. The lawsuit-limitation bill (SB 72) would protect businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits. Senate Commerce and Tourism Chairman Sen. Ed Hooper from Clearwater told The News Service of …

Weekly Livestock Market Report Week Ending 2-12-2021

Here are the weekly livestock market reports for Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, for the week ended February 12, 2021, compiled by the Livestock Market News Service for all three states. AL Livestock Market Report: At Alabama Livestock Auctions for the week ended-February 12, 2021, receipts at 21 markets totaled an estimated 10,700 head compared to 9,196 last week and 7,909 …

Fried on International Trade Commission Vote on Imported Blueberries

(FDACS) — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that blueberries were not being imported into the United States in such quantities as to harm the domestic blueberry industry nationwide. Earlier this month, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried testified before the ITC that Mexico’s market share for blueberries had skyrocketed 2,100 percent since 2009, while Florida’s market share decreased 38 percent since 2015, indicating …

Survey Indicates 11.5 Million U.S. Cotton Acres to Be Planted

According to the National Cotton Council’s 40th annual Early Season Planting Intentions Survey, U.S. cotton producers intend to plant 11.5 million cotton acres in 2021, down 5.2% from 2020. Upland cotton intentions are 11.3 million acres, down 4.9% from 2020, while extra-long staple (ELS) intentions of 161,000 acres represent a 20.7% decline. The NCC questionnaire was mailed in December to …

Florida Forever Funding Defended by Environmental Chief

(NSF) — State Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein on Wednesday defended Gov. Ron DeSantis for not asking to issue bonds for the Florida Forever Land Conservation Program, as the financing method has been proposed to cover Everglade’s work and a new program to fight rising sea levels. Valenstein told members of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations …

Florida NRCS to Hold State Technical Committee Meeting

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida will conduct a State Technical Committee meeting on March 3 by web conference. Chair of the event, Florida State Conservationist Juan Hernandez, says the meeting will have two distinctive portions. The committee is composed of individuals and groups from a variety of agricultural and natural resource interests, as well as farmers. And while the …

Florida Citrus Forecast for February Sees Some Changes

The 2020-2021 Florida all-orange forecast released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 56 million boxes, up 2 million boxes from the January forecast. This represents a 4 percent increase from the January forecast. If realized, it will be 17 percent less than last season’s final production. ORANGESThe forecast change was for non-Valencia production, which now stands at 22 …

Florida Crop Progress and Condition Report

According to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the Florida Crop Progress and Condition Report for the first week of February says there were six days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending Sunday, February 7. Precipitation for the state ranged from trace amounts in many locations to as much as 4.7 inches at Cross City, located in Dixie County. Temperatures in …

‘Beef It’s What’s For Dinner 300’ is Saturday

The Florida Beef Council (FBC) is excited about being a part of the big Beef Checkoff promotional race event this week. FBC Director of Education & Promotion DeAnne Maples says they are pleased to have several folks from other states coming in to help during the “Beef It’s What’s For Dinner 300” at the Daytona International Speedway. The “Beef It’s What’s …