Florida Cattlemen’s Association

Florida Cattlemen’s President on Protecting the Land

The 2020 Florida legislative session is getting closer to wrapping up, but during week two of the annual event, the Florida Cattlemen’s Association (FCA) held its annual Legislative Quarterly. FCA President Matt Pearce recently told Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman, they were trying to get the positive message across about protecting the land. For more information, contact the FCA office in …

Florida EQIP Applications Due Friday, March 6

Florida farmers, ranchers and forest owners are being reminded applications for financial and technical assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for fiscal year 2020 are due Friday, March 6. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida can help agricultural landowners improve soil, water, air, plants, animals and related resources. Eligible land includes cropland, rangeland, pastureland, private non-industrial …

Yoho Introduces Ag Worker Bill

A member of the House Agriculture Committee, Congressman Ted Yoho (R-FL), has announced the introduction of the “Labor Certainty for Food Security Act” this week to solve America’s agricultural labor shortage. In a recent interview with Southeast AgNet, Congressman Yoho said there are hurdles in getting this passed. Yoho noted this commonsense bill will bring relief to America’s farmers and …

2020 Team Beef Florida Off to Good Start

The Florida Beef Council (FBC) is pleased with the fact the fourth season for Team Beef is off to a good start. Erin Freel told Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman, they are now up to 39 team members and they have already been running. To learn more, contact the Florida Beef Council office in Kissimmee, Florida or go to teambeefflorida.com.  Sponsored …

USDA Provides Florida $4 million for Agricultural Pest and Disease Protection

(USDA) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating $4 million to Florida as part of its effort to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure for pest detection and surveillance, identification, and threat mitigation, and to safeguard the U.S. nursery production system. Overall, USDA is providing almost $70 million in funding this year to support 386 projects in 48 states, The …

Budget Work in Final Days of Florida Legislative Session

The 2020 Florida Legislative Session is getting closer to wrapping up, as with only this and next week left, it’s crunch time on finalizing various issues including the budget. According to Mary Ann Hooks, University of Florida/IFAS director of government affairs, committees will be hearing bills this week. So the time to get bills in the proper posture to be …

Weekly Livestock Market Report Week Ending 02-28-2020

Here are the weekly livestock market reports for Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, for the week ended February 28, 2020, compiled by the Livestock Market News Service for all three states. AL Livestock Market Report: At Alabama Livestock Auctions for the Week ended-February 28, 2020, receipts at 21 markets totaled an estimated 8,700 head compared to 9,650 last week and 9,047 …

Florida Lawmakers Down to Final Two Weeks

The 2020 Florida Legislative Session is getting closer to wrapping up, as with only two weeks left, it is crunch time on finalizing various issues including the budget. With a $1.5 billion gap between the proposed Senate and House bills, budget conferees have much work to do to come to a compromise. And according to Florida Cattlemen’s Association (FCA) Director …

E-Verify Issue Starts Moving in House

(NSF) — A party-line vote Thursday on a proposal that would require employers to check the immigration status of new hires is the latest sign that the Republican-dominated Legislature is moving toward giving Gov. Ron DeSantis a win on a campaign promise. The Republican-controlled House Commerce Committee approved a bill that would force all public employers — such as state …

House Members Ready to Take Up E-Verify

(NSF) — As the legislative session dwindles to its final weeks, House members are set Thursday to consider for the first-time a contentious proposal that would mandate employers do immigration checks on new workers. The push to implement E-Verify, a federal system designed to confirm workers’ legal eligibility, has proven to be a whirlwind legislative effort as Gov. Ron DeSantis makes …