Incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis is being urged to use his close ties with President Donald Trump to bolster efforts to help Florida farmers fend off low-priced crop imports that weren’t addressed in the rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement. During a conference call last week, several members of DeSantis’ Transition Advisory Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources & …
Florida Forest Service Provides Safety Tips for Disposing of Christmas Trees
The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, is encouraging Floridians to dispose of Christmas trees safely. Dry limbs and needles from discarded Christmas trees can be an ignition source for fire if not properly cleared away from homes and natural areas. One way to avoid this potential fire hazard is by recycling …
Weekly Livestock Market Report
***The markets will be closed the next two weeks due to Christmas and New Years holidays.*** Here are the weekly livestock market reports for Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, for the week ended December 21, 2018, compiled by the Livestock Market News Service for all three states. AL Livestock Market Report: At Alabama Livestock Auctions for the Week ended-December 21, 2018, …
Commissioner-elect Nikki Fried on Legalized Hemp
Following the news of the farm bill signing into law and the legalization of hemp nationwide, Commissioner-elect Nikki Fried offers the following: “Lifting the needless ban on hemp presents an incredible opportunity for our farmers and Florida as a whole. This is an alternative crop which will give Florida’s agriculture community the tools they need to be competitive and successful—it has the …
FDACS Winning Fight Against Destructive, Disease-Carrying Snail
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced that more than 168,000 Giant African Land Snails (GALS) have been eliminated in Florida since the invasive snail was discovered in Miami-Dade County in 2011. In addition, due to the success of the program, the department has decommissioned two additional core areas, two of the largest is the state, where snails were …
Florida Population Climbs to 21.3 Million
It wasn’t so long ago that Florida was trying catch New York. Now — at least in the population game — it has left New York in the dust. The U.S. Census Bureau on Wednesday released new estimates showing Florida had about 21.3 million residents as of July 1, cementing Florida’s place as the third most-populous state behind California and …
Restoring a Species: Northern Bobwhite Quail
Sportsmen were alarmed, landowners worried as they watched the northern bobwhite population plummet at the turn of the century. In the last 50 years, annual populations are down 85 percent in the United States. Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation on a continental scale has silenced its iconic call across rural America. In Florida, a former private hunting plantation is leading the …
Florida NRCS Signup Deadline is Friday
Florida farmers, ranchers and forest owners can apply until December 21 for financial and technical assistance from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for fiscal year 2019 funding. While applications are accepted on a continuous basis for all programs, funding selections are typically made once a year. Through EQIP, agricultural landowners may receive financial and technical assistance to improve …
Florida Beef Council Promoting Chuck
Something new has been launched by the beef industry to help consumers with answers to many of their questions. Florida Beef Council (FBC) Director of Beef Marketing and Promotion, DeAnne Maples, invites folks to check out “Chuck Knows Beef”. Image credit: Florida Beef Council / Succulent Filet in a Field of Greens / Get the Recipe Sponsored ContentFL Cattle Enhancement Board …
Weekly Livestock Market Report
Here are the weekly livestock market reports for Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, for the week ended December 14, 2018, compiled by the Livestock Market News Service for all three states. AL Livestock Market Report: At Alabama Livestock Auctions for the Week ended-December 14, 2018, receipts at 21 markets totaled an estimated 12,300 head compared to 15,827 last week and 9,390 …