Lawyers for Florida asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to reject a special master’s report denying the state relief in its long-running dispute with Georgia over water flow into the Apalachicola River. “This court has never had a situation where it’s recognized a state as being injured. It’s recognized that the upstream state is wasting a resource and it’s …
Supreme Court Ready to Wade Into Water War
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday in a decades-old legal fight between Florida and Georgia over water flow into the Apalachicola River. A court-appointed special master ruled in February that Florida had not proved its case that a water-usage cap should be imposed on Georgia to help the river and Apalachicola Bay, one of the most productive …
Florida Heifer Development Field Day is Tuesday
Heifer development is a critical part of every operation in the cattle industry. In a continued effort to support and facilitate successful replacement heifer development, the Florida Heifer Development Program will host the annual Field Day on January 9th at the Beef Unit Pavilion at the NFREC-Marianna. The day starts with registration at 8:30am CST. The program will begin at 9:00am with presentations …
A Fair Fight for Florida Farmers
On the face of it, it’s not a fair fight. Farming in Florida is hard enough, but then the rules of that fight constantly change. New bugs and diseases raid crops. Volatile markets say plant now while the weather says plant later. Consumers keep changing their minds about what to eat. New plant varieties give farmers a fighting chance by …
Florida Forest Industry Generates Nearly $13B in Annual Sales, 36,000 Jobs
Florida’s forest industry generated $12.55 billion in sales revenues in 2016, which translated to more jobs, according to a new UF/IFAS economic report. The sales figure is up about $4.77 billion from 2003, according to the report. More money sometimes means more jobs, and in the case of the forest industry, it did. For 2016, the industry directly employed 36,055 …
Scott Urges Senate to Immediately Pass Relief Package
Florida Governor Rick Scott sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations this week urging the Senate to act immediately and pass a significant Hurricane Irma and Maria disaster relief package. In the letter, Scott thanked the House for its work to pass a relief package prior to Christmas which supports Florida citrus and provides critical funding for …
Florida Farmers Brace for Cold Weather
Florida farmers were preparing Thursday for continuing cold weather, with temperatures expected to drop into the 30s overnight as far south as Fort Myers and Homestead. Many of Florida’s crops cannot handle freezing temperatures for long periods. Citrus and strawberry farmers are preparing harvests ahead of time, often running irrigation systems to create small layers of ice over the fruit …
U.S. Sugar Prepares for Cold Weather in South Florida
With South Florida expected to experience some of the coldest weather of the season, U.S. Sugar and its family of farmers have begun making preparations to limit any impact on crops. U.S. Sugar’s Senior Director for Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Judy Sanchez issued the following statement: “As the coldest weather of the winter thus far approaches, like most farmers …
Florida Georgia Water Battle to Supreme Court Monday
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday (1-8-18) in a long-running water battle between Florida and Georgia. The crux of the issue: Florida contends that Georgia is siphoning too much water in northern parts of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system, damaging the Apalachicola River and the oyster industry in Franklin County’s Apalachicola Bay. But a special master appointed by the …
Register for the 2018 Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame Banquet
The Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame Banquet will take place Feb. 13 in Tampa. This event will honor the 2018 inductees to the Hall of Fame. Four agricultural leaders have been chosen to enter the Hall of Fame this year. They are Alfonso Fanjul, J. Pepe Fanjul, Lowell Loadholtz and Harold K. Mikell. These four men have dedicated their lives …