Five Million Acres Enrolled in USDA Conservation Easements

Through partnerships with private landowners, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the protection of more than 5 million acres of wetlands, grasslands, and prime farmland. Since last October, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has enrolled 110,000 acres in new conservation easements, bringing USDA to this conservation milestone. NRCS has offered conservation easements through the Farm Bill for …

Florida Food Waste Prevention Week is April 5-9

April 5-9, 2021 is Florida Food Waste Prevention Week, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has joined federal, state, and local agencies, businesses, non-profits, and other partners for the inaugural event. The campaign was designed to highlight the $165 billion in food discarded each year by Americans. According to FDACS, 3.5 million Floridians suffer from chronic hunger, …

Florida Legislative Session Reaches Half-way Point

Week five of the 2021 Florida Legislative Session saw discussions on various issues. Sam Ard, director of governmental affairs for the Florida Cattlemen’s Association (FCA), says they also just finished the halfway point of the session. The Florida Legislative Session is scheduled to end April 30. (Florida Cattlemen’s Association): http://www.floridacattlemen.org/ Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2026FL Cattle Enhancement Board Wraps up …

Ag Commissioner Fried on Water Wars Ruling

(NSF) — After years of legal battling, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously rejected a lawsuit in which Florida argued Georgia has used too much water in a river system shared by the states. The 12-page ruling dismissed the lawsuit that Florida filed in 2013 after the oyster fishery collapsed in Franklin County’s Apalachicola Bay. Florida contended that Georgia …

Supreme Court Rules Against Florida in Water Fight

(NSF) — After years of legal battling, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously rejected a lawsuit in which Florida argued Georgia has used too much water in a river system shared by the states. The 12-page ruling dismissed the lawsuit that Florida filed in 2013 after the oyster fishery collapsed in Franklin County’s Apalachicola Bay. Florida contended that Georgia …

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried: 30-Day FDACS Legislative Update

(FDACS) — This is the halfway mark of Florida’s 60-day annual legislative session. Below, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services offer an update of the department’s priority legislation for the 2021 legislative session. “I’m proud of our common-sense, bipartisan legislative priorities this year, which include fighting child and family hunger, supporting Florida’s farmers, major climate and energy …

farmers

Legal Protections for Farmers Moving in House

(NSF) — A Senate-backed proposal to expand the state’s “Right to Farm” law continued to move Tuesday through the House over objections that it could block lawsuits about the potential health impacts of burning sugar cane. The House Environment, Agriculture & Flooding Subcommittee voted 14-4 to support the proposal (HB 1601), which is a priority of Senate President Wilton Simpson, …

Florida Beef Council Hosts FCLA Session

Another class of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association Leadership Academy (FCLA) is underway with their second session recently taking place. The Florida Beef Council (FBC) was involved in this session, as FBC Director of Education & Promotion, DeAnne Maples, says it was a surprise beef cook-off event. For more information about Beef Checkoff activities in the state, contact the FBC office in Kissimmee …