A new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) report showed 215 people in Florida died from heat-related causes in the last 10 years. The fact that heat-related deaths happen throughout the year surprised the researchers who wrote the report. Serap Gorucu, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, helped write the report. She and …
UGA Tifton to Host Vaccine Clinic
By Clint Thompson The University of Georgia (UGA) Tifton campus is providing a free COVID-19 vaccination clinic this Friday, July 16 at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center. The event is open to all those interested in receiving the Moderna vaccine, which will be administered by pharmacists from the local Wal-Mart Marketplace. Any UGA and U.S. Department of Agriculture faculty, …
Alabama Rep. Barry Moore on Pandemic and Estate Taxes
The COVID-19 pandemic affected many aspects of our lives, including how certain things are looked at now in rural areas. Alabama Rep. Barry Moore (AL-2), a member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, believes the pandemic revealed a significant need in rural America. Rep. Moore also addresses estate tax concerns that many in agriculture have right now. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsNovember 1, …
Lawmakers Seek Reimbursement for Dairy Farmers
A group of lawmakers calls on the Biden administration to reimburse dairy producers for losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and market-related losses. In a letter to President Joe Biden, the 24 lawmakers say, “We strongly urge you to ensure our producers are reimbursed for as much of the roughly $725 million in foregone Class I skim milk revenue as …
Next COVID Casualty Could be Coffee
COVID-19 shockwaves could create a round of trouble for the coffee industry, according to Purdue University. Starting in the 2011-12 growing season, a powdery orange fungus called coffee leaf rust spread throughout Latin America and Central America, damaging crops on 70 percent of farms and causing more than $3.2 billion in damage. Coffee crop management programs helped growers mitigate the …
Right to Farm Expansion Law in Florida Starts Thursday
Two months ago, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law an expansion of legal protections for farmers. And that bill will take effect July 1st, which is the start of the new state fiscal year. Passed by Florida lawmakers, SB88 expands the state’s “Right to Farm” law, which was initially approved in 1979. It helps shield farmers from what are known as …
USDA Signup for Covid-19 Assistance Program Ends Friday
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a couple of months ago the availability of more than $330 million to help agricultural producers and organizations in the food supply chain recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, and includes $169.9 million for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) …
Cyberattack Leads to Shutdown of JBS’s U.S. Beef Plants
A cyberattack on JBS SA, the largest meat producer globally, forced the shutdown of all nine of its U.S. beef plants, wiping out output from facilities that supply almost a quarter of American supplies. Bloomberg reports an official with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union noted JBS’s fed-beef and regional beef plants were forced to shutter, and all …
National FFA Organization Picks New CEO
The National FFA Organization and the National FFA Foundation have new leadership after picking Scott Stump as the new CEO of both organizations. Stump lives on a small ranch in Colorado with his wife, Denise, and their three children. He has a background in agricultural education, career and technical education, and the FFA. “It’s with great anticipation that I return …
An Ingenious Way to Maximize Your Potato Harvest
An ingenious way to maximize your potato harvest. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. One of the easiest ways to grow potatoes, when space is limited, is by using upcycled materials. Potato tire towers, is one example, which are made of used tires stacked on top of one another. The reason these work so well is that potato …