Farmers and other parts of Florida’s agriculture industry could receive about $75 million in post-Hurricane Irma assistance from the state next year under a measure moving forward in the Senate. The Senate Finance and Tax Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday unanimously backed the proposal (SB 1608) by Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring. The proposal, in part, would reduce property assessments …
Alabama Announces Enhanced Testing Capabilities for Chronic Wasting Disease
Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, John McMillan, in cooperation with Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), Chris Blankenship, announce the purchase of new testing equipment at the State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The equipment known as Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) will be dedicated to testing samples for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) …
Farm Bureau Statement on AG Act Workforce Legislation
The American Farm Bureau Federation is calling on all members of Congress to support House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte in his goal of including the AG Act in the Securing America’s Future Act. “We are at a crisis point in agriculture,” American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said. “Chairman Bob Goodlatte wants to address our problem and has included …
National Strawberry Day brings attention to UF/IFAS varieties
Vance Whitaker toils day and night to develop the tastiest, best-looking, aromatic strawberries a consumer would want. Yummy enough for a nutritious snack or to help flavor a cake or pie just in time for National Strawberry Day on Feb. 27. Whitaker, an associate professor of horticultural sciences at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, leads …
FTC Nominee Pledges to Look Closely at Ag Mergers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would take a look at past merger deals to see if regulators were too easy on the companies involved. That’s the promise of Joseph Simons, the White House nominee for FTC Chairman. Simons said during a Senate confirmation hearing, he would direct a formal study of closed deals, including some in the agriculture industry. He …
MN Students Want GMO Approval Process Streamlined
A group of graduate students at the University of Minnesota is asking Congress to streamline the approval process for GMO crops that produce food and fiber. A DTN article says the seven students are doing graduate work at the Minnesota College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences. They believe the regulatory hoops that companies need to jump through to …
Legislation Designed to Save Pollinators Introduced in House
Representatives Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jim McGovern of Massachusetts introduced the Saving America’s Pollinators Act. The legislation is designed to protect the health of honey bees and other critical pollinators. Estimates are that the U.S. lost one-third of honeybee colonies between 2016 and 2017, with similar losses occurring in previous years. To help bring a halt to the trend, …
Immigration Debate in Congress Still Struggling
The Senate’s immigration debate ended on Thursday with no deal. Neither a bipartisan plan nor President Trump’s proposal had the required number of votes to pass. Every proposal considered couldn’t reach the 60-vote threshold. That leaves the undocumented immigrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in limbo and lawmakers unsure of what’s next in the debate. In the …
Trump to Sit Down with Mexican President
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations will be just one of the topics President Trump will discuss with the President of Mexico when they meet in the next few weeks. Bloomberg says they plan to discuss the relationship between the two countries and several pending issues. The meeting comes after several months of sometimes contentious NAFTA discussions and …
2018 USDA Ag Outlook Forum Offers Pre-Forum Field Trips on Farming and Research
Experience farming and ag research first hand with two Pre-Forum Field Trips prior to the 2018 Agricultural Outlook Forum. Early arrivals may take part in two tour options on Wednesday, Feb. 21; the Forum takes place on Feb. 22-23 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Crystal City, Virginia. Clagett Farm in Upper Marlboro, Md. will host a farm conservation tour …