Florida farmers well know the difficulty of restoring operations after a major storm. They are busy reconstructing and repairing their own properties in the wake of Hurricane Irma’s destruction. But they have also taken a moment to help other farm families in need. The Florida Farm Bureau State Board of Directors has established a Hurricane Irma Disaster Relief Fund to …
RCMA Hurricane Relief Fund: Help our farmworkers
South Florida’s farmworker families are suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. The storm’s disruption of early-season farm work has left many jobless, homeless and running out of cash. Please join the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association in raising funds to help the Redlands Christian Migrant Association provide immediate basic living essentials and temporary housing needs for these families. Our …
AFBF Submits Regulatory Reform Priorities
AFBF used comments from Farm Bureau members to submit suggestions for regulatory reform to USDA as part of the agency’s efforts to implement the president’s regulatory reform agenda. Paul Schlegel, AFBF’s Director of Environment and Energy Policy, says overregulation by federal agencies is burdensome to all of agriculture. For example, he says regulatory creep has chipped away at the exemptions …
Perdue Urges State Foresters to Call on Congress to Fix Fire Funding Problem
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue urged State Foresters to join in calling on Congress to address the way the U.S. Forest Service is funded. Currently, the agency has to borrow money from prevention programs to combat ongoing wildfires. Secretary Perdue believes Congress should treat major fires the same as other disasters and be covered by emergency funds so prevention …
Entomologist Frank Zalom Delivers 2017 ARS B. Y. Morrison Memorial Lecture at ASHS Conference
“Significance of Integrated Pest Management to Sustainable Horticultural Production—Observations and Experiences” is the title of entomologist Frank G. Zalom’s 2017 ARS Benjamin Y. Morrison Memorial Lecture, which he delivered at the American Society for Horticultural Science annual conference in Waikoloa, Hawaii. Zalom is nationally and internationally renowned for his leadership developing research-based integrated pest management (IPM) programs. He is also …
USDA Trade Mission to Expand Export Opportunities for U.S. Agriculture in Brazil
During a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) trade mission to São Paulo and Recife, Brazil, Sept. 25-29, leaders from 24 U.S. agribusinesses and trade organizations will explore opportunities to expand their agricultural exports and further develop their business relationships in Brazil. “Brazil holds significant untapped market potential for U.S. exporters,” said Mark Slupek, deputy administrator of the Office of Trade …
W. H. and GOP Leaders Considering Ditching Estate Tax Repeal
The White House and GOP Congressional leaders are considering ditching estate tax repeal and other tax breaks that Democrats charge, favor the wealthy. The idea is to pick up Democratic votes by shaping tax reform more toward the middle-class. Democrats argue estate tax repeal would benefit only the wealthy, those who die with more than $5.5 million in their estates, …
EPA Mulling Options on Dicamba
The Environmental Protection Agency aims to allow farmers to use dicamba next year, but with additional rules in place. An EPA official in the agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs told Reuters this week the agency had not yet determined what steps it would take to mitigate problems associated with dicamba. The herbicide was linked to widespread crop damage this summer. …
Milk Processing Expansion Needed
A report by CoBank shows U.S. milk production growth is outpacing processing capacity growth, leaving dairy processors struggling to keep pace. Every year, U.S. dairy farmers produce three billion more pounds of milk than the year before. CoBank says that those increase challenge processers, who will need an estimated 27 billion pounds more of U.S. milk processing capacity over the …
Ag Exports Groups Urge Passage of the CREAATE Act
A coalition supporting ag exports is urging Senators to pass legislation to expand the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development program. The Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports and the Agribusiness Coalition for Foreign Market Development say the Cultivating Revitalization by Expanding American Agricultural Trade and Exports, or CREAATE Act, would boost trade’s impact on U.S. farmer profitability and …