Back during the first week of December last year, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) confirmed Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a non-commercial backyard flock in Lawrence County. This week’s “Around the State with Commissioner Rick Pate” features Alabama State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Frazier. He told Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman how important it is for commercial and backyard poultry operations to …
ANCW to Meet During the Cattle Industry Convention
The 2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show is coming up next week in New Orleans, Louisiana. And during the annual event, the American National CattleWomen (ANCW) will hold their meeting. ANCW President Reba Mazek, a cow/calf producer from Sumter County, Florida, told Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman they are looking forward to the annual get-together. The Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show will be …
Substantial Consolidation in Retail Food Market Since 1990
There’s been substantial consolidation in the retail food market in the last thirty years. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The U.S. food retail sector experienced substantial consolidation over the last three decades, according to data from USDA’s Economic Research Service. Market concentration, as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, is a measure of the extent to which market …
Peanut Growers Urged to Submit Comments to FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a proposed rule to update the definition of the “healthy” claim on food packaging to help improve American diets. The Georgia Peanut Commission and the U.S. Peanut Federation are requesting peanut growers and industry stakeholders to submit comments to ensure the message of the peanut industry is strong and clear for …
Conservation Easements Protect Your Ag Land
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is urging agricultural landowners across the Southeast to consider safeguarding your ag land with a conservation easement. The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) protects the agricultural viability and related conservation values of eligible land by limiting nonagricultural uses which negatively affect agricultural uses and conservation values. The ACEP protects grazing uses and related conservation values by restoring …
Florida Ag Commissioner Announces Funds Available to Landowners for Protecting Florida Land Program
(FDACS/TALLAHASSEE, FL/Jan. 25, 2023) — Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson and the Florida Forest Service announced that $2.6 million is now available to landowners through the Sequestering Carbon and Protecting Florida Land Program. The program offers landowners incentive payments to help increase the acreage of healthy forests in Florida. “We are proud to offer the Protecting Florida Land Program to help …
NCBA Suing Biden Administration Over Endangered Species Listing
The Biden Administration is facing a lawsuit from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) over the listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken under the Endangered Species Act. NCBA has filed a Notice of Intent to sue the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s the first step in court toward overturning the listing revoking FWS’s final …
Alabama Cattlemen’s County Meeting Season Underway
The first couple of months each year, members of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association (ACA) get together in their respective counties for annual meetings. ACA Executive Vice President, Erin Beasley, says it is meeting season once again. And Beasley wants to remind everyone that the annual Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Convention registration continues. It will be held February 17-18, and more information is available on …
USDA Announces Additional Assistance for Dairy Farmers
Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the details of additional assistance for dairy producers. This includes a second round of payments through the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program (PMVAP) and a new Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP). The programs will enable USDA to better support small- and medium-sized dairy operations who weathered the pandemic and now face …
Peanut Farm Show Once Again a Success
By Clint Thompson The 46th annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show was once again a success for the Georgia Peanut Commission and University of Georgia. Peanut producers, industry leaders and exhibitors flocked to the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia, on Thursday, Jan. 19, to learn about trends affecting one of the state’s top row crops. More …