The “State of the Consumer” Report Highlights Opportunities, Impact of COVID-19 on Beef Demand (NCBA) — The number of consumers who say they intend to eat beef at least weekly increased from 67 percent to 72 percent compared to 2019, and consumer positive perceptions of beef reached 70 percent for the first time,[1] according to a new report released by the …
NPPC Supports Vilsack Nomination to Head USDA
(NPPC) — President-Elect Joe Biden today nominated Tom Vilsack to be the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), an agency he led for eight years under the Obama administration. The following statement may be attributed to National Pork Producers Council President Howard “AV” Roth, a hog farmer from Wauzeka, Wisconsin. “We congratulate Tom Vilsack on his nomination. …
Cattlemen’s Beef Board: Change for Change’s Sake
(CBB) — You don’t have to look too hard to find history’s repeating patterns and, as in the past, the call for change is in the air. Even within the beef industry, there’s a movement urging producers to throw off traditional institutions, like the Beef Checkoff, simply because it’s “too old” or they weren’t alive when it was established. It’s …
Backroom Briefing: Simpson Not a Fan of Reservoir
(NSF) — Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-FL/District 10) said he wasn’t sold on a $1.6 billion reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee when he voted in 2017 for the project, which was a priority of then-President Joe Negron, R-Stuart. And with the coronavirus pandemic punching a $3 billion to $4 billion hole in the state budget for next fiscal year, Simpson …
Ranchers Ready To Work With Tom Vilsack As USDA Secretary
(PLC) — The Public Lands Council (PLC) released the following statement in response to the expected nomination of Tom Vilsack as the next U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary: “Livestock producers have a long history of working with Former Secretary Vilsack at the Department of Agriculture. Few have the breadth and depth of experience he has in facing issues confronting multiple …
Cabinet Eyes ‘Devil’s Garden’ Land Deal
(NSF) — Nearly 6,500 acres of land, with the vast majority in the Devil’s Garden area south of Lake Okeechobee, are in line to be the state’s next Florida Forever conservation deals. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet — Attorney General Ashley Moody, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — will be asked Tuesday to …
AFBF Welcomes Nomination of Tom Vilsack for Agriculture Secretary
(AFBF) — President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate Tom Vilsack to serve as Secretary of Agriculture. The following statement may be attributed to American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall: “The American Farm Bureau Federation welcomes the news that Tom Vilsack will be nominated to be Secretary of Agriculture. His leadership as the 30th Secretary of Agriculture and as Governor …
Increase to Certain Incentive Payments for Continuous CRP Announced
(USDA/FSA) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is increasing incentive payments for practices installed on land enrolled in the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is upping the Practice Incentive Payment for installing practices, from 5 percent to 20 percent. Additionally, producers will receive a 10 percent incentive payment for water quality practices on land …
Blueberry App Developed to Help Growers Battle Diseases and Pests
(UF/IFAS) — A new University of Florida app will help the state’s blueberry growers identify and manage disease and insect injuries commonly encountered in Florida before their crop is ruined. Collectively, blueberries are a $60 million-per-year crop in Florida. Patricio Munoz, the UF/IFAS blueberry breeder and an assistant professor of horticultural sciences, came up with the vision for, and supervised …
Treatment Introduced by Researchers to Prevent Parasites in Sheep
(USDA/ARS) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service (ARS) announced a groundbreaking treatment that prevents anemia, weight loss, poor wool and meat production, and even death in sheep. ARS researchers partnered with Virginia Tech and the University of Massachusetts’ Medical School to solve H. contortus parasite infection, which also happens to be the number one health problem in the U.S. sheep industry. …