(NAFB) — Farmer sentiment improved modestly in December, according to the latest Ag Economy Barometer. The CME Group/Purdue University index, released Tuesday, rose to a reading of 174, up seven points from November. December’s sentiment improvement still left the barometer nine points lower than in October. The Index of Current Conditions climbed 15 points to 202, while the Index of …
Statement Regarding Seed Coat Fragments in Cotton Produced in the Southeast
(USDA/AMS) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to collaborate with the Georgia Department of Agriculture to raise awareness and further examine the significant increase in seed coat fragments in cotton produced in the southeast region. Thus far in the 2020 cotton season, the AMS Macon, GA Classing …
2020 Southeastern Hay Contest Winners Announced
Amidst many challenges of 2020, with Covid-19, lockdowns and disruption of supply chains, our livestock still have to eat, and our farmers did not stop working. Good hay is key for many livestock operations in the Southeast, either as a main forage source in the winter, or to close the gap between the dormancy of warm season grasses and the …
QLA Now Available for Producers Affected by 2018-19 Natural Disasters
(USDA/FSA) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that signup for the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program will begin Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Funded by the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, this new program provides assistance to producers who suffered eligible crop quality losses due to natural disasters occurring in 2018 and 2019. The …
Pandemic Eating Among the Food-Secure
(UF/IFAS) — During the first three months of the pandemic, food-secure people did not change their eating habits very much, although some of them turned a bit more to comfort foods, new University of Florida research shows. The study also serves as a cautionary tale for how people might want to eat in future pandemics. Jeanette Andrade and her doctoral …
Senate Environmental Panel to Look at ‘Resiliency’
(NSF) — With calls growing for lawmakers to pay more attention to climate change, the state Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection and the chief resiliency officer position are slated to be reviewed Monday by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. The resiliency officer position is among the duties of Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein, who has …
USDA Provides Funds to Florida to Support Projects that Protect Agriculture and Natural Resources
(USDA/APHIS) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating $3.7 million to Florida as part of its effort to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure for pest detection and surveillance, identification, and threat mitigation, and to safeguard the U.S. nursery production system. Overall, USDA is providing more than $70 million in funding this year to support 383 projects in 49 states, …
New Book Helps Kids Connect with Soybean Farms
(AFBF) — At a time of record-high interest in how food is produced, a new children’s picture book about soybean farming offers a valuable resource to parents and educators alike. The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture’s Feeding Minds Press released a new book, My Family’s Soybean Farm, along with a companion educator guide. This third title from Feeding Minds …
Farmers to Families Food Box Program Purchases to Continue
(USDA/AMS) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will purchase an additional $1.5 billion worth of food for nationwide distribution through the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. In total, USDA has distributed more than 132 million food boxes in support of American farmers and families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “This new round of …
Enrollment for Hurricane Sally FSA Emergency Assistance Opens
(FDACS) — Farmers and forest landowners in four Florida Panhandle counties can begin applying for additional Hurricane Sally assistance through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). Enrollment for the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) begins today, January 4, and runs through March 4, 2021. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services encourages eligible producers to apply. The activation of the …