Nearly 200,000 New American Jobs; Doubling U.S. Pork Sales Among Other Benefits of Duty-Free Access to China Over 10 Years (NPPC) — Securing zero-tariff access to China for U.S. pork would be an economic boon for American agriculture and the country, according to the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). Based on an analysis by Iowa State University (ISU) Economist Dermot …
Cabinet Eyes Properties in Dixie, DeSoto Counties
(NSF) — A pair of land deals covering nearly 10,000 acres in Dixie and DeSoto counties, at a combined cost of $8.5 million, will go before Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet on Dec. 3, according to an agenda posted Monday. The Lyme Cross City Forest Company deal in Dixie County carries a price tag of $2 million. The proposal …
Supreme Court Urged to Decide Conservation Dispute
(NSF) — Five years after Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment aimed at land and water conservation, environmentalists on Monday urged the state Supreme Court to wade into a battle about how money can be spent. Florida Defenders of the Environment and other plaintiffs filed a brief asking justices to decide a long-running dispute that centers on how state lawmakers …
Recalled Lettuce in E. coli Outbreak From California, Not Florida
(FDACS) — On Friday, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration announced that romaine lettuce associated with an outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 is likely from the Salinas growing region of California. 40 illnesses have been reported across 16 states since September 24. Florida-grown lettuce is not implicated in this outbreak, and the FDA has indicated there are neither positive samples nor reported illnesses in …
USDA and Georgia Sign Shared Stewardship Agreement
Highlights Cooperative Approach to Land Management (USDA) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue joined Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to sign a Shared Stewardship agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the State of Georgia. The agreement was signed at a ceremony at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural …
State Completes Wakulla, St. Johns Land Buys
(NSF) — The state Department of Environmental Protection has completed the acquisition of a pair of Florida Forever sites in Wakulla and St. Johns counties that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet agreed to buy for $10.7 million in July. The department announced Friday the $4.2 million purchase of 717 acres within the Wakulla Springs Protection Zone Florida Forever project …
Commissioner Nikki Fried on ITC Ruling on Mexican Tomato Threat
(FDACS) — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted 4-0 affirming that imported Mexican tomatoes unfairly threaten the American tomato industry. The ruling came after the U.S. Department of Commerce recently re-opened the antidumping investigation that began in 1996, and after finding that Mexican tomatoes had been dumped into the U.S. market at prices 21 percent below fair market value, on average. In …
ITC Affirms that Mexican Dumping Threatens U.S. Tomato Growers
(FTE) — In a unanimous decision, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made an affirmative determination that dumped Mexican tomato imports threaten the U.S. industry with material injury. This determination comes on the heels of an announcement last month by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which found that Mexican tomatoes had been dumped in the U.S. market at an average …
Legislation to Preserve Family Farms Introduced in Congress
(NCBA) — The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced its strong support for the “Preserving Family Farms Act of 2019.” Introduced by U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D – 20th Dist. – Calif.) and Jackie Walorski (R – 2nd Dist. – Ind.), this important bipartisan legislation would expand IRS Code Section 2032A to allow more ranchers and farmers to take advantage …
Tyson to Reopen Kansas Beef Plant Next Month
(NAFB) — Tyson will reopen a Kansas beef processing facility next month, following repairs prompted by an August fire that disrupted operations at the facility. This week, Tyson announced repairs at the Holcomb, Kansas facility are nearly complete, and efforts to resume beef processing are planned for the first week of December. The company expects the plant to be fully …