The Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will release the 2017 Census of Agriculture results on Thursday, April 11, at noon ET. The full Census report will include millions of data points, including number of farms, land in farms, total value of production, demographics, and more at the national, state, and county levels. The report, along with …
NAP Buy-Up Coverage Now Availability
Changes apply Beginning April 8, 2019 USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that higher levels of coverage will be offered through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), a popular safety net program, beginning April 8, 2019. The 2018 Farm Bill also increased service fees and made other changes to the program, including service fee waivers for qualified military veterans …
Study Sheds Light on Major Disease in Roses
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Beltsville, Maryland and their colleagues have discovered why a mite is causing extensive damages to the nation’s $250-million-a-year rose industry and why it’s so hard to detect and control. It seems the mite hides deep in the flower’s internal organs. The rose bud mite (Phyllocoptes fructiphilus) is about half the size of a grain of …
Rubio, Colleagues Raise Concerns Regarding Lack of Effective Trade Enforcement for Seasonal Produce in USMCA
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Representatives Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), and Al Lawson (D-FL) led a bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives in a letter raising concerns to United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer regarding the lack of progress in the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) with respect to improved mechanisms to initiate and sustain legitimate anti-dumping and countervailing …
Ag Economy Barometer Drifts Lower
Farmers are expressing more concerns regarding the future as the monthly Ag Economy Barometer drifts lower. Released this week, the March survey fell to 133 down from 136 a month earlier. Organizers say increasing concerns about future economic conditions drove the barometer lower as the Index of Future Expectations declined to 139 in March compared to an index value of …
Report Details Risks of U.S. Hemp Industry
The U.S. hemp industry is poised for growth, but there are serious financial, regulatory and agronomic risks that farmers must understand. A report by Rabo AgriFinance says the market is “highly fragmented,” and there is no reliable source for pricing and production data. The report notes that the 2018 Farm Bill set off a process to completely overhaul hemp industry …
Commissioner Nikki Fried Letter to USTR’s Lighthizer: “Put American Farmers & Families First”
Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried sent a letter to Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, the United States Trade Representative, raising serious concerns about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The pending multilateral trade agreement and successor to NAFTA, called “definitely worse than the current situation,” threatens to devastate business for American seasonal crop growers, particularly those in Florida, Georgia, and other Southeast states due to a lack of …
Fried, Lawmakers Eye Hurricane Damage
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried continued Friday to push for state and federal hurricane relief for the Panhandle as she led a bipartisan group of lawmakers and staff members through rural communities still struggling from deadly Hurricane Michael. Saying farmers are “suffering,” Fried said the trip to see Calhoun County timber land, where decades-old slash pines reaching maturity were wiped …
Student Creations Channel 200 Years Of Alabama Agriculture
Eighteen outstanding students were honored for channeling “200 Years of Alabama Agriculture” into posters, essays and videos during the Alabama Farm-City Awards Luncheon April 4 in Birmingham. The theme connected kindergarten-12th graders with Alabama’s storied farming heritage during the state’s bicentennial year, said Alabama Farm-City Committee Chairman Jeff Helms. “From settlers who cleared land by hand to modern farmers using …
Cherokee County Greenhouse Business Named Farm Of Distinction
A Cherokee County greenhouse business known nationally for its poinsettias and other plants was named Alabama’s Farm of Distinction April 4 in Birmingham. Hank and Shelia Richardson of Dixie Green Inc. received more than $15,000 in prizes and will represent Alabama in the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year contest at the Sunbelt Ag Expo Oct. 15-17. Hank …