EPA Registers Long-Term Uses of Sulfoxaflor While Ensuring Strong Pollinator Protection

Registration provides benefits to growers and is supported by strong science that shows minimal risks for pollinators. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a long-term approval for the insecticide sulfoxaflor— an effective tool to control challenging pests with fewer environmental impacts. After conducting an extensive risk analysis, including the review of one of the agency’s largest datasets on …

Charles W. Obern Named 2019 Farmer of the Year

To be successful in farming requires a good deal of stamina, flexibility, and determination, along with a love of the art of growing things. Charles “Chuck” Obern, owner of C&B Farms, Inc., embodies all these qualities, in addition to curiosity—an instinctive awareness that research can provide previously undiscovered or underutilized methods to improve crop health and yields. Graduating from the …

U.S. Tractor, Combine Sales Decline in June

Sales of tractors and combines in the United States declined last month, according to a monthly report by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. The data released this week shows total farm tractor sales were down 3.5 percent last month, when compared to June of 2018, while retail sales of combines fell 23 percent. Sales of two-wheel-drive tractors fell 3.4 percent …

Commissioner Nikki Fried Visits Panhandle to Highlight Florida Aquaculture

Youngstown, Fla. (FDACS) – Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) officials visited Bay County to highlight the community’s aquaculture industry. Commissioner Fried toured the shellfish processing facility at Webb’s Seafood Inc. in Youngstown, and spoke about the Panhandle’s growing aquaculture industry. “Florida is one of the top states in the country for fresh seafood production, supporting almost 14,000 …

USDA Now Making Payments for New Dairy Margin Coverage Program

Income-over-feed margin for May triggers fifth payment for 2019 WASHINGTON, (USDA/FSA) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened enrollment for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program on June 17 and has started issuing payments to producers who purchased coverage. Producers can enroll through Sept. 20, 2019.  “Times have been especially tough for dairy farmers, and while we …

Deadline Approaching in Florida for SBA Working Capital Loans

ATLANTA (SBA)- The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations that Aug. 12 is the filing deadline for federal economic injury disaster loans in Florida as a result of Hurricane Michael on Oct. 9 – 11, 2018. This disaster declaration includes the following counties: Baker, Columbia, …

Rural Broadband Will Boost Economy, Improve Sustainability and Animal Welfare

(AFBF) — Broadband is no longer a luxury but a necessity for modern agriculture and the quality of life for rural Americans, Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst told a House subcommittee. “While most Americans take broadband for granted, 26.4% of rural Americans lack access to broadband,” the Missouri farmer told the Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit. …

Facts of the Flow: Lake Okeechobee, 2019 Year-to-Date

Here is the latest update on inflows into Lake Okeechobee for the calendar year to date. There has been no back-pumping into Lake Okeechobee from the Everglades Agricultural Area this year. This data is provided by SFWMD’s DBHYDRO database. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2026FL Cattle Enhancement Board Wraps up Funding YearJune 30, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Awarded Researcher …

Northeast Florida Farms Test ‘Eyes in the Ground’ Through UF Program

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UF/IFAS) — Farming is a business of uncertainty. Through droughts and downpours, generations of Florida farmers have continued to till the land and contribute to a multibillion-dollar industry for the state. But agricultural innovations aim to minimize that uncertainty, and among the technological advances working to improve farmers’ crop yields are soil moisture sensors, which a University of …