Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced the recipients of the Commissioner’s Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Award, which recognizes the environmentally innovative farming techniques of Florida’s farmers and ranchers. This year’s recipients are: Jim Strickland of Blackbeards’ Ranch in Manatee County, Chuck Allison of Wild Goose Farms in Umatilla, and James Shinn of Shinn Groves/ Tree O’Groves in Lake Alfred. Florida’s …
UF Researcher to Study Migration Trends, Health of Emerging Farm Workers
As the University of Florida IFAS Extension director for Hendry County, Gene McAvoy has seen firsthand a sea change in the types of workers now coming to the United States to work on farms. “It used to be 95 percent or more of the workers were from Mexico,” McAvoy said. “Now, it’s about 50 percent from Haiti and the Caribbean. …
USDA Launches Trade Mitigation Programs
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue launched the trade mitigation package aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations.  Producers of certain commodities can now sign up for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), while USDA will also begin to purchase identified commodities under a food purchase and distribution program. Additionally, USDA has begun …
Bama’s Best Burger Contest Final Four
The final four restaurants in the 2018 Bama’s Best Burger Contest have been announced. Kayla Greer, Alabama Cattlemen’s Association’s director of social media and communications, tells who they are. Bama’s Best Burger Contest Final Four Four Finalists Advance in 2018 Bama’s Best Burger Contest Four finalist restaurants have been named in the 2018 Bama’s Best Burger contest, sponsored by the …
ASTA Outlines Priorities for Final Farm Bill
The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) urges members of the Farm Bill Conference Committee to include several key provisions important to the seed industry within the final bill. In a recent letter to conferees, ASTA highlighted the following priorities within the Conservation, Trade, Research, Horticulture and Crop Insurance titles: Conservation: ASTA is concerned with the proposal in the House version …
Trump Threatens to Add $200 Billion in More Tariffs
Bloomberg says President Trump wants to proceed with another $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports as soon as the public comment period wraps up next week. Six people familiar with the matter spoke anonymously with Bloomberg for the article. Companies and people have until Sept. 6 to submit comments on duties that will cover everything from semiconductors to selfie …
Lawsuit Filed Over Oil Refinery Waivers
Two of the biggest ethanol groups in America have sued both the Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Secretary Rick Perry. The focus of the suit is dozens of hardship waivers granted to oil refineries that allowed them to not blend ethanol into the fuel supply. Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association filed the suit to get access to records …
Agriculture Trade Surplus to Shrink
Agriculture is consistently one of the few areas of the American economy that sells more overseas than it buys. However, Farm Journal’s Ag Web Dot Com says that’s going to drop in the upcoming year. The surplus is set to shrink as shipments to China collapse because of the trade war with the U.S. A government forecast says the world’s …
China Suspends Hog Transportation Due to Swine Fever
China has suspended transportation of live hogs from provinces infected with African Swine Fever. Reuters says the Chinese Ag Minister will also shut down all live hog markets in the infected provinces. Pork is a staple meat in China, which has reported five cases of swine fever in five different provinces over the past month. The outbreak is prompting Chinese …
USDA Provides Help for Rural People Recovering From Opioid Misuse
Anne Hazlett, the USDA Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development, announced that the agency has formalized an agreement to aid rural Americans in fighting the opioid epidemic. A nonprofit organization will purchase homes from the Department and convert them to transitional housing for people recovering from opioid misuse. “From the quality of life to workforce and economic opportunity, the …