Neglected for nearly a decade, the Florida Forever conservation program would get $100.8 million in a proposed $88.7 billion budget that lawmakers are expected to approve Sunday. Rep. Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican who chairs the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee, said most of the money would go for land preservation. “We started at a much lower number …
Florida Producers Can Renew Expiring CSP Contracts
Florida agricultural producers, with existing Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contracts that expire on December 31, 2018, are urged to renew those contracts. But the deadline to do so is April 13th. Florida Producers Can Renew Expiring CSP Contracts Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Funding Crucial For Forage DevelopmentMay 22, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Funding to Enhance Brahman GeneticsMay 15, …
USDA Report Indicates Increased Corn Demand
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has increased corn demand in it’s latest forecast for the 2017-18 crop year. The monthly World Agriculture Supply and Demand report increased exports of corn by 175 million bushels to 2.2 billion bushels based on price competitiveness, and increased expected corn ethanol use by 50 million bushels to 5.5 billion bushels. The average price for …
Roberts: Senate Farm Bill Work Scheduled Next Month
Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Pat Roberts hopes to begin Senate farm bill work next month. This week, Roberts said that he wants to mark up the bill in April, adding that his staff and the staff of the committee’s ranking Democrat, Debbie Stabenow, have begun work on the bill. The key to the bill, Roberts told the Hagstrom Report, is …
TPP Leaves U.S. Behind
The 11 remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries officially left the U.S. behind Thursday, signing an amended agreement that does not include the United States. The 11 nations signed what is now called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership the same day the U.S. moved to a more trade protectionist status, rolling out tariffs for steel and aluminum imports. …
Canada Staying Calm and Constructive Amidst Trade Talks
As President Donald Trump has ratcheted up the conversation on trade, Canada is sticking to it’s “keep-calm” strategy. While the European Union immediately offered a list of targeted U.S. products in response to Trump’s tariff plan for steel and aluminum, Reuters says Canada is trying to stay constructive, and use negotiations for a better outcome. For now, the tariff plan …
Trump Unveils Steel and Aluminum Tariff Plan
President Donald Trump Thursday unveiled his plan to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and ten percent on aluminum. The plan includes provisional exceptions for Canada and Mexico. However, the tariffs could trigger a trade war between the U.S. and the European Union and China, among others. Despite a large pushback by U.S. industry and trading partners, Trump is …
Grower Listening Session, Field Visit Set for National Peanut Board Quarterly Meeting
The National Peanut Board has scheduled its quarterly Board and committee meetings for April 3-4, 2018, in Charleston, S. C. at the Renaissance Charleston Historic District Hotel, 68 Wentworth Street, Charleston, S. C. 29401 (843-534-0300). The National Peanut Board and the South Carolina Peanut Board will hold a joint Grower Listening Session addressing common production issues, best practices and continuous …
More Definitive Food Profiles
Methods for analyzing food samples developed by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist in Maryland capture what could be considered the most definitive nutrient profiles possible for many of the foods we eat. Craig Byrdwell, an analytical chemist in the ARS Food Composition and Methods Development Laboratory in Beltsville, has found a way to use seven different detectors—four mass spectrometers and one gas and …
Citrus Forecast Steady as Growers Await Aid
Florida struggling citrus crop, fighting disease and battered by Hurricane Irma, held steady over the past month in a newly released forecast. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated Thursday that Florida will grow enough oranges in the current season to fill 45 million 90-pound boxes, a mark unchanged from a February forecast. However, that would still be a major drop …