A measure that would double the amount Gov. Rick Scott wants to spend on the state’s most-prominent land preservation program was easily approved Monday during its first Senate committee. And bill sponsor Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican elevated earlier in the day to chair the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, said the state isn’t doing enough for land conservation. The …
AFBF Encouraged by USDA Biotech Proposal Withdraw
The USDA Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service Monday announced the withdrawal of biotech regulations proposed at the end of the Obama administration to get more stakeholder input. AFBF congressional relations director Andrew Walmsley says the move brings an opportunity to improve the rule. Walmsley explains the concerns of the agriculture industry of the now-withdrawn proposal. He expects USDA will …
UF Study Helps Discount Fluoride as a Danger for Tea Drinkers
If you drink tea, you can rest assured about your children’s teeth or your adult bones, now that a University of Florida (UF) research team has found that most teas contain safe amounts of fluoride. Drinking tea can benefit human health, but it contains fluoride, and too much fluoride can lead to teeth discoloration and malformation for children and bone …
NPPC Statement On WHO Call For Ban On Prevention Uses Of Antibiotics
A ban on disease prevention uses of antibiotics in food-animal production being advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO) would be ill-advised and wrong. Denying pigs, cows, and chickens necessary antibiotics would be unethical and immoral, leading to animal suffering and possibly death, and could compromise the nation’s food system. America’s pork farmers share the WHO’s concern about the rise …
Globally Recognized UF/IFAS Crop-Model Researcher Wins National Soil Science Award
A University of Florida professor has received a top award from the Soil Science Society of America for helping to develop and apply practices that increase crops, income and help the environment. The L.R. Ahuja Ag Systems Modeling Award goes to a soil scientist, agronomist or crop scientist in recognition of distinguished contributions and their demonstrated impact in the past …
Global Food Prices Reported Lower
Global food prices dropped in October, led by lower dairy products. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s monthly Food Price Index averaged 176.4 points for the month of October, down 1.3 percent from September, while still up 2.5 percent from a year earlier. The Index is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of …
John Deere to Supply Tractors in Cuba
In an agreement signed last week, John Deere is expected to be the first direct sale of U.S. machinery to Cuba in more than half a century. An agreement signed at the Havana Fair last week between John Deere executives and Cuba calls for the shipment of “several hundred tractors and associated implements” over a four-year period. Farm Equipment Magazine …
Northey Comments on Nomination Delay
Department of Agriculture nominee Bill Northey says he expects the hold on his nomination will be resolved, but in the meantime, is fulfilling his duties in Iowa. During a speech last week in Iowa, Northey said he’s not bothered by his current situation, adding that “until that political skirmish is settled, my days are, for the most part, consumed with …
TPP Deal Expected This Week
The remaining 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries plan to remove the Gross Domestic Product requirements to allow the deal to move forward without the United States this week. The Japan News reports that with the United States abandoning the accord, negotiators appear hopeful that changing the conditions will allow the remaining 11 nations to quickly implement a new pact. A …
USDA to Re-engage Stakeholders on Revisions to Biotechnology Regulations
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced it is withdrawing a proposed rule to revise the Agency’s biotechnology regulations and will re-engage with stakeholders to determine the most effective, science-based approach for regulating the products of modern biotechnology while protecting plant health. “It’s critical that our regulatory requirements foster public confidence and empower …