The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is publishing a final rule to allow the importation of fresh Hass avocado fruit from Colombia into the continental United States using a systems approach designed to ensure imports do not introduce pests into the United States. The systems approach is a series of overlapping measures taken …
A Faster, Less Costly Way to Process Walnuts
Walnut drying is expensive and energy intensive, according to ARS engineer Zhongli Pan in Albany, California. The current hot-air drying method takes more than 24 hours to dry walnuts and uses a significant amount of natural gas and electricity. Infrared—a form of intense light that’s felt, but not seen—dries walnuts faster and is less expensive. It’s a type of electromagnetic radiation—as are …
Nomination Deadline Nearing for Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame
The Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame is still accepting nominations for the class of 2018, but not much longer, as the deadline for nominations is September 1, 2017. The Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame honors men and women who have made lasting contributions to Florida agriculture. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services partners with the Florida Agricultural Hall …
Democrat Files to Run for Agriculture Commissioner
Broward County Democrat David Walker opened a campaign account Friday to run in 2018 for agriculture commissioner, according to the state Division of Elections website. Walker joined fellow Democrat Michael Christine in taking the initial step to try to succeed term-limited Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. Christine opened his campaign account in April but did not raise any money in June …
Nearly $1 Million Grant Will Help Struggling Blue Crab Industry
A researcher at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences wants to study the blue crab and a viral pathogen that infects it. Now, a nearly $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation will help Donald Behringer and colleagues study the disease along the entire western Atlantic seaboard. In Florida, several disasters—including hurricanes in 2004, 2005, …
Renegotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement
The renegotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement get underway on August 16th. Canada, Mexico, and the United States can sit down at a table to update the twenty-year-old agreement. Former Chief Agricultural Trade Negotiator Darci Vetter said the upcoming negotiations represent an opportunity for needed updates to the agreement. Vetter talks about certain parts of NAFTA that need …
Vilsack Helping Create Support for Democrats in Middle America
Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is dedicating some of his time in trying to help the Democratic party gain support in middle America. ABC News reports Vilsack is part of a group called New Democracy, which includes sitting and former governors, along with others. Will Marshall, the Democratic policy veteran who is running the group, says the group plans to …
ABC / Disney Settlement with BPI Worth More Than $177 Million
The settlement between Disney, the parent company of ABC News, and BPI, or Beef Products Inc, is worth more than $177 million. The terms of the settlement agreement are not disclosed. However, last week Disney disclosed a charge of $177 million, “net of committed insurance recoveries,” incurred in connection with the settlement of litigation, during a quarterly finance report. South …
Farm Machinery Stocks Drop After USDA Reports
Last week’s Department of Agriculture crop reports sent stocks of farm machinery companies lower. USDA on Thursday reported higher than expected crop yields in the August round of crop reports, which includes key yield speculations. Following the report stocks of Agco and Deere dropped roughly 2.5 percent each. CNH Industrial, the manufacture of Case and New Holland, dropped 1.5 percent …
MPI Report: U.S. Agricultural Workforce Being Reshaped
Shifting Migration & Labor Strategies, with Drop in Unauthorized Share & Rise in Use of H-2A Program Shifting migration patterns and labor strategies are reshaping the overwhelmingly foreign-born U.S. agricultural workforce, with a drop in the share of unauthorized workers and increased employer use of mechanization and the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program, a new Migration Policy Institute report shows. …