USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Florida wants to remind landowners that the signup for 2017 funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) continues. But Darryl Williams, district conservationist in the Okaloosa County NRCS office, says the deadline is October 21st for those who are eligible. Download Audio
Challenges to New Water Standards Tossed Out
FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA By JIM SAUNDERS THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, September 14, 2016………. Siding with the Department of Environmental Protection on procedural grounds, an administrative law judge has rejected a series of challenges to controversial new state water-quality standards. Judge Bram D.E. Canter on Tuesday issued an 11-page ruling that dismissed the challenges filed last month by the …
House Agriculture Committee Advances Three Bills
From the House Committee on Agriculture: Today, the House Agriculture Committee approved H.R. 470, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Land Adjustment Act; H.R. 5883, legislation to amend the Packers and Stockyards Act; and H.R. 845, the National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act. “Thank you to my colleagues for advancing these three bipartisan bills. These individual pieces of legislation help prioritize federal …
University of Florida/IFAS Earned Record $140 Million for Research
From the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences: By: Brad Buck GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences tackled many issues, including battling citrus greening, developing improved turfgrass and crops as well as combatting agricultural pests with a record $140 million in the 2015-2016 fiscal year, an 11 percent increase over …
Citrus Land Drop-off Continues across Florida
FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA By JIM TURNER THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, September 13, 2016……….Coming off their worst harvest in five decades, citrus growers in Florida have fewer acres to work with, as they struggle to maintain the state’s signature crop against an incurable bacterial disease. The citrus industry lost 4 percent of its grove land, 21,275 acres, over the …
U.S. Files WTO Case against China’s Rice, Wheat and Corn Supports
The U.S. has launched a new trade enforcement action against China for excessive supports for rice, wheat and corn. Gary Crawford has the details. Download Audio Ambassador Michael Froman talks about the case the
NPPC, Farm Bureau Win FOIA Case Against EPA
From the National Pork Producers Council: WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 12, 2016 – A federal appeals court Friday overruled a lower court decision to throw out a lawsuit brought by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its release to environmental groups of personal information on tens of thousands of …
Dairy Groups Across the Globe Urge Trade Officials to Challenge New Protectionist Dairy Policy in Canada
From the National Milk Producers Federation, The U.S. Dairy Export Council and The International Dairy Foods Association: (September 12, 2016 – Washington, D.C.) Dairy organizations in the United States, Australia, the European Union, Mexico and New Zealand today issued a joint letter to their respective trade and agriculture officials, expressing indignation about Canada’s recent actions to deepen its already prohibitive …
CIG Funding Coming to Alabama and Florida
On Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the investment of $26.6 million by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) into 45 projects that will spur innovative conservation initiatives on both rural and urban farms across the country. The investment is made through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program, which fosters innovation in conservation tools and strategies …
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Winning Fight Against Destructive, Disease-Carrying Snail
From the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: MIAMI, Fla.–Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced today that more than 164,000 giant African land snails (GALS) have been eliminated in Florida since the invasive snail was discovered in Miami-Dade County in 2011. In addition to threatening more than 500 varieties of plants and agricultural commodities, GALS consume plaster …