The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) recently held their Emerging Agricultural Enterprises Summit. The event is a gathering of the entire statewide IFAS team dedicated to alternative crops. They delved into some of the hottest prospects, looking at what needs more work. UF-IFAS Senior Vice President Dr. Scott Angle explained to Southeast AgNet the goal of the emerging enterprises initiative, …
USDA Announces New Opportunities to Improve Nutrient Management
Now that both the U.S. Senate and House have passed the Inflation Reduction Act, it only awaits the signature of President Biden. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) welcomed the passage of the Act, which they note will deliver $19.5 billion in new conservation funding to support climate-smart agriculture. Funding from the Act is designed to will bolster new steps …
Sugar Growers Discuss Farm Bill Priorities
Administration officials, economists, and sugar industry experts just wrapped up the 37th International Sweetener Symposium. This year’s event focused on how Farm Bill policies support American food security. Ryan Weston, the incoming Chairman of the American Sugar Alliance, emphasized the role sugar plays in our food supply. “The turmoil we’ve seen on the global stage has made it more important …
Sugar Alliance Meeting Underway
Leaders from the U.S. sugar industry are meeting in Colorado this week for the 37th annual International Sweetener Symposium.?The Symposium is an annual event hosted by the American Sugar Alliance. Dr. Rob Johansson, Director of Economics and Policy Analysis for the American Sugar Alliance, talks about what farm leaders and industry experts will be discussing. “We know that rising input …
House Agriculture Subcommittee Hearing on Hemp
The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research held a hearing Thursday to get a closer look at USDA’s Hemp Production Program in preparation for the 2023 Farm Bill. Subcommittee chair Stacey Plaskett explained some of the history of hemp regulations in her opening statement. “Until recently, the hemp industry was outlawed due to restrictions put in place by …
New Ag Coalition Focuses on Bioeconomy
A new coalition of agriculture groups with a new focus. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Several industry associations launched the Ag Bioeconomy Coalition just days ago, to advance federal policy initiatives that foster growth toward a circular economy based on innovative products derived from agricultural commodities. Encompassing a broad range of technologies, the ag bioeconomy uses renewable, …
American Fruit Grower’s Survey Shows Serious Labor Concerns
The American Fruit Growers held its annual State of the Industry survey. Labor was a big topic in the survey, and one-third of the respondents say it’s not an issue for them, at least not yet. Growing Produce says they typically have a stable team of employees, and in 20 percent of those cases, it includes family members. For the …
Popcorn’s Effects on Gut Microbiomes
Eating popcorn may be good for your digestive health. That’s today’s This Land of Ours. A new study, published in the leading journal Frontiers in Microbiology, focuses on how popcorn can impact our personal microbiome. Americans eat more than 13 billion quarts of popcorn a year; an average of about 40 quarts per person. Nate Korth, a Ph.D. student at …
More Flexibility for Specialty Crop Growers in Crop Insurance Reporting
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced some new crop insurance rules that may help lift one burden that many specialty crop producers have had to deal with. Gary Crawford has more information. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsMarch 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024
Farmers Received Smaller Share of Price for Fresh Tomatoes in 2021
The farm share of the retail price of fresh, field-grown tomatoes—the ratio of what farmers received to what consumers paid—fell from 43 percent in 2020 to 36 percent in 2021. While the national, monthly average price of such tomatoes at grocery stores fell 11 cents to $1.85 per pound in 2021, the monthly average price received by farmers simultaneously fell …