Crop-Damage Assessment System Will Speed Reporting After Disasters

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, economists with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) realized that its  Extension colleagues needed a better system for reporting damages and losses suffered by producers – something faster, more focused and more standardized. Today, that better system is in place. A team with the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics …

Florida’s Algae Blooms and Red Tide: Consider the Facts

The algae and red tide blooming along Florida’s coastal waterways are concerning to everyone, including those of us in agriculture. It is understandable that many Floridians are upset and are anxious for answers, but misinformation is being circulated by anti-farmer activists that erroneously points to farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA), south of Lake Okeechobee, as the cause of …

USDA Payments Expected After Labor Day

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects to send payments to farmers after the Labor Day holiday as part of a trade relief package. The $12 billion package is intended for farmers who have been affected by foreign tariffs on U.S. farm products, all in retaliation to President Trump’s trade agenda. A USDA spokesperson confirmed to the Hagstrom Report the department …

USDA Expected to Announce Trade Relief Package Friday

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to release further details of its trade relief package Friday. The aid package previously announced by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will provide $12 billion in assistance to farmers hurt by President Trump’s trade agenda. Agri-Pulse reports that sources involved with the process say the payment rate for soybean farmers has been preliminarily proposed …

Congressman Yoho on Longleaf Pine Initiative

Landowners across the Southeast are always encouraged to take part in the Longleaf Pine Initiative through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). And during a recent interview with Southeast AgNet, U.S. Congressman and member of the House Agriculture Committee, Ted Yoho from Florida, talked about their efforts to include even more pine species in the initiative. Congressman Yoho on Longleaf …

Cotton Board Recommends $82 Million Budget for Cotton Incorporated

New Cotton Board Chairman and Officers Elected During its annual meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Cotton Board reviewed and voted to recommend Cotton Incorporated’s proposed 2019 budget of $82 million to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. The Cotton Board elected Peter McGrath, an importer, as chairman of the board, and an entire slate of new officers for the 2018-2019 program …

Congressman Yoho on Funding for FMD

For over two years now, livestock groups have been calling for a stockpile of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines in case of an outbreak. Both the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) have made it a top priority for the next Farm Bill. During a recent interview, U.S. Congressman and member of the House …

APHIS Finalizes Conditions for Paying Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Indemnity

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing a final rule outlining the conditions under which USDA will pay indemnity to farms affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). It includes updates to USDA’s February 2016 interim rule.  This final rule does three things: Allows indemnity payments to be split between poultry and egg …

Putnam Banks on ‘Florida First’ in Governor’s Race

Source: News Service of Florida Clad in jeans and a blue-checkered shirt with rolled-up sleeves, Adam Putnam easily blended into the rural North Florida residents attending the annual Wausau Possum Festival in early August. “I’m a farmer, a business owner,” the boyish-looking, 44-year-old Republican candidate for governor told the crowd in a brief speech. “The foundation of my campaign is …