Deadline Nearing for Block Grant Program Applications in Alabama

Dan Alabama, Nursery Crops, Specialty Crops

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) wants to remind producers that the grant application deadline for projects that enhance the competitiveness of U.S. specialty crops in foreign and domestic markets is April 18th. These block grants, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), are for specialty crops like fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, horticulture and nursery …

Farm Disaster Relief on the Way After Irma’s Devastation

Dan Cattle, Citrus, Field Crops, Industry News Release, Legislative, Livestock, Nursery Crops, Specialty Crops

State lawmakers continue to craft tax relief for Florida’s storm-battered citrus industry, as President Donald Trump signed off Friday on billions of dollars in much-anticipated federal disaster relief. A spending bill approved by Congress and Trump includes nearly $90 billion for disaster relief, with $2.36 billion aimed at assisting the agriculture industry for losses from Hurricane Irma in Florida, Hurricane …

Irma Agriculture Losses Continue to Mount

Dan Florida, Industry News Release

Florida’s $2.5 billion request for federal disaster relief for its agriculture industry after Hurricane Irma might not be enough. Members of the House Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness said Thursday month-old damage estimates made by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service are too low. “I actually think your numbers are conservative,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a …

Wet ‘Dry Season’ Damaged Valuable Ornamentals

Dan Florida, Industry News Release, Nursery Crops

by Brad Buck, University of Florida/IFAS Florida’s winters are usually dry, but the wet winter of 2015-2016 helped spread pathogens that destroyed ornamental plants in Miami-Dade County. That’s a problem in an area where the industry generated an estimated $998 million annually in sales in 2015, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers say. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture …