Avocado, Blueberry, and Pasture, Rangeland, Forage and Apiculture Producers Need to Make Insurance Decisions Soon Tallahassee, FL (FDACS-Oct. 14, 2019) — The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (USDA RMA) are reminding Florida avocado, blueberry, pasture, rangeland, and forage (PRF) and apiculture producers that deadlines to apply for crop insurance …
USDA Invests $11M In Research That Will Support Specialty Crop Farmers
WASHINGTON (USDA-Oct. 3, 2019) — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary Scott Hutchins announced that the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has invested $11 million in research that will support specialty crop farmers. “This collaborative public-private research effort will focus on applying innovative solutions to pest management problems that often are otherwise not available to specialty …
FTE: New Suspension Agreement Is Step in Right Direction
Washington, D.C. (FTE-September 19, 2019) — The Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE) welcomes the signing by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Mexican tomato exporters of a new agreement suspending the antidumping investigation of fresh tomatoes from Mexico. The new suspension agreement includes strong monitoring, enforcement and anti-circumvention provisions, including border inspections, that should help eliminate the injury to American tomato …
Cloud-Based Software Helps Farmers on the Ground
A University of Florida agricultural engineer has developed software that can help farmers find the best places to plant crops and to identify fruit and vegetable varieties that perform better against diseases. Now, Yiannis Ampatzidis is leading an effort to refine the software so it can help growers even more. To help farmers protect and even increase their harvests, Ampatzidis, …
USDA to Survey Fruit Growers about Chemical Use
Athens, GA (USDA/NASS) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey fruit growers in 11 states, including Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, for its biennial Fruit Chemical Use Survey. The survey will collect information on bearing acreage, pest management practices, pesticide application, acres treated and rates applied for more than 12 fruit crops. “Pesticide data …
Creating Blackberry Varieties for Florida
The team at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) works on a multitude of crops historically grown in the Central Florida region. However, GCREC researchers have also been dedicating their time to finding new alternative crops for Florida. One of those crops is blackberries. Zhanao Deng, professor of ornamental …
Perdue on New Draft Suspension Agreement on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico
Washington, D.C. (USDA) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement after U.S. Department of Commerce announced a new Draft Suspension Agreement on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico: “I want to thank my colleagues at the U.S. Department of Commerce for working diligently to reach a mutually beneficial agreement for tomato growers in both the U.S. and Mexico. …
Tomato Brown Rugose Spreading Globally
By Karla Arboleda Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is not currently in Florida produce, but the virus has a global track record. Detected first in 2015 in Jordan, and with outbreaks as recent as 2018 in California, ToBRFV is easily transmitted through contact. Ozgur Batuman, citrus pathologist at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Southwest …
U.S. Department of Commerce Announces a New Draft Suspension Agreement on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico
WASHINGTON, D.C. (USDOC) — The U.S. Department of Commerce initialed a draft agreement with Mexican tomato growers to suspend the ongoing antidumping (AD) investigation of fresh tomatoes from Mexico, ensuring that the domestic tomato industry will be protected from unfair trade. “For many years, there have been disputes over the roughly $2 billion worth of tomatoes that are imported from …
DOC Announces Preliminary Dumping Margin on Mexican Tomato Imports
Department of Commerce Refutes Mexican Claims of No Dumping:Announces Preliminary Dumping Margin of 25% on Mexican Tomato Imports (FTE) — On July 24, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced that Mexican tomatoes are being dumped in the United States. The preliminary average dumping margin is 25.28 percent. This announcement refutes the recent Mexican claims that the data they submitted …