More than 120 organizations urge Congress to support key nutrition, block grant and research programs. The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA), a national coalition of more than 120 specialty crop organizations, has announced its 2018 farm bill priorities focusing on programs for a healthier America heading into Wednesday’s U.S. House Agriculture Committee meeting on the farm bill. The SCFBA …
Chairman Conaway Introduces the Agriculture and Nutrition Act
Three years, 114 hearings, six listening sessions and countless industry meetings have laid the groundwork for the 2018 farm bill. The House Agriculture Committee delivered what it calls a strong farm bill for producers, consumers and all of rural America. After introducing the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2) during a teleconference, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway …
Tasty Tomatoes and Other Produce
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Imagine sinking your teeth into a fat, bright red tomato, whose aroma promises a tantalizing treat. Instead, you realize you got a great looker, but not a great taster. That’s because the consumer has been left out of the breeding process. For 20 years, Harry Klee, a professor of horticultural sciences at the UF Institute of Food …
Florida Blueberry Growers Association Expects a Good Year
Brooksville, FL April 3, 2018 – The Florida Blueberry Growers Association (FBGA) is predicting a good year for blueberries, despite a recent grower survey showing significant crop damage. Last week, FBGA asked its members to respond to a survey reporting any crop loss they are seeing in their fields. With a third of the state’s acreage responding, 95 percent reported …
Secretary Perdue Issues USDA Statement on Plant Breeding Innovation
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today issued a statement providing clarification on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) oversight of plants produced through innovative new breeding techniques which include techniques called genome editing. Under its biotechnology regulations, USDA does not regulate or have any plans to regulate plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional …
USDA Announces $8.4 Million to Support Veteran and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE) announced up to $8.4 million in available funding for training and technical assistance for socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers. Funding is made through the USDA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as the 2501 Program). …
Grower Participation Needed for BMP Survey
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center would like to better understand best management practices (BMPs) used by area growers. BMPs are individual practices or combinations of practices that are effective at improving the quality of surface water and ground water. Growers provide a public service by performing …
Florida-Georgia ‘Water War’ Could Keep Rolling Along
By Lloyd Dunkelberger, News Service of Florida Even if the U.S. Supreme Court gives Florida a favorable ruling in its lawsuit against Georgia over water flow into the Apalachicola River, the decision likely would result in more litigation and new legal challenges involving the decades-old water war between the states. Those were the observations of five legal experts who on …
Annual Meeting of the Florida State Horticultural Society
The Florida State Horticultural Society (FSHS) announces that it will hold its 131st annual meeting on June 10 through June 12, 2018, at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel located at 1617 SE 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With over 100 technical presentations and special sessions with invited speakers, there will also be a welcome reception, Extension luncheon, …
UF/IFAS Researcher Hopes to Breed, Grow Nutritious Pumpkins in Florida
By Brad Buck, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Pumpkins and their seeds are good for you. For example, the flesh of the fruit is a good source of many vitamins and fiber, and its seeds provide unsaturated fats that help reduce cholesterol, among their other health benefits. The pumpkin’s nutrient values are driving Geoffrey Meru, a fruit …