By Clint Thompson
This week’s block grant agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) concerning federal disaster assistance is a win for the state’s producers, including Dan Richey, president of Riverfront Packing Company.
He was present for Monday’s press conference in Felda, Florida, where Ag Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced that FDACS is receiving $675.9 million in funding that covers infrastructure, citrus and timber losses in addition to direct market losses. The program will help producers recover from such natural disasters as Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton.
Richey applauded the announcement, especially the block grant format.
“This is her first visit to the state seeing the ag industry. She picked us and we’re honored for that,” Richey said. “The block grant is the way to do this. If it gets tangled up in Washington and bureaucrats get a hold of it, giving it to the states in the form of a block grant to get it out to the states, you’re much closer to the grower. You know the needs and the actual impact the storms have had. That was a brilliant move on their part. It shows how they’re being more progressive in their thinking relative to getting closer to the grower.
“I’ve served on the Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee for 19 years. Since this administration’s been in the last six months, we’ve had more calls and conferences in that regard than I had in the previous 18. It just shows they’re totally engaged and obviously (Sec. Rollins) is. She gets it.”
This funding is part of the $30 billion disaster assistance relief effort authorized by the American Relief Act, 2025. USDA is working with 14 different states, including Florida, to develop and implement block grants to address the unique disaster recovery needs for each state.