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Plan providing $291M for 69 Projects across 23 Coastal Counties Last week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler sent a letter to Mr. Noah Valenstein, Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Designated Alternate for the Governor of Florida to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council), approving the State of Florida’s State …
By Breanna Kendrick Black aphids are small black insects that feed on the leaves of pecan trees. The area where black aphids are feeding will turn yellow and become necrotic, killing the tissues surrounding the feeding area. Black aphids are most common later in the pecan season. Black aphids do have some populations early in the season, but are less of …
It was announced on Sept. 30 that the United States, Mexico and Canada reached a new deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The deal will be called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). NAFTA was a trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico that was made in 1994 under the Clinton administration. The idea for …
By Fumiomi Takeda The growth of the blueberry industry in the past three decades has been remarkably robust. For the blueberry industry to remain competitive and sustainable, growers are seeking solutions to ever-increasing problems with labor shortages and rising labor costs for harvesting blueberries by hand. More growers are now using over-the-row (OTR) mechanical harvesters to pick blueberries for the …
The 75th Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) Convention took place this week at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, where AgNet Media’s Josh McGill caught up with outgoing FFVA President Mike Stuart. Stuart discussed record attendance at the convention, the announcement of his successor and his nomination into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame. Stuart said he is excited to see …
By Breanna Kendrick Hastings is the potato capital of Florida, but local potato growers recently have been facing marketing challenges and contract reductions. Therefore, interest in alternative crops for the region is growing. Gary England, director of the University of Florida’s Hastings Agricultural Extension Center, and his team have been researching alternative crops for the Hastings area. They are conducting …
Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has delivered thousands of servings of food to Hurricane Florence victims in North Carolina. The department coordinated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ready and deliver USDA Foods to disaster relief sites and shelters. USDA Foods include a variety of canned, fresh, …
A program based in Byron, Georgia, is working on developing peach varieties perfect for the lower coastal plain. Now, the lower coastal plain consists of growers in South Georgia and a few in North Florida. However, according to Tom Beckman, U.S. Department of Agriculture research horticulturist, this industry could grow tremendously. He says it has the potential to stretch through …
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam and the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame Foundation announced the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame inductees for 2019. The induction ceremony will be held at the Florida State Fair’s Agricultural Hall of Fame Banquet on Feb. 12, 2019. More information is available FloridaAgHallofFame.org. “Agriculture is Florida’s oldest industry, and it continues to support …
U.S. Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced legislation to help Florida fruit and vegetable growers combat unfair trade practices. The bill comes amid long-standing and increasing complaints from Florida farmers that Mexican growers illegally flood the U.S. market with subsidized produce during the winter season. Florida is one of the few places in the country that can …
