Mike Stuart, president of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA), issued the following statement regarding a trade agreement between the United States and Mexico: President Trump announced that the United States and Mexico have reached agreement on a new trade pact that does not include a specific trade remedy for specialty crop producers in the Southeast. This is not …
Sen. Ossoff Helping Georgia Producers Export More Products
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is helping Georgia farmers export more crops to world markets. Ossoff is working to bring Republicans and Democrats together to pass the bipartisan Specialty CROP Act of 2023, legislation he co-sponsored to support Georgia’s farmers and level the playing field to boost exports. The bipartisan bill would promote fair access to foreign markets and …
Machine-Harvestable Tomatoes Available from UF/IFAS
Ever since Florida farmers have been producing tomatoes, they’ve picked them by hand or hired laborers. It’s painstaking work that might be made easier soon with machine-harvestable tomatoes developed by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers. Now that the varieties are available, growers in Florida’s $400 million-a-year industry hope they can use mechanized harvesting, but doubts …
Fresh Strawberry Imports, Exports Up
Southeast strawberry growers continue to be threatened by fresh strawberry imports from other countries, mainly Mexico. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Situation and Outlook Report, fresh strawberry import volume increased 4% in 2023, from 564 million pounds to 589 million pounds. It marked the fifth straight year that import volumes have increased. The nominal value of …
Blueberry Imports Decreased in 2023
Blueberry import volumes dropped in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Situation and Outlook Report. Fresh blueberry import volumes decreased 15%, down to 559 million pounds in 2023 from 657 million pounds in 2022. It marks the first decline in volumes since 2017. Import volumes in the latter half of last year were down 29% …
Mexican Tomato Industry Can’t Litigate Its Way Out of Dumping Charges
MAITLAND, FL – Last week, in response to a lawsuit by a large Mexican tomato exporter, the U.S. Court of International Trade remanded a 2019 decision to the Department of Commerce, which had determined Mexican tomatoes were being dumped in the U.S. market. Importantly, this decision didn’t invalidate the fact that dumping took place but was a procedural decision that …
Few Abnormally Dry Areas in Southeast
Rainfall is plentiful in most areas across the Southeast. But in one spot, rain is starting to lack, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. While most of Alabama has sufficient moisture, areas in Mobile and Baldwin counties in the southern part of the state near the Gulf of Mexico are abnormally dry. Both dry spots are concentrated to the central …
Specialty Crop Grower Magazine: Farming Fulfills South Georgia Producer Jaime Patrick
By Clint Thompson It was a typical mid-summer scene in South Georgia: scorching temperatures, dusty fields and farm work in progress. For youngster Jaime Patrick, it was just another day at Patrick Farms in Omega, Georgia. “Working here on the farm in the summers, we were growing sweet potatoes at the time. We always had people walk behind the transplanter; …
Unified Pecan Industry is Better for All Involved
By Clint Thompson A unified pecan industry benefits all states involved. That includes Georgia and Alabama in the Southeast, along with New Mexico and Arizona out west. Georgia producer Justin Jones has experienced the unification first-hand and describes the importance of continuing amid the current challenges impacting the industry. “I go back to using this analogy, a rising tide will …
Sen. Ossoff Launches Inquiry Into USDA’s Farm Labor Survey Calculations
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff has launched an inquiry into how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducts its Farm Labor Survey in Georgia. Ossoff inquired with the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), asking for more transparency in the Farm Labor Survey, which the Department of Labor uses to determine wages for H-2A workers in Georgia and …