Seventy-Five Reps Plead for Freeze to Current AEWR

Clint ThompsonLabor

A total of 75 congressmen recently issued a bipartisan letter to House and Senate appropriations leaders asking that the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) be frozen in an upcoming spending package. AEWR has more than doubled since 2005, with the nation’s average AEWR reaching $17.55 per hr in 2024. A temporary wage freeze would alleviate the increaased financial burden and …

S.C. Department of Agriculture Seeks Infrastructure Grant Applications

Clint ThompsonSouth Carolina

COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) is partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service to offer more than $4 million in competitive grants to support middle-of-the-food-supply-chain infrastructure for domestic food and farm businesses and other eligible entities. Grants under the Resilient Food System Infrastructure (RFSI) program will support expanded capacity for the aggregation, processing, …

IFPA’s Burns Joins Specialty Crop Coalition

Web AdminSpecialty Crops

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 23, 2023) – The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) announced on Monday that Cathy Burns, chief executive officer of the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA), has joined the coalition as a co-chair. The SCFBA was established to advocate for the unique needs of specialty crop growers in the Farm Bill and enhance their overall competitiveness in …

U.S. Specialty Crop Coalition Endorses Legislation Addressing Nutrition, Organics

Web AdminFarm Bill, Legislative

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA), a national coalition of more than 200 specialty crop organizations representing growers of fruits, vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, nursery plants and other products, endorsed nutrition and organic bills last week that cover key policy priorities outlined in the group’s 2023 Farm Bill recommendations: “The U.S. specialty crop industry is …

Sprouts Farmers Market named FFVA Customer of the Year  

Web AdminIndustry News Release, Specialty Crops

The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association honored Sprouts Farmers Market with its 2023 Customer of the Year Award during FFVA’s 79th annual convention at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples last month.  The annual award recognizes the important role that food service and retail merchandising play in the promotion and sale of fresh Florida produce. It is given to a valued partner …

U.S. Specialty Crop Coalition Endorses Legislation Addressing Nutrition and Organics 

Web AdminFarm Bill, Legislative, Specialty Crops

The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA), a national coalition of more than 200 specialty crop organizations representing growers of fruits, vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, nursery plants and other products, has endorsed nutrition and organic bills that cover key policy priorities outlined in the group’s 2023 Farm Bill recommendations:  “The U.S. specialty crop industry is crucial to our national …

Vanilla Could Be the Next Big Crop for Small Farmers in Southern Florida 

Web AdminAgribusiness, Vanilla

Florida is on the verge of a new agricultural crop that could give small farmers in the southern region of the state a high-value alternative to vegetable and fruit production.   University of Florida researchers at the Tropical Research and Education Center have embarked on a comprehensive evaluation of vanilla – from developing fertilizer recommendations to developing the highest-yielding and disease-resistant …

UF/IFAS Research: On Verge of Developing Domestic Industry for Valuable Spice

Web AdminFlorida, Research

Vanilla takes the crown as the second most valuable spice (after saffron) and the world’s most popular flavor among consumers. University of Florida researchers in Homestead are on the verge of developing a domestic vanilla industry, poised to transform agriculture in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for interested small growers and investors. Thanks to nearly $400,000 in grants from …

U.S. Congressman Scott Addresses China Concerns During Conference

Web AdminSpecialty Crops

By Clint Thompson U.S. Congressman Austin Scott (R-GA-08) believes China to be an adversary, no longer an aggressive competitor. So, naturally when China controls certain agricultural inputs, most notably seed, it concerns the legislator. “I don’t blame the Chinese for being smart, I blame us for being naïve about what they were doing and not paying enough attention to it …

Rubio, Colleagues Introduce Land Grant Research Prioritization Act

Web AdminFlorida, Legislative

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) introduced bipartisan legislation last week to authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make priority research grants available for land-grant universities to research and develop agricultural applications of artificial intelligence (AI), advanced mechanized harvester technologies, invasive species control and aquaculture. “Florida’s land-grant universities are constantly innovating to address …