(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins met with Florida agricultural leaders and producers on Monday and announced additional U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) assistance to help producers recover from Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton. Secretary Rollins signed a block grant agreement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) that provides recovery assistance …
Rain, Rain Go Away: North Alabama Specialty Crops Impacted By Excess Moisture
By Clint Thompson North Alabama fruit and vegetable farmers have had plenty of rainfall to work with this summer. It has been above average throughout the region, according to Eric Schavey, regional Extension agent in Northeast Alabama. He highlighted the various impacts from the increased rainfall growers experienced in June and July. “Two weeks ago, we were 5.5 inches higher …
Specialty Crop Leader: SDRP Funds Coming At Good Time
By Clint Thompson Financial relief is available for specialty crop producers who suffered eligible crop losses due to natural disasters in 2023 and 2024, through the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP). That means much needed assistance for growers in Alabama and Georgia who have dealt with their share of hurricanes, freeze events and prolonged drought over the last couple of …
Georgia Peach Season Nearing End
By Clint Thompson Georgia peach producers are nearing an end to this year’s harvest season. They are expected to conclude harvesting this year’s crop in early August, says Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Peach and Taylor counties. Cook discussed this season’s production which has been strong despite persistent rains and numerous bouts …
Agreement Terminated: Florida Tomato Exchange Applauds Historic Decision
By Clint Thompson The U.S.-Mexico Tomato Suspension Agreement was officially terminated on Monday. The controversial agreement failed to stop Mexican tomato companies from dumping their product into the U.S. market. Its termination also led the Trump administration to impose a 17% antidumping duty on more than $1 billion of tomato imports from Mexico. The Commerce Department’s decision to terminate the …
Drought Monitor Update: Minimal Dry Conditions Seen Across Southeast
By Clint Thompson Drought remains mostly a non-issue for the Southeast amid the constant rainfall specialty crop growers have experienced this summer, according to the July 10 update of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Florida continues to experience the driest conditions, concentrated mostly in the central and southern regions of the state. Severe drought is observed in the southernmost counties, including …
Too Much Supply: North Florida Watermelon Acres Not Expected to Increase Again
By Clint Thompson Watermelon production in North Florida approached 10,000 acres in 2025. One University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) scientist believes there will not be another increase next year following a glut in supply that led to decreased prices. Bob Hochmuth, UF/IFAS Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, discussed the state of the …
Specialty Crops a Focus During Next Month’s Expo
By Clint Thompson Next month’s Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo has a lot to offer Southeast fruit and vegetable growers planning to attend the two-day show, scheduled for Aug. 20-21, at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida Key industry topics like labor, trade and farm policy will be discussed during the general session on Wednesday morning. Specialty crop sessions …
Legislative Victory: One Big Beautiful Win for Specialty Crops
By Clint Thompson The One Big Beautiful Bill is a one big beautiful win for specialty crops. Chris Butts, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA), highlighted the recently passed legislation, which will impact fruit and vegetable growers across the Southeast. “I think there are some very good provisions included in the bill for important initiatives, …
Specialty Crop Grower Magazine: Where Does the Farm Bill Stand?
By Frank Giles The 2018 farm bill expired in September 2023. Since that time, the old legislation has been extended twice, which is now in effect until September 2025. In the meantime, various spending measures have been added to help tide American agriculture over. But a new farm bill is needed to provide future agricultural policy direction and to help …



















