Florida Grower Editor Frank Giles says there’s a lot happening in Florida agriculture, and much of it is good.
Georgia Pecan Production Season Best Since 2007
Georgia pecan producers enjoyed a banner production season, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Georgia, which accounts for 47% of the nation’s pecan production, showed a 23% increase in value of production for 2020. Georgia produced 142 million pounds, compared to just 73 million in 2019 and 70 million in 2018. Those two years were down because of …
Georgia Pecan Producer: Cautiously Optimistic About Future Market Prices
One South Georgia pecan producer is cautiously optimistic farmers will soon experience an increase in market prices. Coming off a season where pecan yields were the best in years and prices were the worst in some time, growers like Randy Hudson are hopeful prices will soon rebound. “The old saying about the cure for low prices is low prices. The …
Examining Issues Facing Hemp Production and Processing
By Allison Fortner for CAES News Hemp is a promising new industry for profitability, but growers of this newly legal crop will face a mix of public opinions according to University of Georgia research into challenges those in the hemp business may face in the southeastern United States. A recently published article in the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics …
Georgia Department of Agriculture to Host Produce Safety Alliance Training
The Georgia Department of Agriculture will host the Georgia Virtual Produce Safety Alliance Training on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27 from 8 a.m. to noon. The two-day workshop covers the standardized curriculum designed by the Produce Safety Alliance, which meets the regulatory requirements of the Produce Safety Rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Individuals who participate in this …
Export Markets Remain Key for Southeast Pecan Producers
With the 2020 pecan season in the books, growers in the Southeast are looking to write a new chapter in 2021, one they hope will have a better ending. The story of this past season’s crop centered on devastatingly low prices and low morale among farmers still trying to recover from Hurricane Michael in 2018. The biggest question remains, what …
Challenge Builds To Protect Florida Citrus Interests From Unfair Trade
Florida Citrus Mutual’s Mike Sparks says addressing Mexican OJ is now at the top of agenda for industry stakeholders.
Secretary Perdue Statement on H-2A Modernization
(Washington, D.C., January 15, 2021) U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued a statement today applauding the Department of Labor’s final rule modernizing the H-2A visa program: “This final rule streamlining and modernizing the H-2A visa process will go a long way in ensuring American farmers have access to a stable and skilled workforce, all while removing unnecessary bureaucratic processes. …
States See Changes in U.S. Citrus Forecast
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) dropped another 2 million boxes from the January forecast for Florida’s orange crop but added 200,000 boxes to the state’s grapefruit projection. ORANGESFlorida’s total orange crop is now forecast at 54 million boxes, down 4 percent from 56 million boxes in December. The orange reduction was in the non-Valencia …
Southeast Agriculture Well Represented on House Ag Committee
Bob Redding, who works for the Redding Firm and serves as a lobbyist for agricultural groups in Washington, D.C., believes the 117th Congress yields a positive outlook for vegetable and specialty crop producers in the Southeast. Prominent Georgians are represented on the House Ag Committee. The committee is empowered with legislative oversight relating to the U.S. agriculture industry, forestry, nutrition …