News

Jeff Parker Farms, a fourth-generation farming family from St. Johns County will be featured in a Super Bowl commercial scheduled to be broadcast in the 3rd quarter of the game on Sunday, February 9. The commercial titled The Little Farmer is produced by Frito-Lay for its…

Commissioner Wilton Simpson today announced legislation that would strengthen Florida agriculture, a $180 billion industry that supports 2.5 million jobs and provides the food, fiber and foliage Americans depend on. The Florida Ag Coalition Chairman Jim Spratt and its members expressed thanks to Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, Senator Keith…

February 2025 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter In the final week of the Biden Administration, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA had withdrawn its rule entitled Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets, marking the second time such a rule had been halted. As in the previous version, the rule…

February 2025 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter At high noon on January 20th, 2025, President Donald J. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance took the oath of office and thus, the Trump 47 administration was off and running. In his first week back in office, President Trump has taken significant actions through executive…

February 2025 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter By J. Scott Angle [email protected] @IFAS_VP   At UF/IFAS we’re making another investment in artificial intelligence (AI) to support Florida farmers. It’s not a machine. It’s a dean. I can’t think of anyone who has devoted more time and thought to preparing the future workforce for…

More than 75 Florida Farm Bureau members traveled to San Antonio, Texas to attend the 106th annual American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Convention. Many Florida members received national recognition for a variety of awards. Young Farmers and Ranchers members Chad Haas (Volusia County), Marshal and Taylor Sewell (Levy County) and…

Marshal and Taylor Sewell of Levy County were named the 2025 Excellence in Agriculture award winners by American Farm Bureau at the organization’s annual convention on Jan. 27. The Sewells are the founders of the Mind Your Melon Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to mental health advocacy and awareness…

Recognizing the vital role that four-legged friends often play on family farms and ranches, Farm Bureau launched the Farm Dog of the Year contest several years ago – now a popular feature of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Convention. The winner of the 2025 Farm Bureau Farm Dog…

January 2025 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter By J. Scott Angle [email protected] @IFAS_VP   Senate President Ben Albritton has called for a “rural renaissance,” built in part on technologies that support agriculture. UF/IFAS and the Florida Farm Bureau Federation are answering that call by developing the talent pipeline to use those technologies. Through…

January 2025 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) recently announced that an application period for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program begins on December 18, 2024, for preservation of important agricultural lands through acquisition of perpetual easements on working agricultural lands. The deadline for…

January 2025 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter On December 16, 2024, the South Florida Water Management District joined the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Garcia Land Management, LLC and many other local, state and federal partners to celebrate the completion of a new dispersed water…

January 2025 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began releases under Lake Okeechobee Recovery Operations on December 7, 2024. For the past five years, Lake Okeechobee has experienced several storm events and extended moderately high lake stages. This has led to degraded ecological conditions within the lake,…