More than 80 Florida Farm Bureau grassroots members and staff traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah for the 105th annual American Farm Bureau Convention. Florida received many accolades. Young Farmers and Ranchers Bernie and Avery LeFils (Volusia County), John David and Emilee Peterson (Baker County) and Erin…
Farmers and ranchers from across the Sunshine State will gather at the state Capitol on Tuesday, January 16 to discuss key policy issues with Florida lawmakers as part of Farm Bureau Day. Agriculturalists will share their authentic perspectives on key public policy issues. Three main initiatives are being…
January 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter Benjamin Putnam comes from a family of agriculturalists in rural Polk County. He is a sixth-generation farmer and grew up working cattle with his uncle, fixing irrigation in the citrus grove, and helping around the farm where needed. His involvement on the family farm helped instill…
Due to pressures regarding the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a series of pesticide framework strategies to minimize ecological impacts on endangered species and their habitats. The first of several frameworks to be proposed is the Herbicide…
January 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter By J. Scott Angle [email protected] @IFAS_VP You know yourselves as food producers and as stewards of the land. You also know that not everyone sees you that way. The question isn’t whether they’re right or wrong, whether they disregard their three meals a day while they…
Florida Farm Bureau Federation has released the 11th episode of its monthly podcast, Rural Recharge. In this episode, Florida Farm Bureau Federation President Jeb S. Smith sat down with the Florida Farm Bureau Farmer of the Year, Jason Watts, and his wife, Amanda. Watts…
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson has announced that farmers can apply for the Florida Farm Tax Exempt Agricultural Materials (TEAM) Card beginning January 1, 2024. This card can be used to purchase agricultural materials that are exempt from sales tax and will help make Florida a more farmer-friendly state…
Written by Dallas Hull and Erin Jones Dallas Hull and Erin Jones, members of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation YF&R Leadership Group Class X, recently attended a game-changing seminar that shook up their professional perspectives. The event was not the usual sit-and-listen affair; it encouraged…
As the Legislative session is rapidly approaching, we are working hard in Tallahassee to prepare and, hopefully, see our Farm Bureau priorities cross the finish line. Our two main initiatives for this year are crafting health plans for our members and combatting labor issues by reducing housing regulations for H2-A…
December 2023 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter Growing up, Erin Jones was surrounded by agriculture on her family’s cattle, hay and peanut farm in Bell. Her family has approximately 60 commercial beef cows and a Simmental Angus bull. Jones was actively involved in 4-H and FFA during her youth and is involved with…
Florida Farm Bureau had representation at the 2023 U.S. CattleTrace Symposium in Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 14-15. The focus of the two-day symposium was to learn about the current response plan that the U.S. has for a potential foreign animal disease outbreak and to participate…
December 2023 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter By J. Scott Angle [email protected] @IFAS_VP UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) student Julia Heijkoop delivered an important message at this year’s FFBF annual meeting. Farm Bureau doesn’t tell you what to do. Instead, it offers opportunities. That’s something UF/IFAS and FFBF have in…
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