December 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

Effective December 4, 2024, the  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has mandated Application Exclusion Zones (AEZ), which include additional precautions to protect workers and bystanders during pesticide applications. The AEZ refers to the area immediately surrounding the pesticide application equipment, and only exists during the application, moves simultaneously with the equipment and can extend outside of the property’s boundaries. The size of the AEZ is determined through application method and droplet size.

Pesticide handlers will now be subject to stricter Worker Protection Standards under the AEZ Final Rule. Pesticide applicators must suspend applications if any other persons are in the AEZ, regardless of whether they are within the property’s boundaries or in an easement on the property. Additionally, agricultural employers and establishment owners are responsible for ensuring no person is within an AEZ on their property, other than the licensed pesticide applicator.

Under the AEZ Final Rule, the AEZ must be a minimum of 100 feet horizontally in all directions when a pesticide is applied by the following methods: air (fixed wing or helicopter); air blast or air propelled; fumigant, smoke, mist, or fog, or fine spray quality/droplet size.

Additionally, the AEZ must be a minimum of 25 feet horizontally in all directions when a pesticide is applied by the following methods: not applied in a manner that would require a 100-foot buffer or using medium or large spray quality/droplet sizes, sprayed from a height of greater than 12-inches from the soil surface or planting medium.

No AEZ is required when the pesticide is applied in a manner other than the aforementioned methods. The AEZ Immediate Family Exemption allows farm owners and their immediate family members to remain inside closed buildings during pesticide applications, given the stipulations are satisfied.

Florida Farm Bureau supports the continued use of agricultural chemicals that currently have no viable alternatives. We further encourage research funded through state and federal agencies, as well as private associations, to develop economically viable crop protection options, including but not limited to soil fumigants for agricultural producers.

U.S. farmers must not be constrained by regulations that result in a competitive disadvantage.

Any questions or concerns regarding the final ruling can be directed to the Florida Farm Bureau Ag Policy Department.

December 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has selected a UF/IFAS-run center for food safety training to coordinate similar facilities across the country.

The USDA’s decision means the Southern Center for Food Safety Modernization Act Training will continue serving as the Lead Regional Coordination Center for such training, a role it has filled since 2015. The Southern Center is run by two food safety professors in the UF/IFAS food science and human nutrition department: Keith Schneider and Michelle Danyluk.

“We have a really good crew of people here that has allowed this to happen: a network of trainers and faculty members who have extensive connections in the food safety community, as well as with other institutions,” Schneider said.

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was passed in 2011 to prevent the introduction of foodborne pathogens into the American food system. In 2015, the USDA joined with the FDA to establish the National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Program and funded a national coordination center and four regional centers. UF/IFAS has served as the headquarters of the Southern Center for a decade. The center supports 13 states between Texas and Virginia. Partners include land-grant institutions and non-government and community-based organizations.

This year, NIFA awarded the Southern Center a $950,000 grant to continue training food safety educators. During this grant cycle, a three-year period, the center will focus on reaching underserved populations, including operators of small farms, socially disadvantaged farmers and farmers beginning their careers.

The center’s teaching model involves training trainers, including representatives from academia, state and local regulatory agencies, non-governmental organizations, commodity group associations and local food hubs. This approach creates a multiplier effect.

“Rather than trying to complete 100 trainings, we can train 10 trainers and reach 1,000 people and so on,” Schneider said. “And the more trainers we educate, the larger the audience we impact.”

Most of the curriculum focuses on two FSMA rules: the Produce Safety Rule and the Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule. The first established mandatory minimum standards related to agricultural water quality, employee health and hygiene, animals, biological soil amendments of animal origin, equipment, tools and buildings. The second requires food facilities to create a food safety plan that includes an analysis of hazards and risk-based preventive controls to minimize or prevent identified hazards.

“It’s all about being compliant with health-safety rules so growers can produce the quality crops we want and expect,” Schneider said.

ABOUT UF/IFAS
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.

ifas.ufl.edu  |  @UF_IFAS

December 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is proposing to list the Black Creek crayfish (Procambarus pictus), a crayfish species from Florida, as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. USFWS also proposes to designate critical habitat for the Black Creek crayfish under the Act. In total, approximately 656 miles of streams in Clay, Duval, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties, Florida, fall within the boundaries of the proposed critical habitat designation. If this rule is finalized as proposed, it would extend the Act’s protections to this species and its designated critical habitat. USFWS will also announce the availability of an economic analysis of the proposed critical habitat designation for the Black Creek crayfish. In reviewing the proposed listing, the major threat to this species is resulting from competition from the white tubercled crayfish (which is not native to Florida).

When designating critical habitat, USFWS assesses whether the specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the species at the time of listing contain features which are essential to the conservation of the species and which may require special management considerations or protection. The features essential to the conservation of the Black Creek crayfish may require special management considerations/protection to reduce the effects from the following threats: Impacts from nonindigenous and invading species, including the white tubercled crayfish; impacts from disease; nutrient pollution from agricultural activities that impact water quantity and quality; significant alteration of water quantity, including water withdrawals; and other watershed and floodplain disturbances, such as development and extractive land uses that release sediments or nutrients into the water.

Management activities that could ameliorate these threats include, but are not limited to: control and removal of introduced and invading species; use of BMPs designed to reduce sedimentation, erosion, and bank side destruction; protection of riparian corridors and retention of sufficient canopy cover along banks; moderation of surface and ground water withdrawals to maintain natural flow regimes; and reduction of other watershed and floodplain disturbances that release sediments, pollutants, or nutrients into the water.

Florida Farm Bureau Federation staff scheduled an unofficial, informational meeting with USFWS and Farm Bureau members. Staff will continue to work with USFWS on this and future proposed listing to inform them of potential impacts to agricultural operations and the unintended consequences associated with their actions.

December 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

By J. Scott Angle
[email protected]
@IFAS_VP

Four Florida Farm Bureau leaders at October’s annual meeting gave me four different ways of thinking about how much agriculture does for the people lucky enough or wise enough to make it their livelihood.

I sat with each of the four state board executive officers individually in between sessions in Miramar Beach. They were four very different discussions that demonstrated to me the multiple perspectives your leadership team brings to serving as champions for Florida agriculture.

President Jeb Smith and I talked about agriculture as a potential career that can provide meaning and purpose to young people searching for both. I was briefing President Smith on UF/IFAS efforts to develop training in agricultural technology. Beyond that individual initiative, we agree that agriculture is a way for people to feel they’re doing good while they’re doing well.

To Michael Dooner, agriculture is a way to protect the earth. As a forestry leader, your immediate past treasurer champions the benefits of agriculture to filter and produce abundant clean water and air, sequester carbon, and harbor wildlife. He wants to see producers recognized and compensated for what they contribute to society, not just what they produce.

Clay Archey, who was re-elected as your board secretary at the annual meeting, took time to meet with me and talk about how agriculture gives veterans a new opportunity for service after leaving the military. His family’s support for scholarships for veterans studying in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences demonstrates a way to recognize the value of the experience of our military personnel and channel it into another form of national security – food self-sufficiency.

Vice President Steve Johnson talked about agriculture’s values in connecting multiple generations of family. For three dollars per acre, his great granddaddy bought land in 1937 that the Johnson family is still farming in Manatee County. Steve hopes his son will someday take over the family business – but that his son will first attend the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and then get a few years of experience away from the Johnson farm.

Together these conversations reminded me of what a jewel agriculture is. Each conversation was like turning that jewel ever so slightly and appreciating the glint of each facet.

Agriculture is a business. My job is to help producers make money. But that’s not the whole story.

As you know, agriculture delivers far more benefits that food, feed, fuel and fiber. It’s an important way to knit families together, reinforce national security, fuel the economy, foster a lifestyle and keep parts of Florida green even as we see the land use map changing before our eyes.

Agriculture needs to speak with a unified voice. I heard that voice at the annual meeting from Jeb, Steve, Michael and Clay. Yet each does so in individual ways to create a fuller picture of the industry we love. And I look forward to amplifying that voice year-round.

Scott Angle is the University of Florida’s Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources and leader of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

December 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

Last month, the presidential election took place and sent a rippling effect across the State of Florida. This summary provides an overview of how this election season will impact the political arena in Florida.

Former President Donald J. Trump won the presidential election with 312 electoral votes compared to Vice President Harris’s 226 electoral votes.  At the time of this publication, President-Elect Trump also won the popular vote by a margin of 76,881,964 votes (50.0%) to Harris’s 74,397,935 votes (48.4%).  This is a first for a Republican nominee for President since George W. Bush in 2004.

As it relates to the State of Florida, President-Elect Trump won the state with 56.1% of the vote compared to Vice President Harris’s 43% of the vote.  Trump won 61 out of 67 counties and in the process flipped some previously held Democratic strongholds like Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, and Duval County.

Along with that, U.S. Senator Rick Scott was on the ballot this year and was re-elected to the U.S. Senate by a margin of 55.6% to his opponent, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s 42.8%.

Additionally, the makeup of the Florida delegation in the U.S. House remained the same. All incumbents on the ballot were re-elected with the exception of Congressman Bill Posey, who retired this year.  Congressman-Elect Mike Haridopolis was elected to his seat and will be a great successor to Congressman Posey. Florida Farm Bureau thanks him for his many years of dedicated service to his constituents and the State of Florida.

When the 119^th Congress swears in next month in January, the U.S. Senate will be controlled by the Republican Party by a margin of 53-47.  The U.S. House will also be controlled by the Republican Party with a projected majority of 220-215. With President-Elect Trump returning to the White House, there will be a united government in Washington, D.C. for the first time since 2017.

President-Elect Trump, his Cabinet and administration have started to take shape and some of his incoming team hail from the Great State of Florida. The first pick was tapping Congressman Michael Waltz to be the National Security Advisor.  Congressman Waltz represents Florida’s Congressional District 6 and will resign to go work for the Trump administration. A special election date was set for April 1, 2025.

Next, Trump tapped U.S. Senator Marco Rubio to be the Secretary of State. With Rubio accepting this role, Governor DeSantis will be tasked with appointing someone to that seat until 2026 when a special election will take place.

Lastly, President-Elect Trump nominated Congressman Matt Gaetz to be the next Attorney General. Gaetz represents Florida’s Congressional District 1. He accepted the nomination and resigned from Congress the following day. A little over a week later, Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for Attorney General and will not be going back to Congress. A special election date has been set for that race on April 1, 2025.

With the presidential election now behind us, President-Elect Trump immediately began building out his White House team and making the necessary cabinet nominations.

Some that are relevant to the agriculture industry are listed below:

Brooke Rollins (Secretary of Agriculture Nominee)
Brooke Rollins is the CEO of the America First Policy Institute and served as director of the Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first term. She has a strong focus on economic opportunities, rural revitalization and deregulation, making her a key advocate for market-driven agricultural policies. A native Texan, Rollins previously led the Texas Public Policy Foundation, where she focused on criminal justice and education reform. Her experience reflects a mix of grassroots policy work and high-level administration strategy.

Chris Wright (Secretary of Energy Nominee)
Chris Wright is the CEO of Liberty Energy, a leader in hydraulic fracturing technologies. A staunch advocate for American energy independence, Wright has spoken extensively about the benefits of domestic oil and natural gas production, particularly in reducing reliance on foreign energy. His leadership in energy innovation aligns with Trump’s focus on expanding fossil fuel infrastructure and reducing federal oversight on the energy sector. Wright’s expertise positions him to advocate for deregulation while promoting the growth of U.S. energy exports.

Lee Zeldin (Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Nominee)
Lee Zeldin, former U.S. Representative from New York and gubernatorial candidate, has a record of advocating for regulatory reform and economic growth. His approach to the Environmental Protection Agency focuses on balancing environmental stewardship with easing restrictions on industries such as energy, agriculture and manufacturing. Zeldin emphasizes the importance of localized decision-making over federal mandates and is expected to prioritize infrastructure projects and clean energy innovation while reducing bureaucratic hurdles.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Labor Secretary Nominee)
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a U.S. Representative from Oregon, has a reputation for bipartisan collaboration, particularly on workforce development initiatives. Despite criticism from some conservatives for her support of the PRO Act, which strengthens union rights, Chavez-DeRemer has the backing of labor leaders and moderates for her pragmatic approach. Her leadership reflects a commitment to improving workforce conditions while fostering collaboration between businesses and labor unions.

These above listed members and other nominees will now have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The National Affairs office and Florida Farm Bureau want to congratulate everyone who ran for office and were successful in their endeavors.  We look forward to working with these members and the President-Elect’s Team in Washington, D.C. to continue advocating on behalf of Florida’s farmers and ranchers.

November 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

Delegates from nearly 60 county Farm Bureaus convened at the 83^rd Florida Farm Bureau Federation (FFBF) Annual Meeting Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2024, to finalize the public policy of the Federation.  Policy amendments and new resolutions rising from the county level through the State Advisory Committees were discussed and ultimately ratified unanimously by the voting delegates.

The strategic priorities of Farm Bureau are Advocacy, Membership, Public Awareness and Profitability of Agriculture, and this member-ratified policy serves as the foundation for all of Farm Bureau’s advocacy efforts.  Policies with national implications are forwarded to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) as resolutions for AFBF policy, and over the past year, policies originating in Florida have spurred legislative engagement in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., letters from FFBF and AFBF to regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, the U.S. Dept. of Labor and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and support for candidates, grants, initiatives and appointments that will enhance agriculture’s viability.

As we reflect on the conclusion of our state policy development process, FFBF staff will implement the policy changes in the coming year.  Each of these implementation opportunities allows staff to present a unified message, collectively as The Voice of Agriculture.

For more information on Farm Bureau’s policy process, please contact the Agricultural Policy Department at 352.374.1543.

November 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

By J. Scott Angle
[email protected]
@IFAS_VP

Christa Court helps you bounce back from hurricanes. She asks what happened on your farm, combines your account with hundreds of others, and tells the big story in numbers.

She tells that story to members of Congress, disaster relief officials, commodity association leaders and a public that needs reminding that you are the bulwark against empty grocery store shelves.

Court is the UF/IFAS day-after economist. Legislators and disaster relief officials rely upon her numbers and reports in making decisions on disaster declaration, recovery, and relief.

After the winds die down and the Weather Channel leaves, after you’ve had a first look at trees down on fences, cotton blown away, fields flooded and center pivots mangled, she leads us in asking the collective question: How bad was it?

Your communications team at the Farm Bureau shares links to her surveys to collect the information she needs to make the case for relief. I urge you to participate in these surveys, for your own sake and to help the entire Florida agriculture industry. She’s got three going now:

Hurricane Debby Damage Survey
Hurricane Helene Damage Survey
Hurricane Milton Damage Survey

Court joined UF/IFAS Department of Food and Resource Economics in 2016. It wasn’t her plan for so much of her work to focus on the impact of disasters, but they came in rapid succession – including Irma, Michael, Sally, Ian, Idalia, Debby, Helene, and Milton.

But she chose the work because it was guided by her ethic – to do what producers need from their land-grant university.

Over time, she built a team with specialists in economics, GIS, policy, project management, and communications. That combined expertise produces not just numbers and reports but maps and other visuals that relate with compelling imagery the scope and scale of weather damage.

The day-after economist is working hard to get you to the year after, the decade after. Her work can drive a conversation about more and better risk management tools.

Court’s work will in the long run produce insights on what kind of programs are needed and at what funding levels. Then Florida agriculture can advocate for them.

When you answer a UF/IFAS damage survey, you’re helping Court help you in two long-term ways.

First, with every storm she builds bigger disaster-specific databases that will someday allow for accurate and rapid damage assessment without the need for surveys. No more filling out forms at moments when you’re hurting and need to be doing other things.

Second, Court and her team are refining data collection to develop a single industry standard so that you’re not asked to answer redundant questionnaires from academics, agencies and associations.

Every state’s farmers suffer weather damage. Not every state has a Dr. Christa Court. Two years ago, the Southern Agricultural Economics Association honored her with the Outstanding Extension Program Award. Colleagues in other states ask Court to share her expertise in documenting damage in detail rapidly and accurately.

Please continue to help her help you. Some day she may get us to a post-survey world. But right now, she needs you to tell your individual story so she can tell the collective one.

Scott Angle is the University of Florida’s Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources and leader of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

October 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

Jared and Kamryn Smith have a passion for agriculture that runs deep. As individuals, it is evident how much they love and appreciate the industry, and as a couple, their passion is magnified. Although they have different ties to agriculture, they have found ways to intertwine those ties and amplify their voice for the industry. The couple serves on the state Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Group, representing Flagler County and District 4.   

For more than one hundred years, Jared’s family has grown a variety of commodities from row crops and sod to cattle and hay. He is the sixth generation to not only grow up, but farm on his family’s land in St. Johns County. He received his degree in general agriculture from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and is a sales representative for Speedling Incorporated as well as an employee for Smith and Johns, Inc.   

Growing up around Farm Bureau, Jared had numerous opportunities to attend events throughout his childhood. Some of his fondest memories are those traveling to Tallahassee for Farm Bureau Day and attending county and state events with his parents. He has been a key member in revitalizing the Flagler County Farm Bureau Board and continues to serve on the board.   

“Growing up, the only place I wanted to be was on a tractor with my dad, uncle and grandad,” said Smith. “When people ask me what I do to relieve stress, I tell them I get up, go to work and get on a tractor.”   

Although Kamryn grew up in rural Clay County, she didn’t get her first taste of agriculture until middle school. During her freshman year of high school, she became more involved in the FFA program and fell in love with the industry. Encouraged by her high school agriculture teacher, her passion led her to the University of Florida where she received her bachelor of science in agriculture education, and later her master’s in agribusiness. Kamryn is now an agriculture teacher alongside the teacher who ignited her passion.   

“I grew up with little to no connection to production agriculture, until I got involved in FFA,” said Kamryn. “With all the opportunities that it provided, I realized just how important agriculture is and how I can make an impact in the industry. I couldn’t imagine my life any other way than getting to educate, advocate, and be a part of agriculture.”   

Although the two have had different agricultural paths, their passion for the industry is what brought them together. The couple met at a Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Conference in 2019, and the rest is history. Together, they founded their own business, Kattle & Jabor, that they run cattle through.   

The couple has enjoyed serving on the state YF&R Leadership Group and the ample opportunities it has presented them. With one year under their belts, they are excited for the upcoming events and farm tours they’ll be attending. Additionally, they have been able to strengthen connections across the state and work with friends and colleagues throughout the industry. 

“I love the community and being around folks with like minds,” said Jared. “It’s like church, we all go through different struggles but when we go to church, we can all support and help each other. It’s the same with Farm Bureau, we don’t deep dive into our issues, but we can encourage each other and come together because we all have common goals and objectives.” 

Throughout their individual and joint experiences, Jared and Kamryn continue to strengthen their tie to agriculture.  

“I’m tied to agriculture through my career, my family and my passion,” said Jared. “My career is agriculturally based, my wife and I met because of Farm Bureau.” 

“I am tied to agriculture in everything I do; from being a high school agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor, living out my dream of running a cow-calf operation and advocating for the industry,” said Kamryn. “I am thankful for all of the opportunities that the industry, along with Farm Bureau, has given me.”

October 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

Landowners who maintain and improve Florida panther habitat of high conservation priority on their property may be eligible for rewards.  Landowners within the following counties are eligible for participation:  Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Osceola, Polk and Sarasota.

The FWC is providing annual payments to landowners who have Florida panther habitat of high conservation priority. Enrollment is voluntary and competitive based on the location, amount, and quality of panther habitat provided as well as available funding. Optional opportunities are available for landowners to coordinate with the FWC to monitor panthers on their property and receive additional payments for evidence of panther use. Information is also being offered on land management techniques to benefit wildlife, livestock depredation mitigation, and other topics.

The program benefits both private landowners and the panther population by providing per-acre payments for habitat conditions that support panther conservation and landscape connectivity. While Florida panthers are the primary focus of the program, it will provide benefits to varied species, such as white-tailed deer, Florida black bears, and others that depend on the mosaic of habitats used by panthers.

Click here for FWC’s Landowner Guide detailing program requirements, eligibility, payment rates, bonus payment opportunities, monitoring requirements, and more.

For additional information about the program, click here or contact Jake Fojtik for additional information.

Additional Resources:
Panther PES Brochure
Landowner Guide PES
Fillable Panther PES Application
FWC Panther PES FAQs

October 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Draft Insecticide Strategy (“Insecticide Strategy”) which outlines the changes that growers may need to implement on their farms to be in compliance with insecticide labels.

In 2022, the EPA was found in violation of their consultation process regarding the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Federal Fungicide, Insecticide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Due to this, the EPA will be releasing a series of frameworks to address registration and labeling of herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, and fungicides. The Insecticide Strategy is the second of four strategy frameworks aimed to minimize ecological impacts on federally endangered and threatened (listed) species and their critical habitats.

Similar to the Final Herbicide Strategy, the Insecticide Strategy proposes the mitigation or efficacy points that a grower may need to gain through a “mitigation menu” of approved practices to be in compliance with an insecticide label. Furthermore, the Strategy identifies Pesticide Use Limitation Areas (PULAs), where growers will be subject to earn an even greater number of points due to their potential increased vulnerability to impacting endangered and threatened species through run-off, erosion, and spray drift.

A copy of Florida Farm Bureau Federation’s comments to the EPA regarding the Draft Insecticide Strategy can be found here. Please contact Maddie Campbell with any questions or concerns.