All posts by Shelby Martin

USDA Withdraws Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets Rule

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In the final week of the Biden Administration, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA had withdrawn its rule entitled Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets, marking the second time such a rule had been halted.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 intended to address unfair practices being undertaken by packers governed by the Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA).  In effect, the rule would have lowered the threshold for legal action against a PSA regulated party, by not requiring proof of harm to either the industry or a single party.  Furthermore, the rule did not define who is a covered party under PSA, opening the door to any individual or consumer to bring legal action.

Florida Farm Bureau opposed the ruling.  In announcing the withdrawal of the rule, Secretary Vilsack stated there wasn’t enough time left in the administration to finalize the rule and keep the original intent.

For more information, contact the Florida Farm Bureau Ag Policy team.

Presidential Election Update

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 orders and key Cabinet appointments.

In his first week, President Trump issued 35 executive orders, 12 memoranda and four proclamations, addressing various policy areas.

Notably, he signed executive orders declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, ending the refugee resettlement program and attempting to restrict birthright citizenship, though the latter has been temporarily halted by a federal court.

Additionally, President Trump issued an executive order recognizing only “two sexes, male and female,” affecting various policies including passports and access to single-sex spaces.

As for cabinet confirmations, the Senate has confirmed several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees:

  • Secretary of State: Marco Rubio
  • Treasury Secretary: Scott Bessent
  • Secretary of Defense: Pete Hegseth (confirmed by a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Vance)
  • Secretary of Homeland Security: Kristi Noem
  • CIA Director: John Ratcliffe

Other nominees, such as Pam Bondi for Attorney General, Doug Burgum for Secretary of the Interior and Brooke Rollins for Secretary of Agriculture have completed their confirmation hearings and are awaiting votes.

The week of January 27th, confirmation hearings were held to examine the nominations of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kashyap Patel for Director of the FBI and Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence.

These actions and appointments reflect the administration’s priorities in areas like immigration, national security and social policy.

The newly appointed Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins sat for her confirmation hearing on Thursday, January 23rd.  In her hearing she highlighted:

  • Trade Tariffs: Rollins indicated a willingness to implement direct payments to farmers to offset losses from proposed tariffs, similar to strategies used during Trump’s first term.
  • Ethanol and Farm Subsidies: Rollins was questioned about her past leadership of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which opposed ethanol mandates and farm subsidies. She acknowledged these positions and discussed her current views during the hearing.
  • Wildfire Response: Rollins emphasized that responses to wildfires should not be influenced by politics and committed to deploying resources equally across all states.

Next, because U.S. Senator Marco Rubio was confirmed for his new role as U.S. Secretary of State, he resigned from his seat in the U.S. Senate. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Florida’s Attorney General, Ashley Moody to the vacant seat. Moody will be up for re-election in 2026 and again in 2028, if successfully re-elected.

Lastly, due to vacancies in Florida Congressional Districts 1 and 6, special elections were scheduled for the primary and general election. The primary took place on Tuesday, January 28 and the general election will take place on Tuesday, April 1.

President Trump endorsed Republican candidates Jimmy Patronis for Congressional District 1 and Randy Fine for Congressional District 6. Both are expected victors in those races.

Thank you to our Florida Farm Bureau members for their efforts and advocacy at the grassroots level.  The National Affairs office looks forward to welcoming members to Washington D.C., for the annual Field to the Hill trip, April 1-3, 2025.

 

Your Land Grant Partner

February 2025 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

dr angleBy 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 an AI-driven world than Kati Migliaccio. That’s a big part of why I chose her to be the first new dean of the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) in a decade.

Dean Migliaccio (far right) takes a moment to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering W.W. Glenn Teaching Building, a modern makerspace and hands-on mechanical workshop paired with an engineering design space, bringing together students majoring in biological engineering and agricultural operations management. We refer to the groundbreaking in the column.

As AI in Florida agriculture evolves, Migliaccio will reshape the education of the people who will work in it, some of them in jobs that don’t even exist yet.

In fact, she’s been doing it for years already. She led the group that developed a university-wide plan to ensure all students have access to opportunities to acquire AI knowledge and skills.

Migliaccio is an engineer and brings that problem-solving mindset to complex challenges. During her six years as chair of the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) she championed a holistic approach to innovation, encouraging teams to consider how individual problems and solutions interact and contribute to the bigger picture, rather than addressing each issue in isolation.

She has also marshalled the expertise of other UF colleges, especially the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, to seek solutions to agricultural challenges.

As dean, her focus on AI-related instruction will also now benefit students in departments such as Family, Youth and Community Sciences or Food Science and Human Nutrition.

Her engineer’s focus on practical solutions to real-world problems has helped drive a campaign to build a new workshop for ABE. We held a groundbreaking in the fall to kick off construction of the facility. When it’s done, it will be a hub for hands-on learning, where students can learn to use tools and develop technological prototypes you’ll be using as the AI-literate corps of graduates begin working for and with you.

She has also emerged as a leader in standing up agricultural technology workforce development programs statewide through our state college partners.

Engineers like Migliaccio also share an ethic of striving for continuous improvement and experimentation. That’s what has kept her department near the top for so long. At a university with lots of engineering departments, ABE ranks by far the highest, perennially in the top 10 nationally.

Migliaccio brings this ethic to her new job. CALS is already one of the top schools in the nation. To become the best, we need someone who never stops trying to improve things.

Migliaccio demonstrates and fosters the culture of excellence I seek across all UF/IFAS. With few peers matching our level of distinction nationally, a culture of excellence will help us compete with ourselves—striving to be better this year than last. To do more for our farmers and ranchers and foresters and fishers, as well as those who manage our natural resources.

A culture of excellence supports students with a world-class education, combining great instruction with practical experiences like internships. CALS will continue to produce graduates ready for work, advanced studies or service.

Those graduates will be ready to help you help Florida feed the world.

J. 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).

 

 

 

 

Your Land Grant Partner

January 2025 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

dr angle

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 what we call the AgTech Accelerator, we’re combining Senator Albritton’s call for a rural renaissance with our vision to make Florida the Silicon Valley of agriculture.

Homegrown technologies, talent and businesses are going to bring greater prosperity to places that have in the view of many been left behind in our state’s most recent economic boom.

It’s just the right time for this as Florida agriculture is about to be transformed by artificial intelligence. UF/IFAS was already dedicating research and Extension teams make AI useful and affordable on your farm, for example.

Now UF/IFAS and FFBF are mobilizing state colleges, technical schools and high schools to establish or redesign agricultural technology training programs. The agricultural jobs of the future will require education ranging from degrees at UF to two-year state college degrees to certifications that can be earned in just months.

UF/IFAS can create curriculum, host technology demonstrations, and connect colleges to industry partners.

FFBF leadership brings insight on what challenges we actually need to help farmers address so they can contribute even more to the economies of their communities.

FFBF subsidiary Agriculture Education Services & Technology already offers certifications in at least 10 specializations. We’ll need to build on that with state college programs that reach every county and a wider array of specializations.

Vinay Vijayakumar uses a laptop to program a smart robotic weed sprayer to run a demonstration on row crops at Southwest Florida Research and Education Center. Photo taken 11-14-24

Our vision is for a series of hubs of technical expertise at UF/IFAS Extension offices and research farms. Farmers, students and anyone with a great idea could come to these hubs for job skill development, entrepreneurship training or advice on how to turn ideas into products in the marketplace.

This will turbocharge your local economy in three ways. It starts with developing a tech-savvy local workforce as your sons, daughters, employees and future employees get the education and training they need without having to move away.

In addition, these regional hubs will foster creation of homegrown businesses as they help local entrepreneurs commercialize their ideas. Third, the centers will be magnets for investors looking for opportunity in rural communities and for businesses seeking affordable communities with a well-trained local workforce.

We and Senator Albritton have the same aim – to create high-paying jobs in rural areas and to make sure we have local talent to fill those jobs.

The Florida Department of Commerce and Department of Education are stepping up with funding for the early iterations of our partnerships with state colleges to launch agtech workforce training pilot projects.

It’s been invaluable to have:

  • FFBF President Jeb Smith with us in Ocala to talk out this vision with Central College of Florida;
  • Raulie Raulerson and Kyndall Bauer joining us in Apopka to strategize with Valencia College;
  • Hannah Love and Keitha Bennett and their background in certification at our discussion with Santa Fe College;
  • District 5 field representative Greg Harden’s experience with assessing farmers’ needs as we met in Palatka with Johns River State College.

Please help us bring the AgTech Accelerator to your community by letting your FFBF field representative and your legislative officials know how important technology is to Florida farming’s future.

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).

 

 

Rural and Family Lands Protection Program Application Period

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 receiving applications for this review cycle shall end at 5:00 p.m. EST on January 29, 2025.  Applications received after the application review cycle deadline will not be considered and will be returned to the applicant.

The application form can be downloaded here.  Applications can be submitted online via https://rflppapplication.fdacs.gov/or by US Mail carrier or hand delivery to: FDACS, Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, 315 South Calhoun St. Suite 500, Tallahassee, Florida 32301.

The applicant will be notified of any deficiency and instructions for resubmission. If the required information is not received in writing via the RFLPP application form within five (5) business days of the applicant’s receipt of the notice of deficiency, the application will be rejected.

Interested parties may obtain more information from the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program website at: http://www.FDACS.gov/RFLPP or by calling (850) 681-5828 or emailing [email protected].

 

SFWMD completes a new Northern Everglades Water Quality Project in Osceola County

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 management project in Osceola County.

The El Maximo Ranch Northern Everglades Water Quality Project is a regional water quality improvement effort intended to reduce nutrients flowing into Lake Okeechobee. The project diverts water from the Kissimmee River and Blanket Bay Slough for treatment on approximately 7,000 acres of privately-owned land and is expected to remove over two metric tons of total phosphorus and seven metric tons of total nitrogen per year. The project consists of four pump stations, 19 water control structures and more than 27 miles of berms.

This is a great example of a proactive regional water management project made possible through public/private partnership. There are several other operational Dispersed Water Management Projects, including the Brighton Valley Dispersed Water Storage and Management Project, Bluefield Grove Water Storage Farm, Scott Water Storage Farm, ALJO Four Corners Rapid Infiltration Project, and the Doc Partin Ranch Project. These projects use private lands for water storage, helping to improve water quality and enhance plant and wildlife habitats.

 

Lake Okeechobee Enters Recovery Mode

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, including significant loss of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), high turbidity and nutrient concentrations, and negative changes in emergent vegetation.

There are six considerations for implementing Recovery Operations – lake stage not receding below 13 feet in summer, SAV coverage significantly below 11,000 acres, no strong El Nino, nor strong La Niña forecasted for the dry season, lake stage not receding below 11 feet NGVD in the last five years, ecological and Snail Kite conditions, and no water supply concerns. Each of these six of the considerations have been met, and current projections show that conditions this dry season are favorable for success.

The goal of recovery is to lower lake levels before the onset of the wet season to allow for recovery of lake ecology, specifically SAV. The operational strategy for these operations intends to slowly bring water levels down by making moderate, non-harmful releases to the estuaries while also sending maximum beneficial flow south to the Everglades. Lowering water levels will allow light to penetrate to the bottom and allow SAV to regerminate and regrow during the April-July period. Regrowth of SAV in Lake Okeechobee will reduce water turbidity and nutrient concentrations. Improved water quality within the lake benefits the estuaries if significant releases are necessary in the coming seasons/years.

Consistent with the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM), the maximum allowable releases under Recovery Operations are:

  • up to 2,100 cfs at S-79 to the Caloosahatchee River Estuary (CRE)
  • up to 1,400 cfs total St. Lucie Estuary (SLE) inflows (S-80 + S-97 + S-49 + Gordy Road)
  • up to 300 cfs to the Lake Worth Lagoon (LWL) at S-271 and S-352
  • up to maximum practicable south at S-351 and S-354

Releases will be made in the most beneficial way possible. USACE will continue to collaborate with South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and other partners to evaluate flow and salinity to inform estuary releases on a weekly basis. Depending on conditions, releases will either be made as a pulse, or a constant flow targeted at S-80 and S-79. The releases allowed under Recovery Operations are within the RECOVER optimal flow envelope for the estuaries and will not impact oyster spawn, sea grass, spawning, or other ecological activities.

Flow south from the lake has started to increase significantly, as water supply demand has picked up early in this dry season. Flow south to the Everglades will occur based upon capacity of the state’s Stormwater Treatment Areas (STA’s) and the capacity of the Water Conservation Areas (WCA’s) to the south. The capacity of those will generally increase as we move through the dry season.

Exactly when and how much to release within limits will be based on the considerations including, but not limited to, coordination with stakeholders and partner agencies, current and historical lake levels, recession rates, climate outlooks, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) forecasts, precipitation forecasts, drought conditions, water-supply conditions, and nesting activities and ecological conditions in the lake, Northern Estuaries, and the Greater Everglades. USACE is constantly monitoring the entire system, and the recovery releases and strategy can be discontinued at any time throughout the dry season if warranted.

EPA Releases Final Ruling on Application Exclusion Zone

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.

UF/IFAS Selected to Lead Food Safety Education Program

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.

Michelle Danyluk, photo courtesy of UF/IFAS

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.

Keith Schneider, photo courtesy of UF/IFAS

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

New Endagered Species Proposed by USFWS

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.