September 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

Sixth generation Floridian Bobby Floyd grew up on his family’s cow/calf operation in Zolfo Springs. Throughout his life he has helped run cattle on the farm and has played an active role in the farm’s day-to-day operation.

After graduating from Hardee High School, Floyd attended the University of Florida and received his Bachelor of Science degree in food and resource economics.  He worked for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) for two years before switching careers. During his time at FDACS, Floyd worked as a nematode inspector. He collected soil samples and inspected nurseries to ensure their plants were safe to ship to other states. Floyd now works as a high school Algebra 1 teacher in Hardee County.

Floyd was first introduced to Florida Farm Bureau by one of his high school friends who was interested in starting a Young Farmers and Ranchers group. When Floyd learned of the numerous leadership and networking opportunities available through Farm Bureau, he was hooked. Joining the state YF&R Leadership Group has helped Floyd grow his network and agricultural knowledge.

“I enjoy networking with different people,” said Floyd. “When we went to Omaha earlier this year, I met so many likeminded people from across the country. Everyone does something different in agriculture and it was neat to learn about.”

Through the YF&R Leadership Group and teaching high school students, Floyd enjoys helping others find their tie to agriculture and strengthening his personal tie. He continues to help on his family’s farm and enjoys connecting with his roots.

“I am staying tied to ag by teaching others where our food comes from and by encouraging young people to learn more about agriculture.”

September 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

By Rob Gilbert and Scott Angle
[email protected]
[email protected]

You may not have noticed there’s a change of leaders at UF/IFAS. Nor should you have to.

We know that for you, UF/IFAS is the county agent who delivers you the science you need to stay profitable today. It’s the researcher running a field trial in your community to answer questions to help you profit in the next five years. It’s the professor who equips your children and future employees with knowledge and skills to keep your operation profitable a generation from now.

None of that changes when the UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources changes. For the past 14 months, Rob has led UF/IFAS as interim senior vice president while Scott served as UF’s provost. But Scott has returned from that assignment and resumed his role as leader of UF/IFAS on Sept. 6.

Our job is to work day and night to support the ag agents, researchers and teachers who meet you face to face.

Because we share a common priority to serve stakeholders such as Farm Bureau members, we expect you won’t notice any difference in service – unless you currently aren’t being served. Then we do intend to see what UF/IFAS can do to meet your needs.

It’s a commitment we’ve shared since Scott’s arrival in July 2020. Rob’s record of leadership of UF/IFAS over the past 14 months has demonstrated that this commitment from the senior vice president persists even as the incumbent changes.

Neither of us are corner-office administrators. We both like to get out to industry gatherings, and we want to meet as many of you as we can. We’ve both put thousands of miles on the road to meet producers from the Alabama border to south of Miami. Another big part of our job is to listen.

Scott plans to resume the barnstorming that brought him to all 67 counties in his first three years in Florida. Rob will remain in senior UF/IFAS leadership and continue to support our statewide programs, hear your suggestions, and thank you for feeding Florida, the nation and the world.

We work for you. We’ll both do all we can to keep the county agent, the researcher and the teacher working for you, too.

Rob Gilbert served as interim senior vice president of agriculture and natural resources until Sept. 6. Scott Angle returned to lead UF/IFAS on Sept. 6 after 14 months away.

August 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

The Enivronmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released Proposed Interim Decision (PIDs) for the cancellation of Acephate, Captan, Ferbam, Thiram, and Ziram. This proposal is the result of a pesticide review that takes place every 15 years to stay in compliance with FIFRA.  

After the PID, a proposed decision will be published, followed by a final rule. If these chemistries are canceled, growers will be left with less tools to combat diseases, which thrive in Florida’s conditions. With the loss of dicamba earlier this year, the integrated pest management (IPM) tools that producers have are dwindling. Florida Farm Bureau opposes this cancellation because of their role in a variety of crop production in the state.   

More information regarding these chemicals as well as comments provided by Florida Farm Bureau can be found here.  

August 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

By Rob Gilbert
[email protected]
@IFAS_VP

Mickey Diamond is a bridge between UF/IFAS and the Florida Farm Bureau Federation. He builds that bridge with service.

Part of that service is as your voice. He serves with straight talk. When I travel the state visiting our research centers, I always ask to meet with customers who know the center best. Invariably, those customers are local Farm Bureau leaders.

Diamond, a Santa Rosa County Farm Bureau board member, serves on the West Florida Research and Education Center (WFREC) Advisory Committee. It’s a group of committed volunteers who meet at the center to improve the science they deliver to producers.

For 10 years, he has served on the “Meet the Farmer” panel on the local chamber of commerce’s Agribusiness Day at WFREC.  And he makes his own formal visits to query the staff on new peanut varieties, farming practices, or cover crops. The conversations revolve around sustainability – that is, how can a farmer stay profitable while faced with hurricanes, freezes, pests, diseases, volatile markets and labor shortages?

“The thing you got to do is you have to figure out if it’s cost prohibitive,” Diamond says. “There’s not a spare penny in it today.”

That’s where knowledge comes in. Sometimes, it’s from our faculty who glean from data incremental ways to reduce costs or increase yields. Sometimes it’s wisdom from people like our farm manager Greg Kimmons, who brings 44 years of observations at WFREC to conversations with Diamond.

Attending meetings with scientists comes at a cost. As Diamond said, “A lot of times we can’t just drop and go. Ain’t nobody else to do it (work the farm) but us.”

That’s why I appreciated the opportunity to meet Diamond last month at WFREC.

Not only does he serve the center, but he inspires us to step on the gas as we seek the innovations that will keep you profitable. Frankly, Mickey is hard to keep up with.

He’s been using cover crops and strip tilling since the early 1990s. And his equipment is better than what we have at our underfunded center in Jay. He’s an example of what has inspired me to seek funding from the legislature in 2025 to buy state-of-the-art equipment for our centers across the state. Up-to-date equipment is critical for our ability to demonstrate what works on the farm with today’s tools, not those of 10 or 20 years ago.

Diamond exemplifies how advances in agricultural science come from a partnership between farmer and scientist. He runs real-world trials on his own land that parallel the carefully controlled experiments we do at WFREC. He gives us feedback on the cotton and peanut varieties he plants. And he serves as your voice, letting us know about what challenges you face every day as you plow, plant, irrigate, protect and harvest.

He has been doing this a long time. He was the 1996 Young Farmer & Rancher Achievement Award winner. He long ago won FFBF’s CARES award for environmental stewardship.

With his service, he’s helping create the conditions for his fellow farmers to keep producing food, feed, fiber and fuel for a long time to come.

Rob Gilbert is the University of Florida’s interim senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

August 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

Jared Freeman’s passion for agriculture and love for animals sparked at an early age. He spent countless hours in the pasture with his grandfather growing up, and that time together was pivotal in Freeman’s path in life. He was an active member of 4-H and FFA and participated in as many contests and Career Development Events as he could.  

As Freeman grew older, his love for agriculture only grew stronger and he knew he wanted to pursue a career in the industry. He attended Sante Fe College for his associates degree and transferred to the University of Florida where he received his bachelor of science in animal biology. After graduating college in 2013, Freeman began his career as a veterinarian technician and is currently the practice manager at a clinic in Gainesville. 

Although the clinic keeps him busy, Freeman visits his family farm in Union County a few times each week to help his mother and grandfather with the beef cattle, goats and honeybees. Although the farm has always been recreational for his grandfather, Freeman is working to build income for the farm by growing their beef cattle and goat operations.  

Representing Alachua County on the State Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Group, Freeman has been given many unique opportunities to network with others from across the state.  

“Getting to meet people who share a similar interest but aren’t in the same commodity has been really neat,” said Freeman. “I’ve met so many people on my journey that I’ve been able to exchange ideas with and learn from.” 

Freeman has thoroughly enjoyed diversifying his agricultural knowledge through farm tours and learning from other Farm Bureau members. His first farm tour was at the 2023 YF&R Leadership Conference, and he has enjoyed learning about agriculture in other parts of Florida.  

One of the most impactful networking opportunities Freeman has had was his time spent in Tallahassee for Farm Bureau Day in January. He enjoyed learning about the legislative process and how that applies to agriculture.  

“Getting to interact with legislators gave me a new level of excitement,” said Freeman. “I never really knew that was a direction that agriculture could go. Spending time with legislators sparked a new interest in me and I’m looking forward to similar opportunities in Washington, D.C.” 

Freeman is continuously helping others realize their tie to agriculture. Being on the state leadership team has shown him how to strengthen his personal ties and he enjoys helping others do the same.  

“When I got to the University of Florida, I realized not everyone grew up the way that I did,” said Freeman. “I’m staying tied to agriculture by helping others realize what their tie is, no matter what part of life they’re in.” 

August 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced their recommended decision to amend the 11 Federal Milk Marketing Orders across the U.S.  Included in the proposed changes are some top priorities for Florida Farm Bureau, such as reverting to the ‘Higher-of’ formula for fluid milk pricing (utilizing the higher monthly price of either cheese or milk powder, vs. the current formula utilizing the average of these products plus a $.74 adjustment), and increasing location differentials (a portion of the milk price formula that varies based on where the milk is being bottled).

The change to the ‘Average-of’ pricing formula was enacted in the 2018 Farm Bill and has cost the U.S. dairy industry over $1 Billion since that time.  Florida Farm Bureau members and staff attended the American Farm Bureau Federal Milk Marketing Order Forum in August 2022 to represent the interests of Florida dairies, and since that time have advocated for these changes in Congress and during a 49-day national USDA hearing on these issues in Carmel, IN.

While the Recommended Decision does not contain every update that FFBF has sought, the proposed changes should be beneficial to Florida dairies.  The Recommended Decision is followed by a 60-day comment period for stakeholders, after which USDA will have 60 additional days to issue a final rule.  FFBF continues to engage with our state’s dairy farmers to ensure we are able to provide comments that encompass the breadth of input from the industry.

August 2024 FloridAgriculture  eNewsletter

As the agriculture industry becomes more advanced and complex, new challenges arise.  For the livestock sector, animal disease traceability has received greater attention over the last several decades as domestic and international movement of live cattle and fresh beef has increased.  For this reason, in 2013 USDA enacted rules related to official identification of certain classes of cattle and bison.  Earlier this year, USDA finalized an amendment to this rule, requiring that official identification be readable both visually and electronically.

The classes of cattle covered by this rule has not materially changed since the original 2013 rule, and include sexually intact cattle and bison over 18 months old, all dairy cattle, and cattle and bison used for rodeos and exhibitions.  Florida Farm Bureau member-ratified policy supports animal disease traceability efforts that ensure producer confidentiality, improve consumer confidence, and function at the speed of commerce.  FFBF staff have engaged with USDA on the components of this amended rule, and continue to advocate for sufficient appropriations to enable our producers to comply with the rule without substantial financial burden.

The final rule will be effective November 5, 2024, and does not change the treatment of brands and tattoos as governed by state laws.  Any covered cattle identified with currently accepted methods prior to the November 5, 2024 effective date are exempted from the amended rule.  Florida Farm Bureau will continue to disseminate information and resources regarding this action.

August 2024 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter

On July 2, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a proposed rule which they believe will help protect workers from extreme heat. If the rule is finalized, the agency estimates it could help protect more than 36 million workers in outdoor and indoor settings and help reduce heat related injuries, illnesses and deaths in the workplace. 

This policy runs the severe risk of having a negative impact on the Florida agricultural community and its production.  

For instance, the proposed rule states that when an 80-degree heat index threshold is reached, employees must take mandatory breaks and when the heat index reaches 90 degrees, breaks of 15 minutes every two hours would be mandatory. With the high temperatures across Florida, this will impact constrained harvest windows for year-round specialty crops like nurseries, fruits and vegetables.  

“There are initial concerns over the breadth and depth of the rule,” said Lance Watson, Florida Farm Bureau Director of National Legislative Affairs. “We are reviewing and gathering feedback from our members before commenting.”  

Members can read about the proposed ruling here. Any questions or concerns can be directed to Lance Watson.  

Hurricane Debby has impacted areas of the Sunshine State with wind and heavy rain. This page contains resources from the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.

Overview of USDA Program Flexibilities for Hurricane Recovery
OAWP Issues Emergency Rule for Hurricane Debby Replacement Fertilizer Applications
Critical Access Memo
Memorandum to County EOCs
Template for dairy employers

The FDOT Weight Waiver ENFORCEMENT BULLETIN 2024-002, and the Emergency Road Use Permit letter cover the following commodities: animal feed and feed ingredients, animal supplements, aquaculture products, avocados, cattle, citrus, eggs and egg products, fuel, fertilizer and agrichemicals, milk and milk products, peanuts, silviculture and forestry products and tomatoes.

2024 Agriculture Disaster Impact Assessment (English)
2024 Agriculture Disaster Impact Assessment (Spanish)
UF/IFAS EIAP Hurricane Debby Survey Flyer (English)
UF/IFAS EIAP Hurricane Debby Survey Flyer (Spanish)
Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program to Open for Florida Farmers Impacted by Hurricane Debby
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Florida

Kevin Lussier, AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Chair, joins President Jeb S. Smith on the newest episode of Rural Recharge.  

Lussier owns and operates Hawthorne Dairy in Alachua County. In 2021, Lussier and his wife, Shelby, were the Florida Farm Bureau Achievement in Agriculture state winners. Kevin has served on the Florida Farm Bureau state YF&R Leadership Group, the Florida Farm Bureau state board and now serves on the national level as the AFBF YF&R Committee Chair.  

In this episode, Lussier shares his journey to becoming a dairy farmer, his involvement with the Florida Farm Bureau YF&R leadership group, his national involvement with American Farm Bureau and current issues he sees young farmers facing.