July 2025
On July 21, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins met with Florida farmers and ranchers to announce additional USDA assistance to help farmers and ranchers recover from Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton.
During the meeting, Secretary Rollins signed a block grant agreement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) that provides $675.9 million in funding that will go toward disaster recovery, focused on infrastructure, citrus and timber losses, in addition to direct market losses.
The USDA is working with 14 different states in the Southeast that suffered economic loss during the last two hurricane seasons. Florida was the first state to receive a block grant. The funding is part of the $30 billion disaster assistance relief efforts authorized by the American Relief Act, 2025.Florida Farm Bureau Federation President Jeb S. Smith spoke with RFD-TV’s Suzanne Alexander about USDA’s support earlier this week.
Watch the RFD-TV interview here.
Read the USDA press release here.