agriculture
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) sat down with The Floridian to discuss the concerns of farmers- specifically farmers from Florida – over the predatory practices of the Chinese government, including concerns about the theft of genetically modified seeds to improve crops and their refusal to buy seed-generated produce from Florida. For instance, in 2023, Newsweek published […]
With an unprecedented Election Day mandate handed down to President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, it appears as if the all-important Farm Bill will finally be addressed. The 2023 Farm Bill can was kicked into 2024, with House Democrats holding up the process by pushing to restore Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding to COVID-era […]
Hillary Clinton's Trip to Florida Means Liberal 'Desperation', GOP Claims The Florida GOP believes Hillary Clinton's trip to Tampa signals liberal "desperation" ahead of the election, prompted by Joe Biden allegedly calling Trump supporters "garbage" in response to...READ MORE   Rep. Jared Moskowitz: "From the Haunted House of Representatives, wishing you and your family a very happy Halloween!" Debbie […]
A bipartisan delegation of Florida lawmakers has written to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting expanded relief for Florida farmers impacted by hurricanes in previous months. Florida farmers have lost billions in crops and damages, according to the latest estimates. The USDA has provided hundreds of millions in agricultural relief aid and recently announced […]
Florida farmers have faced substantial losses due to major hurricanes in the last couple of years. With Hurricane Milton and Helene’s recent passing, US Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) is requesting the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) expand its financial assistance to recovering Florida farmers. Senator Scott sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking USDA […]
US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has published a letter he sent to John Deere’s leadership regarding the company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies as well as plans to relocate some operations to Mexico. John Deere, an American agricultural machinery company, recently rescinded portions of its DEI policies following criticism of the same. Shortly thereafter, […]
WASHINGTON—The stalled 2023 Farm Bill is finally seeing some movement in the U.S. House of Representatives after House Democrats allegedly collapsed negotiations over the amount of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) they say will be cut out of the legislative measure, According to a Republican member of the House of Representatives, who […]
HARDEE COUNTY, FL—Governor Ron DeSantis publicly signed a controversial bill Wednesday morning banning lab-grown meat, an action that critics say will stifle innovation. Republican-led bill SB 1084 bans cultivated—or lab-grown—meat from being sold or manufactured in Florida, imposing a second-degree misdemeanor for violators. DeSantis says the bill keeps a "vibrant agricultural industry", excoriating the "elites" […]
TALLAHASSEE, FL—In a landmark environmental win, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced Monday that the Sunshine State has now preserved over 100,000 acres of agricultural lands from development. “Reaching the milestone of preserving more than 100,000 acres of agricultural lands, and more than 36,000 acres in the last year alone, represents a significant achievement […]
A bill progressing through the Florida legislature could support housing initiatives for Floridian agricultural workers by providing legal protections and deregulation. SB 1082, filed by Senator Jay Collins (R-14), would legally protect agricultural housing construction initiatives across the entire state. If Senator Collins’ bill passes, intrastate governmental entities would be prohibited from adopting or enforcing […]
A new bill filed by Senator Rick Scott (R-Fl) would prohibit the entry of Chinese garlic into the US. The bill follows Senator Scott’s tirade against Chinese garlic, which began last December.  Scott wrote a letter warning the President and CEO of the National Growers Association Greg Ferrara of the unsanitary and immoral practices surrounding […]
Senator Rick Scott’s (R-FL) Block Grant Assistance Act failed in the Senate by a vote tally of 43-53. The six Republicans who did not vote with the party either sided with the Democrats (voting no) or did not vote at all. The bill – which is designed to provide monetary help to Florida growers and […]
Every five years, the U.S. Congress is tasked to address the nation’s agriculture industry and food supply by funding the farm bill, which impacts every step along the way for food that Americans consume. In 2023, the farm bill is up on deck in Congress. Florida’s second leading economic driver in the state is agriculture, […]
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) hosted a roundtable concerning Florida’s agriculture industry and the issues that it faces today. With the Farm Bill on the horizon, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Senator John Boozman (R-AR), and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson (R-FL) joined Sen. Scott to discuss the problems and issues […]
Several members of Florida's congressional delegation have introduced a bill to authorize emergency agricultural assistance. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) introduced measure H.R. 4464, with Representatives Scott Franklin (R), Kat Cammack (R), and Darren Soto (D) co-sponsoring. The move belongs to a broader legislative initiative regarding agricultural legislation focused on aiding Florida farmers. Specifically, H.R. […]
Alico, Inc., a major Fort Myers-based citrus grower, took about a $23 million hit from Hurricane Ian and will see lower revenue in 2023 because of the storm, the company said Tuesday in an earnings report. John Kiernan, president and chief executive officer, said the Category 4 hurricane, which made landfall Sept. 28 in Southwest […]
The state of Florida continues to recover from the destruction left after Hurricane Ian made landfall several months ago. In a bipartisan move, Rep. Scott Franklin (R-FL-15) and Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL-9) have teamed up to request disaster relief funds from the House Appropriations Committee to help the citrus industry, which took a big hit after […]
Agriculture and the nation's food supply are critical targets for foreign adversaries, and an important product of that food supply is sugar. Environmental policies can end up doing more harm than good, as a recent comment by Congressman-elect Cory Mills (R-FL-7) suggests. Rep. Mills, who recently flipped Florida's 7th congressional district from Democrat to Republican, […]