This week starts the 96th National FFA Convention and Expo held in Indianapolis, Indiana, with over 65,000 FFA members from the U.S. Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico in attendance. Good luck to the Florida FFA members competing in National FFA contests this week! For those of you not competing in a contest, use this time to attend workshops or listen to speakers. Also, please take a lap around the Expo and network with some influential companies in...
Almost one in ten Americans face food insecurity on a daily basis, and most of these people live in rural American towns. These areas are called "food deserts" because these people do not have access to affordable and nutritious food, especially fruits and vegetables. There are many services that provide food delivery such as Kroger, FedEx, or UPS, but these are also not always available in these food deserts across America.
Earlier this year, sesame was added as the ninth major food allergen and is now required to be listed on all food labels, when present in that food. There are millions of Americans that have food allergies, and adding this allergen to the list of major allergens will help these people to avoid allergic reactions. While most allergic reactions involve mild symptoms, some allergic reactions can cause life threatening symptoms.
The United States Department of Agriculture has new data showing that US Americans do not rate their diets very high. Data from January 2017 to March 2020 shows that 29% reported that their diets were good or excellent, which is 3.5% lower than the report from 2005-2006. The research found from 1989-1991 showed that 41% of adults rated their diet very good or excellent.
Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida's panhandle and the livestock death toll has been climbing. At least five million chickens have died from the high winds and waters caused by this storm and many others were killed by the heat and humidity. Winds of 125 miles per hour caused the destruction of many barns, fences, crops, and livestock facilities, leading to some cattle deaths. A spokeswoman for the University of Florida Institute of Food...
Food illness or "food poisoning" causes 1 in 6 Americans to become sick every year. This results in about 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths every year as well. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses the month of September to emphasize the importance of food safety. Food born illnesses are more susceptible to certain groups of people such as, children under the age of 5, older adults over the age of 65, pregnant women and their...
Hurricane Idalia is set to hit the big bend area of Florida late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. As this storm is approaching, Floridians are also looking out for contaminated gas at about 2 dozen gas stations across the state. This gas was accidently mixed with some diesel and then distributed to the gas stations where some people, while gassing up their vehicles for the hurricane, put this gas in their cars. Idalia Monday recap:...
“Consumers don’t know where their beef comes from. It could be South Dakota, Brazil, or Canada. U.S. producers raise better beef, and they’re not getting credit for it.” said Dusty Johnson, U.S. Representative (R-SD). Dusty introduced the Beef Origin Labeling Accountability Act to shed some light and reinstate Mandatory County of Origin Labeling (MCOOL). “This bill is a step in the right direction to get accurate labels back on these...
A new, free, class is now available for farmers to learn about the importance of phosphorus removal structures. There are seven narrated modules that cover everything from a basic overview of these structures to the disposal of spent phosphorus sorption materials. “These videos explain the basics, and then get into all the details necessary for designing and constructing phosphorus removal structures,” said Chad Penn, an Agricultural...
Brown spot needle blight is a disease found in pine trees in the southeast and it is making huge economic impacts. This disease causes yellowing, brown-red spots/bands, and needle necrosis in pine trees, and multiple years of infection may result in the tree's death. Optimal tree growth is necessary for the sustainability and profitability of these pine forests and industrial wood plantations.
