Fresh From Florida Program and Tribal & Native Hawaiian Trade Mission
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**The Florida Department of Agriculture is celebrating the growing number of consumers who follow the Fresh From Florida program on social media, signed up for the Fresh From Florida newsletter, and joined the Fresh From Florida Club.
Since January 2023, Fresh From Florida’s online followers have grown from just over 500,000 to over 1 million, a 90% increase.
Ag Commissioner Wilton Simpson says their 4-year goal of reaching 1 million Fresh From Florida followers was met in a year-and-a-half.
www.morningagclips.com/fresh-from-florida-hits-1-million-followers-mark/
**A Texas federal judge has temporarily blocked a USDA disaster relief program from giving preferential funding to women and minority farmers, otherwise recognized as “socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.”
The judge’s order ruled the program likely violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights to equal protection under the law.
Critics say the ruling is a step backward following decades of systemic racism and policies that largely benefited white farmers.
**Alexis Taylor, USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, was in Vancouver, Canada, for a first-of-its-kind trade mission intended to develop export markets for Tribal and Native Hawaiian businesses and products.
Taylor says this historic trade mission showcasing products from Tribal and Native Hawaiian producers is long overdue, and Canada couldn’t be a better host country.
Taylor led a delegation of officials from 15 Tribal agribusinesses.
