Freeze damage and water concerns

Well, it’s good to be home from Seattle where I was attending the American Farm Bureau’s annual meeting earlier this week. Florida Farm Bureau had a very good showing; garnering Awards of Excellence in all five performance categories as well as a President’s Award for Education and Promotion. These categories also include leadership development, policy implementation, public relations and member services. I also received the “Quota Jacket” because Florida was among the states making membership quota in 2009.

Before and during the Seattle trip, our Florida farmers were gripped in one of the longest deep freezes in recent memory. We are concerned about all our members and how they and their crops faired during this time.

Next week will be busy again as we focus on quantifying the freeze damage to Florida agriculture and work with agencies and Congress for disaster relief.

Something else that we have been working on since last fall involves the EPA’s announcement of new water quality regulations that will apply only to Florida. These regulations are a top concern for FFBF.

And I believe that all Floridians should be deeply concerned with this development and should get involved to make their voices heard. A coalition of concerned organizations is urging citizens to contact their elected representatives in Tallahassee and in Washington to alert them that this federal action is unacceptable. Moreover, we urge citizens to get their concerns on the record by attending hearings planned for Feb. 16, 17 and 18 in Tallahassee, Orlando and West Palm Beach, as well as register to speak by visiting http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/rules/florida
 
 For more information on the effort to prevent the EPA from jeopardizing Florida's economic recovery, please visit the Don't Tax Florida Web site at www.DontTaxFlorida.com