Tele-Town Hall to Discuss Florida Agriculture During Covid-19
Please join Florida Farm Bureau on Thursday, Apr. 2 for a Tele-Town Hall to discuss Florida agriculture during the COVID-19 pandemic with Florida Farm Bureau President John L. Hoblick and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.
The Conference call-in number is: 888-585-9008
Enter conference room number: 500-758-026 (followed by the # sign)
Topics include:
– Ensuring agriculture and all related industries are essential at the federal, state and local levels.
– Promoting the continued and efficient processing of H2A worker visas.
– Inter- and intra- state weight waivers for farm commodities.
– Buybacks for Florida commodities (federal, school districts and grocery chains).
– Risk Management Agency waivers and flexibility for producers.
– FDACS emergency rules and marketing efforts.
– Food supply chain worker safety protocols.
If you have a topic you want to cover, contact Adam Basford via email at adam.basford@ffbf.org.
Read MoreLast call for COVID-19 research participation
The Center for Public Issues Education has asked for one last call if anyone would still like to participate in the COVID-19 perceptions and knowledge survey. Take the survey at the following link https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_799RCOmK258LEdT
The PIE Center’s public opinion data has finished data collection, and we have done some initial outputs and analysis. Information on the nationwide public opinion survey is now available herehttps://piecenter.com/covid-19/. You can find a fact sheet, downloadable graphics, a webinar on what this means for communication messaging, and other resources.
Read MoreFlorida’s Green Industries
Dear Wedgworth leaders,
I know we all appreciate the deference the Department of Homeland Security’s guidance memo on “Identifying Critical Infrastructure During COVID-19” gives food production and related services. One gray area is whether Florida’s varied Green Industries are appropriately covered. I work with a national association called RISE, the Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment, which lobbies on behalf of the specialty pesticide and fertilizer industry. I’m sharing their suggested language to stay-at-home orders to allow the unimpeded flow of green industries businesses.
For your reference, I attached the original RISE documents for your review and consideration of additional ideas for advocating on behalf of the green industries. Given the variations in currently adopted local stay-at-home orders (and the way they pop up with short notice feels like a Whac-a-mole game), many in the Green Industries are left with questions whether they’re covered. If it helps clear the air and lends greater certainty to continuity of operations, here’s what I pulled and rearranged from the RISE CISA letter that can be shared with your contacts at local governments :
In addition to the public works exemptions already included in the DHS March 19, 2020, CISA guidance, we ask you to also consider explicitly including the essential green industry services that protect our communities and the environment and to clearly designate them as a critical infrastructure industry. We ask you to explicitly include the green industry as part of our nation’s critical infrastructure. Specifically, we suggest amending the “Public Works” section of the Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response to read as follows:
Workers such as plumbers, electricians, exterminators, landscapers, golf course superintendents, and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences, businesses, and communities
Stay healthy and keep up the great work!
Warm regards and well wishes,
Mary