AG
INSTITUTE/FARM CREDIT FORUM HEARS CANDIDATES’ TAKE ON AG Outlining
their positions on the future of Florida agriculture, those candidates running
for state office who were present stood up to the industry's questions at the
8th Quadrennial Farm Credit/Ag Institute Candidates Forum Thursday (September
28) in Orlando. Candidates
participating were: Jeff Kottcamp, Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie
Crist’s choice for lieutenant governor; Bill McCollum, the Republican vying
for the attorney general position; both Senate President Republican Tom Lee and
banking executive Alex Sink, who are running for chief financial officer; and
Charles Bronson and attorney Eric Copeland, both in the race for the ag commissioner’s
post, currently held by Bronson. Most
candidates addressed issues affecting agriculture including private property rights,
the greenbelt exemption, sales tax exemptions on ag electricity and production,
and oppportunities in alternative fuels. Casey
Pace, president of the Ag Institute, also took a moment to present the results
of Ag Institute’s recent survey of Florida voters. Those survey results will
be covered in the upcoming Harvester Online as well as the “Ag Communicator,”
the Ag Institute’s quarterly newsletter. In a nutshell, those results were
encouraging, as about 80 percent of those surveyed had either a very favorable
or somewhat favorable opinion of Florida agriculture, versus about 6 percent who
answered “not at all favorable.” ALSO IN THIS WEEK'S RAP-UP (Members-Only articles are indicated in bold.) | |
