IMMIGRATION SHOWDOWN TODAY

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has until midnight tonight to come up with its version of immigration reform legislation. If the committee is not up to the challenge, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) says he will introduce his own bill, which would not include a guest worker program.

The House passed its version of enforcement-only legislation last December. That bill would make anyone in the country illegally a felon. Living illegally in the U.S. is now a misdemeanor. It would also make it a crime to assist an undocumented person.

If the final legislation does not contain a plan for a guest worker program, agriculture, tourism and other vital areas of the economy would likely suffer enormous losses, since those industries rely on a steady supply of seasonal and migrant workers who perform jobs Americans tend to avoid.

“People don't seem to realize that although enforcement of our country's laws is essential, without these workers, you wouldn't have an agriculture industry," said Walter Kates, FFVA's director, Labor Relations Division. "The reality is that Americans won't take these jobs."

GREENBELT LAW CHANGES PUT ON HOLD

The Florida Greenbelt Law will not be changed in the near future.

The Senate Agriculture Committee postponed a vote Tuesday (March 21) on SB2378/HB1385, Assessment of Agricultural Lands, so it can study the existing law, created in 1959, to help producers by reducing their property taxes.

Supporters of the changes said they were necessary to curb abuse by some who claimed to be in the agriculture business, while making preparations to develop their land.

The Senate version of the bill would have ended a landowner’s lower tax rate as soon as building permits were issued, while the House version would have raised taxes once a landowner requests any approvals or authorizations that would demonstrate intent to change the land use in the immediate future.

STUDY PREDICTS SMALLER CITRUS INDUSTRY

In spite of all its recent troubles, the Florida citrus industry should still be an economic force in the future, says a University of Florida study, just not as much of one as in the past.

The study, An Economic Assessment of the Future Prospects for the Florida Citrus Industry, examined various scenarios that took into account the effects of pests and diseases like citrus canker and citrus greening, as well as increasing urbanization, with its corresponding rise in land prices.

In a worst case scenario, the number of processed oranges produced annually would fall from about 220 million boxes to about 123 million boxes. A more optimistic and realistic outcome would be a drop in production to about 152 million boxes produced annually during the next 15 years.

The study concludes by saying that under all scenarios considered, “survival of the industry is suggested, but its size would be affected by canker and greening, high land prices, the impact of higher sugar prices in Brazil and demand growth.”

To view the study, click here.

 

DIMARE CO. FOUNDER DOMINIC DIMARE PASSES AWAY

Dominic Francis DiMare, founder of The DiMare Co., died of respiratory failure Sunday, March 19, 2006, in Miami. He was 94. He and his brothers, Anthony DiMare and Joseph DiMare, built a produce company that is now nation's largest fresh tomato company with farming operations in California, Florida and South Carolina and repacking and sales operations in seven states.

Mr. DiMare is survived by his sons; Charles Dolan, Lincoln, Massachusetts; and Thomas F. DiMare, La Quinta, California; seven grandchildren; seven great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. One of those nephews is Paul DiMare, a leader in the Florida tomato industry and father of FFVA Chairman Tony DiMare.

To read Mr. DiMare's complete obituary, click here.

 

REGULATORS TOUR FLORIDA FARMS THIS WEEK

FFVA’s Disease & Pest Management Division will hold its 2006 Spring Regulatory Tour this week in Southwest Florida.

Staff from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Florida Department of Health plan to join the tour.

The “Reg Tours” allow regulators to meet the people and see the land affected by state and federal regulatory policies so as to forge a closer bond with producers and gain a greater understanding of challenges they face.

PLANT-BASED DIET MAY HELP CONTROL WEIGHT

Consuming more plant foods and fewer animal products may help individuals control their weight, according to a new study funded in part by USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

Researchers at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, examined the health records of more than 55,000 healthy women participating in the Swedish Mammography Cohort. They looked at the body mass index (BMI) of semi-vegetarians (who eat some meat, dairy, and eggs), lacto-vegetarians (who consume milk but not meat or eggs), vegans (who consume no animal products), and omnivores (who eat all foods).

All the vegetarian women had a lower risk of being overweight or obese than did the omnivorous women. Specifically, the prevalence of overweight or obesity (BMI over 25) was 40 percent among omnivores, 29 percent among both semi-vegetarians and vegans, and 25 percent among lacto-vegetarians. All three vegetarian groups had about half the risk of overweight or obesity as omnivores.

The study suggests that plant-based diets are inversely related to obesity. “All the vegetarian groups had higher intakes of fruit, vegetables, and fiber and lower intakes of fat and protein,” says researcher P.K. Newby of Tufts University.

-Source: ARS

LOOKING FOR A BIT OF OLD FLORIDA? TRY A FARMERS MARKET

Community farmers' markets are a distinct part of our American culture and a unique feature of many Florida towns and cities. Each farmers' market reflects the area's charm with locally produced specialties for sale directly to the public. Fruits, vegetables, nursery stock and other commodities are available on a seasonal basis reminiscent of a bygone era when local markets were the heart of commercial districts. Remember, though, that most community farmers' markets are open on a seasonal basis. Contact the individual markets for their dates and hours of operation.

Click here for a list of markets throughout the state.