USDA RELEASES UP TO $100 MILLION FOR CANKER COMPENSATION

USDA announced Thursday that up to $100 million is available to compensate all remaining eligible commercial citrus growers and nursery owners in Florida for losses resulting from citrus canker eradication efforts undertaken before January 10, 2006. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns made the announcement during an appearance at Florida Citrus Mutual in Lakeland. Representatives Adam Putnam and Dave Weldon joined Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson and about 60 industry members at the event.

The funding brings total compensation for growers to $636 million. It will settle about 180 claims now pending because the reimbursement program had run out of money.

Johanns also told the gathering that USDA has designated 29 North Florida counties as "primary natural disaster areas" eligible for low-interest emergency loans to cover losses from drought and strong spring winds in March.

FLORIDA MINIMUM WAGE TO RISE

The Agency for Workforce Innovation recently announced that Florida’s minimum wage will be $6.67 per hour effectively January 1, 2007 for all hours worked in Florida. This represents an increase of 27 cents over the current state minimum wage of $6.40 per hour. Florida’s minimum wage was created in a constitutional amendment approved by voters on November 2, 2004, and covers all employees in the state covered by the federal minimum wage.

Pursuant to the language of the state constitutional amendment, the Agency for Workforce Innovation is to perform an annual calculation to establish a new minimum wage each year. The constitution also requires the adjusted minimum wage to be published.

For additional information refer to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (LSA).

SCHOOL SALAD BAR SUCCESS TIED TO NUTRITION EDUCTION

As National School Lunch week kicks off on October 9th, one elementary school has cracked the code on getting more kids to eat their lunchtime veggies. Namaste Charter School discovered a winning link between a fresh salad bar and classroom nutrition education, a combination that researchers find is essential for improving kids' eating habits, according to a study presented at the recent American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition Conference & Exposition.

Researchers at Loyola University and the University of Illinois at Chicago evaluated a salad bar project at two Chicago Public Schools, Namaste Charter School and Oscar de Priest Elementary, and found that salad bar use soars when the new cafeteria addition is supported with lessons on nutrition. In fact, after three months of the salad bar and educational lessons at Namaste Charter School, the number of students selecting a salad bar item quadrupled. On average, nearly one third of students opted for a salad bar item compared to less than five percent of those at the comparison school not receiving nutrition education.

"While the salad bar makes fruits and vegetable more available for the students, our study suggests that an educational component is critical for influencing student behaviors and eating habits," said Loyola University's Joanne Kouba, MS, RD, lead investigator of the salad bar comparison study.

-Source: PR Newswire

FLORIDA AG OFFICIAL RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD

Connie Riherd, assistant director of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Division of Plant Industry, received the 2006 National Association of State Departments of Agriculture's (NASDA) James A. Graham Honor Award. Recipients are selected by an independent panel of judges who are familiar with the work of state agriculture agencies, but not employed by NASDA or any member states.

Riherd has 28 years of service with the division, 18 of those as assistant director of the Division of Plant Industry, the state regulatory agency responsible for protecting Florida's native and commercially grown plants from harmful pests and diseases.