USDA grants more than $675M for Florida's hurricane-affected farmers
July 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture is unleashing more than a half million dollars in further aid to Florida growers and businesses in the aftermath of Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins was in the Sunshine State on Monday to meet with Florida officials, business, agricultural leaders and producers and signed a $675.9 million federal block grant with the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide additional relief for Florida's farmers to cover loses in its infrastructure, citrus and timber industry.
In a statement, Rollins noted that American farmers and ranchers in Florida's southeast "have been hit hard and suffered significant economic losses during the last two hurricane seasons."
"USDA has worked closely with the State of Florida to ensure those impacted have the relief they need," she said, adding the administration "has our farmers' backs and will ensure they have the resources they need to continue to produce the safest, most reliable and most abundant food supply in the world."
Hurricane Helene's near-record-breaking size and storm surge last year in September wreaked havoc and caused billions of dollars in damage along over 500 miles of Florida's coastline. It ended with over 230 people dead in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia as the storm flooded towns, destroyed roads and bridges, and Helene swept away homes, farms and livelihoods.
In June, USDA said Florida's orange crop for the 2024-2025 season was predicted to be its smallest since before World War II, with plummeting orange juice sales down over 50% since 2000.
Rollins said Monday in a social media video that Floridians had faced "such difficult challenges over the last decade or so, most recently with all the hurricanes that have hit."
"Most importantly, help is coming to our growers," the secretary said in Felda after her meeting with state and local officials. "It's right around the corner," she added.
The $675 million federal infusion of dollars for FDACS to administer came as part of funding via the 2025 American Relief Act.
On Monday, Florida's agriculture chief stated that his state's producers had endured "back-to-back devastating hurricane seasons," describing the additional federal assistance as a "major victory that will help them rebuild, recover and continue feeding our state and nation."
"Food production is not just an economic issue, it's a matter of national security," said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. "And we appreciate the president's consistent support for our farmers."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
16 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Switzerland's president rushes to Washington in effort to avert steep U.S. tariffs
GENEVA — Switzerland's president and other top officials were traveling to Washington on Tuesday in a hastily arranged trip aimed at striking a deal with the Trump administration over steep U.S. tariffs that have cast a pall over Swiss industries like chocolates, machinery and watchmaking. President Karin Keller-Sutter was leading the delegation after last week's announcement that exports of Swiss goods to the U.S. will face a whopping 39% percent tariff starting Thursday. That is over two-and-a-half times higher than the rate on European Union goods exported to the U.S. and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the U.S. Many Swiss companies in industries including watchmaking and chocolates have expressed concern about the issue. It's also more than the 31% that Switzerland had been set to face when President Trump announced his 'Liberation Day' tariffs on products from dozens of countries in early April. The Swiss government said the trip was 'to facilitate meetings with the U.S. authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation for Switzerland.' Keller-Sutter, who also serves as Switzerland's finance minister, has faced criticism in Swiss media over a last-ditch call with Trump before a U.S. deadline on tariffs expired Aug. 1. She was leading a team that included Economy Minister Guy Parmelin. In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Trump alluded to the call, saying 'the woman was nice, but she didn't want to listen' and that he had told her: 'We have a $41 billion deficit with you, Madame ... and you want to pay 1% tariffs.' 'I said, 'you're not going to pay 1%,'' he added. It was not immediately clear where that $41 billion figure came from. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States ran a $38.3 billion trade imbalance on goods last year with Switzerland. Swiss officials have argued that American goods face virtually zero tariffs in Switzerland, and the Swiss government says the wealthy Alpine country is the sixth-biggest foreign investor in the United States and the leading investor in research and development. Ivan Slatkine, the head of the Federation of Romandie Enterprises, which regroups companies in French-speaking Switzerland, told Le Temps newspaper that 39% tariffs amounted to a 'hammer blow for the entire Swiss economy.' Some Swiss companies — like high-end watchmakers with little direct competition — might face less impact, but others in airplane parts, machines and mid-level watchmaking would be hit, he said. 'For all the companies that depend on the American market, it's really bad news — in particular compared to rivals in the European Union, whose exports are taxed only at 15%,' he was quoted Tuesday as saying. The trip comes a day after Switzerland's executive branch, the Federal Council, held an extraordinary meeting and said it was 'keen to pursue talks with the United States on the tariff situation,' the government statement Tuesday said. After consulting with Swiss businesses, the council said it had developed 'new approaches for its discussions' with U.S. officials and was looking ahead to continued negotiations. 'Switzerland enters this new phase ready to present a more attractive offer, taking U.S. concerns into account and seeking to ease the current tariff situation,' a council statement said Monday. Under the U.S. announcements Friday, Swiss companies will now have one of the steepest export duties — only Laos, Myanmar and Syria had higher figures, at 40-41%. Keaten writes for the Associated Press.
UPI
17 minutes ago
- UPI
Mitsubishi Heavy to build new Australian naval fleet
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build Mogami-class frigates, like the one pictured here, for Australia's naval fleet. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group announced Tuesday that the Australian government has chosen it to build a new fleet of warships for the nation's navy. The Japanese shipbuilder said in a press release that Australia selected the upgraded version of Mitsubishi's 4,800-ton type Mogami-class frigate for its new general-purpose frigates. "We believe that the decision made by the Australian government is based on its evaluation of our frigate's proven performance, reliability, technology, and capabilities, multi-functionality suitable for various roles including anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, and anti-surface warfare, as well as reduced manpower requirements compared to conventional frigates, and scalability to easily enhance capabilities in the future," Mitsubishi said. The first three frigates are slated to be built in Japan, under a contract worth more than $6.4 billion, but the rest of the 11-vessel order is expected to be constructed in Australia. Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles said during a press conference that the Mogami-class frigate was chosen due to its stealth capabilities and can operate with nearly half the crew currently aboard the Australian Navy's Anzac-class frigates, which have been in use since the end of World War II. "It's all part of our $55 billion investment in the Navy's surface combatant fleet," Australian Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy posted to X Tuesday. "And it means tens of thousands of well-paid, highly skilled jobs here at home." "It's a decision months ahead of schedule, and a decision that means our first frigate will be delivered in 2029," Conroy also posted.
UPI
17 minutes ago
- UPI
South Korea's top two cosmetics firms report differing results for Q2
Amorepacific posted an operating profit of $53 million during the second quarter of 2025, up more than 16 times from a year before. Photo courtesy of Amorepacific SEOUL, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- South Korea's two leading cosmetics companies reported differing results for the second quarter of this year. Runner-up player Amorepacific fared well, while business bellwether LG Household & Health Care struggled. Amorepacific said Friday that its second-quarter operating profit was $53 million, up more than 16-fold from a year ago. During the three-month period, its sales also jumped 11.1% year-over-year to reach $720 million. The Seoul-based company was supported by stellar performance in global markets. It posted double-digit sales growth in such major markets as the United States, China and the Middle East. An analyst said Amorepacific boosted its bottom line thanks to improvement in China, where the company suffered huge losses in the past. "It seems that Amorepacific's Chinese business recorded a small amount of operating profit in the second quarter, following the first quarter," Korea Investment & Securities analyst Kim Myung-joo said in a market report. "It has restructured its transaction model in China, which caused inefficiencies last year, and has also significantly reduced the number of offline stores. Thanks to these structural changes, it is not likely to log large losses in China anymore," Kim said. By contrast, LG Household's revenue stood at $1.15 billion during the April-June period, down 8.8% from a year before. Its operating income dropped 65.4% year-over-year to $39 million. The company's beauty business suffered an operating loss of $1.2 million, the first quarterly deficit in two decades. The disappointing results of LG Household, a unit of LG Group, is attributable to the stiff competition in its traditional channels, including duty-free shops and door-to-door sales. Despite the solid results, Amorepacific's share price dipped more than 5% over the past three trading days through Tuesday. LG Household also faced a similar downturn during this span.
