Latest news with #AgDepartment
Miami Herald
18-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
State denies license renewal of Broward mover accused of fraud, extortion
The Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services has denied license renewal for moving companies linked to a South Florida man who has left a trail of consumer complaints up and down the state. And, a report out of the Orlando area says the Ag Department also has filed an administrative complaint against Shawn Thompson's companies. An online search of the Ag Department site says intrastate moving license No. IM3311 for Thompson Nation Holdings was 'denied.' Thompson Nation Holdings also does business as Pompano Beach's One Man One Van and Orlando's All Stars Moving and Storage; Next Door Relocation; Todays Move Movers; and Two Man One Truck Movers. That covers moving between counties inside the state (intrastate moving). None of the other 18 companies that trace back to Thompson have state movers license. A search of U.S. Department of Transportation licensing turns up no license for any of the Thompson companies for moving state to state (interstate moving). The above companies are the listed on the administrative complaint shown in a Monday report by Jeff Deal of Orlando's WFTV-Channel 9. Administrative complaints often start a discipline process. The Ag Department's punitive bite in these cases is limited to a cease-and-desist order with fines up to $5,000. When a Herald reporter texted and emailed questions about this to Thompson Sunday, he berated a reporter for contacting him for his response. These are the first state actions against Thompson's companies after years of customer complaints about extortion that starts with a low estimate; includes charging for packing services not requested; progresses to a cascade of new charges once the possessions were on the truck; and ended with the demand to pay the new charges or have their stuff taken to a storage unit for more extra charges. County courts in Orange and Miami-Dade counties entered judgments against Thompson, with Miami-Dade Judge Michael Barket flatly saying Thompson 'extorted' his client in a Miami to Gainesville move while being a 'direct participant in this unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent scheme.' Consumers have successfully gained those judgments. They've successfully sent complaints to the Better Business Bureau, Ag Department, Florida State Attorney's Office and various online forums. But, they've been unsuccessful in getting a state agency to take action against any of the companies that trace back to Thompson, an unincorporated Palm Beach County resident. Various other companies branch from those above. Including companies registered with the state under fictitious names, 18 active companies with addresses from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando trace back to Thompson. The layers of paper that conceal the connection to Thompson for consumers doing cursory checks provide a paper trail to Thompson for those who go a little deeper. As an example, Deal interviewed a Stellar Relocation customer who said his estimated $850 move turned into $3,400 once his goods were on the truck. Stellar Relocation is a fictitious name company owned by One Man One Van. One Man One Van's manager and registered agent: Shawn Thompson. Consumers feeling defrauded by moving companies or any other business regulated by the Florida Department of Agriculture can file a complaint through the agency's website.
Miami Herald
04-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Dangerous pork and pastries among a Kendall bakery's inspection problems
Inspectors found no living and moving violations at a Kendall bakery and custom cake maker, but they did find cleanliness problems and in-use knives shoved into a dark place they shouldn't be. Monday's visit to Caliz Cake Design, 15588 SW 72nd St., by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspectors Wenndy Ayerdis and trainee Margaret Alvarez resulted in 'Re-Inspection Required,' the Ag Department's version of a failed inspection. Ag Department inspectors can't shut a place down. They can, however, order food into the garbage and take equipment out of action. The inspectors did. Here's some of what they found: MORE: Pinecrest's Wayside Market failed its most recent state inspection ▪ The food service area ice machine had 'black mold-like grime encrusted on the interior.' ▪ In the processing area, knives used for cutting bread for sandwiches, instead of being in a knife rack, were kept 'wedged between the two preparation tables across from the stove.' ▪ In the same area, the 'table and floor mixer attachment joint was found with old food residue.' ▪ Also, there was 'heavy dust accumulation on the fan installed above the preparation tables near the fryers.' ▪ The lids on containers for flour and powdered sugar had 'dust and old food residue encrusted' on them. ▪ 'Burned on grease deposits and carbon residue were encrusted on the exterior of multiple baking trays, pots and pans throughout the processing area.' ▪ 'Single-use aluminum baking cups for mini flan found being reused and stored throughout the processing area.' ▪ 'Grease was accumulated on filters of hood system installed above the fryer units and gas stove' in the processing area. ▪ In the food service area, there wasn't a splash guard between the handwash sink and the coffee machine. ▪ Food service area employees weren't 'wearing hair restraints while engaged in open food handling and preparation.' ▪ Food employees in both food service and food processing areas, 'did not wash hands between entering and exiting food preparation area and prior to donning gloves to handle food items.' ▪ Five 2-pound packs of 7 Stars Smoked Pork in the customer reach-in cooler 'were unable to be determined to come from an approved source, with no valid permit or manufacturer information provided by the establishment.' Also, the pork was only 71 degrees when it needed to be 41 degrees or under. Stop Sale on the pig flesh. ▪ At the hot counter, where food needs to be kept at 135 degrees or higher, the cheese pastelitos were 83 to 85 degrees and the beef pastries were 83 to 86 degrees. Stop Sales hit both, which were trashed. ▪ No probe thermometer was there to measure the fried eggs, sliced ham and cheese in the processing area. 'Food establishment needs to obtain a thin-stem probe thermometer by next routine inspection.' ▪ A Stop Use Order hit a silver General Electric refrigerator with an ambient temperature of 51 degrees. Refrigerated food needs to be kept at 41 degrees or less.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal cuts expected to affect local agriculture programs
(WIVT/WBGH) – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is warning that federal cuts to an Ag Department program could make children go hungry and take resources away from struggling farmers. Gillibrand says the U.S. Department of Agriculture has canceled a pair of food purchase programs that bought food directly from farmers for donation to food banks, schools and childcare centers. The Senator says $63 million is being canceled. The cuts impact the Farm to School program that is a partnership between Broome Tioga BOCES, the Rural Health Network and Cornell Cooperative Extension. It received $300,000 to purchase food from three area farms. The Food Bank of the Southern Tier tells News 34 that it did not receive funding from the local food programs, but that other food banks in the state got over $50 million through the program. Port Dickinson Elementary School recognized for student achievement Infusion therapy business coming to Binghamton's Southside Federal cuts expected to affect local agriculture programs Remarkable Women: Ann Marie Bogart 'Bring it on': Riley to NRCC on Democrat target list Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Globe and Mail
24-02-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Ag Markets Focused on This Week's USDA Outlook Forum: 3 Key Things to Watch
There are a handful of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts issued each year that are extra sensitive for markets. USDA's 101st Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, which will be held Feb. 27-28 near Washington, D.C., is one of them. The theme of this year's event is 'Meeting Tomorrow's Challenges Today.' U.S. corn and soybean acreage forecasts under current conditions will be among the key focal points. Those acreage numbers often set the price tones for corn (ZCH25), soybeans (ZSH25) and even wheat (ZWH25) for many weeks to follow — until the USDA planting intentions and quarterly grain stocks updates are published in late March. Corn and wheat futures prices have been trending higher for several weeks, and the new U.S. acreage forecasts will very likely move grain futures market prices late this week. Many grain traders are looking for higher 2025 U.S. corn acreage than last year, at around 92 million acres. This is especially true given the recent rally in corn futures prices. For soybeans, the trade expects U.S. acreage at around 86 million, which would be slightly lower than last year. That's due in part to the recent corn futures rally while the soybean futures market has seen its price uptrend turn choppy and sideways over the past three weeks. Wheat (MWH25) futures prices are likely to follow the lead of corn futures on any initial Ag Forum-inspired price moves. New U.S. Tariffs and Other Trade Sanctions Are a Wild Card Veteran ag market watcher and USDA policy analyst Jim Wiesemeyer reports 'the agency produced its budget-related figures last fall that were part of the Agricultural Projections publication that was released ahead of the conference. It is not clear how much the figures released this week will change relative to the initial budget-related outlooks.' President Donald Trump's administration has made budget-cutting and other disruptive moves across many U.S. government agencies over the past four weeks. 'USDA analysts in the forecasts released this week are not expected to make any assumptions on the impact of potential tariffs on U.S. agricultural commodities. For the world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE), the analysts use the policy actions that are in effect at the time and their outlooks presented this week should follow that track,' said Wiesemeyer. The Ag Department will update its forecast for U.S. agricultural trade which again should not account for any impacts from potential tariffs since those are not yet in effect. Ag futures markets traders will closely scrutinize USDA's lean on U.S. agricultural trade prospects in the coming year, including any new comments on U.S. trade policy from USDA officials at the forum. Major U.S. Trading Partners Will Be Key Discussion Points at Forum The retaliatory tariffs announced by China have not yet targeted U.S. agricultural products. 'Despite the lack of tariffs currently in place on imports from Canada and Mexico, those potential levies are likely to dominate or at least be one of the key discussion points in 'hallway chatter' that takes place throughout the event,' said Wiesemeyer. New USDA Chief to Speak USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has already made several public appearances and has held several meetings at USDA in the short time she has occupied the office. Her remarks at the Ag Outlook Forum will be the first time some of the attendees that typically number more than 1,000 will hear from the USDA leader. The other 'hallway chatter' point will likely be on USDA and other government employees and how many may have been fired due to being probationary workers.
