Latest news with #BrookeRollins
Miami Herald
15 hours ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
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 billion 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." Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
17 hours ago
- Business
- UPI
USDA grants more than $675M for Florida's hurricane-affected farmers
1 of 5 | U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins (pictured July 15 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.) said Tuesday that American farmers and ranchers in Florida "have been hit hard and suffered significant economic losses during the last two hurricane seasons." Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo 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."
E&E News
20 hours ago
- Business
- E&E News
USDA to provide $675M to help Fla. citrus farmers recover from hurricanes
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins signed a block-grant agreement with Florida officials Monday to provide $675.9 million to help citrus farmers and forest landowners recover from recent hurricanes. Details: Rollins toured a citrus farm in southwestern Florida and met with industry representatives as part of the announcement. 'America's farmers and ranchers across the Southeast and in Florida have been hit hard and suffered significant economic losses during the last two hurricane seasons,' Rollins said in a statement. 'USDA has worked closely with the State of Florida to ensure those impacted have the relief they need.' Advertisement State Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson thanked Rollins and President Donald Trump for recognizing the need for the financial relief.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump's 'Swamp Barbie' Brooke Rollins gets her hands dirty with jaw-dropping python capture
President Trump's cabinet members have looked to catch internet virality in the last few months, getting out of DC and into the field and in some cases, the marshlands. Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance have both worked out with members of the military, and Secretary Noem has ridden along on ICE raids. The latest addition to the administration seeking social media infamy is Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who shared a stunning photo Monday morning of her participation in a python hunt in the Florida Everglades. 'LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!' Rollins wrote quoting billionaire pop star Taylor Swift 's song of the same name, posted with a snake emoji. Rollins, 53, posted the set of pics from the Sunshine State from the hunt, which reportedly took place Sunday night. 'Last night I joined a python hunt in the Florida Everglades! Got hands-on with Florida's invasive species problem. Learned how to wrangle those slithery giants like a pro, joined a heart-pounding hunt under the swamp's moonlight, & saw up close how these pythons disrupt the ecosystem,' Rollins added in her post. 'Who's ready to join the hunt?, she also asked her followers, prompting them to engage with the post. X users obliged with comments and the response was decidedly mixed. One user who posts on X under the handle @starrygirl737 wrote, 'This sounds like an awesome experience!' Another user, @cFishFL, who appears to be a native Floridian wrote, 'Let us hunt year round for pythons in Everglades National Park!' Yet, another X user @galexy70 responded less favorably to the secretary, commenting 'Yay! More cosplay!' Rollins served as chief for domestic policy during Trump's first administration and was among the names mentioned in the running for chief of staff. Instead, she was confirmed overwhelmingly by the Senate to lead the Department of Agriculture in a 72-28 vote in February. Rollins is a conservative legal activist and public policy analyst who most recently served as president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-aligned think tank that developed policy and cultivated a network of personnel for the second Trump administration. By Monday afternoon, Rollins was back to posting more conventional political fare on her feed, announcing an allocation of $675 million in agricultural hurricane relief in Felda, Florida and touting the state's influential sugarcane industry.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
ICE Barbie' gets a challenger: AG Secretary Brooke Rollins takes to X to show off snake-hunting adventure
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has a challenger in Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who took to X to show off a snake-hunting adventure in true ICE Barbie fashion. Rollins shared photos from a python hunt in the Florida Everglades that she participated in on Sunday, with the caption, 'Look what you made me do!' an apparent reference to Taylor Swift 's Reputation album. 'Got hands-on with Florida's invasive species problem. Learned how to wrangle those slithery giants like a pro, joined a heart-pounding hunt under the swamp's moonlight, & saw up close how these pythons disrupt the Ecosystem,' Rollins wrote on X on Monday. In one of the photos, Rollins had a python draped around her neck as she held its head in one hand and its tail with the other. She donned a camo 'Make America Great Again' hat for the adventure. The photo-op is reminiscent of Noem's past social media posts. Noem obtained the nickname 'ICE Barbie' for posting photos of herself glammed up and decked out in tactical vests at immigration enforcement raids amid President Donald Trump 's mass deportation operation. The Homeland Security secretary has also had her fair share of hunting photo-ops. She posted photos with a dead bear in 2023 from a hunt in Saskatchewan, Canada, and a dead moose in 2024 from a hunt in Yukon, Canada, the Daily Beast reported, noting that neither animal is invasive to those regions. Noem has been criticized for her photo-ops, which some see as glamorizing a very serious job. In April, Noem shared a video of her wielding a gun incorrectly while she wore a tactical vest between two ICE officers. Conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly responded to the video on her show: 'Just stop trying to glamorize the mission and put yourself in the middle of it as you cosplay ICE agent, which you're not.' Meghan McCain also slammed the video, saying on her YouTube show, 'I don't think that it is productive to have a full face of hair and makeup and hair you're doing things like that.' She added: 'If I were giving her some advice, I would be like, 'How about pulling our hair back in a baseball cap and not doing a photo-op?''
