U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins appeared today at Cooperative Producers Inc. in Felda, Florida, to meet with agricultural leaders and growers to announce additional U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) assistance to help producers recover from Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton. Rollins signed a block grant agreement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to provide the assistance for Florida farmers.
In this agreement, FDACS is receiving $675.9 million in funding to administer a program that will cover infrastructure, citrus and timber losses in addition to direct market losses. This funding is part of the $30 billion disaster assistance relief effort authorized by the 2025 American Relief Act. USDA is working with 14 different states, including Florida, to develop and implement block grants to address the unique disaster recovery needs for each state. Florida was the first state Rollins chose to address.
“Everyone understands the citrus industry here is facing some significant challenges, and greening is a big part of that. Whatever USDA can do — whether bringing in more funding, more research, more partnership or just elevating the issue — I am here to be the greatest defender and advocate of that effort,” said Rollins…