With the impacts of historic freezes, widespread drought, and rising wildfire exercise, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson introduced his workplace has issued an emergency order to help farmers, ranchers, and growers.
Efficient instantly, the Florida Division of Agriculture and Client Companies (FDACS) is suspending particular Finest Administration Practices (BMP) Program website visits that confirm agricultural producers are correctly implementing BMPs. The mixed impacts of latest freezes, drought, and rising wildfire exercise have made onsite verification of BMPs impractical and inconceivable for a lot of producers.
“This emergency order is a sensible strategy to help our farmers, ranchers, and growers who’re nonetheless coping with the widespread and devastating impacts of historic freezes, statewide drought, and rising wildfire exercise,” Simpson mentioned. “Florida’s farmers and ranchers are among the hardest and most resilient folks you’ll ever meet, however latest climate has introduced vital crop loss, harm, and disruptions to operations. This emergency order permits our producers to focus extra on their instant restoration and fewer on authorities rules.”
By way of Emergency Order 2026-002, Commissioner Wilton Simpson has briefly suspended the next:
BMP implementation verification visits for producers whose implementation verification visits are due throughout the efficient interval of this order and who’re enrolled within the citrus, nursery, specialty fruit and nut crops, vegetable and agronomic crops, and sod BMP manuals in all Florida counties.
FDACS is required to make BMP implementation verification website visits on properties enrolled within the BMP program each two years. Throughout these website visits, FDACS representatives guarantee the right implementation of the relevant BMPs for the enrolled property.
