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The Hickory Hollow Beef Jerky products subject to recall include: Jamaican Jerked and Original in flavors including Hot Shot, Peppered, Jalapeno Original, -Sweet Heat BBQ, Macho Nacho, Honey Mustard Bacon Jerky, Honey Original, and Teriyaki.

Health

Hickory Hollow Jerky recalls over 6,000 pounds of jerky products

WGCU Staff

Hickory Hollow Jerky is recalling approximately 6,229 pounds of ready-to-eat jerky products that were produced without the benefit of federal inspection according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.The Eufaula, Ala., establishment's beef jerky and bacon jerky products were produced on various dates between Jan. 19, 2024-Aug. 21, 2024. The products were produced without the benefit of inspection by two different owners of the establishment, the USDA announcement said.

Fruitscapes owner Stephen Cucura walks through the nursery that surrounds his fruit stand on Pine Island on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. The farm sells tropical fruit and trees.

Environment

Southwest Florida's growing zones shift north as planet warms; so do half of rest of U.S.

Amanda Inscore Whittamore and Tom Bayles

The Department of Agriculture guidelines to help farmers and gardeners determine if they are growing in the right location as the planet warms and a new version shows Southwest Florida's zones are moving north

A farmer in Florida's Panhandle cleans up fallen trees and debris destroyed by Hurricane Michael in October 2018

Environment

Farmers still cleaning up from Hurricane Ian now have more time to apply to USDA for help

Tom Bayles

Farmers in much of state grants restore land before Hurricane Ian USDA extended deadline September 25 $500,000 remove debris, repair fences, regrade land torn

Grant availability for repair of water infrastructure damaged by events such as Hurricane Ian are now availabile from the USDA. Funds may be used in rural areas and towns with populations of not more than 35,000 in 80 presidentially declared disaster areas across the state. Above is the Fort Myers Beach water plant before and after Ian.

Hurricane Recovery

Water infrastructure repair grants available for areas damaged by wildfires, hurricanes in 2022

WGCU Staff

Grants to help rural and Tribal communities repair water infrastructure damaged by presidentially declared disasters in calendar year 2022 have been made available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Florida.

Crop damage minimal from weekend freezing temperatures

John Davis

Despite some frost and overnight temperatures as low as 27 degrees in some pockets of Southwest Florida last weekend, Florida’s vegetable and citrus industries are reporting minimal damage.

Education

Lee School District Opens Food Distribution Sites

John Davis

The Lee County School District is starting to offer meal pick-up services for students while schools remain closed during the COVID-19 outbreak. The…

Lee County Schools Will Provide Free Breakfast And Lunch To All Students

Andrea Perdomo

For the second consecutive year, the Lee County School District will offer free breakfast and lunch to all of its students.The school district is able to…

SWFL Seniors Dropped from Federal Food Program due to State Agriculture Cuts

Matthew F Smith

Cuts by the Florida Department of Agriculture will eliminate a supplemental food program used by nearly 2,300 low income seniors in Lee, Collier and…

Grant-funded Commercial Kitchen to Cook up Small Business Support

Julie Glenn

It's illegal to sell food you make in your own personal kitchen; state and federal food safety laws dictate food has to have been made in a…

Reporter Tracks Invasive Screwworm From Keys to Mainland

Matthew F Smith

For the first time in 30 years, the invasive New World Screwworm has been reported in the Florida Keys. The bug and its flesh-eating larvae have been…