Written by: Neale Montgomery Agriculture is important to Lee County and the State of Florida on several levels. Agriculture is an important economic engine. In 2007, agriculture represented $58.2 billion of the Gross State Product, and 13.3 % of all the jobs in the state. Not
Author: Irene Kennedy Quincey A common question arising in the early evaluation of an Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) is when must an applicant have an easement in order to legally flow water over adjacent lands? Those rights might not always be clearly laid out in a formal
Author: Peter J. Gravina Over the years I have run into three areas where agricultural property owners do not always pay sufficient attention to real estate title matters which affect their property. Typically, the shortcomings are: documented legal access from a public road, drainage rights, and
Author: Neale Montgomery Once a year the property appraiser’s office classifies land as agricultural or non-agricultural. Helping landowner’s retain their land is important to the community because it helps to stem the downward pressure on property values. Agricultural or conservation exemptions can help keep
Author: Peter J. Gravina Recently, there has been quite a bit of press coverage regarding the halting of foreclosures because of short comings in the documents filed to prove the loan ownership and the amounts due on the foreclosed loan. “Robo-signing” the name adopted for the
Author: Katherine R. English As a result of the November elections, the House Agriculture Committee lost 16 of its existing 28 members (including 13 Democrats) when the 112th Congress was sworn in. The Honorable Frank Lewis of Oklahoma will serve as Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee
Water Management District and Basin Board Appointments (As of June 9, 2011) The Governing Board members of the state's five water management districts are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. There are 9 Governing Board members of each of the water management district's except
Author: Irene Kennedy Quincey At the beginning of the year, the 2011 dry season was projected to be one of the driest on record. Couple that with the new low Lake Okeechobee Regulation schedule and we were expecting the Lake Okeechobee Basin to be in more