AUBURNDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Coca-Cola Co. said Tuesday that it is spending $2 billion to support the planting of 25,000 acres of new orange groves in Florida, a move officials are lauding as a major investment in the Sunshine State’s citrus industry. The announcement was made at a news conference at Coca-Cola’s juice production…

Central Florida’s Agri-Leader A major statewide advertising campaign created by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to promote fresh local seafood, fruits and vegetables has delivered dramatic results. Dubbed “Fresh from Florida” and largely funded from the state’s financial settlement with energy giant BP after its 2010 Gulf oil spill, the innovative TV-based campaign…

One year after the state eliminated a $10 registration fee and $5 annual fee, the number of Floridians on the statewide Do Not Call list has jumped from less than 72,000 to more than 464,000, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said Monday. The state registry allows Florida residents to opt out of…

Children should be protected from identity theft amid widespread stealing of kids’ information, including a Broward teacher convicted of taking her students’ IDs, according to Adam Putnam, commissioner of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The House agreed Wednesday, passing a bill 116-0, to require the nation’s three consumer reporting agencies to allow…

Florida’s future depends on access to a reliable supply of fresh water. While we’re surrounded by seas and receive abundant rainfall, in some regions during certain times of the year, we are using water faster than Mother Nature can provide it. As our population continues to grow — this year we will surpass New York…

In a nation whose attention span is limited to 140 characters and a new celebrity is invented on YouTube every second, opportunities to celebrate five centuries of history are rare. But this week, Florida celebrates 500 years since Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon arrived in St. Augustine while searching — as legend has it…

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, whose office oversees charitable organizations as well as “sweepstakes” with payouts of more than $5,000, registered Allied Veterans as a “solicitor of contributions.” Putnam’s office participated in the investigation and has fought Allied Veterans in court to try to get more information about the organization and released from court documents. Read…

It may be too early to count on the GOP abandoning Gov. Rick Scott in the 2014 gubernatorial contest just because there appears to be an open revulsion to his proposal to embrace the expansion on Medicaid in Florida. House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, laughed off the suggestion that Scott’s Medicaid proposal is the…

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam openly bashed Gov. Rick Scott’s call to expand Medicaid under the federal health care law, first at a Thursday appearance at the Florida Retail Federation and again in an interview. “It is naive at best to think that you would enroll 1 million people in three years and then decide to…

Gov. Rick Scott dropped a bombshell Wednesday when he announced support for a Medicaid expansion. But a day later, it remained unclear whether the idea would get through the Republican-dominated Legislature. House GOP leaders appear to have the strongest reservations, with Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, publicly expressing doubts…