Secretary Perdue to Celebrate Ag Day at the University of Tennessee
Secretary also surveys Gatlinburg area wildfire damage and hosts forestry roundtable
(Washington, D.C., September 29, 2017) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee TOMORROW and join University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) faculty, staff, alumni, and students to celebrate Ag Day. On Sunday, Secretary Perdue will survey damage caused by the wildfires in the Gatlinburg area and host a forestry roundtable at the Cherokee National Forest with Forest Service employees and local forest partners. Here is Secretary Perdue’s public schedule for TOMORROW, September 30th and Sunday, October 1st:
*NOTE: Media interested in attending any of the below events must RSVP to press@oc.usda.gov by TODAY, September 29th at 6:00 p.m. ET.
TOMORROW, September 30th
What: Secretary Perdue will participate in the UTIA’s Ag Day Recognition Program and tour the Department of Food Science, the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Large Animal Unit, the University Gardens, and the Central Greenhouse. Following the Ag Day Recognition Program, Secretary Perdue will be available for media.
Where: Brehm Animal Science Arena, 2506 River Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996
When: TOMORROW, September 30th at 12:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, October 1st:
What: Secretary Perdue will host a forestry roundtable at the Cherokee National Forest with Forest Service employees and local forest partners. Following the roundtable, Secretary Perdue will be available for media.
Where: Tellico Ranger District, Cherokee National Forest, 250 Ranger Station Road, Tellico Plains, TN 37385
When: Sunday, October 1st at 8:40 a.m. ET
Sunday, October 1st:
What: Secretary Perdue will survey damage caused by the wildfires in the Gatlinburg area.
Where: Cherokee National Forest, Quarry Creek Fire area off State Highway 165 (Map available HERE)
When: Sunday, October 1st at 11:00 a.m. ET
Background: Fires in the area of Gatlinburg, including the Chimney Tops 2 and Cobbly Knob, began last November. These fires included civilian fatalities, structure loss, and the evacuation of thousands of residents. Recently, wildland fire suppression costs for the fiscal year exceeded $2.3 billion, making it the most expensive year on record. This summer, wildfires have ravaged states in the west, Pacific Northwest, and Northern Rockies regions of the United States. Currently, the fire suppression portion of the Forest Service budget is funded at a rolling ten-year average of appropriations, while the overall Forest Service budget has remained relatively flat. Because the fire seasons are longer and conditions are worse, the ten-year rolling fire suppression budget average keeps rising, consuming a greater percentage of the total Forest Service budget each year. This increase forces agency to take funds from prevention programs to cover fire suppression costs. Secretary Perdue believes Congress should treat major fires the same as other disasters and should be covered by emergency funds so prevention programs are not raided. His proposal would ensure both fire suppression and prevention efforts receive the proper funding they need. Just last week, Secretary Perdue urged State Foresters to call on Congress to fix this fire funding problem. You may click HERE and HERE to listen to excerpts of his remarks. On Tuesday, Secretary Perdue hosted U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Jim Risch (R-ID), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) at the U.S. Forest Service for a 2017 fire briefing to hear about this year’s efforts to contain wildfires out west as well as the way the USFS is funded.
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Secretary Perdue Statement on Hurricane Maria Assistance to Agricultural Producers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Washington, D.C., September 29, 2017 -- Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today pledged all resources and flexibilities at USDA's disposal as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands recover from the devastation of recent hurricanes.
"Agriculture producers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands deserve the same resources under the USDA Farm Service Agency disaster programs as farmers, ranchers, and foresters in the states. This includes compensation for livestock death and feed losses, risk coverage for specialty crops, and repair of damage to agricultural and private forest land. To this point, FEMA has been the lead agency for emergency search and rescue operations, but USDA is involved in providing food to storm victims and is ready to assess agricultural damage and assist producers when conditions on the islands allow."
For more information on FSA disaster assistance:
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LIMBS
Announce New EP, SLEEP,
Out October 27th via Equal Vision Records
Pre-Orders Available, Here:
Watch the band's new video for "POISON,"
here: youtu.be/hHOPWjSOtnM
Tampa, FL - September 29, 2017 - Following last week's signing, Tampa Bay post-hardcore quintet LIMBS has announced that they will be releasing their new EP, SLEEP, on October 27th, via Equal Vision Records. The EP, which was produced by Tim McTague (Underoath), will feature six tracks total, including the band's debut single on the label, "POISON." Pre-orders are available now at www.whoislimbs.com, and include an instant grat download of "POISON."
On SLEEP, the band shares: "SLEEP is a collection of six songs written over the past two years or so. We got a chance to revisit some older tracks and, in our opinion, improve upon them. While we never want to be confined to a specific niche or sound, we feel this collection will serve as a good introduction to our band. There's a pretty specific era in this genre that we draw influence from, but we hope that will continuously evolve and change as time goes on. All in all, we're just excited to get our music out to more people than we've had the chance to in the past."
LIMBS is Chris Costanza (vocals), Daniel Nelson (drums), Joshua Kowalski (bass), Jordan Hunter (guitar), and Tyler Martin (guitar). The band debuted with their EP, Admission, in late 2014, to copious amounts of positive feedback.
In 2015, LIMBS toured the DIY circuits relentlessly, and released two independent singles. LIMBS ventured out on a southeastern tour with Saosin in 2016, and also performed at the South By So What?! Music Festival in Dallas, Texas. That year they also recorded 3 demos (now re-recorded on the upcoming EP, SLEEP), which were mixed by Beau Burchell (Saosin) and mastered by Mike Kalajian.
In 2017 the band also joined up with Royal Division Entertainment for management, and soon set out to support Envy on the Coast on select dates in the southeast. Following that, the band trekked across the country supporting Hail The Sun on their nationwide headliner. As the latter half of 2017 approaches a new year, the band has no plans to slow down; they will be playing shows this fall, and winter recording plans are already set.
SLEEP, LIMBS' debut with Equal Vision Records, will be released on October 27th, 2017. To pre-order, please visit: www.whoislimbs.com.
For More Information, please visit:
Website: www.whoislimbs.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/whoislimbs
Twitter: www.twitter.com/whoislimbs
Instagram: www.instagram.com/whoislimbs
SLEEP Tracklisting:
1. POISON
2. RAT
3. EYES
4. BONES
5. RUIN
6. SLEEP
Upcoming Tour Dates:
10/27 - Tampa, FL @ Transitions
10/29 - Pensacola, FL @ Handlebar
