Senator Keith Truenow on the Florida Senate floor, February 19, 2026. Courtesy, The Florida Channel. Click to watch (timecode 53:00)
Our readers know that I come from Plant City, home of the most beautiful strawberry farms in the world. Many of the strawberry farmers are the great Americans with whom I attended elementary, junior, and high school. So when Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 290 into law last week, it was Keith Truenow’s closing remarks a month earlier on the floor of the Senate that truly grounded the moment for me…not in politics, but in the soil of Florida itself.
Rising “not just as a senator, but as a Florida farmer,” Truenow painted a vivid picture of a life most people never see but depend on every single day. He reminded us that farming isn’t theoretical but that it’s watching the southern winds shift, knowing it’s time to seed the land, and understanding that everything that follows depends on patience, precision, and faith. His words weren’t polished talking points; they were lived experience, earned through early mornings, long days, and the constant uncertainty that comes with working the land.
What makes Senator Truenow such a compelling champion for agriculture is that he speaks for those who rarely ask for recognition. As he so powerfully said, farmers don’t want handouts or praise. They want fair policy that respects the realities they face between planting and harvest. In a state where many assume food simply appears on shelves at Publix, his message was a necessary and humbling reminder: every cucumber, every ear of corn, every slice of watermelon represents a gamble against weather, time, and risk. Farming is not just part of Florida’s heritage…it is essential to its future. And thanks to leaders like Keith Truenow, Florida’s farmers have someone in their corner who doesn’t just understand that truth but lives it every day.
Senator, we open this newsletter with gratitude to you! Next up are all kinds of tidbits about insurance, disaster recovery, law, and public policy – plus a few likely surprises – to get your week off to a great start!
LMA Newsletter of 3-30-26
