Category Archives: Agriculture News

Fresno Irrigation District Meetings Scheduled

The Fresno Irrigation District is hosting three grower meetings to give updates on the current water supply conditions according to a FID news release. Those updates cover: FID’s Recharge Efforts in 2023, the Kings River water rights fight, and the North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency and its efforts to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management…MORE

Golden State Big Part of USDA Trade Mission to India

California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross along with various farm organizations from California are joining a U.S. Department of Agriculture trade mission to New Delhi, India this week. According to a CDFA announcement, they are accompanied by a diverse delegation of 47 businesses and organizations as well as officials from 10 other…MORE

USDA Announces New Financial Access Tools and Resources

The USDA has a new Livestock Indemnity Program Decision Tool and farm loan resources available to agricultural producers who help other producers access USDA disaster assistance and farm loan programs. The new LIP tool and the farm loan informational video resources were developed in partnership between FarmRaise and USDA’s Farm Service Agency. “By providing a…MORE

Fresno County Tomato Crop Threatened by Pest

Fresno County is declaring a local emergency that will allow the county’s AgriculturalCommissioner to determine which commercial growers will be able to use neonicotinoid pesticideson an emergency basis to combat the Beet Leafhopper insect. According to a department news release, state laws apply to such authorized uses, and the operator of the property where these…MORE

USDA Workshops on a New Insurance Option

The USDA’s Risk Management Agency has expanded the Nursery Value Select crop insurance program to all counties in all states and will host two virtual information workshops on Thursday, April 18th. These sessions will be valuable for producers in the newly expanded areas and especially for the Nursery Field Grown and Container crop insurance program,…MORE

New Report on Fertilizer Industry Sustainability

The Fertilizer Institute released new data highlighting industry improvement in sustainability performance of workforce safety, energy and the environment, fertilizer use, and industry innovation. TFI has collected data since 2013 on metrics that provide insight into the industry’s sustainability efforts. The data announced was gathered in 2023 and reflects industry operations in 2022. Participating members…MORE

Large Tractor Sales Increase Again

For the second straight month, unit sales of 100-plus horsepower ag tractors increased in the U.S. New data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers says March sales jumped 3.2% compared to last year. This follows February’s increase of 2.8% compared to 2023. Total year-to-date sales of ag tractors and combines are below 2023’s pace. Tractors…MORE

Survey on Farmers and Sustainable Practices

McKinsey and Company research reveals that a vast majority of American farmers have an understanding of sustainable farming. While 90% of farmers understand the practices, the uptake remains low. Even where farmers are adopting sustainable practices, they are only implementing them on a small share of their acreage, typically under 30%. The survey shows a…MORE

House Farm Bill is Expected to Soon Move Ahead

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn GT Thompson says “without a doubt,” the farm bill will be out of his committee by Memorial Day. Speaking exclusively to Agri-Pulse, The Pennsylvania Republican says he found a way to fund commodity program changes, adding, “it’s going to allow us to do what we know needs to be done…MORE

USDA Discontinues Cattle and Other Reports

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is canceling the July Cattle report and discontinuing the Cotton Objective Yield Survey and all County Estimates for Crops and Livestock beginning with the 2024 production year. The decision to discontinue these surveys and reports was not made lightly but was necessary, given the appropriated budget levels, according to the…MORE