Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley called on President Biden to fill a couple of key USDA positions that deal with agricultural trade. He wants qualified officials appointed to the positions of Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. “I write to…… MORE
Category Archives: Agriculture News
USDA Creates Dairy Donation Program
Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh is announcing the establishment of a $400 million Dairy Donation Program. The program aims to facilitate timely dairy product donations while reducing food waste. The establishment of DDP is part of the $6 billion pandemic assistance USDA announced in March and follows last week’s announcement of the…… MORE
USDA Updates CFAP 2.0
The Department of Agriculture announced Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2, or CFAP 2, funds for contract livestock producers and specialty crop growers. CFAP 2 assists producers who faced market disruptions in 2020 due to COVID-19. USDA announced $1 billion is available through the program to contract producers of eligible livestock and poultry for revenue…… MORE
Cash Rents Continue Higher
The National Agricultural Statistics Service says farmers around the nation paid an average of $141 an acre to rent cropland in 2021. That’s two dollars higher than last year and up by seven dollars compared to five years ago. To get the numbers, NASS surveys roughly 250,000 farmers with $1,000 or more in agricultural…… MORE
Dairy Safety Net Improvements
The Department of Agriculture released details of the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program this week. Through the program, USDA will provide $350 million in pandemic assistance payments to dairy farmers who received a lower value for their products due to market abnormalities caused by the pandemic. The assistance is part of a larger package,…… MORE
Groups Want Stores To Pull Roundup
A coalition of consumer, health and environmental groups call on Lowe’s and Home Depot to remove Roundup from store shelves. The groups, including Friends of the Earth, claim consumers can’t wait, urging the stores to remove the products now. Bayer last month announced long-term risk mitigation actions to prevent further litigation regarding Roundup. The…… MORE
USDA Expanding Citrus from Australia
The Department of Agriculture is expanding the production areas in Australia authorized to import fresh citrus fruit into the United States. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service also revised the conditions under which citrus from Australia may be imported. Currently, imports of fresh citrus fruit are allowed into the United States from three…… MORE
Farmers’ Almanac Hits Store Shelves
The 2022 Farmers’ Almanac contains 184 pages of helpful tips, calendars, and guides to help you plan your year ahead. It also features weather forecasts for the next 16 months, plus useful advice on ways to take cues from nature to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Editor Pete Geiger states, “we encourage readers to…… MORE
Sorghum Industry Partners with the University of California
The United Sorghum Checkoff Program is partnering with the University of California and its Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources to advance the sorghum industry. The five-year partnership will promote drought resilience in sorghum and increase demand for the cereal crop in the biofuel and bioproduct markets. While the research will be conducted in…… MORE
Cattle Industry Commits to Green Efforts
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association solidified U.S. cattle ranchers’ commitment to environmental, economic and social sustainability with the release of U.S. cattle industry sustainability goals. The goals call for demonstrating climate neutrality of U.S. cattle production by 2040. NCBA past president Marty Smith says, “By setting goals, we’re publicly committing to continuous improvement and…… MORE
