China is a long way from meeting the commitments in its trade deal with the U.S. Farm Progress.com says the latest data shows the Southeast Asian nation has imported just over half the goods it promised to buy from America in the Phase One Trade Agreement. Over the first 11 months of the year,…… MORE
Category Archives: Agriculture News
Court Rejects Prop 12 Challenge
The North American Meat Institute’s challenge to California’s Prop 12 is unsuccessful once again. The U.S. Court of Appeals in the Ninth Circuit rejected the institute’s challenge to the California 2018 ballot initiative that imposes new standards for animal housing. The court decision confirms an initial judgment in October. California voters approved the Prevention…… MORE
Federal Judge Rejects H-2A Program Changes
A federal court in Fresno issued a preliminary injunction against the Labor Department’s decision to freeze farm workers’ wages for those that use the H-2A Guestworker Program. Fruit and Nut Grower News says the freeze would effectively lower the wages of several hundred thousand guest farm workers employed by U.S. farmers. A preliminary injunction…… MORE
Organic Weed Killer Under Investigation
Regulators in California, Washington and Oregon issued “stop-use” orders for a popular herbicide that’s been used on a lot of organic crops. Questions are arising about whether or not Agro Gold WS contains synthetic herbicides like Glyphosate or Diquat. As more questions come up about the product, the state of Idaho is also investigating,…… MORE
Santa’s Reindeer Cleared For California
The California Department of Food and Agriculture says State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones has granted a 24-hour permit clearing all brand inspection and health requirements for nine reindeer scheduled to visit California on the evening of December 24 and in the early morning hours of December 25. The permit application was filed via email and…… MORE
New COVID-19 Package Helps Farmers
Food and agriculture groups welcome the new COVID-19 relief package. Congress this week agreed on a $900 billion stimulus package, which includes up to $13 billion that directly benefits agriculture. Nearly $1 billion will support a dairy donation program and supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage payments. More help is available to specialty and non-specialty crop…… MORE
New Blueberry Growers Alliance
America’s blueberry growers including those in California are forming a new coalition called the American Blueberry Growers Alliance. The goal is to seek relief from rising imports that are harming their business. The alliance will provide information and support to an ongoing U.S. International Trade Commission investigation into the serious injury caused by increasing imports…… MORE
AgDiscovery Program Accepting Applications
The Department of Agriculture is now taking applications for the 2021 AgDiscovery program. AgDiscovery is a national summer outreach program designed to introduce students in grades 7-12 to agricultural sciences. The program is a unique opportunity for students to gain a first-hand view of the many career paths available in the agricultural sciences field.…… MORE
Farmworker COVID-19 Testing
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is announcing on their website that the California Farmworker Foundation is now part of a pilot project with the state to administer COVID-19 tests in the field for farmworkers. The announcement goes on to say that CDFA is part of the state team, partnering with companies and organizations…… MORE
NASS to Reinstate the Agricultural Labor Survey
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service intends to reinstate the Agricultural Labor Survey, suspended on September 30th. NASS will mail the questionnaires and collect data immediately for the survey period that was originally scheduled for October of 2020. The report will be published on February 11th and will include data for the July and…… MORE
