After already struggling with drought, California farmers have lost big overseas sales numbers because of a serious shortage of shipping containers brought on by COVID-19. A study from the University of California-Davis says the state’s farm belt lost $2.1 billion in exports during a five-month stretch this year because of “containergeddon.” A University of Connecticut…… MORE
Category Archives: Agriculture News
Organic Deadline Extended
The Department of Agriculture is extending the deadline for farmers who are certified organic, or transitioning to organic, to apply for pandemic assistance. The Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program helps cover certification and education expenses. The deadline to apply for 2020 and 2021 eligible expenses is now February 4, 2022, rather than the…… MORE
EPA Extends Pesticide Applicator Certification Plans
The Environmental Protection Agency recently extended the expiration deadline for pesticide applicators certification plans. The 2017 Certification of Pesticide Applicators final rule had set stronger standards for people who apply restricted-use pesticides and required authorities with existing certification plans to submit proposed modifications by March of last year to comply with the updated federal standards.…… MORE
Feds Push for Better Shipping Service for Agriculture
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack are asking the world’s leading ocean carriers to get rid of disruptions to agricultural shippers of American exports. They want relief for the supply chain disruptions created by COVID-19 by restoring reciprocal treatment of imports and exports and improving service. Ocean carriers have made fewer containers…… MORE
NCBA Stewardship Award Applications
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is looking for applications for its 2022 Environmental Stewardship Award. The program, established in 1991, annually recognizes the outstanding stewardship practices and conservation achievements of cattle producers across the nation. A common trait among all program winners is the desire to leave the land in better condition for future generations…… MORE
USDA Wants to Survey Farmers
The Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is conducting the 2021 Farm Producer Study. The study seeks to improve knowledge and understanding of agricultural producers and help USDA improve services to them. A brief questionnaire will mail this month to approximately 75,000 U.S. agricultural producers across the country. Taking no more than ten minutes…… MORE
Protecting Farmland Applications
American Farmland Trust is accepting applications to help farmers nationwide to improve farm viability, access, transfer or to permanently protect farmland or adopt regenerative agricultural practices. AFT’s Brighter Future Fund provides grants of up to $5,000 per project. A project may involve one or more individual farmers or farm families, and only one grant can…… MORE
Skyrocketing Fertilizer Prices
Fertilizer prices continue to skyrocket, as much as 300% in some areas, as farmers grapple with increased costs as they prepare for the 2022 growing season. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s latest Market Intel examines the short and long-term factors impacting fertilizer supply and demand. Farm Bureau economists found several elements are contributing to record-high…… MORE
Controlling Salmonella in Poultry Processing
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection service seeks proposals from poultry processors for pilot projects that will test different control strategies for Salmonella contamination. FSIS says participating processors will experiment with new or existing pathogen control and measurement strategies and share data collected during the pilots with FSIS. The data will be analyzed to determine whether…… MORE
House Action on Supply Chain Disruptions
The House passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act to try and solve some of the challenges in the U.S. supply chain. In recent months, cargo ships from China and other countries have been returning to their home ports empty after delivering to the U.S., making it hard for U.S. agriculture to export commodities. Among the…… MORE
