usda

USDA Talks to Grocers About the “Harvest Box”

Dan Industry News Release

The USDA public relations campaign surrounding the harvest box idea has gone before a group of the nation’s biggest grocery suppliers. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says they’re talking with grocers about their role in a proposal to replace some food stamp allocations with prepackaged boxes of groceries. Perdue told reporters last week that grocers are already adding the delivery service …

trump

Trump Budget Proposal Considered “DOA”

Dan Economy, Industry News Release, Legislative

Presidential budget proposals have been dead on arrival before. However, the Hagstrom Report says no budget outline has been as dead as the one President Trump sent to members of Congress on Monday. No one in the entire American food chain seems happy with what they’ve seen. Everyone, from members of Congress to farm leaders, crop insurance executives, as well …

farm bill

The Farm Bill Is in Our Future

Dan Farm Bill

The Farm Bill is going to be in our future. There is a 10-year baseline, but every five years, we get a new Farm Bill. The 2014 Farm Bill is projected to cost about $956 billion. Coming up, we don’t know the exact budget figures as of yet. But SNAP, the Food Stamp program, is a full 77 percent of …

conaway

Conaway Ready For Farm Bill Work

Dan Farm Bill, Industry News Release

House Agriculture Committee Chair Mike Conaway is ready to get rolling on the farm bill in 2018. Politico also mentioned he’s not worried about a push to overhaul welfare potentially making the process more complicated. The Republican from Texas is optimistic about keeping things on track and getting a floor vote scheduled by March. A working draft of the bill …

snap

USDA to Allow States Flexibility for SNAP

Dan Industry News Release

The U.S. Ag Department (USDA) sent a letter to state administrators of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) advising them that changes will be coming to the program. The Hagstrom Report says USDA will allow states more flexibility in managing SNAP. Brandon Lipps, the acting undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumers services says the USDA will allow more flexibility in …

snap

SNAP Draws Strong Praise

Dan Industry News Release

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, drew strong praise, and even an emotional defense during testimony before the Senate Agriculture Committee last week. SNAP works and should not be scaled back in the next farm bill, a panel of witnesses told the Senate Ag Committee—a poignant message as the House GOP continues efforts to find SNAP savings, after a failed …

snap

Funding to Encourage SNAP Participants to Purchase Healthy Foods

Dan Industry News Release

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced 32 grants totaling $16.8 million to help Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants increase their purchases of fruits and vegetables.  The program is operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).  The funding comes from the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program, authorized by the 2014 …

budget

House Ag Budget Not Aligned with Trump Proposal

Dan Industry News Release

The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee budget discussed Wednesday does not align with the budget proposal for agriculture by President Donald Trump. The bill totals $20 billion in discretionary funding, which is $876 million lower than the fiscal year 2017 enacted level and $4.64 billion above the president’s budget request, according to the Hagstrom Report. The bill allows for a total …