USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Alabama has a variety of programs that can benefit producers and landowners in many ways. Some of those can be found through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). It provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers in order to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and …
FY18 Federal Budget Very Concerning
The National Cotton Council says the Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2018 budget proposal includes a number of extremely concerning program reductions and eliminations that, if implemented, would severely compromise policies that are critical to America’s cotton farming families. The NCC emphasized that U.S. cotton producers already are struggling with difficult economic conditions and the lack of access to the same …
USFRA Unveils Agriculture in America Sustainability Report at Sustainable Brands Conference
First-ever Agriculture in America Sustainability Report by USFRA highlights examples of exemplary sustainable farming practices on farms across the nation. This week at the Sustainable Brands Conference, a national event showcasing brand leaders who create the environmental and social purpose to drive innovation, U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®) will publicly introduce its first-ever Agriculture in America Sustainability Report. It …
U.S. is Number One World Beef Supplier
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is holding their Spring Conference in Arlington, Virginia this week. They held a press conference Tuesday to discuss some of the business being discussed. And a highlight of that was USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng giving some of the export numbers, where he said the United States has become the number one beef …
Plants That Are a Magnet for Bees
Cathy Isom learns what a Kentucky entomology student discovered about bees and the plants they like the best. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. If you’ve ever wondered what flowers, plants, and trees attract the bees the most, you can thank a Kentucky entomology student who really did her research. Bernadette Mach developed a list of …
ChemChina Plans a Second Merger
ChemChina and Sinochem (Sih’-noh-kem) are planning a merger next year. Several senior bankers in Asia say the merger would create the biggest chemicals group in the world with $100 billion in revenues. The merger would come after ChemChina’s $43 billion mergers with Syngenta. A Financial Times Dot Com article says China has 1.4 billion people to feed, so the country …
Brazil Launching Four New Probes Into JBS
Brazil’s securities regulator announced it’s launching four new probes into meatpacker JBS and other companies also controlled by J & F Investments. The probes are looking into suspicious trades made just before markets were rattled by the news of a plea deal by the company’s top executives. The investigation is looking into signs of “possible insider trading” of foreign exchange …
China/U.S. Beef Import Discussions Moving Faster
The pace of talks to resume U.S. beef exports to China appears to be picking up. Final details are expected to be in place by early next month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it’s great news for American farmers who will be able to pursue business in China that’s been lost by a rival beef producer, Brazil. As a …
EPA Is The Top Target for Budget Cuts
Candidate Donald Trump vowed to get rid of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in virtually every way, leaving only tidbits of what it once was. A Washington Post article says his budget proposal aims to follow through on that campaign promise. The proposed budget from the White House hits the EPA with a 31 percent budget cut, down to $5.65 …
White House Budget Proposal Cuts Ag Spending $46 Billion
A Reuters report says President Trump’s budget proposal contains $46.54 billion in cuts to government funding in the Ag sector, with those cuts spread out over ten years. The biggest proposed cut is $38 billion dollars from farm support programs. Those cuts include new limits on federal subsidies for crop insurance premiums and a cap on potential commodity program payments. …