Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue made an appearance during the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) virtual annual convention last week. Among the topics discussed was rural access to broadband, something he noted is another vital issue that USDA is working on. “It’s vital. It’s no longer a luxury. When we first began, after the day I was sworn in, President …
FSA Reverses Rule on Family Eligibility for Farm Subsidies
The Farm Service Agency restored the previous definitions of terms like “active personal management, significant contribution, and related phrasing” in a rule regarding farm program subsidy eligibility and payment limitations. FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce says the change is more of a “correction.” He says, “These revisions mean that members of a family farm operation are not subject to the more …
Chicken: The No. 1 COVID-19 Protein
As Americans cooked more food in their homes than they had before over the past year, chicken became the top choice for a healthy and convenient protein that the entire family can enjoy. Approximately 75% of Americans who eat chicken say they make it at home at least once a week. During the past nine months of COVID-19, retail chicken …
USMEF Discusses 2020 Meat Trade With China
During the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) virtual annual convention this week, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Senior Vice President for the Asia Pacific, Joel Haggard, talked with Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman about meat trade with China this year. If you remember in February, dockworkers and others critical to China/Hong Kong’s food distribution chain were starting to return from their extended …
USDA Says Farm Production Expenses Will Drop
The USDA says farm sector production expenses, including those associated with operator dwellings are forecast to decrease by $4.6 billion to $344.2 billion in 2020 in nominal terms, which means not adjusted for inflation. That’s a 1.3% drop from the previous year. These expenses represent the costs of all inputs used to produce farm commodities and strongly affect farm profitability. …
NCC Looks at End of Year Priorities
There will be many new faces in both the U.S. House and Senate when the 117th Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3, 2021. That includes at least 28 new cotton belt members from at least 12 states. But with Congress back in action for the lame duck session, Reece Langley, Vice President of Washington Operations for the National Cotton Council, …
Ag Community Wants EU Trade Tariffs Removed
America’s top agriculture commodity groups and trade associations sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer talking about European Union retaliatory tariffs on American goods. The groups, including Farmers for Free Trade, are asking Lighthizer to “deepen trade discussions” to help bring about World Trade Organization compliance and removal of the EU tariffs that target U.S. food and ag …
Ag Lender Survey Reveals Bankers’ Top Concerns
The Fall 2020 Agricultural Lender Survey report shows that ag lenders continue to remain focused on credit quality, even as the farm economy continues to work through the prolonged downturn caused by COVID-19. The survey is from the American Bankers Association and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, also known as Farmer Mac. Lenders continue to be most concerned about liquidity, …
USDA Designates Two Florida Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas
Emergency Support to Producers in Surrounding Counties/Border State Also Available WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2020 — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated two Florida counties as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties who suffered losses caused by Hurricane Sally, high winds, excessive rains and flooding that occurred from Sept. 14 through Sept. 19, 2020, may be eligible for …
New Conservation Concerns Tool Key for Farmers, Ranchers
The new Conservation Concerns Tool on the farmers.gov website provides farmers and ranchers a central online location to learn about the different types of conservation concerns that might impact their land. These concerns are divided into six different topic areas: Soil: Erosion or quality degradation Animals: Inability to meet livestock or wildlife habitat needs Air: Quality issues like greenhouse gases …