Cotton farmers in Alabama who use cover crops have a new, cost-cutting option. They can kill their cover crops and plant their cotton in the same pass through a field, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. Cover crops are gaining in popularity because they suppress weeds and help retain moisture and nutrients. Farmers typically plant cover crops in the …
International Trade and Deforestation: Potential Policy Effects via a Global Economic Model
by Jayson Beckman, Ron Sands, Anne Riddle, Tani Lee, and Jacob M. Walloga USDA Economic Research Service What is the Issue? An increasing world population and a shift in global diets toward vegetable oils and animal products increase the demand for agricultural commodities. To meet this demand, forestland is frequently converted into crop fields or pasture, especially in developing countries. …
Ag Secretary Perdue Moves to Make School Meals Great Again
Local Control of Whole Grains, Sodium, Milk to Make Meals Healthful, Appealing U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide greater flexibility in nutrition requirements for school meal programs in order to make food choices both healthful and appealing to students. Perdue made the announcement during a visit to Catoctin Elementary School in …
Caldwell to Run for Agriculture Commissioner
by Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida Setting up a primary battle against fellow lawmaker Denise Grimsley, state Rep. Matt Caldwell announced Monday he will run for agriculture commissioner next year. The announcement was not a surprise: Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent months for a political committee that could play an important …
NCC Extremely Disappointed with Exclusion of Cottonseed Policy from Omnibus
National Cotton Council (NCC) Chairman Ronnie Lee said the NCC “is extremely disappointed that the fiscal year 2017 omnibus appropriations bill does not include the cottonseed policy developed by the U.S. cotton industry in consultation with Congress.” Lee said the cottonseed policy is: 1) broadly supported by the entire U.S. cotton industry, as well as many other farm bill stakeholders; …
Promoting U.S Meat Products in Other Countries
Whether you are a cattle or hog producer, the President and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), Phil Seng, wants you to know they continue to work hard every day to market U.S. meat products in various other countries around the world. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsMarch 1, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Offers Targeted Research for Florida …
Working to Meet the Florida Budget Deadline
The Florida legislative session is in its final week, and the Senate president and House speaker stepped in Sunday afternoon to take over budget negotiations as lawmakers have been working to meet a Tuesday deadline to finish work on a nearly $83 billion spending plan. According to a story from the News Service of Florida, while agreements on spending levels …
Time to Celebrate a Year-Round, Healthy Snack – the Strawberry
by Brad Buck, University of Florida/IFAS May is National Strawberry Month, a time to reflect on the history of this sweet, nutrition-packed fruit that grows well in Florida – and to extol its health benefits. Strawberries originally grew in Europe. In France, people regarded them as the highest-quality aphrodisiac. People believed Alpine strawberries provided various medicinal benefits. While some used the leaves, …
If Weeds Could Talk, What Would They Tell Us?
If the weeds in our garden could talk and why we shouldn’t ignore them. Cathy Isom fills us in on what different weeds may be saying coming up on “This Land of Ours.” In our lawns and gardens, weeds come and go, grow, get pulled or cut down and then pop up and grow again. But if we paid …
Tight Fuel Ethanol Supplies in Brazil Boost U.S. Exports
U.S. Fuel Ethanol exports are up sharply in the current marketing year, thanks in part to tighter fuel supplies in Brazil, which are resulting in higher U.S. imports. The change can be traced to an increase in the price of sugar in Brazil, which comes from stronger export demand for Brazilian sugar products. As a result of that higher demand, …