drought

Improved Drought Conditions Increase Pasture and Rangeland Health

Droughts have affected several parts of the country, causing decreases in pasture and rangeland conditions. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey discusses updates on pasture conditions. “We did see a one-point increase in the very poor-to-poor ratings for pastures nationally,” said Rippey. “Now 36 percent, up from 35 percent a week ago. The good-to-excellent rating dropped a point from 34 percent last …

American Peanut Council

American Peanut Council Markets Peanuts Across Seas

American peanut farmers are involved with the American Peanut Council. Their core responsibility is to administer an export promotion program for U.S. peanuts, increasing the consumption of U.S. grown peanuts and peanut products internationally. APC does not process or sell peanuts. Instead, resources are devoted to market development and dissemination of trade information on behalf of the U.S. industry. Right …

BLT season

BLT Season to Help Lean Hog Numbers

The bacon, lettuce, and tomato season is going to help an already surging pork trade. Meanwhile, cattle trade battling three-month lows. We’re starting to see more fresh produce stands along the roadsides as we move deeper into July. Lean hog futures at four-week highs now in mid-July, even with ample supplies and heavier weights. BLT season certainly going to help, …

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver Helped Transform Southern Agriculture

How Innovation Revived Farming Across the American South The history of American agriculture is filled with pioneers whose ideas reshaped the future of farming. Few individuals had a greater impact on Southern agriculture than George Washington Carver, whose groundbreaking work in the early 1900s helped revive struggling farms and changed the course of agricultural history. During an American Agriculture History …

Livestock Forage

USDA Expands the Livestock Forage Disaster Program

The USDA is expanding the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, giving cattle producers faster access to financial assistance when drought reduces available grazing. The Livestock Forage Disaster Program, commonly known as LFP, provides payments to eligible livestock producers who suffer grazing losses because of qualifying drought or wildfire. One of the biggest changes announced by the USDA affects how quickly producers …

Senate Ag Committee

Senate Ag Committee Reviewing Farm Bill

The Senate Ag Committee is expected to soon consider the second part of the Farm Bill. Earlier, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed several parts of the peanut program and others to provide protection right now on pricing, but now they’re going to do some special amendments in the 2.0. One is to update the marketing assistance loan to …

early

How Early American Farmers Built a Thriving Agricultural Economy

America’s Agricultural Foundation Grew Strong After Independence Following the end of the Revolutionary War, the United States faced the enormous challenge of building a stable economy as a newly independent nation. While manufacturing and industry would come much later, agriculture became the backbone of America’s early prosperity. In this edition of American Agriculture History Minute, Mark Oppold explains how innovative …

livestock-indemnity-program

USDA Makes Changes to Livestock Indemnity Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making significant changes to the Livestock Indemnity Program, providing additional financial protection for livestock producers who suffer eligible animal losses. Administered through USDA’s Farm Service Agency, the Livestock Indemnity Program, or LIP, helps compensate producers when livestock deaths exceed normal mortality because of eligible weather events, disease, or predator attacks. One of the biggest …

U.S. Peanut Federation

U.S. Peanut Federation Supports Securing Ag Workforce Act

The U.S. Peanut Federation has been working with the chairman of the House Ag Committee on the labor legislation that will provide some help at the farm level or all across the industry. It’s called the Securing Ag Workforce Act, which addresses key challenges for the peanut industry, such as broadening eligible H-2A activities to include the following key industry …