FAA Rule Change for Farm Drones

Dan Agri-Business, Technology

There’s an FAA rule change for some farming operations. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is making it easier to use drones for spraying crops. Arthur Erickson is the CEO and co-founder of Hylio, which designs, manufactures, and sells crop treatment drones. He says the rule change was needed. “Drones hit the scene very rapidly in the last five or six …

Farmer Sentiment Rebounds on Future Optimism

Dan Agri-Business, Economy

Purdue University/CME Group’s Ag Economy Barometer Index rose 17 points in June to a reading of 121. The upswing in farmer sentiment was driven by producers’ more optimistic view of the future. However, their perception of current conditions remained unchanged from May. The Index of Future Expectations rose 25 points to 123, while the Index of Current Conditions held flat …

USDA: SNAP Payment Error Rates Rise

Dan Agri-Business, Funding, This Land of Ours, USDA, USDA-FNS

The USDA is seeing more errors in SNAP payments. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The combined payment error rate for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments went from 7.3 percent in fiscal year 2019 to 11.5 percent in fiscal year 2022. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) says from 2022 to 2022, states were providing pandemic-related …

Challenges for House Ag Labor Working Group

Dan Agri-Business, Funding, Labor and Immigration, Legislative

Congress is looking into farm labor needs around the nation, but it is a challenging task. The House Agriculture Committee recently announced the creation of the bipartisan Agricultural Labor Working Group (see news release below), which will focus on the workforce issues faced by agricultural producers around the nation. Congressman and farmer Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-01) says the current system needs …

Farmers’ Share of July Fourth Food Dollar Continues to Shrink

Dan Agri-Business, Economy, National Farmers Union (NFU), This Land of Ours

That meal you enjoyed on the Fourth isn’t paying farmers what it used to. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The National Farmers Union (NFU) released the 2023 numbers for the Farmers’ Share of the Food Dollar Report covering several items typically found at a Fourth of July cookout. The NFU says every year, the troubling trend of …

USDA Efforts Lift Ban on U.S. Poultry Exports to Colombia

Dan Agri-Business, Exports/Imports, Poultry, USDA-APHIS, USDA-FAS, USDA-USTR

Quick action by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has resolved an issue that temporarily stopped U.S. poultry product exports to Colombia. Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture instructed all of their ports to deny import permits to any poultry products beginning June 1 on concerns of …

Swine Vets Lobby for Foreign Animal Disease Funding in 2023 Farm Bill

Dan Agri-Business, Farm Bill, Legislative, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), Pork

Last week, swine veterinarians from around the country flew into Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress to secure funding for foreign animal diseases (FAD) prevention in the 2023 Farm Bill. According to the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), the subject matter experts highlighted was the importance of the “three-legged stool”, which includes the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB), National Animal Health Laboratory Network …