Tractor Supply Company, in partnership with the National 4-H Council, announced that its Paper Clover Campaign raised over $1.3 million for 4-H youth nationwide, moving the fundraiser’s grand total to over $20 million. “We are filled with gratitude and admiration for how our local communities have shown up to help so many young people across America access 4-H programming,” says …
Funding Available for Conservation and Climate-Smart Agriculture
Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that $1.5 billion was being made available in fiscal year 2024 to invest in partner-driven conservation and climate solutions. Through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), project proposals will be accepted until July 2, 2024. Projects funded through the RCPP will help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners adopt and …
Stabenow Issues Statement on Farm Bill
House Agriculture Ranking Member David Scott and Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow released the below statement following a meeting with House Agriculture Committee Democrats and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “House and Senate Democrats remain committed to passing a strong, bipartisan farm bill that strengthens the farm and family safety nets and invests in our rural communities. America’s farmers, families, workers, …
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Honors Land Conservation Families
(FDACS/LAKE PLACID, FL/May 16, 2024) — Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson was joined by land conservation professionals at Buck Island Ranch to recognize the families of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and to celebrate the program’s 100,000th acre milestone in agricultural land preservation. “It was a true honor to be around so many people from all over the state today …
Rep. Mann to NASS: “We Rely on this Data”
A group of lawmakers is putting some weight on the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in response to NASS cutting off some important reports. NASS cited budget restraints when it announced recently that it would stop producing several reports, including the July Cattle Report, the Cotton Objective Yield Survey, and County Estimates for Crops and Livestock reports. U.S. Representative …
Texas Wildfire Loss is Worth $123 Million
A look at the cost of the Texas Panhandle wildfires. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economists project the Panhandle wildfires caused $123 million in preliminary agricultural losses, making it the costliest on record. The wildfires began on February 26 and burned 1.2 million acres, making it the largest wildfire in Texas …
Alabama Heirs Property Alliance Helping Educate Residents, Farming Families About Key Issue
(AUBURN UNIVERSITY, AL/May 8, 2024) — Heirs property is common in Alabama. There is land in every county that is classified as heirs property, also known as family land. Whether families are attempting to develop or sell the land left by previous generations, the lack of a clear title makes it difficult for families to move forward. Adam Rabinowitz, an …
Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commissions Seek Nominations
(Atlanta, GA/May 8,2024) — Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper has announced that 12 of Georgia’s Agricultural Commodity Commissions are seeking nominations from producers to serve on their respective commissions. Nomination forms are available on the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s website and will be accepted until May 24, 2024. The Georgia Department of Agriculture administers these commissions, which oversee farmer-funded programs dedicated …
USDA-NRCS Provides Conservation Programs for Organic Producers
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has a variety of programs that benefit producers across the Southeast in many ways and on many operations. This includes through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. And if you are an organic producer, yes this includes you. Last year, NRCS started providing assistance for a …
NASA and Ag a Natural Fit
How NASA and ag have worked together for decades. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, more commonly known as NASA, made an appearance at the 2024 Washington Watch event in D.C. Brad Doorn, PhD, is the agricultural lead with NASA. He says the two fit together naturally. “NASA has been involved in …