(USDA-FSA/ATHENS, GA/Mar. 28, 2024) — On March 25, 2024, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated 17 Georgia counties as primary natural disaster areas. The Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. “Our agency stands committed to providing support to our agricultural …
Legislation Sets Fairer Prices for Livestock Assistance
Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate that would offer producers fairer market prices for livestock disaster assistance programs. The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) Improvement Act would require the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to make quarterly updates to the Livestock Indemnity Program payment rates that reflect livestock market prices. The LIP provides payments to eligible livestock owners and contract …
California Pork Prices Higher After Prop 12 Implementation
Pork prices are higher in California now that Prop 12 is implemented. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Prop 12 is already raising the price of pork in California. In effect for just over six months, pork sales have dropped across the state. That’s from data compiled by the USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist (OCE). The OCE …
Food Marketing, Security, Access Focus of Trio of Grants
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is now accepting applications for three grant programs. Rod Bain has details. Listen to USDA Rod Bain’s program here. Sponsored ContentFCEB Recurring Funding Provides Opportunity for Longer Term Research ProjectsOctober 10, 2025Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Advances Forage ResearchOctober 3, 2025Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Acts As Catalyst For Timely ResearchSeptember 26, 2025
Expert on Domestic Corporate Ag Land
Foreign ownership of American land has gained a lot of buzz lately, but senior staff attorney and professor with the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate School, Fran Miller says more attention should go to domestic corporate ownership. “Corporate consolidation is a big issue in farmland. Congress, I think in a … bipartisan way, has been …
Global Direct-to-Consumer Food Market Growing
The direct-to-consumer food market is becoming more popular. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The global direct-to-consumer (DTC) food market is growing fast, according to a new report from Research and Markets. The growth of the DTC food market is driven by the rising adoption of convenience foods, growing online purchases of food products, and the increasing number …
Bill Solidifies Critical Fertilizer Minerals
The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) thanks the U.S. Senate for introducing bipartisan legislation to include phosphate and potash on the final list of critical minerals of the Department of the Interior. TFI says the legislation will recognize the importance of ensuring a strong and sustainable domestic fertilizer supply for American farmers. “The majority of the world’s phosphate and potash resources are concentrated …
National Ag Day Groundbreaking Event in Florida
Today is National Ag Day across the nation, and as Mark Oppold reports, one company chose today for a ground-breaking event in Florida. Sponsored ContentFCEB Recurring Funding Provides Opportunity for Longer Term Research ProjectsOctober 10, 2025Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Advances Forage ResearchOctober 3, 2025Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Acts As Catalyst For Timely ResearchSeptember 26, 2025
USDA Finalizes Product of USA Label Rule
The USDA finalized a rule to align the voluntary “Product of USA” label claim with consumer understanding of what the claim means. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the rule Monday at the National Farmer’s Union annual convention in Scottsdale, Arizona. “We are now on record as being for the utilization of that label only, only, when the animal was …
House Agriculture Committee Offers Farm Labor Solution
The House Agriculture Committee laid out a roadmap to relieve labor shortages that have seriously impacted America’s farmers and ranchers. The Agriculture Labor Working Group (ALWG) released its final report on how to improve the H-2A guest worker program. It includes more than 20 recommendations to streamline the program and make labor more affordable for farmers. “We’re losing American farms …