Farmers Concerns With Sales Reps During Pandemic

A survey from Farm Journal found 45% of farmers have reservations about allowing sales representatives back onto their farm. The survey released last week also found in order for input suppliers to be allowed back on the farm, 50% say social distancing would be required. Additionally, 18% want outside vendors to wear proper personal protection equipment, such as masks. However, …

Agriculture Making Big Funding Request

Agriculture is making a big funding request to Congress in an expected final COVID-19 stimulus bill. It will likely be the last major legislation before the November election, and Senate Republicans don’t want the kind of multi-trillion-dollar COVID-stimulus bills still favored by House Democrats. But the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is asking for a hefty $68 billion in the …

Additional Commodities Eligible for Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

Applications for New Commodities Accepted Beginning July 13 Washington, D.C., July 9, 2020 â€“ Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced an initial list of additional commodities that have been added to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made other adjustments to the program based on comments received from agricultural producers and …

Latest Numbers for CFAP

About a month ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it had processed more than 220,000 Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments to farmers and ranchers, with the department issuing $2.8 billion to farmers at that time. Since then, even more has gone out as Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Richard Fordyce has the latest look at payments made …

No Farm Progress Show and Husker Harvest Days in 2020

The Farm Progress Show and Husker Harvest Days have been going strong for 65 years as a place that farmers can go to find out about new products and tools to boost productivity. But for the first time, the shows won’t happen. Farm Progress made the difficult decision to cancel both shows due to the rapidly changing conditions related to …

Farmland Prices Continue Decline; Farm Borrowing Increasing

The latest Rural Mainstreet Index from Creighton University shows farmland prices are declining while farmer borrowing is growing. Released last week, the overall index for May increased to 12.5 from April’s record low 12.1 but down significantly from March’s weak 35.5. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with a reading of 50.0 representing growth neutral. Farmland prices continue to …

Celebrating Memorial Day

Memorial Day is an American holiday, always observed on the last Monday of May. And as Tyron Spearman reports, it’s a holiday where we continue to honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Awarded Researcher Discusses New World Screwworm OverviewJune 19, 2026Verdant Robotics Offers Growers Targeted Application of Herbicides …

NAFB Releases Farmer Survey Results Regarding COVID-19

The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) recently conducted a non-scientific email survey of farmers and ranchers regarding COVID-19 and its ramifications on their livelihoods and farm-radio listening habits. “In these unprecedented times, NAFB knows its farm-broadcaster members are working harder than ever to bring unbiased and honest reports to their listeners across the country,” said Tom Brand, NAFB executive …

Senators Seek Meat Worker Protections from USDA

Senate Democrats want Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to provide more worker safety protection to meat processing employees. A group of 29 Senators, led by Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, penned a letter to Perdue outlining recommendations for ways the Department of Agriculture should improve worker safety. The Senators wrote, “While we recognize the importance of keeping these plants running, it …

NACD Submits Comments on RCPP Rule

Last week, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) submitted public comments to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) on the interim Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) rule. RCPP was first created in the 2014 Farm Bill, and conservation districts across the country have successfully applied for, partnered with and led a large portion of all projects since the program’s …