The Department of Agriculture announced a $124 million investment Tuesday to help rebuild and improve rural water infrastructure in 23 states. Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett made the announcement in Louisiana, which is receiving funding for five projects. USDA is providing the funding through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program. It can be …
Florida Orange Crop Bouncing Back Post-Hurricane
Florida orange growers appear to be catching a break this year, following last year’s devastating hurricane season and declines due to citrus greening. The state may harvest 70 million boxes of oranges this year, compared to just 44.9 million last year, which was the smallest crop since 1945. Highlands County Citrus Growers Association executive director Ray Royce told Bloomberg “a …
APHIS Finalizes Conditions for Paying Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Indemnity
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing a final rule outlining the conditions under which USDA will pay indemnity to farms affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). It includes updates to USDA’s February 2016 interim rule. This final rule does three things: Allows indemnity payments to be split between poultry and egg …
USDA Purchases Milk for Needy Americans
The National Milk Producers Federation welcomed the announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it will purchase $50 million worth of fluid milk for distribution to domestic food assistance programs – the first time the agency has bought milk for use in this manner. The USDA said Tuesday that it will authorize the expenditure of $50 million in Section …
Peanut Industry Expands Research Dollars with NIFA Matching Funds
The National Peanut Board, along with funding partner USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), announces the awarding of three research grants focusing on genomics-enabled plant breeding. Collaborating with two peanut industry funding partners, the Southeastern Peanut Research Initiative (SPRI) and the Peanut Foundation, the National Peanut Board was able to allocate $542,226. NIFA’s dollar-for-dollar matching funds yielded a …
Deal Protects Highlands County Land from Development
Nearly 2,500 acres of ranch land in Highlands County will be added to a state program that helps limit development of agricultural property. Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet agreed Tuesday to spend $5.5 million to purchase a “conservation easement” on what is known as the Sandy Gully property, which contains wetlands and surface waters that flow toward the …
USDA Adds New Tools, Resources to Farmers.gov to Aid Producers
Agricultural producers have new resources available to them to prepare for and recover from impacts of natural disasters on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new website, farmers.gov. The site has updated tools and information to help agricultural producers identify the right programs and make decisions for their operations. “Agriculture is a risky business,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. “At USDA, …
Putnam Banks on ‘Florida First’ in Governor’s Race
Source: News Service of Florida Clad in jeans and a blue-checkered shirt with rolled-up sleeves, Adam Putnam easily blended into the rural North Florida residents attending the annual Wausau Possum Festival in early August. “I’m a farmer, a business owner,” the boyish-looking, 44-year-old Republican candidate for governor told the crowd in a brief speech. “The foundation of my campaign is …
China: U.S. Agriculture May Never Bounce Back
China threatens that U.S. agriculture won’t recover from the tit-for-tat trade war between the two countries. In the South China Morning Post, a government official warned that U.S. agriculture may never regain lost market share stemming from the trade war. China alleges that “many countries have the willingness” and capacity to take over market share occupied by U.S. goods. Since …
China Accepts U.S. Soybean Shipment with 25 Percent Tariff
China Monday accepted the 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans, as a vessel waiting to dock for five weeks reached port and began unloading. The move marks the first shipment of U.S. soybeans to be accepted with a 25 percent tariff stemming from the U.S.-China trade war. China’s state grain stockpiling company accepted the shipment, even as government officials warned …