Takes Leap Forward in Customer Service USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced its first ever mobile application, putting critical information at the fingertips of food service professionals and making it easier for them to serve wholesome, nutritious, and tasty meals through FNS’s child nutrition programs. “The Food Buying Guide Mobile App announced today is a major step forward for the …
Farm Bureau: USDA Principles a Great Start for Farm Bill
The following may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall: “Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue today released his roadmap for the 2018 farm bill, and it is a good one for farmers, ranchers and rural communities. The secretary’s farm bill principles look to the future while securing the present for farmers and ranchers who continue to face a …
Perdue Announces USDA’s Farm Bill and Legislative Principles for 2018
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Bill and Legislative Principles for 2018 during a town hall at Reinford Farms in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania. “Since my first day as the Secretary of Agriculture, I’ve traveled to 30 states, listening to the people of American agriculture about what is working and what is not. The conversations …
The PB&J sandwich: A classic on National Peanut Butter Day
The peanut butter and jelly sandwich is as about as American as apple pie. So, celebrate the American tradition by eating a sandwich on National Peanut Butter Day, Jan. 24. The average American schoolchild will consume about 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time he or she graduates from high school, according to the Peanut Advisory Board, a …
Millennials Spend Less Per-Person on Groceries
Recent data released by the Department of Agriculture shows that millennials are spending less per-person at the grocery store. A recent analysis by USDA’s Economic Research Service of 2014 grocery store data found that compared to older generations, millennial-headed households spent the least per person on food at home. However, like the other generations analyzed, millennial households with higher incomes …
Largest East Coast Refinery Bankrupt, Cries Foul over RFS
The largest oil refinery on the U.S. East Coast will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Philadelphia Energy Solutions LLC, owner of the complex, claims the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is to blame. Since 2012, Philadelphia Energy Solutions has spent more than $800 million on credits to comply with the law, making it the refiner’s biggest expense after the purchase …
U.S. Ag, Equipment Companies, Benefiting from Trade with Cuba
U.S. agriculture is benefiting from trade with Cuba, according to new figures released by the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. Exports of food and agricultural products from the U.S. to Cuba in November of 2017 were pegged at $21.2 million, compared to $10.59 million in November 2016, and $6.24 million in November of 2015. There were also substantial increases in …
Study: Killing NAFTA Kills Manufacturing, Agriculture Jobs
A new report by Business Roundtable suggests that ending the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would result in job losses of more than 1.8 billion in the United States. As negotiators are meeting in Canada this week, the report was released to “urge the administration to take into account the potential damage of withdrawing from NAFTA.” Drafting two scenarios, …
TPP 11 Agreement in Place, Signing set for March
Just as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) nations seemed ready to leave Canada behind, the nation has reached an agreement to sign the trade pact. Renamed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the agreement comes after talks in Japan this week, according to CBC News of Canada. With Canada now on board, with the approval of its agriculture sector, the …
CoBank: Expect more Farm Bankruptcies in 2018
A recent report by CoBank expects the farm economy to tighten again in 2018, and experts say that will lead to more farmers filing Chapter 12 bankruptcy. DTN-The Progressive Farmer reports that wheat and dairy producers are among the hardest hit, with an increase in Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings in Kansas and Wisconsin, reaching the highest level since 2012 last …