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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Industry News Release”
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue commemorated his first year at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by releasing a new interactive website and USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue: Year One video(below). In his first year, Secretary Perdue and the USDA team made breakthroughs in agricultural trade, moved to reduce burdensome regulations, responded to natural disasters, and battled through the worst fire season on …
The Senate Commerce Committee approved S. 2343, the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018. The bipartisan bill is an important milestone in delivering broadband service crucial to the operation of modern farming equipment. The bill would create a task force to focus on the connectivity and technology needs of modern farmers who are too often without broadband in the fields …
A new bill amending the charter of the National FFA Organization was introduced in the House yesterday by Representatives Glenn Thompson (R-Penn.), and Representative Jim Langevin (D-R.I.). Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Donnelly (D-Ind.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Doug Jones (D-Ala.) introduced legislation in the Senate in February. The charter, which originally passed as Public Law 81-740 in the 1950s, publicly …
The conflict in Syria has caused more than $16 billion in crop and livestock losses and destroyed farming assets, according to a 2017 report from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. Since 2011, household livestock ownership in the war-torn nation has plummeted, down by 47 percent for poultry, the report states. Against that backdrop, in an area deemed not …
Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is approaching his two separate committee hearings in the House of Representatives with sagging support on the hill. Even his most dedicated backers are starting to express concerns about the controversies surrounding the administrator that have continued to swirl. Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, perhaps his biggest ally in Congress, even says …
Grain-handling company Scoular tells Bloomberg that sorghum bids in the Gulf of Mexico have all but disappeared in the wake of a Chinese decision to impose a 179 percent tariff on U.S. imports. Bob Ludington oversees the Omaha, Nebraska-based company’s grain and oilseed division, and says there’s been very little trade. While some U.S. grain elevators are still bidding for …
Farmers for Free Trade released a new report that highlights the significant impact that Chinese retaliation from steel and aluminum tariffs will have on a number of U.S. industries. The report shows that many American commodities will be hit hard, including U.S. wine, almonds, walnuts, pork, cherry, and several other commodities. The report also says certain states’ economies will be …
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and his two counterparts in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations are back at it in Washington, D.C. This marks a quick turnaround for the Mexican Economy Secretary and Canadian Foreign Minister, who were just in Washington last week for a meeting that both countries described as “productive.” Negotiators stayed in D.C. over …
Agricultural producers who have lost livestock to disease, resulting from a weather disaster, have an additional way to become eligible for a key U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) disaster assistance program. USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey announced an administrative clarification nationwide to the Livestock Indemnity Program. In the event of disease, this change by USDA’s Farm …
NASS conducting phone and in-person follow-up The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is reminding farmers and ranchers that the window is closing on the opportunity to participate in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. To date, NASS has received more than 1.5 million completed questionnaires. But the national return rate is currently lower than at this …
