Campbell Soup Company Joins Plant Based Lobbying Group

After dropping out of the Grocery Manufacturers Association earlier this year, Campbell Soup Company is joining the Plant-Based Foods Association or PBFA. Bloomberg calls the move a major gesture by an industry giant acknowledging retreating consumer demand for meat and dairy-heavy food. The company maintains its move to leave the Grocery Manufacturers Association wasn’t in preparation to join PBFA, but …

Trucking Industry Bracing for ELD Mandate

The Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate for the trucking industry is expected to go into effect December 18th, causing a predicted impact to the livestock industry. The National Pork Producers Council has asked for an exemption based on what it calls “an incompatibility” between federal hours of operation rules and how the livestock industry actually operates. The request states: “Livestock …

Farm Bill Near Ready Status

A lobbyist close to the farm bill effort told the Hagstrom Report this week that the House Agriculture Committee staff is close to being done preparing the bill for consideration. However, the lobbyist says Chairman Mike Conaway will likely keep the bill “under lock and key” until House leadership guarantees floor time for the legislation. That points to the bill …

Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge Provides New Ag Businesses Opportunity

The Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge gives new agriculture businesses a boost in a startup. More than $145,000 of startup funds will be given out during this year’s challenge. Four finalists, recently announced, will compete for $25,000 in January. AFBF rural development director Lisa Benson says even the businesses that won’t be competing in the finals benefit from applying for the challenge. …

America’s Waterways, An Important Part of Ag Infrastructure, Need Repairs

America’s waterways, including some of the largest rivers in the country, are an underappreciated but highly important part of American agriculture. The nation’s lock-and-dam system was put together to provide a cost-effective means of transporting goods from rural areas to major cities and coastal ports. Lynn Muench is the Senior Vice President of Regional Advocacy at the American Waterways Operators, …

Voting Begins for 2017 FSA County Committee Elections

Producers to Receive Ballots Week of Nov. 6 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin mailing ballots to eligible farmers and ranchers across the country for the 2017 Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committee elections on Monday, Nov. 6, 2017. “County committee members play an indispensable role in our efforts to provide assistance to producers,” said FSA Acting Administrator …

USDA Issues Safety-Net Payments to Florida Farmers

USDA Florida Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director, Acting SED Mark Cotrell announced that approximately 3,585 Florida farms that enrolled in safety-net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill will receive financial assistance for the 2016 crop year. The programs, known as Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), are designed to protect against unexpected drops in crop prices …

Raising Livestock May be a ‘Smelly’ Business

Raising livestock may be a ‘smelly’ business, but that hasn’t stopped the federal courts from ordering the Environmental Protection Agency to move ahead with manure emission reporting requirements. EPA issued guidance to producers and is expected to get more time to educate producers on the manure emission reporting requirement, after losing a court petition to allow a farm exemption. The …