By Clint Thompson The Georgia Cotton Commission (GCC) encourages cotton producers and industry supporters to visit the GCC tent during next week’s Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia. Taylor Sills, executive director of the GCC, is excited about the three-day event on Oct. 19-21. “The Georgia Cotton Commission, along with the Cotton Board and the Quail Forever Cotton Incorporated partnership …
Signup Deadline Announced for Alabama’s Easement and Financial Assistance Programs
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Alabama has announced the first program batching date for Fiscal Year 2022 Conservation Easements and Financial Assistance Programs will be November 12, 2021. NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Programs in Alabama, Steve Musser, explains what programs are involved in this signup. While applications are accepted on a continuous basis, funding is completed periodically through …
Georgia NRCS Announces Ag Conservation Easement Program Sign Up Deadline
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Georgia has announced a sign-up for this year’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). In order to be considered for fiscal year 2022 funding, applications must be submitted by November 5, 2021. ACEP is a program with two components, Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) and Wetlands Reserve Easements (WRE). Georgia State Conservationist Terrance O. Rudolph said, “ACEP …
Florida Local Working Group Meetings Available through Zoom
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida wants to remind landowners about the Local Working Group Meetings. At these meetings, farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, conservation partners and the public can discuss natural resource needs and priorities for their county. Florida State Conservationist Juan Hernandez says if you can’t make it to a meeting in person, they are available through Zoom. NRCS and soil and …
Livestock and Poultry Report on World Markets and Trade
Tuesday, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their quarterly Livestock and Poultry Report on World Markets and Trade. This report includes data on U.S. and global trade, production, consumption and stocks, as well as analysis of developments affecting world trade in livestock and poultry. It covers beef and veal, cattle, pork, swine and chicken meat. This new USDA report shows that China …
USDA Launches First Phase of Soil Carbon Monitoring Efforts
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced they will invest?$10?million?in?a new initiative to sample, measure, and monitor soil carbon on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres. The investment seeks to better quantify the climate outcomes of the program. USDA says CRP is an important tool in the Nation’s fight to reduce the worst impacts of climate change facing our farmers, …
USDA Considering Waivers for Slower Pork Plant Processing Lines
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the USDA is working on a proposal for a waiver system for hog plants forced by a federal court to slow down their processing lines. Waivers that would allow plants to speed up processing lines again could renew concerns about worker safety but boost profits for pork companies and farmers. Vilsack didn’t specify what those …
New USDA Crop and Livestock Reports Coming
Traders are anxiously awaiting USDA’s next round of reports which should give us a better idea of the size and market prospects for the major crops. And as Gary Crawford reports, USDA will also release revised forecasts for the livestock sector. USDA will release the new round of crop and livestock forecasts on Tuesday, October 12, noon EDT. Sponsored ContentWhat …
Vaccine Requirement Won’t Close FSA Offices
The Biden Administration’s requirement that all federal employees, including the employees of the Farm Service Agency, be vaccinated against COVID-19 will not cause FSA offices to close or farmers to receive a less-than-usual level of service. The Hagstrom Report says Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack made that statement last week during a House Agriculture Committee hearing. Representative Vicki Hartzler of Missouri …
Price Spread for Pork Products Increases as Processing Plant Labor Shortages Continue
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen longstanding labor shortages in the U.S. pork processing industry. Because the production of deboned products requires more labor, associated prices are higher than bone-in product prices, which have smaller labor requirements, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. When labor shortages are severe, as in the spring of 2020, when COVID-19-related infections of processing plant …