After 34 years with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the past four as CEO, Kendal Frazier announced his plans for retirement this morning. Kendal’s career began as a farm broadcaster in Kansas, where he also served as director of communications for Kansas Livestock Association, before finding a reliable vehicle shipping company and moving to Denver, Colo., to join the …
Alabama EQIP Signup Deadline Is Thursday
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Alabama reminds landowners the signup batching deadline for fiscal 2019 funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is Thursday, April 25. This signup includes programs involving wildlife, forestry, cropland erosion, cropland irrigation, grazing land and water-quality concerns. Plus, there are national and statewide initiatives also included like …
USDA Opens Application Portal for New ReConnect Rural Broadband Infrastructure Program
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting online applications for funding through the new ReConnect Rural Broadband Pilot Program. These funds will enable the federal government to partner with the private sector and rural communities to build modern broadband infrastructure in areas with insufficient internet service. Insufficient service is defined as connection …
Florida Conservation Easement Signup Deadline Is Thursday
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida reminds landowners the deadline to apply for funding of agricultural easements in the state is Thursday, April 25. NRCS provides financial and technical assistance to conserve working lands and wetlands through two programs: Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) and Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE). Agricultural landowners and Indian tribes can …
Calling for CIG Proposals in Georgia
State Conservationist Terrance Rudolph, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Georgia, announced up to $300,000 is available for the Georgia State Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. This year’s CIG will help fund innovative conservation projects in three focus areas: grazing lands, urban agriculture and soil health. CIG projects, authorized and funded under the Environmental …
Pork Industry Asking for More Border Inspectors
The U.S. pork industry is asking Congress to fund hundreds of more border inspectors, as the Trump Administration redeploys Customs agents from ports of entry to the open border, forcing inspection slowdowns. Long delays at the border coming north, in some cases five-to-ten hours, is raising concerns Mexico might slow commercial traffic headed south. Here is National Pork Producers’ President …
USDA Announces Enhancements to Livestock and Dairy Insurance Programs
The Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency Monday announced several enhancements to the Dairy Revenue Protection, Livestock Gross Margin and Livestock Risk Protection Programs. Risk Management Agency Administrator Martin Barbre says the changes “strengthen risk management options and provide peace of mind in times of unpredictable market fluctuations.” The Livestock Gross Margin program protects against loss of gross margin or …
Cover Crops That Take the Heat
USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Plant Materials Centers (PMCs) in the Southeast are gathering data on different types of cover crops that landowners can use during the summer months. Many of us may think of cover crops as being planted after a cash crop is harvested in the fall. But there are some cash crops harvested in the spring, …
Commissioner Nikki Fried Releases Hurricane Michael Video: “America’s Forgotten Disaster”
Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried released a new mini-documentary video entitled “America’s Forgotten Disaster,” highlighting the destruction and consequences of Hurricane Michael, with a focus on forestry and timber. The video documents Commissioner Fried’s tours of Panhandle communities devastated by Hurricane Michael, features visually powerful reminders of the damage to forests and timber farms and the looming threat of wildfire, and includes …
Farm Groups Ask President, Congress for Disaster Relief
A group of 135 farm organizations and banks that supply seasonal loans to farms and ranches today called on President Trump and Congress to put aside political differences and supply urgently needed relief in the wake of weather-related disasters in 2018 and 2019. The organizations highlighted the year’s unprecedented destruction in the letter. Farmers and ranchers are especially anxious for …