Grain Industry Seeks to Modernize Global Ag Commodity Trade

The world’s largest grain processors are jointly seeking to standardize and digitize global agriculture shipping transactions. Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus announced the collaboration this week in an effort to benefit the entire industry and seek broad-based industry participation to promote global access and adoption. Initially, the companies are focused on technologies to automate grain and oilseed …

Annual Soil Health Summit Event Opens to Public for First Time

The Soil Health Partnership announced this week that for the first time the organization has opened to the public the annual Soil Health Summit, January 15 – 16 in St. Louis, and encourages growers and agronomists to attend. Attendees will benefit from peer-to-peer networking, collaboration, and education on the latest in soil health strategies, including new data and insights from …

USDA Disaster Assistance and Hurricane Recovery Workshops

Representatives from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), Rural Development (RD) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) will present disaster assistance information for agricultural producers. Workshop topics include emergency assistance for livestock & crop-related expenses and losses; financial assistance programs to help with farm and farmland damage; deadlines for applying for disaster assistance programs and programs to help with restoration and rehabilitation of farm and …

Family Farm Recognized for Environmental Leadership

Lykes Bros., Inc., was honored for their environmental stewardship with a County Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship (CARES) award on October 18. Lykes Bros. Inc., has grown a 500-acre Brooksville farm to more than 610,000 acres in Florida and Texas. Lykes Bros. Inc., has been a leader in agribusiness for more than a hundred years and fully invests in responsible …

USDA Announces 2019 Agricultural Outlook Forum

Early bird registration is now open for the 95th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum (AOF), the largest annual meeting of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This two-day event will take place on Feb. 21-22, 2019, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va. This year’s forum, which is being held under the theme “Growing Locally, Selling Globally,” highlights current issues and …

Cell-based Meat Summit Leading to Joint Regulatory Action

The Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration is inching towards a joint regulatory approach for cell-cultured, or so-called lab-grown meats. Agri-Pulse reports Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb “drew no lines in the sand” throughout a two-day meeting on the subject. Gottlieb told reporters that FDA and USDA have worked together in the past, …

EWP Helps Landowners after a Natural Disaster

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) wants to remind landowners that if your area suffered damage from Hurricane Michael, the Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP) can help relieve imminent hazards to life and property. EWP Helps Landowners after a Natural Disaster Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Funding Crucial For Forage DevelopmentMay 22, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Funding …

China Blames Food Scraps for ASF Outbreak

China says the outbreak of African swine fever likely stems from the feeding of food scraps to pigs. China’s agriculture ministry Wednesday moved to ban the feeding of kitchen waste to pigs after more than 40 outbreaks of the disease have been reported since early August. China has not said how the disease first entered the country, but officials found …

China-owned Smithfield Foods Eligible for U.S. Trade Relief

China-owned Smithfield Foods is eligible for payments under the $12 billion aid package for farmers. The Washington Post reports word of the eligibility has made smaller pork producers unhappy. The Virginia-based, but China-owned, pork company can apply for federal money under a program created this summer. JBS of Brazil is also eligible to apply. The Department of Agriculture announced the …