The Organic Consumers Association has filed suit against Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s for deceptive labeling, marketing and sales of Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream products. The suit was filed in D.C. Superior Court this week under the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act. The group claims Unilever reportedly spent more than $9 billion on advertising in 2017, and that a …
USDA Announces Japan to Accept Exports of U.S. Sheep and Goat Meat
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is announcing that the government of Japan has finalized technical requirements that will allow U.S. sheep and goat exports into the country for the first time in more than 14 years. “This success is a direct result of USDA’s dedication to helping America’s farmers and ranchers keep and find new markets for their products,” …
Farm Bureau Supports Endangered Species Act Reforms
The following statement may be attributed to Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation: “The Western Caucus introduced eight separate bills to reform the Endangered Species Act. The ESA, despite the good intentions it was built on, has failed in recovering endangered wildlife. Instead, it has threatened our ability to make productive use of the land. Perhaps the …
ARC-PLC Educational Tool Available for Cotton Farms
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is notifying farmers with generic base acres that planted seed cotton that a new tool is available to assist them in understanding how the new seed cotton program may affect their FSA payments. It helps a producer make decisions on how to allocate generic base acres to other covered crops …
Do NRCS Business through Conservation Client Gateway
If you have business to take care of with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), but don’t have the time to run in to their office, much of that business can be done from your home or farm office. It can all be handled through Conservation Client Gateway, their secure online portal. NRCS Acting Chief Leonard Jordan encourages farmers, ranchers and …
USDA Names Members and Alternates to the National Peanut Board
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the appointment of four members and four alternates to serve on the National Peanut Board. The appointees will serve three-year terms, from Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2021. Appointed are: Georgia: Andy Bell (Member) and Donald G. Chase (Alternate) South Carolina: Bud Bowers (Member) and Harry Wimberly (Alternate) Texas: Peter Froese Jr. (Member) and Jeff Roper (Alternate) …
Enforcement of Labeling Regulations Critical
As the use of laboratory-based cell culture technologies to replicate naturally made foods continues to develop, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must first enforce its own existing regulations on the labeling of imitation products, according to the National Milk Producers Federation. At an FDA hearing focused on the regulation of cell-cultured products replicating meat, NMPF said that these …
UF, Georgia Tech Scientists to Begin Work on More Drought-Tolerant Peanut
Farmers and consumers can benefit from a more drought-tolerant peanut, and scientists from the University of Florida and Georgia Institute of Technology will soon begin research to develop a more resilient crop. With it, growers would be able to produce more market-ready peanuts, and consumers can get more of the protein-filled legume. UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences agronomists …
U.S. Pork Calls for Level Playing Field as FDA Makes Regulatory Land Grab
Already bearing the brunt of global trade retaliation against American agriculture, U.S. pork producers now face additional headwinds in the form of a regulatory land grab by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assert its proper oversight of two emerging issues critical to the future of …
U.S. to Further Implement Trade Tariffs
The U.S. plans to implement more tariffs on China as part of an ongoing trade war between the two countries. In a statement released this week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says he was ordered by President Trump to begin the process of imposing tariffs of ten percent on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports. The tariffs will follow …