U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced 32 grants totaling $16.8 million to help Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants increase their purchases of fruits and vegetables. The program is operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The funding comes from the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program, authorized by the 2014 …
Global Food Prices Hit Three-year High
Global food prices reached a three-year high in July, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The FAO Food Price Index in July averaged 179.1 points in July 2017, up 2.3 percent from June and the third successive month of increases. The report says a combination of supply constraints and currency movements provided support to prices of most …
Cargill Purchases Southern States Cooperative Animal Feed Business
Cargill has reached an agreement to acquire the animal feed business of Southern States Cooperative. Withholding terms of the deal, Cargill released a statement last week saying it expects the transaction to close within 90 days. Cargill says the transaction will better serve its customers in the United States and is part of the company’s Feed and Nutrition’s growth strategy. …
Monsanto Addresses Dicamba Issues in Open Letter
In an open letter to customers, Monsanto says the company is committed to supporting farmers at every stage of the growing season. Monsanto, the maker of the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend crop system that includes the dicamba herbicide formulation XtendiMax, responded in the letter to complaints of dicamba drift injury to non-tolerant crops. Monsanto says that many farmers are “experiencing …
Cuba, Houston, Sign Port Agreement
The Port Authority of Houston, Texas and its counterpart in Cuba have signed an agreement of “friendship and commercial cooperation.” The agreement between the two launches an opportunity to “continue trade in agricultural products between the U.S. and Cuba,” according to the Houston Port Authority. The PanAm Post reports that the agreement seeks to facilitate and promote trade, generate new …
EPA to Reject Ethanol Rules Change
The Environmental Protection Agency will reject proposed changes to the point of obligation for complying with the Renewable Fuel Standard away from refiners. Politico reports that a Trump administration official said the EPA would reject the proposal by billionaire Carl Icahn, a key Trump supporter. EPA plans to formally announce the decision within the next two weeks and “President Trump …
Immigration Bill Won’t Affect Temporary Workers
The sponsor of an immigration bill suspected to reduce the agriculture labor force in the U.S. says his legislation will not impact temporary workers, which are often used in agriculture production. Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue wrote colleagues last week after concerns were raised about how the bill would impact farm workers. Referring to comments by Senate Republican Lindsay Graham, …
USDA and SCORE Launch Innovative Mentorship Effort to Support New Farmers and Ranchers
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed a Memorandum of Understanding with officials from SCORE, the nation’s largest volunteer network of expert business mentors, to support new and beginning farmers. This agreement provides new help resources for beginning ranchers, veterans, women, socially disadvantaged Americans and others, providing new tools to help them both grow and thrive in agri-business. “Shepherding one generation …
Farmers Learn Advocacy, Share Ideas at Commodity Conference
Sharing, caring, learning and growing were common themes at the Alabama Farmers Federation’s 45th Commodity Producers Conference this week in Birmingham. Dr. Kevin Folta with the University of Florida inspired about 1,000 farmers attending the conference to be agricultural advocates. “We talk to each other very well, but we don’t talk to others very well,” said Folta during Saturday morning’s …
Organic Family Farmers Need Strong Standards and Enforcement
American family farmers and ranchers grow and raise organic foods for the nation under strict standards. Those standards are set by the National Organic Program under the guidance of the National Organic Standards Board and protect the integrity of the industry. When major producers and organic product importers fail to comply with these standards, it puts all organic farmers and …