Heritage Action is a conservative think tank known for criticizing programs at the USDA. The Hagstrom Report says the group applauds White House budget proposals released this week. However, the group did say it was disappointed the proposals didn’t include structural changes to Medicare and Social Security. Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham calls budget proposals “visionary documents,” saying that the …
Robust Organic Sector Posts New Records in U.S. Sales
The robust American organic sector stayed on its upward trajectory in 2016, gaining new market share and shattering records, as consumers across the United States ate and used more organic products than ever before, according to the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA’s) 2017 Organic Industry Survey released Wednesday at OTA’s Annual Policy Conference. Organic sales in the U.S. totaled around $47 …
Conaway, Peterson Host Agriculture Committee Roundtable with Sec. Perdue and Amb. Lighthizer on Trade
House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (MN-7) joined U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Sec. Sonny Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer along with other members of the committee in an executive roundtable on U.S. agricultural trade policy. Following the roundtable, Chairman Conaway, Ranking Member Peterson, Sec. Perdue and Amb. Lighthizer released the …
ARS Hydrologist Honored for Bringing Accuracy to Soil Moisture Satellite Work
Research hydrologist Dr. Michael H. Cosh with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, was honored with an Arthur S. Flemming Award for using satellites to improve soil moisture measurements. The enhanced accuracy stemming from Cosh’s work allows for better crop yield projections. It also improves weather forecasting, drought and flood predictions, and wildfire …
Funding For Commodity Board Projects to Support Ag Industry
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced five grants totaling more than $2.5 million for agricultural research that is funded jointly with national or state commodity boards. The funding is made possible through NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), which was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. “Our collaboration with commodity boards …
Alabama NRCS Reminds Landowners about EQIP
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Alabama has a variety of programs that can benefit producers and landowners in many ways. Some of those can be found through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). It provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers in order to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and …
FY18 Federal Budget Very Concerning
The National Cotton Council says the Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2018 budget proposal includes a number of extremely concerning program reductions and eliminations that, if implemented, would severely compromise policies that are critical to America’s cotton farming families. The NCC emphasized that U.S. cotton producers already are struggling with difficult economic conditions and the lack of access to the same …
USFRA Unveils Agriculture in America Sustainability Report at Sustainable Brands Conference
First-ever Agriculture in America Sustainability Report by USFRA highlights examples of exemplary sustainable farming practices on farms across the nation. This week at the Sustainable Brands Conference, a national event showcasing brand leaders who create the environmental and social purpose to drive innovation, U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®) will publicly introduce its first-ever Agriculture in America Sustainability Report. It …
ChemChina Plans a Second Merger
ChemChina and Sinochem (Sih’-noh-kem) are planning a merger next year. Several senior bankers in Asia say the merger would create the biggest chemicals group in the world with $100 billion in revenues. The merger would come after ChemChina’s $43 billion mergers with Syngenta. A Financial Times Dot Com article says China has 1.4 billion people to feed, so the country …
Brazil Launching Four New Probes Into JBS
Brazil’s securities regulator announced it’s launching four new probes into meatpacker JBS and other companies also controlled by J & F Investments. The probes are looking into suspicious trades made just before markets were rattled by the news of a plea deal by the company’s top executives. The investigation is looking into signs of “possible insider trading” of foreign exchange …