Members of 4-H chapters across the U.S. and its territories gather in the U.S. Capital Region starting Friday for the annual National 4-H Convention. Rod Bain reporting with Annie Ceccarini of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Vilsack on Farm Bill
The agriculture secretary discusses the difficulties of the farm bill. Rod Bain has more.
2024 Congressional Specialty Crop Caucus Formed
Specialty crops are once again getting a special focus in congress with the bipartisan 2024 Congressional Specialty Crops Caucus. Co-chairs include Republicans David Valadao of California and David Rouzer of North Carolina, and Democrats Jim Costa of California and Elisa Slotkin of Michigan. Representative Slotkin, a former national security official, says U.S. specialty crops are vital to the nation. “So, …
GA Rep. Scott on Farm Bill Progress
There may be some progress on the farm bill. Georgia republican Congressman Austin Scott hopes Farm bill language will be ready for release in the next couple of weeks. “We want to have a five-year farm bill, but that five-year Farm Bill has got to take into account the increased cost of operations for the American farmer. So, it’s been …
FARMER Act Introduced to Help Agriculture and Beyond
New legislation aims to improve risk management in agriculture and supporters say it goes beyond the farm. Senator John Hoeven, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, this week introduced the Federal Agriculture Risk Management Enhancement and Resilience (FARMER) Act. Hoeven says the legislation will strengthen crop insurance and make …
Political Aspects of Climate Change Affecting Farmers
The politics of climate change and how its affecting farmers. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Researcher Dr. Margiana Petersen-Rockney says the topic of climate change is highly politicized in the United States, while it’s not political in other nations. And, she says the political aspect of the topic can cause difficulties for farmers.
USDA Seeks Nominees for Mushroom Council
Want to joint the national Mushroom Council. Now’s your chance. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The USDA wants nominations for the Mushroom Council to fill three seats with terms expiring on December 31, 2027, and one seat whose term will expire on December 31, 2025. Nominees may seek nomination to the council for all the open seats …
NCBA Calls for House Resolution Banning Beef from Paraguay
The Senate passed a resolution last week to block beef from Paraguay, now industry leaders are now looking to the House. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is calling on the House to follow the Senate’s lead and pass a resolution against the import of beef from Paraguay. It comes after a USDA decision back in November to allow beef …
California Pork Prices Higher After Prop 12 Implementation
Pork prices are higher in California now that Prop 12 is implemented. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Prop 12 is already raising the price of pork in California. In effect for just over six months, pork sales have dropped across the state. That’s from data compiled by the USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist (OCE). The OCE …
Expert on Domestic Corporate Ag Land
Foreign ownership of American land has gained a lot of buzz lately, but senior staff attorney and professor with the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate School, Fran Miller says more attention should go to domestic corporate ownership. “Corporate consolidation is a big issue in farmland. Congress, I think in a … bipartisan way, has been …