Quick action by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has resolved an issue that temporarily stopped U.S. poultry product exports to Colombia. Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture instructed all of their ports to deny import permits to any poultry products beginning June 1 on concerns of …
USDA Announces Investment in Wildlife Conservation
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing in wildlife conservation. That’s coming up on This land of Ours. The USDA this week expanded wildlife conservation investments by $500 million over the next five years. The effort leverages all available conservation programs, including the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), through its Working Lands for Wildlife effort. The commitments will ramp up the …
USDA Hiring Engineers, Natural Resource Specialists
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it is ramping up hiring for key positions to help strengthen agricultural conservation efforts. The available positions, through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), include engineers, civil engineering technicians and natural resource specialists. The application period for engineer positions and engineering technicians is currently open and natural resource specialist opportunities will open next week. …
USDA Approves Lab-Grown Chicken
Lab-grown chicken may soon be on the menu. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The USDA gave two startup companies the go-ahead to sell the country’s first lab-grown chicken products. GOOD Meat, a subsidiary of food tech company Eat Just, Inc., and UPSIDE Foods will be allowed to sell their products that have been cultivated from real animal …
USDA Supporting American Producers, School Meals, and Emergency Operations
The USDA is putting more money in the pot for school meals. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says USDA is providing $2.7 billion to support American farmers, students participating in school meal programs, and emergency food operations. Almost $1.3 billion goes to states to purchase food to be distributed to schools for their …
USDA Announces Investment for Underserved Producers
Investing in underserved producers. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The Department of Agriculture Thursday announced its selection of 50 projects for potential award, totaling approximately $300 million, for underserved producers funding. The projects will help improve access to land, capital, and markets for underserved farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. The funding comes from the Increasing Land, Capital, …
USDA Reminds Producers to File Crop Acreage Reports by July 17
A deadline reminder for crop producers. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Agricultural producers who have not yet completed their crop acreage reports after planting should make an appointment with their local USDA office before the applicable deadline, which for many places and crops is July 17. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) also reminds producers with login access …
USDA Accepting Applications for Chile Agribusiness Trade Mission
A chance for firsthand knowledge of ag business in Chile. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is accepting applications from U.S. exporters for a trade mission to Santiago, Chile, September 25-29. American agribusinesses will participate in business-to-business meetings with potential importers from both Chile and Peru. The trade mission coincides with Peru’s …
Industry Reps to House Ag: USDA Should Handle Rural Broadband
by Sabrina Halvorson Six representatives from the broadband and satellite industries testified at a House Agriculture Committee hearing Wednesday on the digital divide, or the lack of some digital services in rural America. Committee Ranking Member, Representative David Scott of Georgia, asked the witnesses if USDA was the right agency to handle the issue of rural broadband. “They know rural …
USDA Investing to Expand Measurement and Monitoring of Soil Carbon on Working Agricultural Lands
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $8 million in four regional partnerships across the nation to support and expand measurement and monitoring of carbon in soil on working agricultural lands and to assess how climate-smart practices are affecting carbon sequestration. Here in the Southeast, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will be working with American Climate Partners on a regional …