President Donald Trump has left the door open to rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership through comments in a recent speech. However, the now TPP 11 countries may not be as welcoming, forging ahead to sign an agreement in March. Addressing the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last week, Trump said of the TPP nations, the U.S. would consider negotiating with them …
USDA Helped Improve Essential Services for 7 Million Rural Residents in 2017
Funding Supports Schools, Libraries, Municipal Centers, First Responder Vehicles and Equipment, Other Community Needs Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that USDA invested in nearly 400 projects to provide essential services for more than 7 million people in rural areas across the country in Fiscal Year 2017. “Partnering with our small towns and cities to support essential services that rural residents …
Perdue Announces USDA’s Farm Bill and Legislative Principles for 2018
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Bill and Legislative Principles for 2018 during a town hall at Reinford Farms in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania. “Since my first day as the Secretary of Agriculture, I’ve traveled to 30 states, listening to the people of American agriculture about what is working and what is not. The conversations …
USDA Appoints 11 New Members and Alternates to National Peanut Board
Broad range of peanut industry and community involvement marks 2018 appointees Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue recently appointed five members and six alternates to serve on the National Peanut Board. The appointees will serve three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2018, and ending Dec. 31, 2020. One appointee, the Texas alternate, will serve the remaining one-year portion of a vacancy. The members …
Secretary Perdue Outlines USDA Services in the Event of a Government Shutdown
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today outlined U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) services available in the event of a government shutdown. “USDA is committed to safeguarding life and property through the critical services we provide – and should the government shut down, we will continue to do just that,” said Secretary Perdue. “I am proud of each USDA employee …
Georgia Peanut Farm Show Provides a Day of Education for Farmers
More than 1,300 attendees were able to fine-tune their farming operations with information gained at the 42nd annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference on Jan. 18, 2018, at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia. The show is sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Commission. The one-day show offered farmers a chance to view the products …
USDA/NIFA Announces Support for Biomass Genomics Research
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research, announce joint support for research in plant feedstock genomics for bioenergy. NIFA’s support is funded through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), which aims to address challenges in food and agricultural …
USDA Announces Proposed Rule to Modernize Swine Inspection
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced its continued effort to modernize inspection systems through science-based approaches to food safety. USDA is proposing to amend the federal meat inspection regulations to establish a new voluntary inspection system for market hog slaughter establishments called the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS), while also requiring additional …
NAFTA on Farmers’ Minds, China Bigger Trade Challenge
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks may be foremost on farmers’ minds these days, but two deputy U.S. Trade Representative nominees told Senate Finance members, China is the bigger trade challenge. President Trump tapped Dennis Shea to be a deputy U.S. Trade Representative to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, and Shea, who’s headed the China-U.S. Economic and …
Trump See’s Ag Benefits of NAFTA, Still Threatening Withdraw
President Donald Trump said again this week he “may” terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying such a move would yield the “best deal” in renegotiations. The president says many people “are going to be unhappy,” if he terminates the agreement, but counters that they “don’t realize how good it would be” if he did. But, just last …