The Department of Agriculture is seeking feedback on the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Through the 2018 USDA Data Users’ meeting, USDA will seek comments and input on recent and pending changes in various data and information programs. NASS and partner agencies organize the annual meeting for USDA stakeholders. Other participating USDA agencies include the Agricultural Marketing Service, Economic Research Service, …
USDA/NIFA Announces Support to Relieve Veterinarian Shortage Situations
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced the availability of funding to help assure rural communities have sufficient access to livestock veterinary services. Funding is made through NIFA’s Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP). The VSGP is designed to support education and extension activities and practice enhancement initiatives that will enable veterinarians, veterinary students, veterinary technicians, …
Seven Counties in Alabama Designated as Primary Natural Disaster Areas
Assistance to Producers in Mississippi The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated Bibb, Jefferson, Pickens, St. Clair, Shelby, Tuscaloosa and Walker counties in Alabama as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by a recent drought. Farmers and ranchers in the contiguous counties in Alabama also qualify for natural disaster assistance. Those counties are: Blount Etowah Marion Calhoun Fayette Perry Chilton …
Partisan Farm Bill a No-Go in the Senate
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the Senate Ag Committee is on track to release a bipartisan farm bill after the Easter recess. Politico says Grassley is warning lawmakers that a Republican-only bill coming out of the House would have no chance of getting through the upper chamber. Bipartisan farm bill talks are stalled in the House amid complaints from Democrats …
Rural Mainstreet Index Remains Positive
Dodd-Frank Limits Lending for Most Rural Banks March Survey Results at a Glance: * For a second straight month the overall index rose above growth neutral. * Approximately 16.8 percent of grain farmers are expected to suffer negative cash flow for 2018. This is down slightly from 12 months earlier. * The percent of farmland purchases for cash (not financed) declined …
Rural Prosperity Still as Important as Ever
Across America, more sincere attention is being focused on rural development and prosperity than at any other time I, or anyone I know, can remember. The Trump Administration is taking steps with infrastructure and USDA programming to nurture future greatness across the entirety of the fruited plain. I salute the President’s efforts. However, initiatives like this require extensive research and …
Florida-Georgia ‘Water War’ Could Keep Rolling Along
Even if the U.S. Supreme Court gives Florida a favorable ruling in its lawsuit against Georgia over water flow into the Apalachicola River, the decision likely would result in more litigation and new legal challenges involving the decades-old water war between the states. Those were the observations of five legal experts who on Thursday addressed a conference at Florida State …
USDA/NIFA Invests in Exploratory Research
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded grants to support the initial development of innovative ideas in agriculture and food production through the Exploratory Research Grants (ERG) program. Funding is made possible through NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. The ERG program fosters the creation …
USDA Decides Not to Impose Additional Regulatory Requirements for Organic Producers and Handlers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the decision to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) final rule published on Jan. 19, 2017. The rule would have increased federal regulation of livestock and poultry for certified organic producers and handlers. The withdrawal becomes effective May 13, 2018. Significant policy and legal issues were identified after the rule published …
More Definitive Food Profiles
Methods for analyzing food samples developed by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist in Maryland capture what could be considered the most definitive nutrient profiles possible for many of the foods we eat. Craig Byrdwell, an analytical chemist in the ARS Food Composition and Methods Development Laboratory in Beltsville, has found a way to use seven different detectors—four mass spectrometers and one gas and …