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 …
Ethanol Industry Workers, Veterans Ask Trump To Support RFS
Plant managers, general managers, and CEOs from 150 biofuel production facilities, including nearly every Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) producer member, sent a letter to President Trump today, urging him to continue to “stand strong in defense of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).” President Trump met last week with ethanol and oil industry stakeholders, including RFA members, to discuss the RFS …
New Study: RIN Price Cap for E15 RVP Waiver “Deal” Would Cut Ethanol Consumption and Trounce Corn Prices
Any action to artificially cap Renewable Identification Number (RIN) prices in exchange for an RVP waiver allowing year-round sale of E15 would be bad deal for rural America and the nation’s consumers, according to a new economic analysis released Tuesday. Such a tradeoff would result in reduced ethanol consumption, a drop in corn prices, and an effective cut of 5% …
UF Study: To Help Prevent Harmful Algal Blooms, Limit Nitrogen and Phosphorus
Algal blooms can kill fish and harm a lake’s ecosystem, but by reducing two nutrients together such as nitrogen and phosphorus – not just one or the other — water managers might limit the blooms in lakes and rivers, a new University of Florida study shows. To come to this conclusion, UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers used …