federal

USDA Streamlining Conservation Programs

Will Jordan General

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making historic investments to the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and streamlining the program to make it work better for producers and partners. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has identified ways to streamline and simplify RCPP. Under Secretary of Agriculture, Robert Bonnie, recently said there are four steps USDA needs to take …

A Look Back at the Cow That Stole Christmas

Will Jordan General

To most people, 20 years ago is a distant memory. It was the year that the business social media platform LinkedIn was launched, iTunes Music made its debut, and the iPhone was still four years away. For cattle producers, another landmark event came at the end of 2003: the first confirmed case of BSE in the United States was announced …

summer

WIC Program at Risk

Sabrina Halvorson Consumer News, This Land of Ours

Millions of people could lose their access to a federal nutrition program. The nation is now two months into fiscal year 2024 and Congress has yet to provide additional funding for nutrition programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children or WIC. WIC provides nutrition assistance for almost 6.7 million pregnant women, new mothers, babies, and young …

fertilizer

$250 Million Investment to Support Innovative American-made Fertilizer

Josh McGill Fertilizer, Industry News Release, USDA-AMS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing it will support additional fertilizer production for American farmers to address rising costs, including the impact of Putin’s price hike on farmers, and spur competition. USDA will make available $250 million through a new grant program this summer to support independent, innovative and sustainable American fertilizer production to supply American farmers. Additionally, …

usda

ARC/PLC Signup Ends March 15

Josh McGill Agri-Business, Industry News Release, USDA

Agricultural producers who have yet to enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2022 crop year, are being reminded Tuesday, March 15, 2022 is the deadline to sign a contract. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers these two safety net programs to provide income support to farmers experiencing substantial declines in …

cattle markets

House Advances Legislation to Provide Certainty and Increase Transparency in Cattle Markets

Dan Cattle, Legislative, Marketing

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a pair of bills to provide certainty and transparency in cattle markets—H.R. 5609, the Cattle Contract Library Act introduced by Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee Republican Leader Dusty Johnson, and H.R. 5290, a one-year extension for the Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) Act introduced by Chairman David Scott. The current LMR authorization is set to …

Dairy Margin Coverage

Milk Prices Below Expectations, Could Go Lower Next Year

Dan Dairy, Economy

Earlier this month, it was announced that the June margin under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program dropped 65 cents from May’s margin to $6.24/cwt, which will generate a June payment of $3.26/cwt for $9.50/cwt coverage. So dairy operators are getting the benefits of the DMC program this year, and according to a story from Gary Crawford that may continue in …