U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the selection of senior leaders in several U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies. Perdue appointed Ken Isley as Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Administrator, Joel Baxley as Rural Housing Service (RHS) Administrator, and Martin Barbre as Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator. In addition, Perdue announced the appointment of Tommie Williams as Minister-Counselor for Agriculture …
New USDA Website for Farmers
USDA has started a new website, farmers.gov. As Tryon Spearman reports, it is a point of access to agricultural programs and information, tools and personal advice for America’s farmers, ranchers and private foresters. New USDA Website for Farmers Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsNovember 1, 2024Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024
USDA Looking for Administrative Ways to Help Farmers Get Workers
While Congress continues the struggle to pass immigration reform legislation, work is being done in the meantime on administrative actions that might make it a little easier to hire farm workers. Gary Crawford has the story. USDA Looking for Administrative Ways to Help Farmers Get Workers Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsNovember 1, 2024Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag …
USDA and SBA Join Forces to Help Rural American Businesses
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue and Small Business Administration chief Linda McMahon signed a Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening small businesses and the agricultural economies in rural America. They signed the MOU during a stop on Perdue’s “Back to Our Roots” tour in Ohio. The collaboration is designed to do several things, including enhancing investment opportunities in rural America. The organizations …
USDA Reopens Enrollment for Improved Dairy Safety Net Tool
Bipartisan Budget Act Makes Substantial Program Changes U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is encouraging dairy producers to consider enrolling in the new and improved Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy), which will provide better protections for dairy producers from shifting milk and feed prices. With changes authorized under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm …
USDA Prospective Plantings Report Not the Last Word
The USDA planting intentions numbers may have shocked a lot of people, but according to a story from Gary Crawford, much can happen between the time weeks ago when farmers were surveyed and actual planting time. USDA Prospective Plantings Report Not the Last Word Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsNovember 1, 2024Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners …
USDA: No Consolidation in Cow-Calf Operations for Five Years
There’s no question that agriculture has seen its share of consolidation across several sectors. The one major exception is beef production, more specifically as it relates to cow-calf and stocker production. A recent report from the Economic Research Service at USDA shows that all areas of livestock production, with the exception of beef, have fewer and larger operations. James MacDonald, …
Secretary Perdue Issues USDA Statement on Plant Breeding Innovation
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued a statement providing clarification on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) oversight of plants produced through innovative new breeding techniques which include techniques called genome editing. Under its biotechnology regulations, USDA does not regulate or have any plans to regulate plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional breeding techniques as long …
Meat Exports on the Rise for U.S.
Last week, President Trump requested a three-year extension of trade promotion authority, but the request comes amid growing concerns over the direction of the administration’s trade policy. And despite what we are hearing about trade issues, USDA is projecting that U.S. meat exports will rise this year just as production rises. Gary Crawford has the story. U.S. Meat Exports on …
Organic Groups Suing USDA over Livestock Rule
Four organic groups have filed a lawsuit against The U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, regarding the organic livestock welfare rule. Led by the Center for Food Safety, the groups say the decision to withdraw the rule was “outrageous and unlawful,” similar to what USDA called the rule. In the March 13th decision, USDA claimed the regulations …