Ag groups are asking for cuts in the budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 be reconsidered. The budget proposes significant cuts to several safety net programs, as well as narrowing …
Dairy Producers Previously Enrolled in the Livestock Gross Margin Program Now Eligible for 2018 Margin Protection Program
Retroactive Enrollment Begins March 25 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that dairy producers who elected to participate in the Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy Cattle Program (LGM-Dairy) now have the opportunity …
Broad Coalition Urges Congress to Protect Farm Bill Program Funding
As farmers, ranchers and rural communities grapple with a devastatingly weak farm economy, nearly 200 organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and several state Farm Bureaus, are urging congressional …
Secretary Perdue Comments on President Trump’s Budget Proposal
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement after President Trump submitted his FY 2020 budget proposal to Congress: “Our economy is booming, and unemployment is the lowest it’s …
Annual Survey Finds 80% of Producers Believe Beef Checkoff Drives Beef Demand
Eighty percent of beef producers nationwide say the Beef Checkoff Program helps drive demand for beef. That is one major finding from a recent Producer Attitude Survey commissioned by the …
Amazon to Diversify Grocery Portfolio
Amazon is looking to make some significant changes in their grocery portfolio. After acquiring the grocery chain Whole Foods back in 2017, Amazon went to work making changes to product …
Perdue Reiterates Need to Restore Original Intent of SNAP
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue reiterated during a U.S. Senate hearing the need to restore the original intent of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is to be …
Exploring the Economic Impact of California’s Citrus Industry
The California citrus industry is valued at nearly $3.5 billion with over 3,000 growers farming 320,000 acres throughout the state. The size and scale of citrus production has both direct …
New Crop Insurance Coverage Product Offers More Flexibility
A recently introduced crop insurance offering known as the Multi-County Enterprise Unit is designed to help provide a low-cost option for producers that allows for better flexibility. Enterprise Units can …
CA FSA’s Saw Large Turnout of MFP Applications
United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) representatives were at the 2019 World Ag Expo taking applications for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP). They only received a handful …
USDA Reminds Producers of Feb. 14 Deadline for Market Facilitation Program
Agricultural producers have until Feb. 14, 2019, to sign up for USDA’s Market Facilitation Program (MFP), launched last year to help producers suffering from damages due to unjustified trade retaliation. Producers can …
USDA to Release Complete Set of Tables for Agricultural Projections to 2028
On Feb. 14, 2019 at 12 p.m. EST, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will release the complete set of tables prepared for the upcoming USDA Agricultural Projections to 2028 …
Western View: Why So Much For Gasoline?
Last week, some of California’s state legislators made a discovery. They found out that California drivers are paying as much as a dollar a gallon more for their gasoline – …
Markets Expected to Continue Strong; Leverage Shift on the Horizon
During the first half of 2019, the United States will see a shift away from El Niño conditions as equatorial ocean currents begin to cool into the summer, Art Douglas, …