…assistance from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to help inform a policy update to the lockup procedures. As a result, beginning August 1, 2018, USDA will provide media the same…
Governor Brown Increases Funding for Citrus Protection
Governor Jerry Brown recently signed the 2018-19 budget which provides a significant amount of funding intended for citrus protection. The budget will allow the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program…
Ants Good and Bad for Your Garden
…food for birds, lizards, and other beneficials. Their tunnels aerate the soil and allow water and nutrients to flow directly to the plant roots. They also distribute seeds by storing…
The Answer to Reforming Immigration Remains Elusive
…attempt to address immigration was the AG Act from Congressman Bob Goodlatte, which would have created an H-2C program and required guest workers to periodically return to their country of…
CDFA Awards $69.9 Million for Dairy Digester Projects
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has awarded $69.9 million in grant funding to 40 dairy digester projects across the state. These projects, part of the Dairy Digester…
Grocers Seek Tighter Rules on Labeling GMO Ingredients
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) joined several large food companies in calling for stricter requirements on labeling GMO ingredients during the comment period for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)…
EU Wheat Harvest Hit Hard by Drought
…EU are adding to the speculation that global supplies of the food staple will shrink during the 2018-2019 marketing year. Several of the world’s top production areas have faced adverse…
Organic Foods Set to Continue Growing
…Market Research, the global organic food and beverage market was estimated to be worth around $125 billion last year, and is expected to nearly triple in size by 2024, climbing…
Final Countdown for 2017 Census of Agriculture
…programs, disaster assistance, agricultural research, local policies, and business. NASS says that’s why it’s so important that they hear from as many farmers as possible. Barbara Rater, the Census and…
Kansas Announces Pilot Disease Traceability Program for Cattle
Kansas state government officials and leaders from the Kansas livestock industry announced a new program called the Cattle Trace Pilot Project. Cattle Trace is a unique public-private project that will…
Source of Lettuce Linked to E. Coli Outbreak Identified
…E. coli that began to cause people to fall ill three months ago. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is continuing to investigate how the irrigation water became contaminated…
Meat Companies Accused of Artificially Inflating Pork Prices
…percent. The “year-average” price in the hog market was $76.30 in 2015, after being at or below $50 annually from 1998-2009. Hormel Foods issues a statement saying, “Hormel Foods is…
Agri View: Growing Your Own Backyard Chickens
…gives you some of the benefits to raising chickens. Growing Your Own Backyard Chickens Hey, you need something to do to help you with your food bill, or you just…
CDC Retracts Farmer Suicide Rate Findings
…away the highest in the study. But, the CDC told New Food Economy in an email it had misclassified farmers as farming, fishing, and forestry, or “Triple-F,” workers. The revised…