…water conservation and water quality and forest-related conservation for both proactive and post-fire assistance. Farmers, ranchers and private non-industrial forest owners statewide voluntarily partnered with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service…
USDA Predicts Less Corn in Storage in Latest WASDE
…bushels. That prediction comes as USDA previously projected soybean planted acres to reach a record 91 million acres in 2018. USDA left the season average price for corn unchanged from…
Senate Ag Committee Approves Vaden as USDA General Counsel
…all Republican members of the committee to vote in favor of the nomination, according to the Hagstrom Report. Stabenow said she was voting to move the nomination forward because” USDA…
McKinney: Farmers Need NAFTA Backup Plan
Farmers need a backup plan if the U.S. exits the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), according to a top Department of Agriculture official. Ted McKinney, USDA undersecretary for trade…
USDA Ends Prevented Planting +10 Percent Option
…field offices, USDA eliminated the Prevented Planting +10 Percent Option for the 2018 crop year and future crop years. USDA kept the five percent option for farmers, though analysis shows…
Can Corn and Oil Live Together?
…nomination of Bill Northey to a USDA post. It’s a retaliatory move after corn-state senators killed an effort by the Environmental Protection Agency to weaken the Renewable Fuels Standard. After…
APHIS Wildlife Services to Begin Field Trials on Feral Swine Toxic Bait
In November, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) accomplished two key tasks as part of its efforts to evaluate an oral toxic bait for use with invasive feral…
USDA to Revisit Standard for Beef Carcass Grades
…Uden says the updates to the beef standards will improve accuracy by basing carcass quality grades on the most current scientific data available. Following a petition led by NCBA, USDA’s…
USDA to Allow States Flexibility for SNAP
…Report says USDA will allow states more flexibility in managing SNAP. Brandon Lipps, the acting undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumers services says the USDA will allow more flexibility in…
USDA Emphasizing Trade Expansion
Ted McKinney, the new USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, has been busy since being sworn in. He’s visited India, Brazil, Colombia, and Panama recently with the goal…
U.S. Rice Production Down, Prices Up
…losses also resulted from heavy rains and flooding related to Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana. For 2018, USDA is predicting another reversal, projecting 2018 U.S. rice planted area at…
Historical Influx of Young Farmers into the Industry
The agriculture industry experienced an increase in young farmers under the age of 35 for only the second time in the last 100 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)…
USDA Delays the Puerto Rico Census of Agriculture
…advocacy, agribusiness setup, rural development, and more. Information about the 2017 Census of Agriculture and previous censuses is available at www.agcensus.usda.gov. Image credit: from USDA/Plantains growing in Gurabo, Puerto Rico,…
Perdue: U.S. Farm Exports to Continue Strong in FY 2018
…expanding existing markets and improving existing trade agreements, but also by aggressively pursuing new markets and new opportunities.” The complete USDA Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade is available at: www.fas.usda.gov/data/quarterly-agricultural-export-forecast…























