‘Public charge’ rule chills nutrition program enrollment among immigrants
Deputy moves to top job at U.S. meat safety agency
If exports rise, farmers won’t need trade aid, says Perdue
U.S. ag exports have gained limited traction from President Trump's ballyhooed trade victories, but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is optimistic that demand will improve. "I hope we can show that a third round [of trade war payments] is not needed for 2020," Perdue said in a statement. "We still believe farmers want trade rather than aid."
Advocacy groups sue FSA for allegedly withholding farm loan information
Several environmental and animal advocacy groups are suing the USDA's Farm Service Agency for allegedly delaying and over-redacting its responses to Freedom of Information Act requests. The groups say the agency has systematically withheld information about its loan programs and concealed how much of its funds are directed toward industrial-scale animal agriculture.
Number of U.S. farms down 3 percent in five years
The USDA estimates there were 2.023 million farms in the nation in 2019, a tiny decline of 5,800 farms from the previous year. The change is more dramatic when the time frame is widened — there are 3 percent fewer farms now than there were in 2014, and the amount of farmland fell 1.3 percent during that five-year period.
Trump intrudes on spring planting for second year in a row
Besides weighing potential market prices against the cost of fuel, fertilizer and seeds, farmers have a new factor for their planting decisions: Will it assure them of a trade war payment? President Trump's suggestion that if his trade deals with China and other nations are slow to bear, "aid will be paid by the federal government," could encourage farmers to plant more land this spring than would otherwise be justified.
U.S. years away from large supply of African swine fever vaccine
Researchers have identified a promising candidate for an African swine fever vaccine but the United States remains two to five years away from having a large supply, said Agriculture Undersecretary Greg Ibach. Speakers at the USDA's annual Ag Outlook Forum said China, hit by an ASF epidemic, would struggle to rebuild hog herds in the near term.
USDA outlook: Record corn crop to swell U.S. stocks, soy exports to recover
U.S. farmers will harvest their largest corn crop ever this year, fueled by the largest plantings since 2013 — growing so much corn that carry-over stocks will be the largest in more than three decades, according to USDA's projection at its annual Ag Outlook Forum. The soybean crop would be the fourth-largest on record, with exports recovering to pre-trade-war levels thanks to "increasing global import demand, particularly for China."
Larger soybean and cotton plantings due to trade deal?
The "phase one" trade agreement with Beijing will bring larger U.S. plantings of soybeans and cotton this spring than now projected by USDA, as growers aim for revived exports to China, analysts said over the weekend. China is the world's largest importer of the commodities but U.S. ag exports to China were halved by the tit-for-tat tariffs of the Sino-U.S. trade war.
Greatest locust threat in decades in East Africa
Swarms of food-devouring desert locusts threaten food security for nearly 10 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, said the Food Security and Nutrition Working Group on Monday, describing the infestations as the worst in 25 years in Ethiopia and in 70 years in Kenya. The group, which focuses on central and eastern Africa, said the locust upsurge threatens the coming agricultural season.
To meet goals, China will be ‘ramping up’ U.S. ag purchases, says Perdue
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said he believes China will meet the goals of the "phase one" trade agreement, although the USDA's new estimate of sales — $14 billion this fiscal year — is only one-third of the target. "We believe those numbers will be surpassed," Perdue said Thursday at the USDA's annual Ag Outlook Forum.
Higher biofuel use is a goal of USDA innovation agenda
The USDA is setting a goal of a 30 percent blend of biofuels into the U.S. fuel supply by 2050, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Thursday. Increased biofuel use was one of the four objectives of an "innovation agenda" to increase agricultural production by 40 percent while reducing agriculture's environmental impact by half.
‘Rough-and-tumble ride’ awaits hemp growers
Industrial hemp, an infant crop heading for its first year under national regulations, is likely be a small player in the farm sector, with a future like a rodeo ride, said panelists at the Ag Outlook Forum on Thursday. "This is going to be a rough-and-tumble ride," said Tyler Mark, a professor at the University of Kentucky.
Trump tariff payments bolster farmer income
Although ag bankers in the Midwest and Plains say the administration's multibillion-dollar trade war payments were a boon to farmers and ranchers, some lenders are still concerned about underlying weaknesses in the sector.
Although it’s still small, interest in plant-based diets is growing, says survey
More than half of all Americans would eat more plant-based foods if they had more information about the effect of their food choices on the environment, said a survey released on Thursday. </strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Trump orders more San Joaquin Valley water into farms, California cities
During a visit Wednesday to California's Central Valley, President Trump announced the completion of a regulatory review that will send more water from the San Joaquin Valley to farms and cities in the southern half of California. Environmentalists say the new allocation of water poses a risk to endangered fish and other native species.
Trade war aid outweighs Trump’s cuts in crop insurance and farm subsidies
This week's White House budget proposal to cut crop insurance by 31 percent and to tighten eligibility rules for farm subsidies would save less in 10 years than the administration spent to mitigate the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war on 2018 and 2019 farm production, said an economist.
Future of industrial hemp clouded by economic uncertainties
Challenges including competition for acreage, the threat of imports, and the necessity of building marketing networks "will determine patterns of development in the emerging U.S. hemp industry," said USDA economists in a report issued Wednesday.
Give trade agreements time to work, says FCA chief
The chairman of the Farm Credit Administration appealed for Farm Belt patience on Trump trade agreements on Wednesday. "The groundwork has been laid for trade normalization and improved farm prices," said Glen Smith during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
Soy mania among U.S. farmers a risk, even if China makes large purchases