Michigan songbird off endangered species list
Three decades ago, a bird census counted fewer than 400 Kirtland's warblers, a small, golden-chested songbird that nests in young jack pine forests in the upper Midwest. On Tuesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the bird from the endangered species list, pointing to a remarkable recovery in population due to work by government, conservationists, land owners and charities.
Farm Bureau backs ‘one farmer, one vote’ for dairy marketing rules
A task force created by the largest U.S. farm group called on Wednesday for more democracy in the federal milk-marketing orders that guide dairy sales throughout the United States and for greater equity between producers and processors in a system that dates from the Depression.
Congressional Black Caucus opposes tighter SNAP eligibility rules
The Trump administration proposal to tighten eligibility rules for food stamps “will push struggling families and children further into poverty, and we strongly urge USDA to rescind it immediately,” said the 55 members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Wednesday.
More trade aid to farmers? ‘We’ll see what happens,’ says Trump.
Ahead of high-level Sino-U.S. trade talks, President Trump said on Monday that “I would much prefer a big deal” that would end the trade war, while at the same time touting the billions of dollars that farmers are receiving to mitigate the impact of lost exports.
A victory lap on Japan, prodding on USCMA
U.S. farm groups celebrated anew on Monday Japan’s agreement to reduce or eliminate tariffs on $7.2 billion worth of American goods, including beef, pork, poultry, wheat, cheese, wine, and ethanol. President Trump used the ceremonial signing of the pact at the White House to urge congressional approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Dairy farmers may have to get big to survive, says Perdue
Farmers’ case against giant dairy co-op will go to trial
A collection of dairy farmers who allege anti-competitive conduct by the nation's largest dairy cooperative will take their case to a jury trial. A U.S. district court judge late last week denied a motion for summary judgment — which would have wrapped the case up without trial — from defendant Dairy Farmers of America (DFA).<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Trump’s vague plan to boost ethanol has the oil industry threatening to sue
The Trump administration responded to months of Farm Belt complaints that it was undermining homegrown biofuels by vowing to increase the ethanol mandate, beginning next year, above the 15-billion-gallon-a-year target that is set by law. Officials did not specify a new figure for corn ethanol usage nor did its package include the oil industry's goal of a cap on the price of credits that refiners must buy if they do not mix enough ethanol into gasoline.
Prospects dim for USMCA this year, says CoBank
Alaska’s biggest wild salmon run at risk
Corn harvest looms in importance as stockpile shrinks
The U.S. corn stockpile is the smallest in three years and a comparatively small crop, delayed by the rainiest spring in a quarter-century, is slow to come to harvest this year, the government said in a pair of reports on Monday. The soybean stockpile also is markedly smaller than expected, although it is still the largest on record.
Trump approval at 76 percent among farmers – straw poll
Few ERS and NIFA replacements as relocation reaches milestone date
When Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Kansas City as the new home for two USDA research agencies, officials laid out an aggressive schedule to have everyone in place by today, the final day of fiscal 2019. The USDA has hired only a comparative handful of workers to stanch staff turnover that could exceed 75 percent and the senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee says the disruption is affecting farm bill implementation.
Report: Rural America is not one-size-fits-all when it comes to policy
A comparatively small portion of the U.S. population, roughly 60 million of the nearly 330 million residents, lives in rural America. But that portion is spread across 97 percent of the nation's land. A new report from the American Communities Project at George Washington University says the immense diversity of rural America defeats the usual approach of a "one size fits all" policy for rural economic growth, even with adjustments for geographic regions or economic sectors.
‘Patriot farmers’ urge Trump to act on ethanol
As recently as Wednesday, President Trump lauded farmers as “great patriots” for their forbearance in the face of ag exports lost due to the Sino-U.S. trade war. A handful of corn and soybean farmers active in biofuels policy said on Thursday that there is less patience in farm country for the administration’s handling of the ethanol mandate.
Judge will give DOJ more time to build case in poultry price-fixing suit
The District Court judge overseeing a massive price-fixing lawsuit against chicken companies said on Wednesday that he would extend a stay of discovery in that case to make way for a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice.
USDA announces bonus payments for prevented planting
Farmers are in line for a “top-up” payment of up to 15 percent if they received a prevented-planting indemnity from crop insurers this year due to flooding or excessive rainfall, said the USDA on Thursday.
Impeachment inquiry casts shadow on ‘new NAFTA’
President Trump is creating instability in the farm sector with his periodic threats to withdraw from NAFTA, said the senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Also at an Agriculture hearing on Wednesday, farm groups called for speedy passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which has been put in doubt by the opening of an impeachment inquiry in the House.
Growing portion of Democratic ‘aggies’ supports investigation of Trump
Japan agrees to lower tariffs on U.S. farm exports
U.S. farmers will gain broader access to Japanese consumers under an agreement signed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Trump on Wednesday in New York. The White House called the deal “a major win for our farmers, ranchers, and growers.”