Pigweed develops resistance to dicamba and 2,4-D
Researchers at Kansas State University have found pigweed that tolerates dicamba and 2,4-D, two herbicides that are often used to combat the invasive weed. Pigweed, or Palmer amaranth, is difficult for farmers to control, growing up to 10 feet tall and capable of producing 1 million seeds per plant.
Trump asks China to remove tariffs on U.S. ag exports
With the trade war stunting U.S. farm exports after two years of growth, President Trump said he has asked China to remove its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. food and ag exports. Trump announced the request on the same day four large farm groups opened their annual meetings with a joint endorsement of the new North American trade pact negotiated by the White House.
Sign-up for ARC and PLC may begin Sept. 1
Late this summer, growers will get their first chance in years to switch between the Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage subsidies, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told lawmakers last week. During testimony at two hearings, Perdue also said the USDA would hold a "general" sign-up for the Conservation Reserve before the end of the year.
WTO rules China gave its growers unfair wheat and rice subsidies
The Trump administration, with the weight of a WTO ruling behind it, called on China on Thursday to eliminate trade-distorting wheat and rice subsidies that cost U.S. farmers hundreds of millions of dollars a year in export sales. The WTO panel report may provide impetus to negotiations to resolve the Sino-U.S. trade war.
How to report on rural America: A conversation with Ken Ward, Jr.
In a lead up to a panel in Austin at SXSW, Reporting on Rural America Under Trump, I asked one of our panelists, Ken Ward, Jr., the MacArthur award-winning environmental reporter from West Virginia, to answer a few questions about how newsrooms can better cover rural places.
Stabenow calls for USDA to withdraw SNAP proposal
Questioned for the second day in a row on Capitol Hill, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said he has the authority to tighten food stamp rules for able-bodied adults even if lawmakers don’t like it. Senate Democrats pushed back, urging Perdue on Thursday to withdraw the proposal.
Memphis Meats will start small when it gets regulatory green light
Chief executive Uma Valeti says Memphis Meats, the self-declared leader in a worldwide race to develop cell-based meat, "will be ready to go to market tomorrow," albeit on a small scale, once the U.S. regulatory framework is in place. "Selling even the first plate of meat to a consumer is a big deal," said Valeti.
SNAP proposal means more hunger, not jobs, Democrats tell Perdue
The Trump administration will shift able-bodied Americans into better-paying jobs through stricter enforcement of a 90-day limit on food stamps, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told skeptical House lawmakers on Wednesday. Democrats threatened litigation to stop the proposal, which could end SNAP benefits to more than 700,000 people.
China will buy 8 percent of U.S. soybean crop, says Trump administration
President Trump put his weight behind an announcement that China, amid negotiations to end the trade war, committed to buy 10 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans. The decision, announced on social media by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Friday, would more than double Chinese purchases this marketing year but still
Four reasons to check out FERN’s SXSW panel on Big Food
Next week, FERN is headed to Austin, where I’m moderating two panels at SXSW! One of them — The Future of Big Food: What’s at Stake? — will take on big questions about where Big Food companies are headed. As eaters increasingly want transparency about ingredients, healthier options, and more sustainable packaging, where does that leave manufacturers? And will new labeling regulations shift the grocery environment? <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
USDA will proceed slowly on industrial hemp
The 2018 farm bill legalized industrial hemp production, but it is likely to be 2020 before the USDA produces the regulatory framework for the new crop, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Wednesday.
Exempt farm program staff from shutdowns, suggests Peterson
House Agriculture chairman Collin Peterson floated a bill on Wednesday to keep local USDA offices open during any future government shutdowns. “There’s no sense not to have them working,” he said. “Couldn’t agree more,” responded Sonny Perdue.
Biotech backer Perdue blasts fear-your-food ‘hysteria’
An amorphous “fear-your-food” movement, fed in large part by the ceaseless churning of the internet, could sideline, deter, or even derail the use of such crucial agricultural tools as pesticides and genetically engineered crops and livestock, warned Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Thursday.
One counselor’s lonely struggle against farm country’s mental health crisis
In Minnesota, one of the country’s top farming states, just one man is responsible for dealing with farmers’ mental health needs. As low crop prices and farm closures weigh heavily on farming families, he is joining state legislators and advocates to push for allocating more resources to the pressing issue. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Organic food is booming. So why are organic grains lagging behind?
After years of dynamic growth, organic food accounts for more than 5 percent of U.S. grocery sales, with dairy and eggs ringing up $1 in every $7 of the estimated $49 billion in organic food sold annually. Yet, the amount of farmland devoted to organic grain, needed for feeding livestock, is expanding slowly, according to a trade group report, and totals far less than 1 million acres, nearly invisible among the 910 million acres of land in U.S. farms.
Arkansas approves expanded dicamba use, dismissing scientific and public concerns
Arkansas regulators voted on Wednesday to relax restrictions on the controversial weedkiller dicamba, despite testimony from top scientists and scores of concerned citizens who urged them to reject the move in a public hearing. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
New bill proposes hefty increase for SNAP benefits
A new bill, proposed by the vice-chair of the House Agriculture Committee and backed by one of the largest anti-hunger groups in the nation, would raise food stamp benefits by an estimated 30 percent. Rep. Alma Adams, the lead sponsor of the "closing the meal gap" legislation, said on Tuesday that a companion bill would be filed by New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a presidential aspirant.
U.S. ag trade surplus narrows
The U.S. agricultural trade surplus will shrink to $13.5 billion this fiscal year, the smallest in at least six years, as exports stagnate at $141.5 billion and imports tick upward to $128 billion, said the USDA in a quarterly forecast.
Trump will try again to cut USDA, says Perdue
The Agriculture Department faces large spending cuts, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday while a White House official said President Trump will ask for one "one of the largest spending reductions in history" in the upcoming fiscal 2020 budget. Perdue told reporters that he encouraged the administration to submit a package "within the realm of negotiation," considering Congress rejected outright Trump's previous budgets.
Soybeans may lose less land to corn than expected
The United States is awash in soybeans, the result of the trade war with China and a string of bumper crops. But although farmers were expected to respond by planting more corn this year while cutting back sharply on soybeans, it's no longer clear that this rush to corn will actually occur.