‘Big crops, low prices,’ for a long time ahead, says CBO
SNAP enrollment declining to pre-recession levels
Three nominees are given USDA posts while awaiting Senate votes
After the shutdown, a deluge of major USDA reports on crops, ag outlook
With the shutdown behind it, the USDA will begin today to clear out a month's worth of backlogged data, including major reports that could jolt commodity markets and color farmers' decisions on crops to plant this spring. Chief economist Robert Johansson said there will be one exception — the globe-spanning WASDE report that serves as a monthly crop report for the world.
Study: How manure is applied to fields can affect greenhouse gases
The method that farmers use to apply manure to their fields can affect emissions of greenhouse gases during the winter, say researchers from the University of Vermont. Their study, published in the Soil Science of America Journal, is one of the first to look at greenhouse gas emissions from Vermont farmland and highlights the consequences of different manure-spreading methods.
Trump tariff payment total? ‘Maybe $8 billion.’
U.S. farmers may receive noticeably less in Trump tariff payments than originally expected, a senior USDA official said on Thursday. And with no end in sight for the five-week partial government shutdown, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley told reporters that food stamps could be in jeopardy.
First-term Rep. Spanberger to chair House Ag subcommittee
Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who defeated Freedom Caucus stalwart Rep. Dave Brat in a central Virginia upset last November, will be the only first-term lawmaker to chair a House Agriculture subcommittee this session, announced committee chairman Collin Peterson on Thursday.
As it opens more operations, USDA relies on staff to work without pay
Federal meat inspectors are reporting to work without pay during the partial government shutdown, said an industry trade group on Wednesday, as the USDA called on 9,700 furloughed FSA employees to reopen offices nationwide today to serve farmers and ranchers.
GOP adds three newcomers to House Ag; former chair Lucas takes a break
Although they’re in the minority, Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee will work for regulatory relief at home for farmers and ranchers and market access abroad for U.S. farm exports, said Rep. Michael Conaway, the GOP leader on the committee, on Wednesday.
Dicamba debacle spreads to bees
The weedkiller dicamba, which has spurred conflict in farm country because of its damage to non-GMO crops, has spread to beekeepers, who say the herbicide is depleting pollinator habitat and harming the bees, according to FERN's latest story produced in collaboration with Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Capitol Hill pours cold water of relocation of two USDA research agencies
USDA reopens offices in farm country, as anxiety about nutrition programs rises
A ranch that produces not just beef, but medical parts
Just south of the Oregon border in Macdoel, California, the Prather Ranch has made a successful business not just selling top quality beef — but parts for the medical industry. "The hides are used to make purified collagen used in cell research. And the bones? Some have been made into screws for knee surgery," reports Lisa Morehouse in FERN's latest story, produced in collaboration with KQED's The California Report.
On the calendar, week of Jan 22, 2019
Democrats put muscle and lots of newcomers on House Agriculture
Powerhouse Democrats propose ‘blue card’ for undocumented farmworkers
Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate unveiled bills on Thursday that would give undocumented farmworkers “blue card” status, allowing them to work legally in the United States and gain the chance to become permanent residents, with an eventual path to citizenship. (No paywall)
Farmers borrowing more money, paying higher interest rates
Ag bankers are charging higher interest rates and asking farmers to pledge more collateral in the face of a rising demand for loans, the Federal Reserve said Thursday in its quarterly Agricultural Finance Databook.
Diet for a healthy planet: Half the red meat and sugar, more grains, nuts, produce
A three-year collaboration by three dozen experts in nutrition, agriculture, economics, and the environment says it has solved one of the world’s great challenges: how to feed an expected 10 billion people at mid-century without imperiling future food production. The answer is the “planetary health diet.”
USDA opens local offices for three days to work on existing farm loans
About half of the USDA’s local offices will be open for three days, beginning Thursday, to deal with existing farm loans and provide tax documents to farmers and ranchers. USDA employees will not consider applications for new loans, the new dairy support program, disaster relief, or Trump tariff payments.
Farm-state Rep. Steve King votes for resolution that admonishes him for racist remarks
On the birthday of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, the House passed a resolution rejecting white nationalism and white supremacy. Majority-party Democrats called the vote a day after House Republicans barred Rep. Steve King of Iowa from serving on any committee after the representative was quoted questioning why the language of white supremacy has "become offensive."