First rise in farmland values in Midwest in three years
Agricultural bankers reported a 1 percent rise in “good” farmland values in 2017 in a survey by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, which said the productivity of midwestern farmland had helped stabilize prices. It was the first increase in values since 2014.
Big farms get bigger as U.S. farm numbers get smaller
U.S. farm numbers continue to drift lower, dropping to 2.048 million according to a USDA survey conducted last June, only a shadow of their peak during the Depression. At the same time that the total falls, the portion of land operated by the biggest farms, the powerhouses with more than $1 million a year in sales, continues to grow, now covering a quarter of all farmland.
Consolidation could be a factor in Deere profit jump
Analysts predict that John Deere will raise its profit forecasts for the year on Friday, despite a dismal year for crop prices. Bloomberg reports that a possible reason for the company’s rising profits could be the mechanical needs of large, consolidated mega-farms.
Arkansas judge cites state immunity in dismissing lawsuit against dicamba ban
The world's largest seed and ag-chemical company, Monsanto, says it is considering its options after a court dismissed its lawsuit challenging the Arkansas ban of its weedkiller dicamba on row crops during the growing season, said the Associated Press. "Arkansas has the toughest restriction in place on dicamba, though several states have imposed other restrictions or requirements."
In Ohio, ranchers say beef checkoff program flouts prohibition on lobbying
A new report by the Organization for Competitive Markets, an agricultural antitrust and trade policy research group, and the Ohio Farmers Union suggests that the relationship between the Ohio beef checkoff program and the state Cattlemen’s Association may be cozier than the law permits. (No paywall)
Cramer decides to challenge Heitkamp for Senate after all
A month after taking a pass, North Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer changed his mind and entered the Senate race against first-term Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, giving the GOP a well-known candidate in a potentially pivotal race for control of the Senate. Political handicappers rate the race as a toss-up because President Trump carried the state in a landslide in 2016 but Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is a tenacious and well-funded campaigner.
After $40 million, California fish hatchery shows little success
After spending $40 million over 35 years, a California plan to restore wild stocks of white seabass has failed to produce much in the way of results, according to a study released this week. “The program had increased white seabass populations by less than 1 percent — a stunningly low success rate,” Clare Leschin-Hoar reports in FERN’s latest story, with NPR. (No paywall)
EPA lowers fine against Syngenta for pesticide misuse
Syngenta announced this week that it will pay $550,000 in fines after the Environmental Protection Agency found that it misused the pesticide chlorpyrifos at a test field in Hawaii. The fine is dramatically lower than the nearly $5 million initially sought by the Obama administration. Scott Pruitt, Trump's EPA chief, overruled a recommendation by agency scientists to ban chlorpyrifos for agricultural use.
Trump budget eliminates funding for biggest U.S. food-aid program
The Food for Peace program, created during the Cold War to relieve hunger overseas through the donation of U.S.-produced food, would be mothballed by the Trump administration in its fiscal 2019 budget. In its place, the State Department would provide emergency food aid through a smaller-ticket disaster assistance office that is expected to be thriftier and fleeter of foot.
Slower growth in school breakfast participation
About half as many children take part in the school breakfast program as the more than 30 million who eat a hot meal through the school lunch program, according to USDA's most recent data. The government and the anti-hunger group Food Research and Action Center say that participation in school breakfast grew at a slower rate during the 2016-17 school year than it did in previous years.
House bill would suspend use of neonicotinoid insecticides
Two Democratic lawmakers unveiled legislation to suspend the use of neonicotinoid insecticides, with the goal of reducing high mortality rates of honeybees and other pollinating species.
‘Harvest Box’ proposal makes a policy point, say officials
Two administration officials “who worked on the idea” say the White House proposal of a monthly “Harvest Box” of preselected food for poor Americans “was intended to lay down a marker that the administration is serious” about revamping the food stamp program, said the New York Times.
Iowa court will rule on residents’ right to sue farms
A case heard by the Iowa Supreme Court on Monday could have a dramatic effect on whether communities can sue factory farms that move into their neighborhoods. The case was brought by a group of community members against a pair of hog confinement operations run by Valley View Swine and JBS.
A ‘David vs. Goliath battle’ over a weedkiller
The Arkansas State Plant Board, responding to nearly 1,000 complaints of crop damage due to dicamba, voted in January to bar use of the herbicide on cotton and soybeans during the 2018 growing season. Now Monsanto, dicamba’s maker, has “sued the board and each individual member,” reports NPR.
Tyson farm proposal defeated in Maryland
After two years of community protests, a proposal to build 13 chicken houses on a farm in Wicomico County, Maryland, was defeated last week. Neighbors worried about potential air and groundwater pollution from the influx of chickens.
Farm sector shrugs off Trump proposals for farm bill cuts
The largest U.S. farm group and the crop insurance industry say President Trump's proposals to slash crop insurance funding and to deny farm payments to the wealthiest producers will have no lasting impact.
Senate bill would exempt feedlots from reporting air pollution
Nearly two dozen senators co-sponsored a bill that would exempt an estimated 100,000 large livestock farms from reporting emissions from manure and other animal waste. Sponsors include the leaders of the Senate committee that would handle the bill.
Trump picks former EEOC chair as USDA civil rights chief
The chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the closing years of the George W Bush administration, Naomi Earp, is President Trump's choice for assistant secretary for civil rights at the USDA, announced the White House.
White House plan: Cut food stamp eligibility, give people a box of food
President Trump would slash food stamp spending by 30 percent over the next decade by cutting enrollment 6 percent and giving recipients half of their benefits in a monthly box of U.S.-grown food. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the "America's Harvest Box" was "a bold, innovative approach to providing nutritious food" that would cost far less than the current system of letting food stamp participants buy food on their own.
FDA guidance documents lose some of their power of direction
The Justice Department has changed its policy and "will no longer rely on (FDA) guidance documents to establish civil law infractions," says Food Safety News. The change follows a memo last November by Attorney General Jeff Sessions against codes of conduct that are issued by the government but are not the result of the formal rule-making process.