Clinton: Focus the farm safety net on family operations
As president, Hillary Clinton says she would focus the farm safety net - crop supports, crop insurances and disaster relief - on "farmers and ranchers that truly need it the most, not those who have the biggest businesses or the best connections. We will change the formula."
Strong support for school food as reauthorization nears
More than eight of every 10 Americans say school nutrition standards "should stay the same or be strengthened," said the WK Kellogg Foundation in releasing results of a new poll.
Drought has less impact than feared on California agriculture
One of the most productive agricultural regions of the world, California has suffered less than expected from the drought that started four years ago, partly due to "the increased, but unsustainable, groundwater pumping," says a report by Pacific Institute, a think tank.
Holiday turkeys will cost more and may weigh less
Shoppers can expect "significantly higher" prices for their holiday turkey and the birds may weigh less than usual, all due to this year's avian influenza epidemic.
Vilsack taps McKalip as acting chief of staff
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has chosen Doug McKalip as his acting chief of staff, said a USDA spokeswoman, who said McKalip "has a long record of service to American agriculture."
“Neonic” insecticides found in half of U.S. streams tested
Neonicotinoid insecticides were found in a little more than half of the streams sampled from 2011-14 in a study of the prevalence of pesticides and other contaminants in waterways, said the U.S. Geological Survey.
Monsanto ends attempt to buy Syngenta
The seed and pesticide giant Monsanto Co. has ended its attempt to buy Syngenta, its Swiss rival, says Deutsche Welle.
U.S. seeks up to 500 million doses of bird-flu vaccine
The government wants to stockpile up to 500 million doses of vaccine in case it is needed to stop an outbreak of avian influenza this fall and winter.
The replacements for trans fats ‘have their own problems’
The FDA's announcement of a three-year phase out of most uses of trans fats, usually present in foods as partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), may not be the end of the story, says Time. The replacements for PHOs "have their own problems."
Relentless drought to cost California ag economy $1.8 billion
The fourth year of unrelenting drought in California will cost the state agricultural economy $1.8 billion - 20 percent more than in 2014 - although farmers and their irrigation districts "are showing more resilience to the drought than many had anticipated," says a report by the UC-Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.
Microsensors on 10,000 honeybees may help solve colony-collapse conundrum
Australian researchers have attached tiny microsensors to about 10,000 healthy honeybees to try to learn the cause of the global decline in bee populations, says the Christian Science Monitor.
World’s biggest dairy farm, this time in Brazil
Five weeks after reports that construction was underway for the world's largest dairy farm in northeastern China, a Dutch multimillionaire says he will build the world's largest dairy farm in southern Brazil.
The boom is over, as farmer income plunges for second consecutive year
Farmers and ranchers are pocketing billions of dollars less from sales of their crops and livestock while expenses continue to rise, the government said, forecasting a 26-percent drop in net cash farm income from its peak in 2013.
Government sets strategy for re-seeding land burned by wildfires
The government announced its National Seed Strategy to restore federal lands damaged by wildfire, drought, severe storms and invasive species with "appropriate seeds to help grow plant life and pollinator habitat."
Students select – and waste – more fruits, veggies for lunch
Digital imaging of lunchtime at two elementary schools showed more students putting fruits and vegetables on their cafeteria trays, a goal of the 2010 school-lunch reforms. But they also ate less of the fruits and vegetables and discarded more, says a study by University of Vermont scientists.
Worst drought since 1977 felt throughout Washington State
This year's drought in Washington State "is by far the worst since 1977" and covers nearly all of the state, says Capital Press.
Organic tequila spurs economic growth in Mexico
Adolfo Murillo jokes about his two vocations as optometrist and tequila producer: "I help people see twice as well during the week and then I help them see double on the weekends," writes Ted Genoways. Murillo was a pioneer in choosing to cultivate organic agave in the high desert near his home town of Agua Negra.
Vilsack endorses Clinton for president once again
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in an op-ed appearing today in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the second time the former Iowa governor backed her for the Democratic nomination.
U.S. appeals court overturns dismissal of pork checkoff suit
The U.S. appeals court in Washington "is breathing new life into a previously dismissed lawsuit alleging pork checkoff funds were indirectly used to benefit the lobbying efforts of the National Pork Producers Council," said Agri-Pulse.
Fruit and veggie prices steady despite California drought
Americans will see negligible increases in the supermarket prices of fresh fruits and vegetables this year despite continued drought in California, the No. 1 state for produce, says the Food Price Outlook.