U.S. imports more textiles, less of them made of cotton
The U.S. cotton industry promotes the crop as "the fabric of our lives," yet synthetics account for a growing share of imported textiles and apparel.
The urban-vs-rural water war in California
The order by Gov. Jerry Brown for a 25-percent reduction in urban water use "reopened a generations-old, urban-versus-rural debate about who should control California’s water and how it can best be used," says the San Diego Union-Tribune. Critics say agriculture got a free pass from Brown because of political clout. The farm bloc says it already endures cutbacks. This is the second year of "zero allocation" of federal irrigation water to farmers and the state has cut its allocation to farms to 20 percent of normal, says the Union-Tribune.
Menu-labeling rules are not clear enough, senators tell FDA
Members of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee said FDA rules on calorie labels for restaurant and take-away foods are overly broad. The rules are scheduled to take effect on Dec. 1.
Bitter battle over listing “added sugars” on food packages
Foodmakers are in "a lobbying frenzy" over the administration's proposal to have the Nutrition Facts label on food packages include how much sugar was added during processing, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Bycatch is hurdle to higher ratings for U.S. fisheries
Almost all U.S. fisheries would be rated as "best choice" for environmental sustainability and would "reap rewards in the marketplace for that recognition" if they reduced losses from bycatch, says a new research paper.
Projects aim to get more fruits and vegetables to poor people
The USDA awarded $31 million to three-dozen projects that will experiment with ways to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among food-stamp recipients. Many of the projects will offer financial incentives to buy produce at farmers markets. Two of the awardees, Fair Food Network and Wholesome Wave, run "double up" programs that will match spending on fruits and vegetables up to a specified amount. Food-stamp recipients, like other Americans, do not eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables.
Des Moines water board votes to sue over nitrate runoff
Trustees of the Des Moines Water Works voted at the end of a 60-day warning period to sue drainage districts in three counties in northwest Iowa over high levels of nitrate in the Raccoon River, a source of drinking water for Iowa's capital city.
NFU wants to jettison STAX, keep cotton in farm program
The nation's second-largest farm group, the National Farmers Union, adopted a policy statement that opposes the STAX program for cotton. STAX, a combination of a floor price and revenue insurance, was created in the 2014 farm law to resolve a World Trade Organization ruling against U.S. cotton subsidies. "While this program is subsidized at 80 percent, this is a shallow-loss program that, according to many economists, is unaffordable," says NFU.
Vilsack indicates he’ll color inside the lines on dietary guide
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack indicated during an interview that he will not consider environmental sustainability during an overhaul of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, said the Wall Street Journal.
Farmers’ planting plans point to No. 2 soy, No. 3 corn crops
U.S. farmers intend to sow a record amount of land to soybeans and pare back on corn planting this spring, the government said in a report that puts the second-largest soybean crop ever and the third-largest corn crop on the horizon. Mammoth crops would mean at least one more year of comparatively low commodity prices after the price peaks of 2012. Abundant supplies would help hold down food price inflation.
People shop around for groceries, even when they walk
Overwhelmingly, Americans drive to the grocery store and they usually don't go to the store nearest to their homes, even if they have to walk, take a bus or get a ride with someone else, says a USDA study.
Bird flu confirmed on northwestern Arkansas turkey farm
The first case of H5N2 avian influenza in the U.S. South this year was confirmed on a turkey farm in northwestern Arkansas. A flock of 40,020 turkeys in Boone County, about 140 miles north-northwest of Little Rock, was hit.
House budget converts food stamps into a block grant
The House Budget Committee called for a nominal $1 billion cut over a 10-year period in the USDA's mandatory programs, including crop insurance and food stamps, and the conversion of food stamps into a block grant program in fiscal 2021. The block-grant idea has been a feature of House Republican budget proposals in previous years. The committee provided few details on the latest iteration, which was given three paragraphs in the its 43-page document, "A balanced budget for a strong America."
EU overtakes U.S. as top global exporter of wheat
The European Union will be the world's largest wheat exporter this year, and by a wide margin, says the USDA report Grain: World Markets and Trade.
Longer comment period set for Dietary Guidelines
The government will allow an additional 30 days for comment on the report by a panel of experts on how to revise the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The report has drawn criticism because it says environmental sustainability should be taken into account in recommending a healthy diet. Farm groups, especially from the meat industry, say the report is wrong to say people should eat less meat.
Change RFS to help our sector, says advanced biofuels group
The Advanced Biofuels Association called for changes to the Renewable Fuels Standard, which guarantees a share of the gasoline market to renewable fuels, so the sector can expand from demonstration plants to full-scale commercial operations.
Record low snowpack in Cascades, Sierra Nevada, says USDA
Snowpack in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada shrank during warm February weather, said the USDA in its third forecast of snow and water conditions in the West.
Children eating less fast-food burgers, pizza and chicken
Children are eating less frequently at fast-food restaurants and consuming fewer calories from burgers, pizza and chicken sold at the outlets, say two researchers from Tufts and the University of Washington.
GAO: Crop insurance should cost more in high-risk counties
Crop insurance premiums should be raised "by as much as the full 20 percent annually that is allowed by law" in high-risk counties to improve the actuarial soundness of the federally subsidized program, said the Government Accountability Office.
Family farms – 97 percent of US total, 84 percent of sales
U.S. agriculture is dominated by family-owned farms, said the USDA in its "five facts to know about family farms." The 2012 Census of Agriculture found 97 percent of the 2.1 million farms in the country are family farms, and...