Maximum EQIP payment to rise to $450,000, says USDA
The maximum payment through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program will rise to $450,000 from the current $300,000, said USDA ahead of publishing an interim final rule that would incorporate changes made by the 2014 farm law.
Repeal or rewrite may be only options on meat-origin labels
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says if the United States loses its WTO appeal over country-of-origin labels (COOL) on meat sold in grocery stores, the only choice left will be repeal of the law or extensive changes in it. "That's the deal," Vilsack said during a news conference in San Diego. Lawmakers instructed USDA last month to report by May 1 on how to bring the COOL into compliance with world trade rulings.
Yes on 92 concedes, Oregon says no to GMO food label
The Yes on Measure 92 campaign admitted defeat of the Oregon referendum to put special labels on food made with genetically modified organisms. In a statement on its Web site, the campaign said it "is ending its efforts today." The initiative lost by 837 votes out of 1.5 million ballots, according to unofficial results of an automatic recount, two dozen more than the certified Nov 4 results.
County prosecutors drop Utah ‘ag gag’ charges
The Iron County (Utah) prosecutor dropped charges against four animal activists accused under the state's so-call ag-gag law, said Associated Press. As a result, the four will each face a single count of criminal trespass.
“We’re stuck” on revising meat-origin labels, says Vilsack
Congress will have to resolve the international snarl over U.S requirements for labels on beef, pork and chicken meat that identify where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. U.S. law requires the so-called country of origin labels (COOL) but the World Trade Organization has ruled three times that U.S. regulations discriminate against Canada and Mexico.
Welter of state, federal laws chokes growth of hemp research
Nineteen states, from Colorado to Indiana, have approved pilot studies of industrial hemp, says Harvest Public Media, "But hemp is still governed by a network of conflicting federal and state laws.
At a Colorado abbey, llamas guard the cattle
"At the Abbey of St. Walburga, cattle, water buffalo and llamas graze on grass under the watchful eye of Benedictine nuns," says a Harvest Public Media story about nuns and livestock near the Colorado-Wyoming border.
More than half of producers enroll in new dairy program
More than 23,000 dairy producers - over half of the dairy operations in the country - enrolled in the new Margin Protection Program, created by the 2014 farm law as a replacement to the previous dairy subsidies, said USDA.
CFTC says will check cyber-security at futures markets
CFTC chairman Timothy Massad said his agency, the regulator of futures exchanges, would focus on threats of cyber attacks on the derivatives industry, said Reuters, which quoted him as telling the Senate Agriculture Committee, "The risk is apparent."
Brazil is forecast to reap a record-setting soybean crop
Brazil, No 2 to the United States as a soybean producer, will reap a record 95.5 million tonnes of the oilseed, forecasts USDA - 10 percent than its previous crop.
Two newcomers net House Ag subcommittee gavels
Two newcomers to the House Agriculture Committee, Jackie Walorski of Indiana and David Rouzer of North Carolina, will chair subcommittees in the new session of Congress, announced incoming chairman Mike Conaway of Texas. A former missionary and state legislator, Walorski, elected to her second term, will chair the Nutrition subcommittee. Rouzer, who won election to the House on Nov 4, will chair the Livestock and Foreign Agriculture subcommittee.
Senate ag panelist Heitkamp may run for governor-Politico
North Dakota Sen Heidi Heitkamp, elected in 2012 and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is among three Democrats who may run for governor in 2016 rather than seek re-election to the Senate in 2018, says Politico.
Meat-origin labels, beef checkoff clipped by omnibus bill
As part of the $1 trillion government funding bill awaiting a vote in Congress, lawmakers would direct USDA to suggest changes by May 1 in the law that requires packages of beef, pork and chicken to list where the meat was born, raised and slaughtered. The language appears in an explanatory statement that accompanies the bill. Such statements do not carry the force of law but are powerful advice to federal officials.
Hillside erosion is 100 times faster when land is cleared
Soil erosion occurs 100 times faster on hillsides that are cleared of trees and converted to farmland, based on studies of 10 large river basins in the U.S. Southeast, says research led by a University of Vermont geologist.
New White House nutrition advisor must be ready to rumble
With the departure of nutrition policy advisor Sam Kass, who also was personal chef for the Obama family, the administration "is set to lose its behind-the-scenes food policy general at the end of the month, right as a Republican Congress plans an assault...
Less winter wheat is sown, suggesting less wheat, more soy
Wheat farmers planted the smallest amount of winter wheat in five years and 5 percent less than last year, said the government, based on a survey of growers in early December. Winter wheat is planted in the fall, lies dormant during the winter and sprouts in the spring for harvest in early summer. The total of 40.2452 million acres was far below trade expectations and also was the second-smallest figure in a decade.
Record US soy exports as world harvests biggest crop ever
U.S. soybean exports are headed for a record 1.76 billion bushels this marketing year although the world is flooded with the oilseed, said USDA. In its monthly WASDE report on crop output and usage around the world, USDA raised its export forecast by 40 million bushels, to 1.76 billion bushels, citing "the record export pace in weeks and prospects for additional sales and shipments ahead of the South American harvest."
Merkley is top Dem on Senate panel handling ag funds
Second-term Sen Jeff Merkley of Oregon is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture and FDA for the 114th Congress, said Sen Barbara Mikulski, the Democratic leader on the committee, in a statement.
Oregon recount nearly complete, GMO label seems doomed
Only Clackamas and Sherman counties have yet to complete their recount of ballots on Oregon's Measure 92 to require labels on food made with genetically modified organisms.
Four plead innocent to charges under Utah “ag gag” law
"Four animal activists who took pictures of a large southwestern Utah hog farm pleaded not guilty" to violating a state law against entering agricultural property in order to take photographs, says Feedstuffs.